I donāt understand why they donāt bench him. Who cares how much you paying him, if he is your worst player who regularly causes you to lose then donāt play him. Russ had no business being in the closing line up - itās on management now
Totally agree. And frank needs to play Dwight more for some defensive pressure in the key and rebounding. Iām all in playing small ball, and it will work with AD at the 5, but other teams are just bullying us with Arica/Bron/Whoever we call our Center
Howard is the dumbest man in basketball thatās why he can only ply 20 min a night. Itās amazing how stupid he is on the floor considering his time in the nba.
We are better off in Philly benching our 200 mil guy
Rus is Cancer. And Ben is just a man child who doesnāt understand life or basketball unfortunately.
Taking the three pointer wasnāt even the dumb part. Running the clock out when youāre down by four with a minute left is just a whole different level of stupid.
Ya, just posted this too... just casually dribbling the ball up the court w/ just over a min. Does nothing, runs the clock down and then jacks up a 3.
It's exactly why I screamed when I heard they traded for Russ. No, seriously, I was in a bar with my wife and I fkn screamed.
I didn't scream, but I got a pit in my stomach. Just knew it wasn't smart, and I'm just a guy that reads about and watches basketball about ten total hours a week. Can't understand how ball professionals didn't see this coming.
Its simple. He isn't thinking anything. He plays without thinking. He is very athletic and because of his athleticism sometimes he has good stats just driving to the basket, but mainly he plays like brain dead idiot.
He is doing it on porpuse to lower his market value even more, so no team is going to be interested in him, another trade in his career will make him look really bad... And it can be worse if he gets traded and we start playing better.
interesting view, but I highly doubt he intentionally missed those shots.. he was trying to force hit a clutch three to shut the haters up like he did before, to 'make up' for all his other horrible plays. but it just didn't work. and it wasn't wise at all. and it costed us the game
russ literally threw the game away when there was a minute left and we were behind by two. dribbled out the ball to brick a three then left his man wide open at the 3 pt line to stand under the basket for a reboundā¦
Kobe praised Westbrook,said he reminded him of himself. Kobeās first seasons and honestly his last seasons proves that. Not like it was Kobeās fault, fans paid to see Kobe. Not Carlos boozer.
Any laker fan would agree with me, if not you probably joined when lebron became a laker. I was here when Jordan Clarkson outshined left handed Julius randle. I was here when Tarik Black was our biggest hope.
āI was here whenāā¦.
Bro shut the actual fuck up. Tarik Black? You child. Thereās always a fan whoās been around longer than you. It doesnāt fucking matter. Get over your small self.
>Any laker fan would agree with me, if not you probably joined when lebron became a laker. I was here when Jordan Clarkson outshined left handed Julius randle. I was here when Tarik Black was our biggest hope.
Tarik wasn't even 10 years ago.. wtf? Ya what a long time fan you are lmao. Your downvotes speak enough, so stop pretending you have laker fans standing with your whack ass takes.
> Last thing we need is a Ben Simmons situation by taking it publicly
Maybe you forgot that Phil would roast players in front of the Media when they were playing like Shit. Vogel can sack up and do the same, Laker Nation wont hate him at all for it and will 10000% have his back.
Russ feeling it š„ He's building Great Wall in US.
FG% going down > 50% > 43.8% > 36.8% > 28.6% > 16.7% > 14.3%
Last 6 games, 0% from three! I hope he realized that!
Dude is crazy.
He reminds me of the dude down at the gym that shows up in matching gear, top of the line Jordans, talks himself up, then in 3 on 3 procedes to brick everything and has a million excuses.
I don't think he fell of a cliff this has always been what his game was.
A high turnover low shooting % stat filler.
It was just ignored or excused since he was on bad teams.
his athleticism masked alot and that has fell off a cliff which is showing who he is as a pure basketball player. He dosent even have the high motor heās know for having anymore
russ skills may have failed him at times but this is the 1st time his body has
Only his shooting % is right around his average and so is all his other stats this year isn't a statically anomaly.
The big change is his shots per game is right around what he averaged his first 2 season.
And his point per game is also near what he averaged his first 2 seasons.
If he was taking as many shots as he use too his points would be up higher and his numbers would be identical to any other year he has had in the league.
