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Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE by way of Getty Photographs
Los Angeles Lakers ahead LeBron James defended Russell Westbrook towards criticism after the crew dropped its fifth straight recreation Saturday towards the Brooklyn Nets.
Westbrook completed with 13 factors, 12 rebounds and 11 assists however made solely 4 of his 20 photographs, and the Lakers had been outscored by 23 factors in his 37 minutes on the ground.
“He gave us additional possessions, he gave us quite a lot of seems to be across the basket, which I do know that he cannot stand [failing to convert] as nicely,” James told reporters. “However so far as the hassle piece, if a man performs exhausting, if a man leaves all of it out on the ground, I bought no downside with that. It is a make-or-miss league.”
The Lakers’ Christmas loss to the Nets was significantly irritating as a result of Brooklyn was enjoying with a bare-bones roster due to a COVID-19 outbreak throughout the crew. Kevin Durant, LaMarcus Aldridge and Kyrie Irving are among the many gamers who stay in well being and security protocols.
With the 16-18 Lakers sitting under .500 because the halfway level of the season approaches, it is time to begin reassessing the crew’s decision-making from final offseason—significantly the Westbrook acquisition. The Lakers have barely outscored opponents when James and Westbrook have performed collectively this season, and so they’ve been outscored by 2.7 factors per 100 possessions when Westbrook and Anthony Davis share the ground. Whereas the underlying numbers are higher when all three stars play collectively, the Lakers are solely 8-7 in these 15 video games.
Accidents and well being and security protocols have performed a component in these struggles, nevertheless it’s clear one thing is amiss. Many seen the Westbrook acquisition skeptically due to his have to have the ball in his palms to be efficient. James, although nonetheless wonderful enjoying with out the ball, stays at his optimum effectiveness when he is controlling the offense.
Proponents of the transfer mentioned Westbrook’s night-in-and-night-out effort would assist reduce the load on James (age) and Davis (injury-prone). That has not proved to be the case, as James and Davis are each enjoying their most minutes per recreation since becoming a member of the Lakers.
With Davis once more injured and the Lakers packing their roster with getting older function gamers, there is no such thing as a apparent reply on easy methods to reduce the load for an already disappointing crew.
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