The Los Angeles Lakers' acquisition of Russell Westbrook in July of 2021 was polarizing among their fanbase. Some fans doubted Westbrook's fit alongside LeBron James, while some were excited especially after his strong season with the Washington Wizards. Fast forward to a year later, there are now rumblings about bringing the former MVP off the bench after a disappointing 33-49 season and an offseason filled with trade rumors.
However, with new head coach Darvin Ham in town, it appears Russell Westbrook is buying in to the first-time coach's philosophies. Entering preseason, the Lakers are reportedly encouraged with what they've seen from Westbrook, and if he continues to perform like he has during training, it's easy to envision him having a much better second season in purple and gold.
Per Shams Charania, Sam Amick and Jovan Buha of The Athletic (subscription required): “During scrimmages, Westbrook has been doing many of the little things that the Lakers have asked of him. He’s been an active on-ball screener. He’s relentlessly pushing the pace in Ham’s uptempo system, looking for his teammates first and his own shot second. He’s been engaged defensively, hounding ballhandlers while adjusting to Ham’s new pick-and-roll coverage.”
Russell Westbrook shot a well below-average 29.8% last season on 3.4 three-point attempts per game, but it appears as if he is also making a concerted effort to make defenses pay for leaving him open beyond the arc.
“Westbrook slightly refined his shooting form this summer, and sources say his catch-and-shoot 3-point percentage has been improved in workouts and scrimmages,” The Athletic added.
However, during the Lakers' open practice, Westbrook's past shooting woes reared their ugly head once again, new shooting form and all.
Per Jovan Buha's Tiktok, via Reddit:
While Russell Westbrook's MVP days with the Oklahoma City Thunder are long gone, the absolute best-case scenario for him and the Lakers is if the 33-year old point guard could somehow channel the form he displayed with the Houston Rockets back in the 2019-20 season.
Westbrook averaged 27.2 points per game on 47% shooting, having turned in his most efficient campaign of the past five seasons when he cut down on his three-point attempts significantly (especially since December 2019) while playing alongside the ball-dominant James Harden.
Hopefully for Lakers fans, all this talk about the strides Russell Westbrook is making ends up to be for real and not just your typical preseason hype rhetoric to perhaps boost Westbrook's trade value.
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