After a solid performance against the San Antonio Spurs, where he put up 33 points, Russell Westbrook once again had a poor showing against his former team, the Oklahoma City Thunder.
While Westbrook’s numbers were not bad at first glance, a closer look leaves a lot to be desired from the former MVP. Westbrook was able to notch his first triple-double with the Lakers, putting up 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 13 assists against Oklahoma City.
But he turned the ball over 10 times during the game, which was a big proponent in the Lakers’ loss to the Thunder. In fact, Russ made some history with his performance against OKC, but not something that he would be proud of.
Russell Westbrook notched a quadruple-hobble (a triple-double with 10+ turnovers) against the Oklahoma City Thunder. In fact, he has had the most quadruple-hobbles in the NBA since 1985 with 6. His former teammate James Harden has the second-most behind him with 6, and then 6 other players have had 1 each in that time.
Most quadruple-hobbles (triple-double with 10 turnovers) since 1985:
6 — Russell Westbrook
3 — James Harden
1 — 6 players tied pic.twitter.com/dyFNASfGxy
— StatMuse (@statmuse) October 28, 2021
Westbrook’s turnovers have been a big issue for the Lakers since the start of the season. In fact, he is currently 2nd in the league when it comes to turnovers, averaging at least 5 turnovers per game. This poor turnover rate from Westbrook will be a massive concern for the Lakers going forward.
Russell Westbrook was brought in to be the tertiary star for the Lakers, in situations where if either LeBron James or Anthony Davis couldn’t play, Russ would be able to provide another option. And in James’ absence, Westbrook has been better. But he is still making a lot of mistakes, especially with turnovers.
Westbrook was upset with OKC’s Darius Bazley for stealing the ball and dunking it in the final seconds of the game, saying that it should not be done when the game is almost decided. Regardless of whether he is right or wrong, he will have the opportunity to avenge this loss next week, when OKC play the Lakers in LA.
