"Russell Westbrook has played his best basketball" - 5-time NBA champion gives Russell Westbrook his flowers after his brilliant recent outings for LA Lakers
NBA superstar Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers gained some momentum as they breezed past the Cleveland Cavaliers 131-120 on Monday.
LeBron James scored 38 points with 11 rebounds and 12 assists, and Westbrook added 20 points and 11 assists in the win.
The Lakers have won two out of their last three games, something now considered to be an achievement given the run of losses they have had this season, especially since the All-Star break.
Russell Westbrook has been especially good in these three games. After hitting a shot that sent the Lakers into overtime against the Raptors, and subsequently winning the game 128-123, Westbrook seems to be on a bit of a hot-streak.
RUSSELL WESTBROOK TIES IT UP WITH .4 REMAINING!
@Lakers 116
@Raptors 116
.4 remaining: app.link.nba.com/e/stream https://t.co/0YyBvExTJW
Westbrook has averaged 21.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 9.7 assists in the last three games on 53.2% from the field, and 50% from the three-point line, a welcome performance after a horrific season.
A 5-time NBA Champion and former President of Basketball Operations for the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic Johnson, showered Russell Westbrook with praise on Twitter:
In the last three games Russell Westbrook has played his best basketball as a Laker!
Russell Westbrook has had a miserable 21-22 NBA season, and averages 18.1 pts on 43.7% shooting this season.
Russell Westbrook's worst NBA season
Although 18.1/7.5/7.2 are far from his worst numbers, Russell Westbrook is, in fact, having his worst NBA season. The criticism Westbrook has had to bear over the last 6 months has ranged from being called "Westbrick" to receiving death threats.
While Westbrook has not shot the ball well this season, his numbers, as compared to the previous few years, have not been shockingly different except for the points.
For example, between the 19-20 and 20-21 NBA season, Westbrook averaged 24.6 points per game on 45.6% shooting and 29.0% from the three-point line, 9.8 rebounds per game and 9.5 assists per game, with 4.6 turnovers per game.
In the 21-22 NBA season, Westbrook has averaged 18.1 points on 43.7% from the field and 29.2% from the three point-line, 7.5 rebounds per game and 7.2 assists per game, with 3.8 turnovers per game.
Another remarkable fact is that Russ' shooting splits have not significantly dropped, but his field goal attempts have by about 25% in the same period.
So, besides the fact that Westbrook is statistically in the same place except for his points and FGA, which have dropped significantly (probably because he plays with LeBron James), being the starting point-guard for the Lakers has a lot to do with what Westbrook is going through.
Heavy media coverage and shot-by-shot analysis magnifies every little mistake made, and the expectations before the season did nothing but make the situation worse.
If Russell Westbrook can piggy back on his latest performances into the post-season, it could be of great benefit to the Lakers as they look to make it out of the play-in tournament.