Russell Westbrook to blame for Rockets’ playoff exit? New Wizards acquisition viewed as scapegoat by Houston

Sources believe that Russell Westbrook is being made out to be the scapegoat for Houston’s Playoff exit in the Bubble.

Russell Westbrook has had a rollercoaster of year to say the least. To start the year off, the Rockets lost Harden in January and Westbrook got a taste of what it’s like to be the number 1 option once again.

This wouldn’t last long as the 2019-20 season was put on a hiatus due to COVID-19. A few months later, Westbrook was diagnosed with having COVID. This was right before the Bubble commenced.

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Sources close to Russell believe is unfairly being blamed for Houston’s Playoff exit.

The Houston Rockets once again failed to reach the NBA Finals, despite Daryl Morey’s best efforts in trying to land a second star for Harden.

This loss can be attributed to many aspects. The fact that Houston did not have a single big man who could guard Anthony Davis is most certainly one of them.

Sources close to Russell Westbrook believe Westbrook was being made out to be a ‘scapegoat of sorts’ for Houston’s playoff meltdown, per @TheAthleticNBA pic.twitter.com/D1PhfEnnQR

— NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) December 4, 2020

Though the Rockets as a whole struggled, it is being reported that sources close to Russell Westbrook believe he is being made out to be the scapegoat in this whole ordeal.

Westbrook’s shooting woes were being used to blame the loss on him. The Lakers loss in the 2^nd round was reportedly the ‘tipping point’ for both Harden and Russ.

Is the Rockets’ second round exit attributed solely to Russell Westbrook?

The Rockets as a whole performed quite poorly. Neither the role players nor the stars of the team stepped up during the series.

Also Read: ‘I f*** with Russ’: Damian Lillard denies any bad blood between himself and Russell Westbrook

The Rockets tried pairing Harden up with Dwight Howard, then Chris Paul, and most recently, Russell Westbrook. None of these tandems resulted in even a Finals berth.

Something the Rockets front office could look into is that Harden is the common denominator in all 3 of these All-Star pairings.