The Los Angeles Lakers have begun the new season poorly, losing 6 of their opening 8 games. Their 2 wins have provided a brief glimmer of optimism for the Lakers, but overall, they look nothing like a playoff team. Darvin Ham identified the defense as being a big part of the problem after their loss to the Utah Jazz, but the overarching concern with the roster and its lack of shooting remains the biggest issue.
It’s not a stretch to say that the modern NBA revolves around the three-point shot, and the Lakers don’t have any players that can reliably knock it down. However, they have players like LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook, all capable of scoring well without it, so their current predicament is a little hard to understand. Anthony Davis isn’t fully healthy, but the way LeBron has started Year 20 in the league, there have been suggestions that time is finally catching up with him.
Westbrook has become a scapegoat for the Lakers’ struggles since his arrival last season, but the stats are starting to make this difficult now. Since going to the bench, Russ is performing quite well. And in one surprising aspect of the game, he is doing even better than LeBron James.
Russell Westbrook’s Shooting Numbers Are Better Than LeBron James
In 8 games, LeBron James has scored an average of 24 points per game, which is 6 points lesser than it was last season. The sample size is small, and the season is long, but as of right now, King James has worse shooting percentages than Russell Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook is shooting better than LeBron James.
FG%
LeBron: 43.1
Westbrook: 41.8
3-pt FG%
LeBron: 20.7
Westbrook: 26.7
FT%
LeBron: 73.2
Westbrook: 75.9
True Shooting %
LeBron: 50.0
Westbrook: 51.1
— Micah Adams (@MAdamsStatGuy) November 5, 2022
“Russell Westbrook is shooting better than LeBron James.
FG%- LeBron: 43.1, Westbrook: 41.8
3-pt FG%- LeBron: 20.7, Westbrook: 26.7
FT%- LeBron: 73.2, Westbrook: 75.9
True Shooting%- LeBron: 50.0, Westbrook: 51.1″
Barring field goal percentage, LeBron James is simply not able to score as efficiently as Westbrook has been scoring, which isn’t saying much. Russ’ numbers are still poor according to league averages, but this is a major cause for concern for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Westbrook being okay with his place within the team is important. It’s the only way they can truly challenge, but if LeBron finally drops off this season, none of it will matter. The Lakers cannot afford another season where they don’t even make the play-in tournament, so they will be hoping King James gets back on track soon.
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