The Los Angeles Lakers fell to the Dallas Mavericks 109-104 on Tuesday night.
Russell Westbrook, whose struggles have been well-documented this year, had another awful game.
In 38 minutes of action Westbrook finished with 12 points on 17 shots. He did not hit a single three-pointer on the night.
After the game, Westbrook sat down for a frank conversation with the media.
When pressed on the Lakers’ playoff chances, Westbrook struck a defiant tone.
“Super confident that we’re going to be alright,” he said. “Because I got confidence in this group. Like I always have. We can play the best teams. I’m not worried about nobody we have to play. We’ve beaten the best teams, we’ve lost to some of the worst teams.
“So, our confidence and my confidence in this group is extremely high because I know what we’re capable off. We put our mind to it and do exactly what we need to do on a night in, night out basis.”
That sounded eerily similar to something LeBron James said during his session with the media the same night.
While Westbrook’s optimism is great, the on-court production he brings to the table doesn’t leave much room for hope. So far this year he is averaging 18.1 points, his lowest figure in a decade, while shooting 43.2 percent from the field and 67 percent from the free-throw line.
Worst yet, Westbrook is doing a terrible job facilitating the offense as well. He is currently averaging a staggering 4.0 turnovers per game. Yikes.
Westbrook’s response to his poor play on the season has been consistently aggressive. Whether it was his angry reaction to getting benched by Lakers head coach Frank Vogel or the shots he took at management – it has been one thing after another.
Yikes. https://t.co/G8z1XLGNLv
— Game 7 (@game7__) March 2, 2022
At this point, the writing is on the wall. Westbrook is gone after this year.
What will LA ultimately be able to get for him when it’s all said and done? Time will tell.
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Jennifer Withers Hoey is a former Business Development Manager who transitioned to writing about sports. With valuable connections all over the West Coast, she has used those contacts to break some of the most interesting stories pertaining to the Portland Trail Blazers, Oregon Ducks, LA Lakers, LA Clippers, Seattle Supersonics (RIP), and more.
