After dropping a 20-point double-double in a loss against Atlanta, Russell Westbrook faced the media on Sunday with no answers on how his team can turn things around.
What he did have to offer was faith — faith in his abilities, the talent of his teammates, and the ability of the group to overcome obstacles and find a way to win.
“Never give up or give in. It’s not something, in my opinion, that should seep into anybody’s mind. Halfway through the season, we’re not in a position we wanna be in right now and that’s okay. We know what we need to do as a team and just find a way to get over the hump and close games out. That’s all we can do.”
“Can’t worry about what could’ve happened, what we should’ve done, and where we’re supposed to be. Nobody knows where we’re supposed to be, everybody has their own opinion of what they think or how they think we are supposed to be playing. But based on a lot of our circumstances we have found ways to battle through it all and we’re still doing that as we speak and we’ll make the best of it and keep our energy positive and find ways to be able to get a win.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe0ttmpZM-Q
With LeBron James out indefinitely and Anthony Davis still working his way back to form, the responsibility falls on Russ to keep the team afloat during this unfortunate time.
Over the past two games, Russ has answered the call. In Friday’s loss to Charlotte, he dropped 35 points and 5 assists while going 3-7 from downtown. He followed it up with a 20 point, 12 assist performance to close out the weekend.
The Lakers, who are 24-27 on the season, still have time to make up ground in the Western Conference standings. It won’t be easy, but Westbrook seems to be approaching the challenge in the right state of mind.
