“I see a Russell Westbrook that is broken and it hurts me” - Kendrick Perkins believes Russell Westbrook should come off the bench for the LA Lakers, says LeBron James should play point guard
Nearly a year ago, Russell Westbrook was in the news for all the right reasons, as he finished the 2020-2021 season averaging a triple-double for the fourth time in five seasons. Heading into this season, Westbrook was seen as a formidable contender to go up against on the court. Since joining the LA Lakers, that light seems to have grown dim.
There have been different takes by several analysts in regards to what could possibly be wrong with the point guard. Some have pegged him as a player who has lost himself, others have said he is being forced to play in an unfamiliar fashion than he's accustomed to.
In the Lakers' last game, Westbrook was benched for the final 3 minutes and 52 seconds of the game against the Pacers due to his poor 5-17 shooting night. On ESPN's First Take TV show, Kendrick Perkins reacted to Westbrook's poor form and gave his opinion regarding his current situation. He stated that the all-time triple-doubles leader looks broken and it saddens him to see.
"Right now I see a Russell Westbrook that's broken and it hurts me. And I don't see the same edge he didn't get taken out the game because he went 5-17 off the field. He got taken out the game because of his body language and his lack of effort of the defensive side of things."
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Kendrick Perkins believes it's time for Russell Westbrook to come off the bench for the LA Lakers
Russell Westbrook averages 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game this season, his least output in the past decade. This encapsulates the poor performance he's been putting on recently. With a total of 191 turnovers, he leads the league for most balls turned over to the opposition.
While on the show, Kendrick Perkins was also asked if it was time for the man known as "Mr Triple Double" to come off the bench going forward. Perkins gave some insight into his own experience of transitioning to being a bench player, saying that it is a normal occurrence and stressed that it doesn't make someone less of a contributor.
""I think Russ coming off the bench is not a bad thing. See a lot of people out there in the world think, oh! if you're not a starter, then you're not in a certian level. No! It's not about who starts the game, it's about who finishes the game."
"Finding ways to be the best Russ I can be for the Lakers, that's the goal for me."
@russwest44 joined #GameTime after the Lakers' win over the Magic. https://t.co/OaslAlhYH9
However, Perkins doesn't think it's all doom and gloom for Russell Westbrook, the former NBA champion who reckons that the Lakers' superstar could get back to being great again even if it is in a slightly different role. He further highlighted that it was in Westbrook's best interest as he would have the opportunity to play his game again off being an aggressive inside scorer.
"I think he'll be great because now he can come in and move LeBron James back to the starting point guard position. Have Russ come in and now he can be Russell Westbrook, he can be aggressive where he's not standing in the corner."