Westbrook isn’t that bad I swear.
I have always been what most call a “Westbrook Hater”. I value IQ and efficiency so much, you could see why we don’t exactly get along. He is now on my team so understanding how he works has been my toughest task while watching the Lakers play basketball this year.
Wednesday - 11/10/21.
Heat vs Lakers.
A game against the at the time 7-3 Miami Heat vs the Lebron-less Lakers, this game had the Heat coming off a game against the Denver Nuggets where we saw the altercation between Jokic and Morris. After that, the Heat players were at an all-time high frustration. The Lakers still without Lebron James and still struggling with other injuries only saw 9 players touch the court in this game, along with Davis and Westbrook playing 45 and 43 minutes. This game was a much-needed win as it seemed the media and 60 percent of Laker fans have already given up on this team and especially Russell Westbrook. Westbrook played great defense on Kyle Lowry holding him to only 18 points in 48 minutes. Westbrook did what Westbrook does and posted a triple-double, he did it while being efficient which isn’t the Russell Westbrook regular-season triple-double we are all used to. Davis also shined in the pick and roll defense though struggled to work Bam Adebayo in the post on defense. The role players were what impressed me the most, including great games by Malik Monk (27 PTS, 6 AST, and 3 REB.), Carmelo Anthony (12 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST, and a game-sealing three at the end.), and Avery Bradley (17 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST and also phenomenal defense.). Overall a great team win and the first game of what I’d call a “Westbrook Week”.
Friday - 11/12/21.
Timberwolves vs Lakers. (Yay!)
A game where I wish I simply didn’t watch had the Lakers somehow losing in the worst 3rd quarter collapse I’ve ever witnessed. This game had not one Lakers player play well except for Westbrook and that didn’t even happen until deep in the third quarter. The Timberwolves won the 3rd quarter 40-12 and at a point went on a 30-4 scoring run to seal the Lakers away for good. The team looked exhausted after that hard victory over the Heat and mentally checked out halfway through the 3rd. For 5 straight possessions, Westbrook looked great because he was getting the opportunity to play his kind of ball and not whatever Frank Vogel draws him up to do. The Lakers need to let Westbrook do what he wants while Lebron is out so this team doesn’t have another game like this one again. This game needed to be a wake-up call for Vogel and the role players of this team, as long as Bron is still out the role guys need to be stepping up and playing at 110 percent if we want to look like the team we should be.
Sunday - 11/14/21
Spurs vs Lakers.
This game was a perfect example of the role players getting hit with that wake-up call I talked about. Both teams seemed on top of their game as both teams shot well from the field and 3. Spurs shooting 45 percent as a team while the Lakers with an above-average 51 percent. This game had 2 young Spurs in Keldon Johnson and Dejounte Murray fighting for the game and had the veteran-filled Lakers answering right back. Though Westbrook didn’t get his triple-double this game he facilitated very well and made his presence known on the other side of the ball. Davis played the pick and roll very well on both ends and stepped up as the leader for this game. The role players such as Malik Monk (16 PTS), Carmelo Anthony (15 PTS), Wayne Ellington (15 PTS), and Talen Horton-Tucker (17 PTS) all stepped up big in this game, with all of them scoring at least 15-17 points this game didn’t land on Westbrook’s or Davis’ shoulders. It felt like the Lakers had some chemistry for once. If the Lakers got that production like that every game from its role players this team would be the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th seed without question.
Monday - 11/15/21
Bulls vs Lakers.
Where to start with this game. I’m going to first talk about how the Lakers messed up in not acquiring Demar Derozan. In the tweet below it has been reported by Demar himself that he believed he was a Laker, done deal, boom.
Oh, how the Lakers messed up by not going through with signing him. I have been saying for over the last 2 years how we could use a mid-range specialist who also can pass and defend well, so I always said why not Demar Derozan. The ability to space the floor and his ability to work with Lebron was always questioned by those I told. That doesn’t matter when you have Lebron and Davis on a pick and roll if they double Demar takes a step in and thats cash all day. He is currently shooting a career-high 3PT percentage as well as career-second in PTS, all while being on a legit great team with a phenomenal scorer in Zach Lavine. Derozan was just unfortunately depressed in San Antonio and with no help, people forgot about him and wrote him off as a bum. He’s proving why he should be remembered and is a top 25 player in the NBA. Finally, we can get to the game.
The Bulls enter this game at 9-4 after just suffering a bad loss to the 1 seeded Golden State Warriors and beating the LA Clippers who have been playing quite well without Kawhi Leonard. The Lakers coming off a win at SA and an awful loss to the Timberwolves needed to win this game to get back its own fan’s belief in the team. Unfortunately, this game featured almost no help from the Lakers bench besides Talen Horton-Tucker who had an amazing game posting 28 PTS, 6 REB, and 2 AST. Not one player besides Westbrook and Davis scored more than 10 points. You simply aren’t going to win games like that, so once again the game fell on Davis’ and Westbrook’s shoulders and they couldn’t win this game with the lack of help. I do not blame either player because like I said the role players were out there running. It doesn’t help that Westbrook went 0-6 from three and you simply can’t win a game shooting 6/32 from 3 as a team, don’t care if you have Jesus on your team that’s too inefficient especially against a top 5 team in the NBA. The role players are too hot and cold to call this team great nor even good, they are an average NBA team without LeBron James and a good team with him.
Takeaways
Get Westbrook playing the role he’s comfortable with, get LeBron James back (duh), please lord let Anthony Davis not get hurt every 3 minutes, and finally role players please play better than 7th graders and we would have ourselves a great basketball team with lots of playoff experience and time under their belts.
Upcoming for the Lakers
Before you read my next Lakers Weekly Summery we will get the Lakers taking on 3/4 last year playoff teams with an exception to the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks, Celtics, and Knicks are all good teams but the Lakers need to win 3/4, do I see them losing 3/4 or splitting 2/4? Definitely but I’m crossing my fingers they play the best they possibly can.