Vintage Russell Westbrook or the same problem for the Los Angeles Lakers? The conclusions of the first game with a loss to the Warriors

drama in Los Angeles Lakers It’s the story that never ends. As soon as each season begins, problems arise under the rocks, and the most important thing that the Californians will have to deal with is the state of Russell Westbrook. The 2017 MVP has become an uncomfortable passenger on campus led by Darwin Hamm. His salary, along with his reluctance to accept a secondary role due to his performance, has created a not-so-positive climate that carried over into the start of the 2022-2023 academic year by Golden State Warriors.

The Lakers couldn’t take down the champions on their night of celebration. falling sharply by 123 to 109 in a duel they never stood a chance of winning. The script of the game followed almost the same development as the 82 games last year and where Westbrook was once again the star.

Just take a look at his brilliant stats 19 points on 7 of 12 field goals, 11 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal it is logical to think that his performance left no room for doubt. Most of his offensive production, however, came against the Warriors’ second unit, either in transition or in mismatches against bigger men. Numbers that although positive and cumulative, happened in individual actions and not as a consequence of the offensive system of the Lakers. That is, nothing that did not happen last season, the result of which is already known.

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With Westbrook today, it’s not so much what he can do (up the pace, score with touch, run), but more how and in what context he does it. Only 3 of the 2017 MVP’s 12 attempts at the rim came via a teammate’s pass, one of which was a clean step-up alley-oop. If Darwin Hamm’s goal was to turn Rush into a prop and someone who could contribute without the ball, this wasn’t the best start.

It’s clear that the Lakers’ loss was not due to the star’s performance at all. In fact, beyond of the link LeBron-Davis-Westbrook the angel hardly tried 34 field goals (52.9% accuracy)namely, 32 points. Very little production for a team that claims to be significantly improved from last year.

The problem with Rush came after the game to the attention of the media. There the base stated that the muscle problems suffered in the final preseason duel was due to the fact that he came off the bench, words similar to what he left last season about his minutes on the court.

“I’ve been doing the same thing for the last 14 years” he said, referring to the possibility of being an alternate. “Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do before the game. I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and cool. It’s just something I wasn’t used to.”

While, ham He emphasized the importance of Westbrook bringing energy from the start, especially after Dennis Schroder’s recent injury.

You want to start the match in the right way in terms of energy and to be in attack mode and there is no one better than him.”commented the coach of the Lakers before the words of his player. “I believe that [Westbrook] it was solid. He had a few things I’d like to fix, but overall he was solid.”.

The Lakers have a lot of issues to sort out in the coming weeks, and Russell Westbrook’s is one of the biggest. Finding the right role for him and to match his personality will be critical if he remains in the team. All this while trying to show that he is still the best version of himself.

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.