As we mentioned earlier Wednesday, the Lakers are feeling urgency to make moves to get their season back on track. One major factor in that urgency has been the poor fit of Russell Westbrook, and "frustration is simmering" between the player and team, writes Jovan Buha of The Athletic.
Westbrook has been abysmal through four games in February, averaging 10.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 3.5 turnovers on .275/.154/.550 shooting in 31.1 minutes per contest. As Buha details, Westbrook was benched not just for the last few minutes, but for the final 14:34 of the 131-116 loss to Milwaukee Tuesday, showing L.A.’s decaying confidence in the guard.
Head coach Frank Vogel couldn’t pinpoint why Westbrook has struggled so much of late, but said the trio of Westbrook, LeBron James and Anthony Davis hasn’t meshed well in the limited games they’ve played together.
“It’s tough to say,” Vogel said. “He wasn’t that bad. The group that was making a run, we just left them in there in the fourth, aside from bringing Bron back. Had a tough night the other night, and a tough night shooting the ball tonight, but I thought he was competing. And the lineups have changed. He’s playing without AD one time on the road, and without AD and Bron, and without Bron, he’s got the ball a lot more, and it’s easier to get in a rhythm. And that’s how he’s played.
“But all those three guys are out there at the same time, it’s different. There’s less touches, and everybody’s out there sharing. So maybe tougher to get into a rhythm, but that’s one of the things we’re working through.”
For his part, Westbrook believes the team’s inconsistency is due to Vogel’s constantly fluctuating lineups, per Buha.
“It’s difficult,” Westbrook said. “You never know when you’re coming in. You never know when you’re coming out. You never know when you’re playing. You never know a bunch of things. And I’m speaking for me personally. It’s a difficult process to be able to figure out and (create) a rhythm, (create) some consistency where we can actually see what we’re able to do as a team. But those decisions are made by him (Vogel) and this coaching staff, and you’ve gotta live with it and move on.”
Westbrook tried to offer to support to Davis and James in the closing seconds of the dispiriting loss, a gesture that didn’t appear to go over very well, but that could have been poor timing rather than ill-will. Still, it was a telling moment of potential dissatisfaction with how the gamble to acquire Westbrook has played out, Buha opines.
The Lakers are unlikely to find any takers for Westbrook at the trade deadline, which could increase the tension and awkwardness between the two sides, according to Buha.
At 26-29, the Lakers are currently the No. 9 seed in the West.
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