When you saw the opening 7 games of the schedule for the Los Angeles Lakers, you knew they weren’t going to get off to a good start. They had to face the Warriors, Clippers, Nuggets, Timberwolves, and Pelicans in that span, but there was one relatively easier game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Blazers had gotten off to a 2-0 start to the season, but the Lakers were still favorites heading into the game. They got off to a fast start too, but the Blazers clawed back and eventually ended up winning 106-104 in thrilling fashion. Damian Lillard was amazing once again, as he scored 41 points, but the biggest talking point from this game was Russell Westbrook shooting a pull-up jumper with 18 seconds remaining on the shot clock when the Lakers were leading by 1.
NBA Fan Speculates Why Russell Westbrook Attempted That Shot
The Lakers were leading 102-101 when Westbrook shocked everybody, including his teammates, by pulling up for a mid-range shot with plenty of time remaining on the shot clock. Considering his shooting struggles, he unsurprisingly missed it and Damian Lillard hit a 3 on the other end to give the Blazers the lead. It was a bizarre decision by Russ, and a fan came up with an explanation as to why he might have gone for that shot.
Rewatching, here I don’t think Russ was a fan of Bron/AD getting the ball from him and sending him to the corner on the two prior possessions, so before that could happen Russ decided he was taking a shot regardless of clock situation. I know, a reach🤷🏾♂️
pic.twitter.com/1oBJIOcdVK
— 🏆LakersGuru🏆 (@GuruLakers) October 24, 2022
“Rewatching, here I don’t think Russ was a fan of Bron/AD getting the ball from him and sending him to the corner on the two prior possessions, so before that could happen Russ decided he was taking a shot regardless of clock situation. I know, a reach ♂️”
It is entirely possible that Westbrook saw he wasn’t going to get the ball back on that play if he passed it, which was the case in the previous two possessions, so he decided to take matters into his own hands. He was probably even more frustrated by the fact that those two possessions ended up going nowhere, but Kirk Goldsberry on Twitter put out some numbers to explain just how terrible that decision was.
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.”
The right basketball play in this situation when you are leading is to take up as much time as possible because you have the lead. Even if you do decide to score early, it has to be a very high percentage look, and a jumper by Russ is far from that, as shown by Goldsberry there. The fact that no one has done this, not even rookies, in the last 4 seasons shows just how wrong it was.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis seemed disgusted when Westbrook took that shot, and you really can’t blame them. They should have won this game, but instead, that shot ended up being a big reason why they have fallen to 0-3, and up next for them are the Nikola Jokic-led Nuggets.
