Since suiting up for the Lakers in October, Russell Westbrook has drawn a lot of criticism for his underwhelming and inconsistent performance.
Amid the Lakers’ struggles, Russ has been detrimental to their performance on both ends of the floor and there is some serious doubt that he can change before it’s too late.
But on Wednesday night, fan frustration may have reached its peak.
Towards the end of a tight game, with the Lakers down three, Westbrook charged down the court for an open layup on the other end. Instead of knocking it in, however, he somehow missed.
On Twitter, fans exploded with anger.
I WANT RUSSELL WESTBROOK ARRESTED IMMEDIATELY https://t.co/fukmdy5BVz
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) December 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/mbamjv/status/1476393395769655297https://twitter.com/Biasedfan10/status/1476393262055256075
Russ smoking layups pic.twitter.com/1Lf1qDFXb2
— carmen (@AdrianJuancito) December 30, 2021
https://twitter.com/AlecFall0n/status/1476393204320804868https://twitter.com/emreyamangil/status/1476393437444272128https://twitter.com/CFCMike___/status/1476393425566056452
that man really doesnt want a ring ever
— Fresh (@freshbtw) December 30, 2021
Paying Russ 43 million is a crime
— RUI FANATIC (@therealselena23) December 30, 2021
Remember when this mf stat padded a triple double and people thought he was back ðŸ˜ðŸ˜
— j💫 (@pIaybois) December 30, 2021
The Lakers ended up losing the game by 5, with a final score of 104-99. It marked the 19th loss of the season for the Lakeshow, who now sit two games below .500.
In fairness to Russ, he contributed a lot to his team. He had another triple-double, with 16 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds per game. Unfortunately, that’s not the only story with Westbrook, it never is.
Despite the amazing stats he puts up on a regular basis, Westbrook can be sloppy and out of control on offense leading to turnovers, poor decision making, and missed opportunities (like the layup he missed tonight).
On defense, Russ has never been described as elite on that end.
Needless to say, Russ has not met expectations so far, and he is more than aware of that reality.
“Everybody wants me to do this but then they don’t want me to do this,” Westbrook said on a video conference call with reporters Monday. “Honestly, I’m over the whole situation with what everyone else wants me to do and what they think I should be doing.”
“Honestly, I think I’ve been fine,” Westbrook said. “The conversation has been heavily on how I’m playing and what I’m doing, but I think people are expecting me to have f—ing 25, 15 and 15, which, that is not normal. Everybody has to understand, like, that’s not a normal thing that people do consistently.”
The truth is, if the Lakers are ever going to turn their season around, they’re going to need a better version of Russell. One that slows down, controls the ball and gives up his own stats for the sake of putting his teammates in a better position.
We’ll see if he’s up for the task. For now, he’ll just have to accept the criticism from frustrated Lakers fans.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyxCrv-34H0
