The Russell Westbrook experiment has not paid off for the Los Angeles Lakers, with the team's struggles reaching a fever pitch coming out of the All-Star break. Frank Vogel's squad is currently seven games under .500 with a 27-34 record, good for the ninth spot in the Western Conference.

It's evident that chemistry is still non-existent for the Lakers, as their players have yet to form sufficient cohesion to allow them to bounce back from their tough losses. On another note, the glaring dissonance between LeBron James and Russell Westbrook continues to be magnified, especially with Anthony Davis out with a mid-foot sprain.

With that said, let's take a look at three things wrong between the two stars this season.

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Why the Russell Westbrook-LeBron James partnership is failing

3. Both are ball-dominant players who share the court for the majority of the game

It's a known fact that Russell Westbrook likes to chase triple-doubles, dating back to his days with the Oklahoma City Thunder. However, he can't do it as often as he would like with LeBron James around as the primary playmaker of the team. Both of them are extremely ball-dominant players who aren't nearly as effective off the ball, especially Westbrook. While LeBron has played with other ball-dominant players before (Dwyane Wade, Kyrie Irving, etc.), this fit is much worse at this point in time.

One of the main reasons why the Lakers acquired Westbrook was to have someone who could fill in when James heads to the bench to take a breather during games, and to simply help take the load off The King throughout the course of a long season. However, things haven't gone as planned, and both players ultimately wind up sharing the court a lot anyway.

At the same time, the team isn't getting their desired level of production from the former MVP in Westbrook as he fails to be effective with the ball, whether it's inefficient scoring or turning the ball over too much. When he doesn't have the ball, he also can't do anything significant because he doesn't have the ability to consistently knock down spot-up jumpers.

Perhaps Westbrook accepting an off-the-bench role would change things for the better, but it's hard to see Vogel doing that at this point. The Lakers point guard has already been upset over getting benched in crunch time.

2. Russell Westbrook can't knock down shots on a consistent basis

Over the years, LeBron-led teams were always built with spot-up shooters around him, with the likes of Ray Allen, Kyle Korver, and Kevin Love, among others, playing key roles. Westbrook has never been a good 3-point shooter and teams don't respect him from beyond the arc, often wandering off him.

Westbrook is shooting just 43.2% overall and 28.6% from 3-point range. He's also at just 67.0% on free throws, which all adds up to a terrible 50.0% true shooting mark. His finishing at the rim has also dipped compared to past seasons as he loses some of his athleticism, which is a killer given his shaky jumper.

After a recent game, LeBron pointed out that Westbrook tends to “second-guess” himself during games despite getting good looks from the field, per the New York Post. It shows that he doesn't have confidence in his shotmaking abilities even when he has an open shot available.

When you toss in the turnovers (4.0 per game) on top of the inefficient shooting, it makes for a problematic pairing.

1. Both of their egos continue to prevent this partnership from working

Looking back, LeBron James assembled a star-studded team in the first place due to his desires to avenge last year's first-round exit to the Phoenix Suns, and he deserves some blame for how this has played out. Instead of getting DeMar DeRozan or Buddy Hield, LeBron pushed for a questionable fit in Westbrook instead, with the Lakers sending out quite the haul to get him.

Westbrook, as mentioned, has found himself getting benched at times to close games. As a former MVP, it's definitely gut-wrenching for him to accept the fact that he's often seen as a liability in late-game situations.

But instead of accepting this and learning from his mistakes when it happened, he still didn't take responsibility and even said he “earned the right to be in closing lineups” no matter his performance, per CBS Sports.

As it stands today, it seems like both LeBron and Westbrook have yet to be on the same page, which is one of the reasons behind their continuous struggles. In the end, both stars have to settle their differences, play within their roles, and prioritize winning in order to turn things around and end their season on a high note. It seems like a lost cause at this point, but the season isn't over yet.