Nina Westbrook believes Russell Westbrook is capable of leading a bottom-dwelling team like Orlando Magic to the Playoffs.
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Russell Westbrook slander that took off just a few games into the start of the 2022 season has not come down. The Lakers are 64 games into the season, and they are nowhere close to even being a team, let alone a contender for the championship.
The team’s woes largely fall on the 2017 MVP’s tremendously dipped form, Anthony Davis’ injuries, and Frank Vogel’s failure in adapting with his new team. But Westbrook has been solely targeted throughout the season for it.
The former OKC Thunder point guard is averaging over 18.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 7.2 assists and has just missed one game this season. Playing as a third star in the team and putting up those numbers deserve appreciation, don’t they?
At least, and Nina Westbrook believes so.
Russell Westbrook can lead the worst team in the NBA to Playoffs: Nina Westbrook
On Monday, before the Lakers were to play the San Antonio Spurs following their big win against the Warriors, Nina Westbrook shared a Tweet that said Brodie could lead a bottom-dwelling NBA team to the Playoffs.
It is true that Westbrook does play better without LeBron James on the court, and he led the Washington Wizards to the Playoffs just last season when there was almost no chance to do the same. But could he have done it this season? It surely doesn’t look like it.
It showed against a 24-40 Spurs, whom the LeBron-less Lakers took on amid their struggle to keep the Play-in spot. Without AD and LBJ, it was an opportunity for the 9x All-Star to show that he’s not the sole reason for the chaos in LA. But he sure did fail to do so.
Brodie finished with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists while shooting 5/14 from the field. That wasn’t half as bad as his efficiency has been this season. But the man missed 4-straight layups when the Lakers were trailing by 5 and 8 points with under 6 minutes to go in the game. And then add his defensive presence to that.
He himself proved that he cannot lead a time like the Magic to anywhere near the play-in finish. But not just because of his complete dip in the form as a player, but also because the league has become much more competitive, not just the West but East as well.
