MVP to Please Don’t Trade Me! - A Russell Westbrook Story
The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the most storied franchises in NBA history. With their 17 championship rings and ability to live near the beach when playing there, it is a hotspot for high-level talent. NBA greats such as Magic and Kareem soon became Kobe and Shaq, and now it’s time for LeBron, Anthony Davis, and Russell Westbrook. Or so we thought. As of the morning of January 25th they have a record of 23-24 and are the number eight seed in the Western Conference. Many fans, players, and analysts had the lakers pegged for a championship run before this season started, but after such a slow and frustrating start, it’s time to take a look at what is wrong with this team in LA. An easy place to start is with Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook is having his worst season since 2009-10 averaging only 18.6 points per game on 43% shooting from the field. He is also leading the team in turnovers averaging just over four per game. His lack of a consistent jump shot seems to be killing this already elite basketball team. His shooting ineptitude leads to chaos in a half court set and the floor spacing for LeBron James is ruined every time he is on the court it seems. Hey may still put-up decent stats every once in a while, but even when he does the team does not perform around him. Russell Westbrook leads the league in triple-doubles with 8. The Lakers are 3-5 in those games. He’s the only player with a losing record with more than 2 triple-doubles this season. The rest of the league combine for 25-13 in those games. Now while Westbrook is a very talented and explosive guard it just seems that he is not the answer for the Lakers. Sometimes teams find talented players who just never fit the scheme or game plan of that team. Westbrook is a slashing point guard who takes defenders off the dribble and while this is nice to have in a star player, it just doesn’t seem like what the lakers are looking for. I think a player like Ja Morant who is elite at attacking the basket while still playing in his team’s play-style would work a lot better for the lakers. Westbrook has the ability to be a leader and we saw it in Oklahoma City with the Thunder but his need to have the ball at all times seems to diminish his value greatly. While I feel that LeBron is a player who makes others better, I do not feel as if Westbrook can say the same and that is the most glaring problem in my eyes.
We will have to wait and see if coach Frank Vogel is able to pull in the reigns on Westbrook’s play-style. I would like to see Vogel try to make Westbrook more of a game manger rather than an Iso guard. I feel with his passing ability, if he slowed his game down to the pace the lakers are trying to play at then he would be a nice piece next to LeBron James, but until then it seems like our former MVP could possibly be delt at the trade deadline for significantly less value than they would’ve expected at the beginning of this season. I guess it is true what they say, Hollywood isn’t for everyone.
