The nightmare in LA just doesn’t seem to be ending for Russell Westbrook. There was some hope even last month that things just might turn out well for Russ this season, but it has only gotten worse.
He has been truly awful these last couple of games, and he seems to have hit rock bottom in the loss to the Blazers. He played poorly and made a terrible decision in the final minute of the game by opting for a pull-up jump shot with 18 seconds left on the shot clock when the Lakers were up by a point. Fans were done after his latest blunder, but that play might not be the only way Russ cost them the game.
NBA Fan Points Out That The Trail Blazers Went On A 16-6 Run After Russell Westbrook Checked Back In The Game
The Lakers were down 74-72 when Westbrook was subbed out in the third quarter, and they turned things around when he was off the court. By the time Russ finally returned to the floor with just under 5 minutes remaining in the game, they were up 98-90 and seemingly in control. From that exact point, though, the Blazers went on a 16-6 run, as pointed out by u/stephzh on Reddit.
LA’s offense just couldn’t function properly with Russ on the court, and the Blazers completely took over down the stretch. Damian Lillard scored 10 of his game-high 41 points in those 5 minutes, and new-arrival Jerami Grant hit what ended up being the game-winning layup with 3 seconds remaining, as LeBron failed to send the game to OT at the buzzer.
The Lakers wasted yet another great game from James as he finished with 31 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists. Anthony Davis had a decent game, aside from one terrible shot, as he recorded his first double-double of the season with 22 points to go with 10 rebounds. No one else particularly stood out, though, which is why they lost, as Russ only had 10 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 4-15 from the field.
Their bench continues to struggle, as they scored just 19 points in total in the game. The Lakers bench is now averaging just 20.7 points per game through these first 3 games, which ranks in the bottom 3 in the league, and they need to start playing a lot better if the team is to have any kind of success this season.
