Russell Westbrook has gotten a lot of criticism since he joined the Los Angeles Lakers. It was an ill-advised trade that seemed like a gamble at the time and ever since Westbrook joined, it has been a disaster for an organization that prides itself on winning.
Fans have already seen enough after the Lakers’ 0-3 start to the season, especially with Westbrook being the main reason why LA lost to the Portland Trail Blazers. The trade demands are already coming in heavy.
It may take some time for a trade to formulate and while that happens, Los Angeles could simply tell Westbrook to stay home John Wall-style. Westbrook is doubtful to play on Wednesday and if the team thrives with him sitting out, Darvin Ham and co. are going to have to start a difficult conversation.
Some NBA pundits are against the idea of LA sending Westbrook home and are still defending the former MVP. Fox Sports’ Chris Broussard is one of Westbrook’s defenders as the analyst recently claimed that the team cannot send Westbrook home because of the success on defense and Westbrook’s role in that success.
"The Lakers are the 3rd ranked defensive team in the league right now, and a lot of it is Russ is playing with energy."
— First Things First (@FTFonFS1) October 24, 2022
— @Chris_Broussard on why he wouldn't send Russ home just yet: pic.twitter.com/Eq93BcUXeM
Yeah, that just isn’t true.
Russell Westbrook has not made the Lakers a better defensive team. At all.
I will say, Westbrook has been better defensively this season than he was last season but that is not a very high bar to cross. Regardless, he definitely is not the reason why the Lakers are third in defensive rating and it is irresponsible to say that without the research.
All it takes is a simple dive into the numbers to see how wrong this claim is Broussard. Broussard claims that the team is third in defensive rating and that a lot of the reason why is Westbrook’s energy. Then why is the Lakers’ defensive rating 5.2 points higher when Westbrook is actually on the court?
Los Angeles has a 101.6 defensive rating with Russ on the bench and a 106.8 defensive rating with him on the floor. Both numbers are obviously still respectable but this shows that Westbrook’s minutes are actually bogging down the Lakers’ defensive rating.
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Westbrook has been so bad offensively this season that his defenders have turned to defense as a reason to keep him. That tells the entire story right there. The fact of the matter is that this team is probably better if Westbrook stayed at home. The numbers (and results) don’t lie.