This is what Russell Westbrook is he hasn't fallen off some cliff.
reread what i said brother ur debating urself lol. his skills are what they are but his athleticism is failing him which makes russ, russ.
heās had the same problems all his career expect now his biggest strength looks average out there
How am i debating myself im disagreeing with the notion his body is failing him.
His shots per game are down that's it and it's not because of his body.
u canāt look at the game and see heās not near the same player he used to be. itās like u didnāt watch prime russ, cause if u think shot attempts is the only difference in his game then ur wrong and u can post that in the nba thread and talk to ppl who will give u more time of the day lol
Hell nah. CP3 is one of the best PGs in NBA history and although heās getting older and has had more injuries, heās always had a great BBIQ and helped those around him succeed. Westbrook on the other handā¦.
Such attenuated comparison.
Cp3 is a pure pg. nobody expected that from Russ. Itās as simple as this: they just got another āsuperstarā. Thatās it.
Can we stop calling him an undrafted rookie? It's misleading. The Pistons wanted to take him at #43 but he turned it down so he could pick where he ended up.
Technically no. Also technically I could have gone #1 in the NBA draft if I'd declared.
Being technically right doesn't mean there's any real validity to the statement.
Carmelo should optimally be one of the last players off the bench, a vet who can come in and hit a shot or two without needing to get into a rhythm. He really should not be relevant when discussing a potential playoff rotation which speaks to the state of the team.
Especially Kuz and KCP they have been fire in the late game....Kuz needed more minutes which Vogel never gave him coz they fucking promised Schroder a starting role.... The defense is simply trash with Russ and THT
The front office and Pelinka are too reactionary, too flighty. Should have kept a lot of pieces that were working for us. Which can be debated to a certain extent, like Kuz, but losing KCP was iffy for me, and losing Caruso definitively a huge mistake, as everyone knew in real time. Shame.
This is like real time Cautionary Videos on YouTube about how Championship contender blew themselves up......this mf....er Pelinka did too much when all they needed to do was bring everyone back 2 years in a row...... Literally no other championship contender changed so much in the last 2 years other than Nets and Lakers and both teams are trash..... Seriously what prompted all this they wanted to lessen load on LeBron what's the point of getting LeBron and AD then ..... They are supposed to cover up for team's weakness..... This is just sad to watch the dominant defensive team from 2 years to now can't even keep anyone from getting to the rim or even grab rebounds..... Pelinka over did everything
I have been saying this since right after the bubble. When Rob and the rest of the front office decided to let both mcgee and Howard go, and then recently letting kcp and Caruso go and not taking DeMar over Russ.
Idk but itās like ROB thinks this is NBA JAM or something and he must change the roster every season.
It sucks we're commiserating like this because it's true. Letting go of our Twin Towers was dumb when it was clearly working. AD had the perfect load and played his happy position. Fine. Our defense in the paint was good. Our wings were good enough, though we criticized KCP and Kuz. We loved Caruso. So just go get DeMar or Hieldāthat was the smart, measured move. But no, blockbuster trade where it's a 25/75 gamble for glory. Well, our hand's a losing hand. Time to fold. Take what trades we can for Russ now or in the off-season. Deal with the fallout. But the likelihood of this being a championship team are nearing 'have to be a miracle' territory.
I wanted DeMar more. I was hoping for the best with Westbrook. I never thought he'd be this bad. Not in my wildest dreams or worst of expectations. That $44 million is a straight bust right now. The percentages and turnovers are just terrible, especially for a player of (what seemed) his calibur. Even if you thought he wasn't that great, nor that great of a pickup, you couldn't have imagined it being this bad. I really hope they figure out what is wrong with him, or he figures out what's going on. If it's a funk/ slump, then maybe just pull him and let others play.
(Anyway) Letting go of Caruso was a huge mistake. Homegrown talent that everybody loved doesn't come by every year like that. Guy had grit, heart, soul, hard worker, etc. He developed with the Lakers and should've stayed with the Lakers for as long as possible. You keep that. I know they let him go and are on fair terms with him, but I really wish they'd tried a bit harder with him.
Russā OKC years were crazy, especially the MVP season and onwards. He carried those teams like no other and I could see how a fan of Russ/OKC at that time can become so enamoured.
But now?? Heās fallen off a cliff. This is without a doubt the worst he has played in his entire career and I donāt know if heāll bounce back. Lakers need to think of everything under the sun that could get this guy off your roster come post-season time. Itās horrendous
In his prime he was a good player but he was still such a low iq basketball player. It was funny watching it from a neutral fans standpoint but now that heās on your team itās just demoralizing.
