Getty Dennis Schroder defending Russell Westbrook.
This season has been the lowest point of Russell Westbrook’s career. What was supposed to be a glorious homecoming for the Los Angeles, California, native has quickly become a complete disaster. The Los Angeles Lakers have won two of their last 11 games and Westbrook has been horrific. The former MVP is only making 9% of his 3-point shots since the All-Star break.
Westbrook is getting mocked by fans and opposing players and has said he doesn’t even want his family at games right now. During a recent matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the guard air-balled a 3-point shot and Karl-Anthony Towns made sure to troll him. The House of Highlights Instagram page posted the clip, which led to fellow NBA guard Dennis Schroder defending Westbrook.
“You guys are wild!!! An airball is the same as a miss …..whether you hit the rim or not! Hall Of Famer !!!” Schroder commented.
Dennis Schroder is standing up for his former teammate, Russell Westbrook
Schroder played with Westbrook when they were both on the Oklahoma City Thunder and knows a thing or two about how ruthless Lakers fans can be when a player is struggling.
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Westbrook Shades Timberwolves Players
Westbrook is taking a lot of hits this season and it’s not getting any better. He’s clearly in a slump and can’t get out of it. However, it hasn’t softened his edges. He was berated frequently during the recent game against the Timberwolves and he made sure to get a shot in after.
“I honestly don’t pay no mind to it,” Westbrook said of the Timberwolves’ trash-talking, via ESPN. “Maybe the other guys [do]. But they weren’t talking to me. They were talking to individual guys particularly, but the trash talking doesn’t bother me none.
“Nobody over there has done anything in this league that would make me pick my eyes up, like, ‘Oh, they’re talking mess. Let me respond.’ No. It’s fine. They’re good. They won the game. Happy for them. Move onto the next one.”
Towns has won one playoff game in his career so he’s certainly not in a position to talk a lot of trash.
Any Chance Westbrook Can Salvage This Season?
During Westbrook’s last two stops in Houston and Washington, his play improved later in the season. While he’s been underwhelming all season for the Lakers, there had to be hope that he’d eventually figure things out. Unfortunately, he just keeps getting worse.
He’s only averaging 17.9 points a game and is nowhere near the triple-double he averaged in four of the last five seasons. Any hope that he could turn things around has to be fading. There are only 13 games left before the postseason so there’s not much time. Perhaps getting embarrassed by archnemesis Patrick Beverley and the Timberwolves will give him an extra boost to get back on track. However, Westbrook’s energy has never been an issue. There’s a chance he can be the Westbrook everybody knows over these final games but that’s not likely.
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Dennis Schroder Issues Fierce Defense of Lakers’ Russell Westbrook