Brutal stat illustrates Russell Westbrook’s Lakers struggles
Nov 23, 2021; New York, New York, USA; Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts during the third quarter against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports
Russell Westbrook’s second season with the Los Angeles Lakers has not started any better than the first one did, and one stat illustrates that perfectly.
The Lakers blew a 102-95 lead with 1:56 left in Sunday’s game against Portland and ultimately lost 106-104. Westbrook went 4-for-15 from the field and, with the Lakers up one, inexplicably took and missed a 15-foot jumper with 27 seconds left and 16 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Westbrook’s 4-for-15 showing came on the heels of his 0-for-11 performance in Thursday’s loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. That gives him a 15.4% field goal percentage in the last two games, according to Elias, tying him for the worst mark by any Laker ever — with himself.
Russell Westbrook has shot 4-for-26 (15.4%) in his last 2 games.
FROM ELIAS: That is tied for the worst field goal percentage over any 2-game span by a Lakers player in the last 50 years (min. 25 FGA). Westbrook tied himself from earlier this year in January. @ESPNStatsInfo— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) October 23, 2022
Westbrook is a problem for the Lakers, and the team can surely see it. Everyone else certainly can, as both the Clippers and Blazers have defended him with centers, daring him to shoot and disrupting the Lakers’ spacing. Westbrook does not seem to rate his performances that badly, but few would back him up there, and it’s unclear where the team can possibly go from here.