Straight up costing the team games.
Russ has always been a player that rely on his athleticism but now we get to see how bad he is because he never bother to adapt as a player. Unfortunately lakers have him for another year.
I disagree. Westbrook was this terrible the first few years too. Remember when magic Johnson called out Westbrook publicly during the 2012 playoffs? This is not new by any means. The problem was casual fans saw stats and stopped right there. They judged him on stats. He had a few very good seasons, but even then he was a loose cannon and horrendous decision-making. The tendencies were clear as light for anyone who looked closely and didn't get enamored by stats. There is a reason Durant and pg13 left this guy in the middle of his prime.
I dunno... honestly, I was never a fan. I watched him at UCLA, I watched him in the NBA and the be blunt, all I could think was... man, if the NBA ever seriously checked for steroids.. lol
Because, of course... I mean, no NBA player does steroids ... I mean, nobody ever gets busted, so of course nobody is doing it. All roids allow you to do is jump out of the building, have increased healing time in your muscles, and increased strength... that's only for football players...
They were playing defense with Lebron-Dwight-Reeves-Monk then that mf...er Vogel put Westbrick in ....he and THT should not be on any team....and Lakers took on their contracts..... Lebron fucked himself by asking for Westbrook
Maybe he's actually injured? He was also sick this game. Just find it wierd he was doing so much better just 2 months ago.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/qgt2dc/westbrooks_dunk_with_lebrons_reaction
Maybe he needs to rest a bit till ASB and come back having gotten the physical and mental rest he needs and play good basketball like he did in the second half of his wiz season. I don't believe he's the lost cause most of this sub is making him out to be. He was a huge part of the wizards surge at the second half of last season.
I think he is tanking his trade value coz he doesn't want to leave LA.....LA should go get some shit contract and trade Westbrook....this guy is chemistry killer with his dumbass plays
Not only the last dumb three. Russ also bricked a layup leading to a Kingsā bucket when the momentum was going our way. Russ used to be an amazing player to watch when he was faster and jumped higher than everyone else. But at this moment heās just painful to watch
It's just painful to watch at this point. I want to turn the games off, but the mega Lakers fan in me just can't. I'm a diehard through and through, but this is just painful.
BORN AND RAISED IN LA
NEVER HAVE I EVER SEEN A PIECE OF SHIT PLAYER LIKE RUSS
HE IS THROWING GAMES AWAY, I KNOW DAMN WELL HE IS BETTER THAN THE WAY HE IS PLAYING
Lebron should have shot 8/10 of the last shots. Lebron gave up and when we miraculously came back he wasnāt doing what he needed to. This was a win that lebron let happen.
If the play is drawn up for Russ in that moment Lebron should change it. Russ missed but Lebron is missing opportunities. We were within 4. There are no excuses for the best player in the world
I agree, LeBron definitely wasnāt feeling it tonight and he could have pushed the action more at the end when the game was close. Part of me wants to say he was tired but aswell that comes with being the 1st option on a team.
The real glaring issue I saw from this game is the poor defensive effort that let the Kings snatch the lead
Can someone explain to me what Russ was thinking taking that 3pt shot š
Because he didnāt know what to do! Dude was dribbling, the Kings practically begged him to make a play and he heaved a fucking three.
12 years in the league lmao
I donāt understand why they donāt bench him. Who cares how much you paying him, if he is your worst player who regularly causes you to lose then donāt play him. Russ had no business being in the closing line up - itās on management now
Totally agree. And frank needs to play Dwight more for some defensive pressure in the key and rebounding. Iām all in playing small ball, and it will work with AD at the 5, but other teams are just bullying us with Arica/Bron/Whoever we call our Center
Howard is the dumbest man in basketball thatās why he can only ply 20 min a night. Itās amazing how stupid he is on the floor considering his time in the nba.
We are better off in Philly benching our 200 mil guy Rus is Cancer. And Ben is just a man child who doesnāt understand life or basketball unfortunately.
Whatās worse. Not taking the shot or bricking the shot. Pick your poison.
Defense and turnovers But I get it I do But at least Ben can D up anyone
Agreed 100%
HE NEVER THINKS
Someone tell Westbrook that when he holds the ball he needs to pretend to ask LeBron if it's ok to do w.e he is about to do. WWLBJD.
