"Send Westbrook home for the rest of the season" - Redditors crucify Russell Westbrook on LA Lakers subreddit, a user suggests he should join Shanghai Sharks in 2023

Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers were just punked by Pat Beverly and the Minnesota Timberwolves. The former MVP had another humiliating night versus a team that talked trash about him all game long. Westbrook finished the game with 15 points on 12 shots, including 1-4 from the three-point line.

The Minnesota Timberwolves and their fans had a grand time trolling Westbrook almost every time he had the ball in his hands. As he has shown for most of the season, the triple-double king responded by sulking, walking back on defense and seemingly quitting on the Lakers.

Westbrook’s lackadaisical performance did not go unnoticed by basketball fans on Reddit, who absolutely thrashed him with some nasty jokes.

Russell Westbrook’s game has gone so bad of late that he is now almost unwatchable. It’s not just mind-numbing turnovers, erratic shot selection and poor shooting. The fiery point guard isn’t even attempting to hide his lack of hustle, determination and heart. He might as well be somewhere else instead of playing for the LA Lakers.

The Minnesota Timberwolves took him out of his game and often made him look ridiculous on both ends of the floor. He was only relevant in the matchup simply because of all the trolling the Wolves players were doing. Karl-Anthony Towns and Pat Beverly put on a masterclass in taunting and making fun of Russell Westbrook.

It seems like Russell Westbrook has given up on the season and it reflects on how he has been playing. The popular notion that he plays hard every second he steps on the floor no longer applies. It looks like he’s only on the court because he is contractually obligated to do his job.

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Russell Westbrook and the LA Lakers are likely headed for the play-in tournament

The LA Lakers are desperately holding on to the 9th spot in the Western Conference. [Photo: Rappler]

Assuming LeBron James can still drag his team to a couple more wins before the regular season ends, the Lakers should still be play-in participants. They're currently in 9th place, though they’re only one game ahead of the 10th ranked New Orleans Pelicans.

Should the LA Lakers make the play-in, they face the tall task of getting into the postseason. The likely play-in teams will be the Minnesota Timberwolves, LA Clippers and New Orleans Pelicans. Russell Westbrook and crew have a losing record against all three teams. They have battled the Pelicans only once so far this season, but were pummeled by the overachieving team in their last game.

For the Lakers to make it to the postseason, they will badly need a much-improved version of Westbrook rather than the one that’s viciously mocked on social media.