VanWest82 wrote:Faulty premise. Russ was good on the Rockets and Wizards in the second half of those seasons once he was recovered from knee operations. He was good as soon as he was traded to Clippers. He was good to start this season pre-Harden.
He was a bad fit on the Lakers, and specfically with Lebron who many ball dominant stars have struggled to fit in with. For some reason we seem to be solely faulting Westbrook for that and lumping it in with his injury recoveries.
He's been the same player the entire time with the same strengths and weaknesses. He's never been a very successful PO guy, but the notion that he should've come off the bench sooner seems to be missing the point.
Once again, we have narratives being created even though there is data that is easily accessible and free that dispels these narratives but yet people like you in many threads continue to propagate them. The Lakers found a way for LeBron and Westbrook to work together this year, but the problem was that if LeBron wasn’t on the court the Lakers had too many gaps, not enough neutral or plus players, and Westbrook by himself on court couldn’t do anything.
Lakers in 2022-2023 with WestbrookWestbrook + LeBron ON court (all games): 114.2 ORtg, 108.2 DRtg, +6.0 NET
Westbrook + LeBron ON court after 2-10 start: 117.8 ORtg, 108.7 DRtg, +9.1 NET
Westbrook + LeBron ON court, AD OFF court (all games): 119.8 ORtg, 111.8 DRtg, +8.0 NET
Westbrook + LeBron ON court after AD’s injury in December (24 games): 118.7 ORtg, 103.9 DRtg, +14.8 NET
Westbrook ON court, LeBron and AD OFF court (all games): 106.6 ORtg, 120.6 DRtg, -14.0 NET
Westbrook + LeBron + AD ON Court (all games): 113.8 ORtg, 112.0 DRtg, +1.8 NET
Westbrook + AD ON court, LeBron OFF court: 119.2 ORtg, 120.2 DRtg, -1.0 NET
These are the numbers and they go against whatever narrative you try to push in every thread