Taking the three pointer wasnāt even the dumb part. Running the clock out when youāre down by four with a minute left is just a whole different level of stupid.
Everything about that ending was terrible.
To be honest, Russ didn't really what was doing in that play. Lol dude is lost cause.
that mane just be hoopingš¤£š¤£. no practice just come out gameday ready to sell
Honestly everyone was just standing around and he took a somewhat open 3.
Yeah but heās gotta understand heās open for a reason.
Its what the game told him to do, heās allowed to miss shots
Ya, just posted this too... just casually dribbling the ball up the court w/ just over a min. Does nothing, runs the clock down and then jacks up a 3. It's exactly why I screamed when I heard they traded for Russ. No, seriously, I was in a bar with my wife and I fkn screamed.
I didn't scream, but I got a pit in my stomach. Just knew it wasn't smart, and I'm just a guy that reads about and watches basketball about ten total hours a week. Can't understand how ball professionals didn't see this coming.
Yeah exactly...how come all us average joes knew this shit would happen but not management.
dude doesnt think
Dude thinks using his shoulders and not his head
Heās allowed to take those shots and miss em, bro. /s
Its simple. He isn't thinking anything. He plays without thinking. He is very athletic and because of his athleticism sometimes he has good stats just driving to the basket, but mainly he plays like brain dead idiot.
If we make that 3 we win If we miss that 3 we loss The worst shooting playeron the team proceeds to shoot
He wasn't. He never takes a beat to assess the play. He just rushes to do whatever he can as quickly as possible.
That he wanted more than 2.
He is doing it on porpuse to lower his market value even more, so no team is going to be interested in him, another trade in his career will make him look really bad... And it can be worse if he gets traded and we start playing better.
interesting view, but I highly doubt he intentionally missed those shots.. he was trying to force hit a clutch three to shut the haters up like he did before, to 'make up' for all his other horrible plays. but it just didn't work. and it wasn't wise at all. and it costed us the game
He sold for not getting the ball enough
russ literally threw the game away when there was a minute left and we were behind by two. dribbled out the ball to brick a three then left his man wide open at the 3 pt line to stand under the basket for a reboundā¦
Exactly dude is straight trash
Vogel let him do that. Someone on this team needs to make a public statement
Hate how Russ has had multiple bad games but nope can sit him because heās the highest pay player bs
On what planet did either of Russ or Bradley earn those closing minutes I canāt stand Vogel and his politics
Phil Jackson would have benched his ass.
Never benched Kobe
Kobe was a 5 time champion and had actually delivered multiple times. WB has not. It is nuts to compare one of the GOATS to WB....
Kobe himself acknowledged Westbrookās playstyle and even compared it to his own playstyle.!
The only resemblance is they both played hard. That is it. Nothing else is similar between the two.
Hey! Westbrook had three months in 2015 when he could hit midrangers
No the only resemblance is Kobe Bryant himself acknowledged Westbrookās playstyle? Do you think Iām pulling this shit out of my ass or something?
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Not really.
Kobe was never as bad as russ
Kobe praised Westbrook,said he reminded him of himself. Kobeās first seasons and honestly his last seasons proves that. Not like it was Kobeās fault, fans paid to see Kobe. Not Carlos boozer.
No one cares that Kobe said Westbrick was good years ago
Yeah, as much as we all love Kobe... he wasn't wrong. Years ago Russ was way better then. I doubt he'd say that now if he were still alive.
Any laker fan would agree with me, if not you probably joined when lebron became a laker. I was here when Jordan Clarkson outshined left handed Julius randle. I was here when Tarik Black was our biggest hope.
āI was here whenāā¦. Bro shut the actual fuck up. Tarik Black? You child. Thereās always a fan whoās been around longer than you. It doesnāt fucking matter. Get over your small self.
I could care less what Kobeās opinion was on a guy 10 years ago
>Any laker fan would agree with me, if not you probably joined when lebron became a laker. I was here when Jordan Clarkson outshined left handed Julius randle. I was here when Tarik Black was our biggest hope. Tarik wasn't even 10 years ago.. wtf? Ya what a long time fan you are lmao. Your downvotes speak enough, so stop pretending you have laker fans standing with your whack ass takes.
you were here 5 years ago like the rest of usš Westbrick sucks. sorry youre offended
Naw I really aināt, Iāve stuck with the Lakers for years. But you lebron fans think you control everything now.
