The 3 worst defenders on the Los Angeles Lakers roster this season

1. Russell Westbrook

Lonnie Walker is in the sixth percentile in DPS and Russell Westbrook somehow ranks even lower than that. The former MVP finished last season with a -50.26 DPS, which puts him seven spots lower on the leaderboard from last season.

This is no surprise to anyone who actually watched the Lakers play last season. This has kind of been the story of Westbrook’s career in recent years as well. He fools people with his athleticism into thinking that he is a good defensive player.

Heck, his former teammate in Kendrick Perkins even made the ludicrous statement that he and Patrick Beverley could create some dynamic defensive tandem in the backcourt. That would be possible if Westbrook was a good defender but he isn’t.

Yes, he is athletic and there are times that he makes plays on the basketball that create fastbreak opportunities. But for every good play that Westbrook makes on defense, there are five more defensive mistakes in key moments that he lets up.

3 free-agent guards who would be better for the Lakers than Westbrook

If the Los Angeles Lakers have to tell Russell Westbrook to go home they can sign one of these free-agent guards to replace him.

When every advanced metric points to Westbrook being a bad defender, chances are that he is actually a bad defender. If you start really paying attention to what he is doing on the defensive end it will become clear as day.