Austin Rivers has come to the aid of Russell Westbrook for the constant scrutiny he was subjected to during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers. He has also boldly stated that Brodie is a future NBA Hall of Famer.
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To be fair, the Clippers Point guard has had successful stints with multiple NBA franchises, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Houston Rockets, and the Washington Wizards. However, Brodie did embark on an unsuccessful journey when he opted to be traded to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2021.
The stint was futile for all parties concerned for a plethora of reasons. The principal factor was a decline in Russ’ offensive efficiency. With Westbrook, the Lakers missed out on the 2022 NBA playoffs in a campaign that was set to establish them as a superteam.
The appalling aspect of the roster during the season was their incredible incompetency in establishing themselves as a competitive franchise on both ends of the floor. It was their lack of defensive effort that really outlined the problems in LA.
Established stars arrived on the team with the notion that their past success should validate their future opportunities. Despite these glaring complexities within the roster, the media covering the sport found a way to pin the blame on Westbrook for the Lakers’ shortcomings.
Effectively branding him as the scapegoat. The nine-time NBA All-Star departed the Lakers to join their city adversaries, the Los Angeles Clippers, on the 2023 NBA trade deadline.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Austin Rivers has come out with a message of support for Russ in the aftermath of the two years of disparaging treatment he received.
Austin Rivers comes to the defense of Russell Westbrook.
Brodie’s stint with the Lakers was a cataclysmic failure, to be perfectly candid. Neither the Lakers nor Westbrook gained any valuable triumph from the alliance. However, the 34-year-old was the subject of criticism throughout his term with the Purple and Gold.
Several stars have come out in support of Westbrook since then, with Rivers being the latest. Needless to say, the guard didn’t pull any of his punches.
In a recent interview, Rivers defended Westbrook’s performances with the 17-time NBA champions, insinuating that he was the victim of a media agenda to find a worthy scapegoat.
Rivers said:
“You know how that is over there on that team. They’re gonna find an answer and it ain’t gonna be some other people. It’s gonna be him…the guy’s a first ballot of Hall-of-Famer, they asked him to come off the bench, no problems, comes off the bench, has a good energy about it, good attitude about it, what else do y’all want from the man? They got a lot of things going wrong in terms of like why they weren’t winning before. It wasn’t just Russ.”
While Rivers’ latter half of the statement remains factual, there are flaws in his argument. To begin with, the alliance was a mismatch right from the start.
Austin Rivers defends Russell Westbrook’s play on the Lakers:
“You know how that is over there on that team. They’re gonna find an answer and it ain’t gonna be some other people. It’s gonna be him…the guy’s a first ballot of Hall-of-Famer, they asked him to come off the bench,… https://t.co/fljnnb71rW pic.twitter.com/JkTzEbYntf
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) March 2, 2023
Russell Westbrook is a replica of LeBron James in the sense that both players are ball dominant. Not to mention, Brodie’s shooting qualms effectively rendered spacing obsolete for the Lakers, who had given up all their valuable assets acquiring him.
The Lakers hierarchy is to be blamed as well for acquiring the former NBA MVP and expecting him to flourish in a system meant to handicap him. Needless to say, both parties will be relieved that their collaboration came to an end.
Russell Westbrook’s Clippers tenure thus far!
Although the Clippers have functioned horribly as a team since Brodie’s arrival, the 34-year-old has displayed glimpses of his former self. He has now begun to score the basketball effectively whilst minimizing turnovers and maintaining his playmaking abilities.
The Trinity of Westbrook, Paul George, and talisman Kawhi Leonard will be a sight for sore eyes for the Clippers faithful come playoff time. Despite the fact that they are 0-3 since Brodie’s advent.
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As far as Westbrook goes, the media can no longer pin the blame on an exceptional ball player!
