“Lakers Were Crap But Blamed Russell Westbrook”: Charles Barkley Loves Clippers Guard’s Shot At LeBron James And Co

Russell Westbrook is a man that has been under a lot of pressure off late. The former MVP is in the Playoffs with the Los Angeles Clippers, and has been out to prove himself. So, in the Clippers’ series opener against the Phoenix Suns, Brodie decided to show up.

While he once again struggled in terms of scoring, he was firing on all cylinders in every other stat. He ended the night with statline of nine points, eight assists, 10 rebounds, two steals, and three blocks. Clearly playing a pivotal role in the team’s Game 1 win.

But, his performance raises some interesting questions. In particular, why did he fail with the Clippers city rivals the Los Angeles Lakers? Well, Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley belives that there was too much focus on Russ’ scoring rather than everything else he does so well. Not to mention the fact that the Lakers team was “crap” before they traded him.

Charles Barkley praises Russell Westbrook and claims that the LeBron James led Lakers were a crap team

In his two seasons with the LA Lakers, Russell Westbrook was painted as the scapegoat for the team’s poor performances. His shooting was horrendous, and this gave the Lakers faithful all they needed to blame him for the team’s failures.

All that ended though, when Russ was recently traded to the Utah Jazz before joining the Clippers as a free agent. And, since the move Brodie has been doing fine. While he still isnt scoring, he is doing his job elsewhere. Something he didn’t fail to point out after the Clippers Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns.

In fact, Westbrook seemed to call out LeBron James and his former team. He commented after the game saying he was happy to be in a team where they don’t just look at his shot. Well, Inside the NBA’s Charles Barkley agrees and even went one step further claiming the Lakers were a “crap” team whether Russ was there or not.

“You know how much I love Russ. Only thing I can ask out of anybody in life is give me great effort and I love that dude. But, I love the shot he took at the Lakers. He said, “You know…it’s great to just be somewhere where they don’t worry about my shot all the time!”. Because he does other stuff. You know they start calling him Westbrick and with the Lakers they blame everything on him. The Lakers had a crap team before they made all these trades. But, for some reason they blamed him.”

https://youtu.be/RCs3D-OSmIU?t=300

Sir Charles makes a fair point. The Lakers did seem to throw most of the shade onto Russ. But, regardless of all that he seems to be happy where he is right now and will be gunning to prove his haters wrong.

Russ denied Devin Booker with a clutch block more or less giving the Clippers the win

Russell Westbrook was integral to the Clippers win over the Suns. And, the importance of his role was seen in the dying embers of Game 1. With around 11 seconds left in the fourth quarter with the score 111-108 in LA’s favor, Russ not only blocked Devin Booker’s layup attempt, but he also bounced the ball of him, making it Clippers ball. A truly clutch play.

https://youtu.be/DswQnQEFqbM

It’s safe to say that Westbrook feels appreciated with the Clippers. And, as long as he gives it his all, he will continue to gain the faith of the fans and continue to be a problem for opponents.