Russell Westbrook has not changed his game very much, if we are being honest he has always had a bad shot… bad shot selection… and turned it over a lot, but he has been in places that don’t get media coverage or have expectations.
The only thing that really has changed is his location. Laker fans are not like Washington Wizard fans… they actually know the difference between good and bad hoops and having a triple double on 27 shots, and shooting 35%, isn’t impressing them.
If you haven’t seen his shot, go to the tape:
Last night he was benched in the final four minutes of the game, and his coach — who is also on the hot seat — was not exactly giving out endorsements.
“(I was) playing the guys that I thought were going to win the game,” Vogel announced to the post-game media on Wednesday.
Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit.
The guy coaching for his job took out Westbrook when it mattered.
Westbrook scored 14 points against the Pacers, doing it on 5-of-17 shooting and 1-11 from deep.
He also, basically, didn’t play defense.
Lakers General Manager superstar, LeBron James, who is partially responsible for the dilemma by bringing Westbrook to the team, has been critical of Westbrook’s play; evidenced by the two’s increasingly contentious relationship seen during games.
After 45 games with the Lakers (22-23), Westbrook’s stock has dipped into trade fodder territory prompting the teams actual general manager Rob Pelinka to being exploring options to ship the vet ahead of the Feb. 10 trade deadline and avoid giving Westbrook a $48 million player option in the offseason.
