Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Lakers are a bad marriage – neither of them are having a party.
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Russell Westbrook knows he is not the starting PG for the Lakers, even though that is what his position on the starting list says. Everyone knows it is LeBron James who handles the offense in the team, and it clearly shows in Brodie’s performances.
When asked about what he thought about Ja Morant, his counterpart, he just laughed it off, clearly hurt by the remark. He knows he wants to play his way, but when you play with LeBron, the system is different.
Once a triple double machine, Brodie seems to be slowly falling off, with his game becoming more restless than ever. In the game against the Grizzlies, he had the lowest-scoring game of the season, scoring 6 points. Those are numbers expected from a bench player, not a first-choice PG. While it may have been an off night, these kinds of nights have started to become a regular occurrence.
A lot of hype surrounded Russell when he was first announced to the Lakers – not much of it has materialized. On paper, he’s having a decent season – but nothing spectacular. He’s currently averaging 19 points a game – the lowest since his second season in the league. The assists numbers have dropped too, with only that one off-season at the Rockets lower than his current numbers at 8.1 APG.
Russell Westbrook may be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but he isn’t going to be winning any rings in his career
Westbrook is a HoF’er no doubt. But that doesn’t mean they make him a championship winner. A severe ball hog, Russ depends heavily on his athleticism now that he can’t shoot to save his life.
There have been multiple games where his shooting numbers have been so poor, Skip Bayless calls him Westbrick. It is hilarious how Russell makes a 70-year-old man speak like a teenager.
A lot of excellent players have never won a ring – it may very well be Westbrook joins that list. If he was younger and was willing to change the way he played, there could have been a chance of winning one, but at 33, it is unlikely to change. Unless he decides to go a Carmelo Anthony and finally accept a change in roles.
One cannot do anything but feel sad for him because when he is on form, there is nary many people to stop him. Beastbrook as his alter ego is called is something to behold.
If the Lakers want to pull off something that has never been done in the history of the game before, Beastbrook needs to come to play. And like 5 games ago too. The season is already almost halfway done, and the Lakers languish in the sixth seed.
