Image Credits SI
It’s fair to say that Russell Westbrook’s LA homecoming hasn’t been a fruitful one ever since he joined the Lakers in the offseason. The former NBA MVP has, in fact, had a torrid time in the purple and gold.
Westbrook had another bad day at the office on Tuesday as he went 5-of-17 from the field and went 0-for-4 from downtown for his 12 points. Westbrook’s poor display saw the LA Lakers suffer a 104-109 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the Crypto.com Arena.
Lakers talisman LeBron James tried to rally his team back into the contest but failed to stop Frank Vogel’s men from suffering their third consecutive loss. The four-time NBA champion also spoke on the game and how he plans to help teammate Russell Westbrook.
While speaking to the press, James explained, “When I’m of the ball I try to give him (Westbrook) support by staying at the rim to get any possible rebound. We try to work it the other way around as well. Sometimes I cut it back to him so he can dunk We try to play in transition as well. But, sometimes you just need to see the ball go through the hoops and it helps with the confidence.”
Meanwhile, Russell Westbrook also admitted that he needs to improve on his showings and just be better. The 33-year-old spoke to reporters after another poor outing vs the Mavs and said, “One, we lost. Number two, looking at how I need to be better… I just have to be better overall. What I’m doing right now ain’t good enough.”
The nine-time All-Star is also surprisingly averaging 18.1 PPG, his lowest single-season scoring average since 2009 when he averaged 16.1 PPG for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook has had a shocking nine single-digit scoring performances this season for the Lakers.
Westbrook has also come under scrutiny from the Lakers fans off late. He also responded to the boos from the home support. The two-time scoring champion was also linked with a potential trade away from LA as the Lakers maintain their barren spell with him in the side.
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