
Russell Westbrook has struggled to play for the Los Angeles Lakers this season. His reputation and game have been dragged through the mud and even his name has been disrespected. Unfortunately, Russell’s game cannot do all the talking because in the Laker’s system he cannot thrive. While he has struggled, Westbrook became 11th all-time in assists after dishing out 9 assists for the Lakers in the game against the Washington Wizards. The feat is a reminder of how great Westbrook is and how his struggles aren’t his fault completely.
Climbing the all-time leaderboard. Congrats, @russwest44 👏 pic.twitter.com/vtrHVnEKq3
— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) March 12, 2022
Russell Westbrook is averaging 18.3 points, 7.2 assists, and 7.6 rebounds this season. This is the lowest number of points he has averaged in a season since the 2009-2010 season. Westbrook has never been a shooter in his career and it’s his athletic and explosive play that has made him a future Hall of Famer. Unfortunately for Westbrook, the Lakers already have paint-dominant players in Anthony Davis and LeBron James, hence shrinking the driving lanes.
The Lakers’ lack of shooting is hurting them a lot. Every team plays a zone defence on them to close up driving lanes. The job done in building a roster has been very bad and most of the blame should go to GM Rob Pelinka for creating this roster. Frank Vogel and his coaching staff have also not figured out how to use Westbrook effectively.
While Westbrook has not played well and deserves some blame, it isn’t fair to make him a scapegoat when the organization as a whole has messed up. Westbrook even had a 30 point game with only 2 turnovers against the last seeded Houston Rockets team and the Lakers still managed to lose the game.
Russell Westbrook is Mr Triple-Double. He has averaged a Triple-Double for 4 seasons and is a former league MVP. He deserves his respect and everyone should remember how he had dominated the league throughout his career. This is just a brief stint of failure and is more of being at the wrong place at the wrong time for Westbrook. I believe he will soon be back to the Westbrook we know he can be and will be a huge part of the Lakers’ success in the 2 seasons he will be there.