Russell Westbrook has been a star-level player throughout the majority of his career. He has had a lot of opportunities to put up fantastic numbers, but that has also meant that he’s had some trouble adjusting to a smaller usage rate with the Los Angeles Lakers.
At one point, it was revealed that the Los Angeles Lakers wanted to play a defense-first, off-ball role. However, that didn’t work out for them as it was noted that Russell Westbrook has “no interest in role-player tasks”.
The subtext to Foucher’s language was that Westbrook doesn’t want to adhere to new coach Darvin Ham’s vision for him: Westbrook becoming a defense-first point guard who plays more off the ball than he did last season (and of any season of his career). This, of course, isn’t surprising, as the Lakers used similar framing with Westbrook’s projected role last season and it never came to fruition. Westbrook has no interest in role-player tasks.
Recently though, it seems as if Russell Westbrook’s mindset has changed. A report by NBA insiders Shams Charania, Sam Amick, and Jovan Buha revealed that Russell Westbrook has been doing a lot of the “little things” that have been asked of him by the Los Angeles Lakers. Examples of those little things included Westbrook being an “active on-ball screener” and “relentlessly pushing the pace”.
During scrimmages, Westbrook has been doing many of the little things that the Lakers have asked of him. He’s been an active on-ball screener. He’s relentlessly pushing the pace in Ham’s uptempo system, looking for his teammates first and his own shot second. He’s been engaged defensively, hounding ball handlers while adjusting to Ham’s new pick-and-roll coverage.
Hopefully, we will see Russell Westbrook continue doing those “little things” on the court. If Russell Westbrook manages to reinvent himself as a third option that is elite defensively, then he could be a very valuable player for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Los Angeles Lakers Can Still Win With Russell Westbrook
There is no question that Russell Westbrook is still a good player that can have a positive impact on a team. Though he struggled during the 2021-22 season, that doesn’t mean that he will do the same during the 2022-23 season.
It definitely seems as though Darvin Ham has a plan for how to use Russell Westbrook, and it seems as though Westbrook doing more “little things” is part of his vision. Hopefully, Darvin Ham’s faith in the point guard pays off, and we’ll see what ends up happening in the future.
