Ever since he came to the Los Angeles Lakers, Russell Westbrook has felt like he has gotten a lot of underserved criticism. He might be correct in a way, as he isn’t the only reason why they have been a mess since last year, but he really doesn’t help his cause with some of his play on the court.
Westbrook went 0-11 from the field against the Clippers in their second game of the season and the only saving grace was that he played some good defense. There was no saving grace when they played the Blazers next, however, as Westbrook did the indefensible late in the game. The Lakers were clinging on to a 102-101 lead with just under 30 seconds remaining when Russ decided to shoot a pull-up jumper with 18 seconds left on the shot clock.
Russell Westbrook Explains Why He Decided To Shoot With 18 Seconds Left On The Shot Clock
It was a head-scratcher as the play made no sense. You are up 1 point with time winding down and everybody knows that in this situation, you let the clock run down as much as possible so that the opposition has less time to run a play. The shot he took was a terrible one too, as Russ, who is a terrible shooter, pulled up from 16 feet for a shot that everybody knew wasn’t going to go in. If that was a dunk or an uncontested layup, you’d be okay with it, but not a mid-range jump shot. After the game, Russ explained just why he decided to do that.
(starts at 0:32 mark)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pef0NZR1e2Q
He says he was going for a two-for-one, but that doesn’t make a ton of sense here. It is fine to do that if you are trailing in this situation as you would guarantee yourself another shot but there was no need for that here as they were leading. They could have just taken their time and gotten a much better look than that one, as that shot, in particular, was an absolutely terrible choice.
Russell Westbrook has made 3 of 17 jump shots this season.
Also, he is the only player that has attempted a jump shot with under 30 seconds to go and 15+ seconds left on the shot clock with their team up by 1 possession in the last 4 seasons. pic.twitter.com/DrH8UEs2L9
— Kirk Goldsberry (@kirkgoldsberry) October 24, 2022
“Russell Westbrook has made 3 of 17 jump shots this season.”
“Also, he is the only player that has attempted a jump shot with under 30 seconds to go and 15+ seconds left on the shot clock with their team up by 1 possession in the last 4 seasons.”
When literally no one has done it in the last 4 seasons, you know what a bone-headed decision that was. It gets compounded by the fact that Westbrook is a terrible jump shooter. You don’t want him taking a shot like that in any situation, let alone at the end of a close game. It is only going to get worse for Russ in LA after his blunder and at this point, you just hope that the Lakers find a way to trade him.
They clearly need to make some kind of change to the roster anyway, as this latest defeat means they are currently 0-3 on the season. LeBron stated after the game that they can’t shoot a penny into the ocean, as this team continues to be absolutely dreadful from beyond the arc and some kind of trade is the only way things will get better.
