Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
The Los Angeles Lakers moved Russell Westbrook to the bench, and he has been paying well. After battling the Lakers coaching staff about coming off the bench, Westbrook has accepted the role, and it's the best he has played since joining the Lakers.
In five games since coming off the bench, Westbrook is averaging 18.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 7.2 assists per game. Compared to when he was a starter, he averaged just 10.3 points per game.
Coming off the bench allowed Westbrook to play more freely and have the ball in his hands more often. As a result, the point guard can play more as he did while with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Westbrook can be aggressive in getting to the basket and getting teammates involved.
Westbrook's energy to the floor off the bench has helped the Lakers, but Los Angeles still has significant issues. While Westbrook is playing better, he still turns the ball over at a high rate. If he could cut the turnovers in half, it would greatly help the Lakers.
Also, the Lakers are a terrible shooting team; they are last in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage, shooting 28.4%. With that kind of shooting, it will be hard to win games in the NBA, as you can see with the Lakers' 2-7 record. In addition, Los Angeles struggles to rebound. The one thing the Lakers could hand their hat on was their defense. The Lakers' defense has slacked as of late, and that's not good.
Well, at least Los Angeles found a place for Westbrook, and I hope he continues to play well off the bench, but the Lakers need some significant roster changes before things get better. They mainly need to get some shooters on their roster because the Lakers' shooting is atrocious.
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