‘Lakers need to bench Russell Westbrook as all plays run through LeBron James and Anthony Davis’: Charles Barkley explains why Brodie shouldn’t be starting

LeBron James led Lakers are struggling to get a W on the board even though they are the 2nd favorites to win it all this season.

Frank Vogel and company are 0-7 (including pre season) to start the 2021-22 campaign. And one of the superstars of the Lakers’ Big Three is struggling to deliver in his new team. Russell Westbrook is finding it hard to settle in with the new group.

The 9-time All-Star had an 8-point outing against the Warriors and a 15-point game against the Suns, and in both games the Lakers were defeated comprehensively.

Also read: “Seriously frustrated with how the game was going for us”: LeBron James shockingly admits how he felt about Russell Westbrook and the rest of the team vs Suns

Charles Barkley has a suggestion for the Lakers on how to accommodate their MVP point guard.

For the Lakers to perform well, Russell Westbrook should be playing more with the second unit and not LeBron James or AD per Charles Barkley

On one of the oldest and greatest sports talk shows of ESPN, Pardon the Interruption, hosted by Tony Kornheiser and Mark Wilbon, the latter gave his view on how Westbrook should approach the start of his Lakers career.

Wilbon said Russell should be starting and finishing the games for the Lakers, but in between, he should be playing with bench guys so that he could be the usual Russell Westbrook, which he can’t be with LeBron and AD.

To which the guest Charles Barkley said,

“I think you’re 100 per cent correct, I’ve actually said that the other night, he needs to play more with the second unit, listen, if he plays with the first team, they are going to run all the plays for AD and LeBron, rightfully so. And Russ, he was so passive (last two games) and that’s not even in his personality.

The one thing I love and admire about Russell Westbrook, he gives maximum effort all the time, watching him play Tuesday (against Warriors), he was differing, differing, differing, and that’s just not his game. You play Rondo more with the first unit because he’s more of a pure point guard, put Russ out there with Carmelo, Howard, Ariza, guys who get up and down the floor, I think it’ll help their second unit.”

There is little to no chance that Russell sees this advice from Chuck and the whole world as a goodwill suggestion. But if he does, it will surely work better for himself as well as the Lakers.

Also read: “You gotta do that trade 10 out of 10 times. If you have an opportunity to get five good basketball players for Russell Westbrook, it makes sense”: Kyle Kuzma describes how it was easy decision for the Wizards to deal away Russell Westbrook

Let’s see how Russ, AD and LeBron deal with the Ja Morant backed Grizzlies who have won both their matches convincingly to start the campaign.

About the author

Akash Murty

An Electrical and Electronics Engineer by degree, Akash Murty is an NBA Editor at The SportsRush. Previously a Software Engineer, Murty couldn’t keep himself away from sports, and his knack for writing and putting his opinion forward brought him to the TSR. A big Soccer enthusiast, his interest in basketball developed late, as he got access to a hoop for the first time at 17. Following this, he started watching basketball at the 2012 Olympics, which transitioned to NBA, and he became a fan of the game as he watched LeBron James dominate the league. Him being an avid learner of the game and ritually following the league for around a decade, he now writes articles ranging from throwbacks, and live game reports, to gossip. LA Lakers are his favourite basketball team, while Chelsea has his heart in football. He also likes travelling, reading fiction, and sometimes cooking.

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