Russell Westbrook is having a nightmare of a season and the fans are not making it easy for him with the constant heckling at home.
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The way the Los Angeles Lakers are performing this season, it is not surprising that their fans are booing them. Their biggest achievement this season would be making it to the play-in tournament in April.
While 37-year old LeBron James is producing at an MVP level, injury-prone Anthony Davis has missed more games than he has played. Their newest addition Russell Westbrook, on the other hand, is averaging a decade-low 18 points per game.
The Lakers gave up their future to acquire Russell Westbrook in the offseason. Fans questioned the move but LeBron James and the front office remained unfazed. How could a trade involving the 2017 league MVP go wrong? Even the doubters could not have seen this coming.
Gilbert Arenas defends Russell Westbrook
The month of February was rough for the triple-double king. He averaged 13 points on 36% shooting. There were more clips of him hitting the sideboard or widely missing the basket than actually making a shot. Social media trolling got out of hand, to the point that his wife had to step in.
However, the one thing that stands out is getting booed at home. Frustrations are clearly growing in Crypto.com Arena as championship hopes fade with each passing day. Coach Frank Vogel and Russell Westbrook are the primary targets of this frustration.
Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas is not happy with Laker-Nation. He strongly believes that fans at home must support their players through thick and thin. Gil says this booing incident shook Westbrook’s confidence.
“When you get booed at home it mentally destroys you. Home is where the person is hyping you even if you lose. Personally didn’t even think Westbrook’s confidence could get shook. He’s LA, he loves the city so when they boo him it’s actually personal for him. “
Despite being the center of scorn all season, Russell Westbrook is trying to look at the positive aspects. When asked about the incident he said the fans can “take their asses home”. He has been relatively good in March shooting 44% from the field. In addition, he is only averaging 2.9 turnovers a game which is well below his season average.
The Lakers are tied for most championships in NBA history. Clearly, the fans are used to high-level better basketball but they will get nothing out of slandering their players at home.