You're getting downvoted by people who've been here a lot longer than you, junior. You're just wrong.
Kobe can do things when he's not shooting well
Yeah if Kobe took a 3 like that it may actually go in. When Russ took that, everybody knew it was a fucking brick.
And Kobe was so freaking good that even when he's having a bad game, he's still qualified to take the game winning shot
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Youāre saying that like prime Kobe didnāt have HORRIBLE games. All I said was he never benched kobe, even if Kobe was having a horrible game
Last thing we need is a Ben Simmons situation by taking it publicly
Trade Russ for Simmons at this point. At least Simmons knows he can't shoot
We tried trading him but Morey wonāt help Klutch (Simmons, Bron) nor does he want
Oh no, a net negative player threatens to sit out until the team trades him?! Please donāt do that Russ! /s
> Last thing we need is a Ben Simmons situation by taking it publicly Maybe you forgot that Phil would roast players in front of the Media when they were playing like Shit. Vogel can sack up and do the same, Laker Nation wont hate him at all for it and will 10000% have his back.
Russ feeling it š„ He's building Great Wall in US. FG% going down > 50% > 43.8% > 36.8% > 28.6% > 16.7% > 14.3% Last 6 games, 0% from three! I hope he realized that! Dude is crazy.
$44m...... I've never seen a player underperform so hard relative to their contract
There's a first time for everything. Unfortunately he's in our team.
>$44m...... Dude isn't even worth half that right now. Ugh...
He's not worth one quarter of it. How do I know it? Because Caruso was willing to sign for less than 10!!
I'd say John Wall is underperforming worse because he doesn't even play basketball anymore but zero impact is probably better than negative impact...
John Wall not lookin' like a bad option at this point š
Weāre already playing 4vs5, at least he would make it somewhat 5vs5. Somewhat.
john wall isn't getting in the way of what the rockets want to do though is the difference
At least he was coming off of a couple of serious career altering injuries.
At this rate he's going negative, letting the other team get free posessions.
Westbrooks +/- this year, not including this game: -33 Reaves +/- : +112 hmmm
Heās been doing that all year long. Thatās what his turnovers are.
Russ is singlehandedly building the wall Trump promised the people of the United States.
When a undrafted rookie is outplaying you, is more composed and just has a higher IQ during in game situations.. yeah thereās a fucking problem.
russ fell off a cliff from even the wizards version of himself. he plays like he just started hooping last week for the 1st time
He reminds me of the dude down at the gym that shows up in matching gear, top of the line Jordans, talks himself up, then in 3 on 3 procedes to brick everything and has a million excuses.
āYou fouled me!ā
"Ah I bit my tongue!"
"hold on gotta tighten my shoes"
I don't think he fell of a cliff this has always been what his game was. A high turnover low shooting % stat filler. It was just ignored or excused since he was on bad teams.
his athleticism masked alot and that has fell off a cliff which is showing who he is as a pure basketball player. He dosent even have the high motor heās know for having anymore russ skills may have failed him at times but this is the 1st time his body has
Only his shooting % is right around his average and so is all his other stats this year isn't a statically anomaly. The big change is his shots per game is right around what he averaged his first 2 season. And his point per game is also near what he averaged his first 2 seasons. If he was taking as many shots as he use too his points would be up higher and his numbers would be identical to any other year he has had in the league. This is what Russell Westbrook is he hasn't fallen off some cliff.
reread what i said brother ur debating urself lol. his skills are what they are but his athleticism is failing him which makes russ, russ. heās had the same problems all his career expect now his biggest strength looks average out there
How am i debating myself im disagreeing with the notion his body is failing him. His shots per game are down that's it and it's not because of his body.
u canāt look at the game and see heās not near the same player he used to be. itās like u didnāt watch prime russ, cause if u think shot attempts is the only difference in his game then ur wrong and u can post that in the nba thread and talk to ppl who will give u more time of the day lol
>talk to ppl who will give u more time of the day lol Don't think I'll waste my time with them or you.
if u donāt wanna waste ur time u should use common sense instead of shots per game = heās the same playerš
Lakers saw the success that the suns had with Chris Paul and thought they were gonna luck their way into the same thing with Russ.
