When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, pairing the one-time MVP with LeBron James and Anthony Davis, they were confident they would have one of the best records in the 2021-22 regular season and compete for the 2022 championship.
Westbrook is the NBA’s all-time leader in triple-doubles and will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer one day. He also has a close relationship with LeBron and Davis, so the Lakers were optimistic he would develop chemistry with the King and the Brow quickly.
However, the first half of Westbrook’s inaugural season with the Lakers hasn’t been pleasing. The UCLA product leads the NBA in turnovers and has a true shooting percentage of 51.1. He also has a putrid plus-minus of -97.
The Lakers are in ninth place in the Western Conference standings. They haven’t lived up to preseason expectations and Westbrook has received most of the blame for their struggles since he’s been a turnover machine and can’t shoot jumpers.
However, Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups — whose club lost to the Lakers on February 2 — thinks it’s unfair that Westbrook has been the scapegoat and he defended Mr. Triple Double during his media session with reporters in Los Angeles.
Billups Defends Westbrook
Billups stood up for Westbrook before the Blazers lost to the Lakers at Crypto.com Arena. The one-time Finals MVP said Russ “has taken a lot of heat he shouldn’t be taking.”
“I feel like Russ has taken a lot of heat he shouldn’t be taking — to be honest with you,” Billups said, via Dan Woike of the Los Angeles Times. “Russ has always been this dude. He’s one of the best competitors in this league. He’s shown that forever. … His competitive fire never changes. He’s trying to win every single game.
“But when you’re playing on a team where you don’t have the same usage, if you will, then of course your numbers will look different. And of course, some of your mistakes will look louder, bigger. You’re in L.A. playing on this team. It’s not just Russ. I’ll just say that. When you look at their team, it’s a lot of other things that actually contribute to that.”
Westbrook is averaging 18.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.8 assists for the Lakers while shooting 44.2% from the field, 30.8% from beyond the arc and 67.4% from the free-throw line. He has an effective field goal percentage of 47.6 and turns the ball over 4.1 times a game.
All of the Lakers’ problems aren’t Westbrook’s fault. However, since he’s making $44 million this season and Los Angeles give up a lot of assets to acquire him, the nine-time All-Star is under a large microscope in a big market and every mistake he makes gets dissected.
And unfortunately for Westbrook fans, their favorite player has made plenty of blunders this season.
Westbrook Makes Big Mistakes Almost Every Game
Westbrook has turned the ball over seven times or more in eight games this season. On October 27 against his old team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the two-time scoring champion committed 10 turnovers in the Lakers’ eight-point loss.
In early January, a Twitter video showing Westbrook air balling and bricking shots for two minutes went viral. Opposing defenses dare Westbrook to shoot by sagging off him. The Lakers’ floor space is virtually non-existent when the California native is on the court since teams double-team LeBron and Davis and invite Westbrook to shoot outside shots.
It’s not surprising to hear Billups defend Westbrook since he’s a former player. However, there is no denying that Westbrook hasn’t been a valuable addition to the Lakers.
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Blazers Coach Claps Back at Russell Westbrook Being Lakers’ Scapegoat