The Los Angeles Lakers were in the middle of a hard-fought contest against the Philadelphia 76ers and played far better than expected against the stronger 76ers squad. LeBron James put the team on his back with a fantastic performance with Russell Westbrook contributing magnificently off the bench, until the final play.
Westbrook managed to stop Joel Embiid from scoring and had the ball with 11 seconds left and the Lakers trailing by 1. Instead of giving the ball up or Darvin Ham taking a timeout, Westbrook decided to take Embiid one-on-one before accidentally dribbling the ball off his foot and failing to put up a shot as the game ended with the Lakers losing.
Fans are absolutely furious with Westbrook for his actions on that final play.
I WANT RUSSELL WESTBROOK ARRESTED IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/yCpHhKcLDw
— LakeShowYo (@LakeShowYo) January 16, 2023
The Russell Westbrook experience is something else
— Ahmed/The Ears/IG: BigBizTheGod 🇸🇴 (@big_business_) January 16, 2023
Russ looked off the second greatest basketball player ever down one on the final possession when said player had 35-8-10 on 65%.
I have never seen anything in the game of basketball quite like Russell Westbrook. I have no words to describe it.
— Jason Timpf (@_JasonLT) January 16, 2023
Can debate call timeout vs no timeout to start the last possession, particularly with Westbrook already having Embiid on him, but when Westbrook bobbled the ball the timeout had to be called. Have to. Was still time to inbound and find a good look
— Trevor Lane (@Trevor_Lane) January 16, 2023
LIVE BY WESTBROOK, DIE BY WESTBROOKhttps://t.co/UuwxYJmnXx pic.twitter.com/ODUWYbZTTR
— Rob Perez (@WorldWideWob) January 16, 2023
https://twitter.com/LakersDailyCom/status/1614848296199258120https://twitter.com/ADmvppp/status/1614849504976556032
Darvin Ham said "no, not really" when asked if he considered calling a timeout on the final play, saying he liked Russ vs. Embiid 1-on-1.
"I'll take that scenario every day of the week and twice on Sunday."
Ham said Westbrook just needed to finish the play.
— michael corvo (@michaelcorvo_) January 16, 2023
The full Russell Westbrook Experience™️
— Daman Rangoola (@damanr) January 16, 2023
https://twitter.com/LosPollosTV/status/1614848299525361665
That final lakers possession was the entire circus
— Dom2K 🎅🎇 (@Dom_2k) January 16, 2023
Russ trying to create a shot in the clutch pic.twitter.com/OELoC2Ruy8
— NotKingJames (@NotKingJamess) January 16, 2023
https://twitter.com/JamesEdrick3/status/1614848795484848129
If he got a stepback jumper, I would be fine.
If you call the timeout and go to Russ over Lebron, I would be fine.
To not do either is irresponsible and unprofessional.
— 𝘾𝙤𝙖𝙘𝙝 𝙎𝙝𝙪𝙗𝙝 ⁶𓅓 (@OVOLakeShow) January 16, 2023
OMG Russ
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) January 16, 2023
Come on Russ. You played so good only to turn it over in the end. 🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️🤦🏾♂️
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) January 16, 2023
LeBron watching Russ on the last possession pic.twitter.com/RAnJE3A69S
— Tremaine (@PainForLife6) January 16, 2023
"It's Russ Time." – Russ when the game is on the line and Lebron has 35-10-8
— Subscribe to the You Know Ball Patreon (@TrillBroDude) January 16, 2023
Westbrook had a 20-point triple-double on good efficiency but just couldn’t hold up in that final play. LeBron was having a great game and should’ve been the one to take the final shot. He made history by reaching 38,000 points all-time in this contest but will have to reckon with it being in a loss.
Can The Lakers Win With Russell Westbrook?
The Lakers have got to be scratching their head after this loss. They should have gotten off a better final shot but let Westbrook attack a mismatch against an All-NBA defender in Embiid. Most of the Lakers’ offense all night included them making plays in the flow of the game instead of using offensive sets and that cost them in the end.
Even if Ham wasn’t sure of a play he could draw up, he should’ve taken a timeout and put the ball in LeBron James‘ hands so that at least an open drive-and-kick opportunity can present itself. Alas, the Lakers didn’t do this and now have fallen to 19-24 this season.
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