The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their losing streak after a hard-fought victory against the New York Knicks. LeBron James returned to the team after five games of absence due to a knee injury. On his return, James recorded an amazing triple-double as he helped the Lakers improve their record to 26-28.
While James enjoyed his return and played well, the same cannot be said for Russell Westbrook. Ever since the start of the season, many fans and sports pundits have criticized Russ for underperforming this season.
Although the franchise gave Westbrook plenty of chances, it seems like their patience is running out. A few weeks ago, Brodie was benched in the final few minutes of the game against the Utah Jazz. That decision by Frank Vogel gave birth to a lot of controversy.
The incident was slowly but surely getting swept under the rug, but Vogel once benched the former MVP against the Knicks. The only difference is that this time around the purple and gold won the game.
Seeing how Westbrook is being treated by the team, it won’t be a surprise if he gets traded in the offseason. Moreover, it seems like NBA analysts have already made up their mind that the Lakers aren’t going to win an NBA Championship with the former Wizards guard.
Popular NBA analyst Shannon Sharpe didn’t hold back in criticizing Westbrook after his underwhelming performance against the Knicks. Sharpe tweeted:
“Russ is AWFUL. Anyone that thinks you can win a title with Russ playing a prominent role. Doesn’t know basketball. Lakers defensively are TERRIBLE.”
Russ is AWFUL. Anyone that thinks you can win a title with Russ playing a prominent role. Doesn’t know basketball. Lakers defensively are TERRIBLE
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) February 6, 2022
Apart from making this huge claim about how Russ’ role with the Lakers, Sharpe further slandered the 33-year-old. He once again used Twitter as the medium for saying:
“Let this sink in. A top 75 player all time former MVP pt guard is unplayable in OT.”
Let this sink in. A top 75 player all time former MVP pt guard is unplayable in OT
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) February 6, 2022
Throughout this season, criticizing Westbrook when he plays badly has become the norm for a lot of people.
He might be having a bad season, but there are a few bright moments in his stint as a Laker. Unfortunately, more often than not, those moments are ignored by most.