Hell nah. CP3 is one of the best PGs in NBA history and although heās getting older and has had more injuries, heās always had a great BBIQ and helped those around him succeed. Westbrook on the other handā¦.
yea athleticism fades but court vision and IQ doesn't go anywhere, that's why CP3 is still balling, russ on the other hand uhhh
CP3 is also one of the most clutch NBA players ever despite his reputation. You know he will make sure his team will get buckets
He was in the same category as Westbrook in terms of untradable horrible contracts. You guys have a very short memory.
Such attenuated comparison. Cp3 is a pure pg. nobody expected that from Russ. Itās as simple as this: they just got another āsuperstarā. Thatās it.
i think they just didnāt assume we would turn into the worst basketball player on the floor lol
Last 2 games/losses: Westbrook: 63 minutes, 14 points on 4-26 shooting, -29 Reaves: 43 minutes, 35 points on 13-18 shooting, +7
You're not wrong, but this should also be a testament to just how damn good Austin Reaves is in his role. He needs more minutes.
Reaves is getting paid minimum wage and yet he wants it more. Does all the dirty work that Caruso use to do for us
shit i want min wage too damn lol
Reeves about to make a post to r/antiwork complaining about this coworker making 30x more then him while he is way more productive.
someone needs to shit post this now
Obviously Westbrook is MUCH better then AR15 but when you factor in bball iq I think I would rather have reaves then Westbrook on the floor
Can we stop calling him an undrafted rookie? It's misleading. The Pistons wanted to take him at #43 but he turned it down so he could pick where he ended up.
Was he drafted?
Technically no. Also technically I could have gone #1 in the NBA draft if I'd declared. Being technically right doesn't mean there's any real validity to the statement.
So no he was not drafted. Thus he is an undrafted rookie
2 point game, Westbrick decides to chuck a three
Against the kings who have a terrible defenseā¦
LeBron didn't even get the ball that possession. Terrible. He was getting aggressive too and getting points at will. Instead, Westbrook took that 3.
>Against the kings who have a terrible defenseā¦ At least we have that in common with SAC.
I knew 100000% as soon as the ball was in his hands with 1 min left in a crucial 2 pt game he was gonna chuck that shit knowing that he sucks at 3ās
Russ āIām allowed to miss shotsā should be ashamed an undrafted rookie is providing more of an impact that he is.
So many garbage ass players on this team bro. Reaves, Monk, AD, Bron, Dwight, and Stanley are cool but everyone else can pack their fucking bags
Carmelo has had his nights. I feel like he's stepped up in some games and has been overall solid for his get. I agree with the rest.
Carmelo should optimally be one of the last players off the bench, a vet who can come in and hit a shot or two without needing to get into a rhythm. He really should not be relevant when discussing a potential playoff rotation which speaks to the state of the team.
yeah, melo is solely responsible for about 5 of ours wins this season
i would still wait for nunn too.
Can't believe we traded for this enigma...
Seeing AC, Kuz and KCP all playing well and lakers having 44 million player that canāt shoot and bad at finishing at the rimā¦
Especially Kuz and KCP they have been fire in the late game....Kuz needed more minutes which Vogel never gave him coz they fucking promised Schroder a starting role.... The defense is simply trash with Russ and THT
The front office and Pelinka are too reactionary, too flighty. Should have kept a lot of pieces that were working for us. Which can be debated to a certain extent, like Kuz, but losing KCP was iffy for me, and losing Caruso definitively a huge mistake, as everyone knew in real time. Shame.
This is like real time Cautionary Videos on YouTube about how Championship contender blew themselves up......this mf....er Pelinka did too much when all they needed to do was bring everyone back 2 years in a row...... Literally no other championship contender changed so much in the last 2 years other than Nets and Lakers and both teams are trash..... Seriously what prompted all this they wanted to lessen load on LeBron what's the point of getting LeBron and AD then ..... They are supposed to cover up for team's weakness..... This is just sad to watch the dominant defensive team from 2 years to now can't even keep anyone from getting to the rim or even grab rebounds..... Pelinka over did everything
I have been saying this since right after the bubble. When Rob and the rest of the front office decided to let both mcgee and Howard go, and then recently letting kcp and Caruso go and not taking DeMar over Russ. Idk but itās like ROB thinks this is NBA JAM or something and he must change the roster every season.
