Russell Westbrook's first two games for the Los Angeles Lakers this season has been a rollercoaster of emotions as always. In the team's season opener, Westbrook played reasonably well, especially coming off the bench. Many of the good things Westbrook did in Game 1 was also present in their match against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Well, everything except for his shooting, unfortunately. Russell Westbrook's second game of the 2022-23 season was a complete shooting disaster. The Lakers point guard shot an abhorrent 0-for-11 from the field for the game. This marked the first time an NBA player reached this landmark TWICE in their career, nearly a decade from each other.
Article Continues Below(Russell) Westbrook is the first player in NBA history to shoot 0-for-11 or worse in two games, more than a decade apart.
The sad part is that aside from his god-awful shooting, Westbrook actually played decently well for the Lakers⌠most of the time. There was the usual odd decision-making and passing we're accustomed to seeing. However, those mistakes were less frequent for most of the game. Westbrook's defensive intensity was also on full display, as he locked up Kawhi Leonard on at least two occasions.
The Lakers fanbase is already hitting the panic button this early into the season. Westbrook and the team's shooting is worrying, of course. However, all things considered, the team is already in a much better position than they were last season. Their defense is already miles ahead of last season's abomination. If they can figure this thing called âoutside shootingâ (either via trade or internal improvement), expect the Ws to rack up for the Lakeshow.