Russell Westbrook in Lakerland continues to be must-watch television … for all the wrong reasons.
The Los Angeles Lakers guard Westbrook circled the drain on Thursday against the LA Clippers with a disastrous 0-for-11 shooting performance. Usually known as “Mr. Triple Double,” Westbrook finished with a triple single (two points, three rebounds, and four assists) and posted a plus-minus of -6 in what was ultimately a close six-point loss for the Lakers.
When asked for an assessment of his performance afterwards, Westbrook offered a curious response.
“Solid, solid,” he said of his play. “Played hard, that’s all you can ask for.”
"Solid"
Russell Westbrook was asked about how he thought he played after going 0-11 from the field last night 😬pic.twitter.com/wGhBdV4J7z
— Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) October 21, 2022
To be fair (or at least generous), Westbrook did have a pretty nice outing defensively. He finished with five steals and punished the Clippers multiple times when they tried to throw entry passes into Kawhi Leonard to attack Westbrook one-on-one in the post.
Say what you will about Westbrook, but he is hustling and besting Kawhi right now on defense. Two fronts on the post stolen, another forced travel in the post. #NBA pic.twitter.com/gxwRAZWQKP
— Zachary F. Lewis🕴🏼 (@zachflewis) October 21, 2022
But the problem here is that Westbrook is not a defensive specialist. He is the starting point guard on a LeBron James-led team and one of the highest-paid players in the NBA this season (making $47.1 million). He is not Andre Roberson or Matisse Thybulle. So when Westbrook is building a skyscraper of bricks on offense, pulling down three rebounds in a starting five with no true seven-footer, and posting less than half his career average in assists (8.4 per game), he doesn’t really have much of a claim to playing “solid.”
Granted, the Lakers are still only two games into the season. But Westbrook has become a major hindrance to the team, and his lack of self-awareness with comments like these (among others) is only making matters worse.
