Lakers fans will be thrilled to see Russell Westbrook’s new shooting form
By Jason Reed
Despite all of the speculation throughout the summer, Russell Westbrook appears to be destined to be on the Los Angeles Lakers roster when the 2022-23 season begins. After the most disappointing season in franchise history, many fans are unhappy about this reality.
Expecting Russell Westbrook to change at this point in his career is a big ask. Westbrook has not changed at all throughout his career and he certainly didn’t last season, which was a big reason why the team struggled as much as it did.
That being said, Westbrook does seem to be putting in the work this offseason. Westbrook was recently seen in the gym with sought-after NBA trainer Chris Brickley, who has helped reinvent players’ jump shots in the past.
While it is just a practice and things change a lot in a live setting, Westbrook did showcase a new shooting form in these training videos that is much more controlled than his traditional form. Of course, anyone can make threes in practice but it is still exciting to see Westbrook make a change to his game.
Russell Westbrook fixing his shooting would fix a lot of problems for the Lakers.
It would still be a big uphill battle for the Los Angeles Lakers to be competitive with Russell Westbrook on the roster but him fixing his shooting form and improving from beyond the arc would be a massive deal for the Lakers.
Los Angeles does not need Westbrook to suddenly evolve into being some elite three-point shooter that can pull up from any range. All the team needs is for him to be someone that other teams actually have to respect from beyond the arc.
Because right now that is not the case. And as a result, defenders can sag off of Westbrook on the three-point line. This significantly hurts the floor spacing of the team and is having the biggest impact on Anthony Davis, who was the worst jump-shooter in the entire league last season before he got hurt.
Nobody should expect Westbrook to suddenly shoot 38% from beyond the arc. But working on his craft and at least becoming good in certain areas, like the corner, can open up a lot of things for the Lakers offensively that don’t just include Westbrook.
Of course, that is assuming that his play style changes as well. It does not really matter much if Westbrook still demands a high usage rate and wants to barrel towards the rim every possession.