Alright. It’s still too early to tell exactly what sort of team the Lakers are. We can’t anoint them, obviously. But we also can’t bury them either. Especially now since, well, they may have finally made a move that could save their season.
The Lakers are off to a 2-4 start and looked dreadful through their first four games. But they’ve won 2 of their last 3 games, including a Wednesday night thriller against the Pelicans. They’re very clearly trending upward right now.
And the engine behind it all might be the biggest surprise of all. It’s the much-maligned Russell Westbrook.
Lakers fans have been demanding that they trade their former All-Star point guard for a full season now, and rightfully so. There are times when he’s looked completely unplayable for LA.
But 3 games ago, Darvin Ham played a card that probably should’ve been used a long time ago: Playing Westbrook with the bench.
This version of Russell Westbrook has looked like the best version of himself that everyone remembers. He’s got the reigns of the offense again. He’s been playing with the second unit along with Anthony Davis in the pick-and-roll and has looked incredible.
He’s darting to the rim with vigor again and collapsing the defense leading to easy scores for his teammates.
6th man Russ is different pic.twitter.com/DUFU6E4XQW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 3, 2022
He’s playing with pace in the open court and finally connecting on a level with Anthony Davis that we haven’t seen from them as a combo quite yet.
The lob. The jam. The vision. The Throw down!!! pic.twitter.com/xV2yv2Whqe
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) November 3, 2022
And, most importantly, he is finally buying into his role. He celebrated the team’s first win against the Nuggets where he came off the bench despite not being in to close things out in the 4th quarter.
He genuinely seems to enjoy playing this role right now. He called it “beneficial for everybody in my opinion,” which is in stark contrast to what things were at the beginning of the season.
"When I'm in a right position to be able to help my teammates and make them better, it's beneficial for everybody in my opinion."
Russell Westbrook on coming off the bench pic.twitter.com/4nFqIcLmHN
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) November 2, 2022
This is just a different Westbrook. And, honestly, through the last 3 games, he’s probably been the Lakers’ most productive player. That bears itself out in the numbers.
Through the Lakers’ season so far, Westbrook is the only player with a positive point differential of +6 out of players who’ve played at least 70 minutes. Over the last 3 games, he’s at +22. Only Anthony Davis’ +24 has been better. His 2.6 net rating is also a Lakers best for players playing at least 20 minutes per game.
Westbrook hasn’t just been a part of the Lakers’ turnaround — he’s the force that is literally charging it. He’s been good. Very good. And Lakers fans have him to thank for giving them hope early this season.
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