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The LA Lakers' big move of the 2021 NBA offseason came in the form of a trade for Russell Westbrook. Although many have spoken out against the move, due to the former NBA MVP's way of controlling the ball most of the time, LeBron James is all-in with the new point guard at Staples Center.
Russell Westbrook by no means has left his superstar tag behind, but he is definitely nearing the end of his prime. Still, he had a lot of impact on the Washington Wizards making the 2021 NBA Playoffs via the Play-In Tournament this past season and will help the LA Lakers.
However, there is no denying that being the first NBA MVP in league history to be traded in three consecutive NBA offseasons is not an honor. It could be described as proof that Westbrook is still looking to find a team that adheres to his style and ultimately finds collective success, the only success that matters.
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Five areas that should concern the LA Lakers regarding Russell Westbrook
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Russell Westbrook is coming off averaging a Triple-Double for an entire NBA season for the fourth time in the last five seasons, amazingly. That achievement can't simply be swept under the carpet when discussing his flaws, because those Triple-Doubles are certainly a big measure of greatness, regardless of the tune in which some of those achievements have come.
However, there are some statistics that do not favor Russell Westbrook's case to be the best point guard in today's league. Although he will surely be a first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, his status in the current NBA seems to have taken a slight decline due to the lack of collective achievements.
In this article, we will give you five Russell Westbrook numbers that should concern the LA Lakers heading into the 2021-22 NBA season, even though they're definitely favorites in the West.
Without further ado, let us start.
#5 Usage Percentage
It is common to see an NBA point guard controlling the basketball and his team's offense. However, that trend has seemingly extended a lot in the current NBA with certain players, whether they are point guards or not.
One of the players who is known for having the basketball in his hands most of the time is Russell Westbrook. Many have criticized him and called him a 'ball hog', but the point guard's style also has its fans. Westbrook is obviously high on the advanced stat called 'Usage Percentage' year in and year out.
Basketball Reference describes it like this:
"Usage Percentage is an estimate of the percentage of team plays used by a player while he was on the floor".
Michael Jordan is the all-time leader in Usage Percentage, with 33.2% in his career. While it would be expected to see Jordan, arguably the greatest player ever, at the top, it would also be normal to see other players of his caliber, such as LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. But it is Russell Westbrook who ranks second in NBA history.
That Westbrook is second does not mean anything negative, but it could certainly be an interesting situation to navigate for the 2021-22 LA Lakers. Westbrook has already shown that even with Kevin Durant on his team, he is likely to remain playing at the same style that has given him an NBA MVP and lots of praise for his individual efforts, but has not been good for collective success.
#4 Three-point shooting
The fact that Russell Westbrook has a career shooting percentage of 30.5% from the free-throw line in a league that is carried by the three is not the real problem. The issue with Russell Westbrook's three-point shooting is the volume of three-point shots he takes while having struggles from deep.
Russell Westbrook averages 3.7 three-pointers per game in his NBA career, and that number was 4.2 last season. The LA Lakers' player was among the qualified three-point shooters last year because he averaged more than one make per game. However, he ranked 149th out of 155 qualified shooters in the 2020-21 season with his 31.5% from three.
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#3 Defense
Russell Westbrook has not been the best defender in the league at any point, but he has been adequate in stretches. Last season, Westbrook's defense was a casualty of a poor collective performance from the Wizards' defense.
Westbrook's Defensive Rating was his worst since his rookie year, at 110, but his team ranked only 19th in the entire NBA. The LA Lakers, on their side, had the best Defensive Rating in the 2020-21 NBA season, and the defense was often spearheaded by perimeter defenders such as Alex Caruso and Dennis Schroder, who are now gone.
Russell Westbrook has never been at the top of the Defensive Rating list in the NBA, but he's been in the Top 15 twice in his career and once in the Top 10. He's never made an All-Defensive team in his career, but providing the LA Lakers a good enough defensive effort would be big for the team next year.
#2 Free-throw shooting
An NBA point guard is usually a great free-throw shooter, which definitely helps in close situations, when said player is controlling the offense and could go to the free-throw line and be reliable.
In Russell Westbrook's career, he has a free-throw percentage of 79% in the regular season, which is great. However, he was at 82% from his rookie year (2008-09) until the 2016-17 season.
In the last four years, Russell Westbrook has made 70% of his free throws. He made a career-low 65% from the charity stripe last season, and his free-throw shooting struggles seem to continue. Whether he can return to his old FT form or not is yet to be seen, but the LA Lakers would definitely love to see him convert those shots.
The LA Lakers were 28th last season on free-throw shooting, and improving in that area should definitely be one of the team's priorities.
#1 Russell Westbrook is sixth all-time in turnovers with 3,893
Russell Westbrook averages the most career turnovers in NBA history among players with at least 400 games played, with 4.1 per game. He's led the NBA in total turnovers four times throughout his career.
He might be the all-time greatest stat sheet player in league history, but it also includes turnovers. Russell Westbrook has the most career games with at least five turnovers in NBA history, with 375.
Moreover, the LA Lakers already have the player with the most turnovers in league history and the eighth player on the all-time list of turnovers per game (LeBron James. For the upcoming season, the LA Lakers will certainly need to cut down on turnovers, with their two main ball-handlers needing to work on that area of the game to control the ball efficiently.
The LA Lakers were third in turnovers per game last year, and that is definitely not a positive.
Also Read: Who is Russell Westbrook’s wife, Nina Earl?
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