Russell Westbrook’s time in LA just seems to be getting worse with the passing day, and this time around, he has no one but himself to blame. Russ has had an absolutely horrendous start to the new season and you really struggle to have any kind of optimism that things will turn around for him.
His numbers for the season so far seem like that of a G-League player, as his shooting percentages have been absolutely dreadful. Teams this season are just leaving Westbrook open on the perimeter and to show just how bad it has gotten, only 41.2% of his jump shots are contested by opponents, which is the lowest mark in the league since 2013-14.
Stephen A. Smith Sounds Off On Russell Westbrook
Teams are just letting him shoot and Westbrook isn’t doing the sensible thing of not falling for it and driving to the rim. It probably hurts his pride that they are leaving him so wide open and he wants to make them pay, but he is just hurting his team by doing that. Stephen A. Smith sounded off on Westbrook on First Take as he said that Russ just can’t shoot.
(starts at 2:17 mark):
“Russell Westbrook can’t shoot. It’s just that simple… If you are Russell Westbrook, you gotta know what your strengths and weaknesses are and you gotta let go of the stubbornness. You know what kind of season you had last year, well it is 3 games in, (and) you’re averaging 10 points. He is shooting 28% from the field. Ladies and gentlemen, Russell Westbrook is shooting 8% from 3-point range. 1-12 to be specific, that’s horrible. When you take that into account, recognizing the fact that shooting has not been your strong point for the last several years and you combine that with the historical critique that you have had about your decision-making at the point guard spot… This is horrible.”
Russ needs to let his pride go at this point and understand that he needs to play to his strengths and not just jack up shots from the perimeter. Those shooting percentages are horrific and it hurts the team when he settles for a jumper instead of driving to the rim.
Smith also went after LeBron James, who stated that the media was trying to set him up to slander Russ. He stated that LeBron set the stage for it on opening night by saying that they had no shooters, as everyone was going to look at Russ after James said that. The situation within the organization is just getting more awkward by the day and the Lakers need to find a way to get Russ out of there for his sake as well as their own.