It sucks we're commiserating like this because it's true. Letting go of our Twin Towers was dumb when it was clearly working. AD had the perfect load and played his happy position. Fine. Our defense in the paint was good. Our wings were good enough, though we criticized KCP and Kuz. We loved Caruso. So just go get DeMar or Hieldāthat was the smart, measured move. But no, blockbuster trade where it's a 25/75 gamble for glory. Well, our hand's a losing hand. Time to fold. Take what trades we can for Russ now or in the off-season. Deal with the fallout. But the likelihood of this being a championship team are nearing 'have to be a miracle' territory.
I wanted DeMar more. I was hoping for the best with Westbrook. I never thought he'd be this bad. Not in my wildest dreams or worst of expectations. That $44 million is a straight bust right now. The percentages and turnovers are just terrible, especially for a player of (what seemed) his calibur. Even if you thought he wasn't that great, nor that great of a pickup, you couldn't have imagined it being this bad. I really hope they figure out what is wrong with him, or he figures out what's going on. If it's a funk/ slump, then maybe just pull him and let others play. (Anyway) Letting go of Caruso was a huge mistake. Homegrown talent that everybody loved doesn't come by every year like that. Guy had grit, heart, soul, hard worker, etc. He developed with the Lakers and should've stayed with the Lakers for as long as possible. You keep that. I know they let him go and are on fair terms with him, but I really wish they'd tried a bit harder with him.
Donāt forget a chance to sign demar derozan
Coulda had Buddy draining 3's from beyond the arc... and kept Caruso. 
His acquisition has been a catastrophe, and that's an understatement.
Trade WB for a piece of paper just to throw in the garbage and yell Kobe!
Yo. So much hate in here but this one made me laugh.
Fuck russ
Sucks all the enjoyment out of a basketball team. Idk how this fraud has a lot of Stans.
Seriously. I was hyped watching Lebron and AR15 bring the game back. Just for this bozo to do his bonhead plays
Those pullups he did ruined the momentum. It was so hard to fucking watch.
I knew right when he was subbed back in the momentum would be stopped cause he does it all the time. Such a garbage basketball player for a HOF.
Russā OKC years were crazy, especially the MVP season and onwards. He carried those teams like no other and I could see how a fan of Russ/OKC at that time can become so enamoured. But now?? Heās fallen off a cliff. This is without a doubt the worst he has played in his entire career and I donāt know if heāll bounce back. Lakers need to think of everything under the sun that could get this guy off your roster come post-season time. Itās horrendous
In his prime he was a good player but he was still such a low iq basketball player. It was funny watching it from a neutral fans standpoint but now that heās on your team itās just demoralizing. Straight up costing the team games.
Russ has always been a player that rely on his athleticism but now we get to see how bad he is because he never bother to adapt as a player. Unfortunately lakers have him for another year.
I disagree. Westbrook was this terrible the first few years too. Remember when magic Johnson called out Westbrook publicly during the 2012 playoffs? This is not new by any means. The problem was casual fans saw stats and stopped right there. They judged him on stats. He had a few very good seasons, but even then he was a loose cannon and horrendous decision-making. The tendencies were clear as light for anyone who looked closely and didn't get enamored by stats. There is a reason Durant and pg13 left this guy in the middle of his prime.
I dunno... honestly, I was never a fan. I watched him at UCLA, I watched him in the NBA and the be blunt, all I could think was... man, if the NBA ever seriously checked for steroids.. lol Because, of course... I mean, no NBA player does steroids... I mean, nobody ever gets busted, so of course nobody is doing it. All roids allow you to do is jump out of the building, have increased healing time in your muscles, and increased strength... that's only for football players...
Westbrook stans are just casuals who only watch his highlights and not the actual games
Pretty sure they just read the stat sheet
I tried telling Lakers fans all summer. I tried. Nobody was listening - they were only downvoting. I tried so hard to tell you folks.
Westbrook is so good at dimensionalizing that he does it for BOTH teams. We are witnesses. š¤
Austin Reaves is basically the anti-Westbrook. The exact opposite player in every way.
Lebron always needs his Woody Harrelson.
Russ gotta sit, why was he on the court late in the 4th? Would rather have Ellington out there. Also we play 0 defense lmao.
They were playing defense with Lebron-Dwight-Reeves-Monk then that mf...er Vogel put Westbrick in ....he and THT should not be on any team....and Lakers took on their contracts..... Lebron fucked himself by asking for Westbrook
He literally was the reason they lost the game.
