The Lakers won, 108-103. In this game, he had a double-double with points and turnovers. Russ scored 20 but had nine turnovers and only five assists. After the game, he clapped back at the idea that the game wasn't going his way.
In an interview with ESPN, Westbrook said his game is fine. My game is not based on shots or turnovers. I miss a few shots in the game. I can miss shots. I can do that. Like any other player, I can do that. I can also turn the ball over. I can do that. That is part of the game.
There is proof in the pudding. The man doesn't care about missed shots or turnovers. He doesn't think they matter in a game. The Lakers won because of the 20 points that Westbrook scored. I guess that is all that matters. Those missed shots and turnovers matter. They matter a lot. Four future Hall of Famers are on the roster of Los Angeles.
This can't be the type of season that Westbrook had in mind when he was traded to his hometown team. It isn't what James had in mind when he said he was optimistic about this roster. The team has been on the struggle bus since the season started. There was a play in the first quarter of the win over Minnesota where James gets tripped up on a fastbreak, and the other team just lost the ball on their way to a dunk with no one really contesting.
Missed shots and turnovers don't matter. One aspect of the sport that is correct is that they are part of the game. Russ has an imaginary world of hoops. He usually has a straight face. The same guy had the nerve to laugh at Stephen Curry at a press conference during the Western Conference finals. It doesn't matter what the question was.
I guess it isn't all bad since he has gotten this far with his mindset. He is going to be a Hall of Famer. There is no doubt about that. It feels like he knows that his chances of winning a ring have passed him by. Russ and the Lakers are on the verge of a first-round exit in the playoffs, which would be only the second time in James' career that he has been knocked out in the first round.
Where does this leave him after the season? I don't think Russ will return to the Lakers next year if he makes it past the trade deadline. The only obstacle standing in the way is his massive contract. Russ is making over forty million dollars this year and forty million next season. In the NBA, where there is a will, there is a way to move that contract. James and Rob Pelinka will figure out how to move on from Russ if they want it badly enough.
