When Russell Westbrook arrived at the Los Angeles Lakers over the offseason, as part of general manager Rob Pelinka’s efforts to refresh and rejuvenate Frank Vogel’s playing roster, many predicted that the 33-year-old would prove a massive success.
The prospect of a trio of Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis is certainly one that should have led to a strong campaign, but currently, the Lakers find themselves at 25-28 and struggling to make it to the postseason, with the likelihood of having to qualify with the ‘play-in’ tournament in order to do so.
As far as how that affects the Lakers betting odds, you can see on this site that they are now (+1900), which is a far cry from the start of the NBA season when they were second only to the Brooklyn Nets.
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Russell Westbrook
Now there is growing talk that Westbrook’s time at the Crypto.com Arena could be a very short one, with the possibility of a trade occurring when the season comes to a close. It appears that the New York Knicks are interested in bringing in a star of Westbrook’s caliber. It might be a move that interests the nine-time NBA All-Star pick.
Interestingly there has also been talk of a possible trade with the Houston Rockets, with Rockets guard John Wall even liking a tweet that suggested such a move could become a reality. Westbrook spent a year at Houston, helping them to a conference semi-final playoff in the 2019-20 season, so perhaps a move back to the Toyota Center is a possibility?
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Westbrook has upped his game of late, which has been crucial given that LeBron James and Anthony Davis have been out with injury, and the Lakers man has credited discussions with NBA great Shaquille O’Neal for helping him get back into focus, stating;
“It was just talking about changing speeds and different things,”
“When somebody like Shaq is seeing and watching the game, I’m always big on listening to my elders and listening to the ones that were before me. Shaq was giving me some good advice about changing speeds at different times coming up the floor, which was very helpful not just in that game but as I watch myself moving forward and trying to continue doing that the rest of the year.” Westbrook added.
Russell Westbrook Points Per Game
Indeed over his last five games, his average has bumped up to 22.8 points per game, though he (and others) will have to do a lot more to get the Los Angeles Lakers back where they want to be. On what’s changed for him, Westbrook commented;
“Just taking my time, focusing on what I can control,” Westbrook said of what’s changed for him since that Indiana game, “focusing on me and making sure I’m playing the right way, playing the right basketball, making the right plays. Trying to be effective and efficient along the way, that’s all that I’ve been focusing on throughout whatever many games it has been.”
