The Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the Phoenix Suns recently. As expected, the Suns completed overwhelmed the Lakers and registered an easy victory.
LeBron James had a stunning outing as he became the first player in NBA history to register 10K+ points, rebounds, and assists. Unfortunately, he didn’t get much help from his teammates.
Russell Westbrook in particular continued his struggles this season. Brodie finished with just 13 points, 2 rebounds, and 2 assists in 29 minutes. Although he shot 50% from the field, he once again airballed a jumper.
This has been a consistent problem for Westbrook and has been criticized by NBA analysts and fans alike for his terrible airballs.
Seeing Westbrook airball so many shots this season has also had a negative impact on his teammates’ morale. In the fixture against the Suns when Russ airballed a midrange shot, LeBron James looked demotivated.
So much so that James didn’t even make an effort to run back to the defensive end of the floor.
This is not the first time that James has reacted in such a way after seeing Westbrook’s misses. In the Lakers’ last victory against the Washington Wizards, Russ missed an open layup.
NBA fans noticed that LeBron James looked fed up with Westbrook after he missed the easy layup. Keeping that in mind, it seems unlikely that Brodie will play the next season as a Los Angeles Lakers player.
Although it seems like it is set in stone, there is still a chance for Russ to redeem himself. If he can somehow turn the season around come playoff time, Lakers fans will certainly forgive him for the underwhelming season.
With the season almost over, it seems almost certain that the Lakers will be a part of the play-in tournament. That’s where Westbrook can start the aforementioned redemption process.
