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Senior members at the Los Angeles Lakers franchise are wanting Frank Vogel to bench Russell Westbrook amid the player’s torrid homecoming.
Russell Westbrook’s trade to the LA Lakers is proving to be a nightmare spell for the nine-time All-Star, and the franchise as well. The player has struggled to adapt to the team and the Lakers are struggling to make the playoffs.
The Lakers are in ninth place on the Western Conference table and have lost 11 of their past 15 games. The 2020 NBA champions did manage to rally a win over the Warriors on Sunday but it was mainly due to veteran LeBron James posting a mammoth 56 points to guide his team home.
LeBron’s dazzling display against Golden State put an end to the Lakers’ four-game losing streak. While James, at 37, is still held in high regard by the Lakers, the same cannot be said about the misfiring Russell Westbrook.
In fact, it’s gotten so bad that even the Lakers organization are now calling for head coach Frank Vogel to drop Westbrook from the starting lineup. However, Vogel has reportedly avoided calls to bring the 2017 MVP off the bench.
It remains to be seen whether the Lakers will put faith in Westbook for the future. He has a $47 million player option on his contract for the 2022-23 season.
This season, there have been multiple games where Westbrook has been benched for the Lakers in the fourth quarter. His poor outings have also led to Lakers fans jeering him and making noises before he pulls up to shoot.
The 33-year-old has averaged 18.1 points, 7.7 rebounds and 7.3 assists in 34.4 minutes a game this season. He is on course to record his worst PPG since 2009.
As per NBA.com, Westbrook’s woeful 50 percent true shooting percentage ranks 429th out of 566 qualified players in the association. Fans on social media have also slammed and mocked Westbook for failing to deliver after joining the Lakers.
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