Thursday night was pretty brutal for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The team lost their second game of the season and now sits at 0-2.
On Thursday, it was the Clippers who did them in, delivering a 103-97 at home.
There were some good moments for the Lakers during the game but, of course, there were a lot of bad ones too.
Russ would be so good for this team if he just focused on his passing and trying to aim for 20 assists a night.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) October 21, 2022
Russell Westbrook was again controversial, producing just 2 points, 3 rebounds, and 4 assists in 27 minutes.
Westbrook was 0-of-6 from the three-point line and his only points came from free throws.
Once again, it wasn’t a great night for Westbrook.
But he did do a few things well: for example, he stole the ball 5 times and his defense looked stronger than usual.
And his 4 assists were impressive too, coming at the right time and looking smart and intuitive.
This led Lakers Daily to tweet, “Russ would be so good for this team if he just focused on his passing and trying to aim for 20 assists a night.”
This is great advice and could lead Westbrook back into the good graces of fans.
But will he try this?
Reworking Westbrook
The Lakers have a few options right now: they need to change the way Westbrook plays, trade him, or accept another disappointing season from the former MVP.
This season is young and there is still plenty of time to make tweaks but it’s never too early to contemplate serious change.
Westbrook’s shot is just not there like it used to be and that hasn’t changed during the offseason.
He might suddenly become much better at landing shots but that seems unlikely.
So, head coach Darvin Ham should consider utilizing the player in another way – or beg the front office to ship him off as soon as possible.
NEXT: The Lakers Have Their Fans Nervous Once Again