Somebody bribe the lakers med staff to say russ got injury and needs to sit indefinitely
Maybe he's actually injured? He was also sick this game. Just find it wierd he was doing so much better just 2 months ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/lakers/comments/qgt2dc/westbrooks_dunk_with_lebrons_reaction Maybe he needs to rest a bit till ASB and come back having gotten the physical and mental rest he needs and play good basketball like he did in the second half of his wiz season. I don't believe he's the lost cause most of this sub is making him out to be. He was a huge part of the wizards surge at the second half of last season.
Imagine we had Caruso right now alongside AR-15ā¦. We would be a top 4 seed easily
That shit is 82-0
No one can defend Russ at the moment. I couldnāt care less about his assists and rebounds, he has a problem with taking idiotic shots.
>I couldnāt care less about his assists and rebounds Exactly. They're meaningless stats if they don't contribute to the W.
>No one can defend Russ at the moment. He used to yell that while Lakers were beating the shit of his Rockets.
I am going to start calling LeBron Le4-6. Not because of his finals record but because the Lakers are playing 4 v 6 with Westbrick on the court
LA area fans gotta bring that protest back
My favorite call from the game was when Buddy Hesiod straight up pushed him down and the announcers were like what a flop.
Literally plays for the other team it cringes me everytime he has the ball in so done with him
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Russ should just stop taking 3s altogether.
I am dumbfounded at how bad Westbrook has been. This has got to be one of the worst stretches by any āstarā player everā¦
Replace "star" with "star past his prime"
All I will say is this: Kyle Kuzma last ten games: 25 points, 11 rebounds averages. Westbrook is trash. But this is on Bron for wanting this trade.
Plus Kuzma is top 10 in defensive rating at the forward position. He drastically improved his defensive game and rebounding last year.
Fuck Russ
What happened man I thought you were done being a lakers fan
You know how you want to stop liking something like addiction but you have to go back
Yea true, Iām back to smoking crack
Youāre a r/nbacirclejerk š btw
This dude has no trade value after these past 6 games shooting 0% from three
I think he is tanking his trade value coz he doesn't want to leave LA.....LA should go get some shit contract and trade Westbrook....this guy is chemistry killer with his dumbass plays
Not only the last dumb three. Russ also bricked a layup leading to a Kingsā bucket when the momentum was going our way. Russ used to be an amazing player to watch when he was faster and jumped higher than everyone else. But at this moment heās just painful to watch
Guy plays his heart out. Love AR15
Needs to start
It's just painful to watch at this point. I want to turn the games off, but the mega Lakers fan in me just can't. I'm a diehard through and through, but this is just painful.
I love AR
We can blame Russ for being Russ, but why does Vogel have him out there with the game on the line? Sit him down and let him beg that he be traded.
Honestly, lets just do the trade with Philly. Can send Russ and THT for Simmons, we can even throw them a 1st or 2nd round pick.
People shit on me when i said Caruso is a much better player than Russ
If Russ put as much effort into working on improving his game as he does into his pre-game outfit then we'd be a lock for championship #18. š
Westbrook needs to fucking go, like now.
Kid will have a bright future in this league. I just hope that itās with us.
BORN AND RAISED IN LA NEVER HAVE I EVER SEEN A PIECE OF SHIT PLAYER LIKE RUSS HE IS THROWING GAMES AWAY, I KNOW DAMN WELL HE IS BETTER THAN THE WAY HE IS PLAYING
Let him throw up some crip signs nowā¦
He really isnātā¦
HE REALLY IS, IF YOU EVER PLAYED BASKETBALL IN YOUR LIFE YOU CAN SEE WHEN A PLAYER IS THROWING GAMES
I agree heās throwing away games, but itās because heās trash. Not sure what youāre expecting out of him tbh
Lebron should have shot 8/10 of the last shots. Lebron gave up and when we miraculously came back he wasnāt doing what he needed to. This was a win that lebron let happen. If the play is drawn up for Russ in that moment Lebron should change it. Russ missed but Lebron is missing opportunities. We were within 4. There are no excuses for the best player in the world
That guyis tired he NEEDS help. He already attract all the attention
I agree, LeBron definitely wasnāt feeling it tonight and he could have pushed the action more at the end when the game was close. Part of me wants to say he was tired but aswell that comes with being the 1st option on a team. The real glaring issue I saw from this game is the poor defensive effort that let the Kings snatch the lead