LOS ANGELES — Russell WestbrookThe ball was dribbled to the floor in just over 30 seconds. LakersHolding a lead of 102-101 in the Portland Trail Blazers.
Blazers centre Jusuf Nurkic sagging off of Westbrook — as Nurkic did for the game’s final few minutes — Westbrook stepped into an uncontested pull-up 16-foot jumper with 18 seconds left on the shot clock. Like most of Westbrook’s shots over the past two games, the ball clanged off the side of the rim.
Westbrook has a record of 4-of-26 in that time span. He also tied his Jan. 2022 record for the lowest field-goal percentage over any two game span by a Lakers team (min. 25 field-goal attempts), per ESPN Stats & Info.
LeBron James Anthony DavisBoth of them, who were barely past halfcourt and expecting the Lakers’ to dribble down time, disbelieved in the decision.
You can see the head-scratching possession.
If you look closely, you can see James’ frustration with the shot selection. He wasn’t the only one. Darvin Ham, the Lakers’ head coach, benched Westbrook on the last three possessions of this game. But the damage was done. The Blazers scored on the Blazers’ next two possessions and James missed a game-tying jumper. This resulted in a 106-104 Portland win that dropped the Lakers to 0-3 for this season.
Afterward, Westbrook said he was going looking for a “two-for-one” opportunity. The obvious flaw in that line of reasoning is that the Lakers were winning and had a chance to run the clock down to decrease Portland’s chances of tying or taking the lead. It’d be one thing if Westbrook attempted a layup, but a jumper in transition — especially when he’d been ice-cold all game — was a lapse in judgment that arguably cost the Lakers the game.
Ham said he was fine with Westbrook’s two-for-one logic but just wished he took a better shot.
“I just wished he had attacked the rim,” Ham said. “Pat tried to set a little screen, Nurkic was kind of in front of him, kind of back. In those moments, if you are going to go two-for-one, I think it has to be either you’re going downhill to attack the rim or you’re going downhill for a draw-and-kick. I felt like he settled on that.”
Ham later added: “That’s the one shot that teams want you to take and want to give up — long 2s, contested 2s, what have you. And with his ability to explode and get to the basket still being at a high level, I wish he would’ve done that. Especially with Nurkic standing back there with five fouls.”
Chauncey Bilups, Blazers head coach, said postgame that Westbrook was deliberately ignored by the Blazers because they had placed Nurkic there.
“Putting him on Russ, we were just going to kind of play off of Russ,” Billups said.
Westbrook scored 10 points, shooting 4-for-15, 6 rebounds and 6 assists, while also having 0 turnovers. He’s averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.7 turnovers while shooting 28.9 percent from the floor and 8.3 percent on 3s. The Lakers have been outscored by 16 points in the 86 minutes Westbrook has played — the second-worst mark on the team and the worst among the seven players that have played 50-plus minutes.
Ham subliminally subbed in for Troy Brown Jr.The Lakers led by eight points with just 4:42 left in the game. The Blazers outscored them by 10 points over the next 4:30 before Ham pulled Westbrook with 12.4 seconds remaining. Ham said went back to Westbrook because he wanted “another athletic perimeter defender” on the floor in crunch time, but that clearly backfired.
It is the second occasion this season when an opponent uses their center in crunch time against Westbrook. The Clippers also deployed Ivica ZubacThe Lakers won 103-97 with Westbrook. The results have been positive for the respective defenses, as the Lakers’ driving lanes and pick-and-roll attack with James and Davis have been stymied by 7-footers camping in the paint and dismissing Westbrook around the 3-point arc. Thus far, he can’t make them pay from deep or at the rim.
Here’s another example with just under 3:30 remaining. As James and Davis try to run a pick-and-roll in the middle of the floor, one of their most effective actions to start this season, Nurkic fades off Westbrook to muck up Davis’ roll.
James throws the ball to Westbrook. Westbrook has no Blazer less than 10 feet from him. No one rotates to contest, with Portland’s players instead crashing the defensive glass in preparation for a rebound. Westbrook’s shot hits the front of the rim and falls into Nurkic’s hands.
Westbrook’s offensive woes are a growing problem that the Lakers desperately need to solve. His minutes should be reduced, he should be removed from the bench, and he should be benched in close games. Though he’s had some encouraging defensive moments, particularly when fronting Kawhi Leonard and playing passing lanes in the Clippers game, his performance — especially offensively — hasn’t warranted him playing nearly 29 minutes per game. Bringing him back at the end of the Clippers and Blazers games disrupted the Lakers’ offensive flow.
There is a downside to playing Westbrook that doesn’t show up in the box score. It’s not just the shots that he misses — it’s the shots the Lakers are unable to create because his defender is in the way. Teams are increasingly playing off of him and it’s clogging the Lakers’ lanes for drives, rolls and cuts. Moreover, he’s playing into the defense’s hands anytime he shoots. His open jump shots, at this point, are essentially Laker turnovers. While his attempts to get into the paint are much better, they still give below-average results. He’s becoming nearly unplayable.
Ham must maintain the impression that Westbrook is equal to James and Davis, and should be considered a final lock. The Lakers need to change their strategy from Westbrook shooting through disrespectful opponents. Ham mentioned a Draymond green-like role where Westbrook assists with dribble pass-offs in open court.
“We work on different things in practice,” Ham said. “… I mean, we work on our quick dribble hand-offs. We work on ‘going’ catches. The ball is swung and they’re playing that far off, get it and rip it quick and get to the rim. Nine times out of 10, the guy, whether it’s Nurkic or Zubac, would have to foul him in that sense. You just have to be aware of that.”
It’s a delicate balance, from Ham’s perspective, as he’s repeatedly said he’s trying to maintain his team’s confidence during its shooting slump and encouraging them to keep shooting.
“I don’t want my guys to be hesitant in taking shots,” Ham said. “I don’t want to give them any type of complex. They need to be confident scoring from every corner. His percentage hasn’t been high, but Russ can make a 3-point shot. So it’s just a matter of stepping up. If you’re gonna take it, you have to step up and make it. And that’s pretty much it.”
Westbrook isn’t making them, though. And he doesn’t seem to have an answer either.
“I’m not really sure what to do,” Westbrook said of centers defending him. “Just trying to do the best I can.”
Indeed, Ham and Westbrook may both be trying their best, but there is enough of a sample size of Westbrook’s career to realize that his 3s and jump shots are low-percentage propositions. Even if Westbrook does reach his career norms the Lakers would be better off looking for offense elsewhere, especially in close games.
While Westbrook wasn’t called directly by anyone, James, Davis and Patrick Beverley each mentioned the team’s problematic shot selection in crunch time.
“Shot selection is always a part of the game, no matter if it’s the last couple minutes of the game or the first few minutes of the game,” James said. “You want to play the right way. Always. No matter the score and no matter the time. And you should always be understanding of what’s the best shot you can get throughout the course of a possession.”
When asked specifically about Westbrook’s two-on-one decision, James defended his teammate.
“I don’t know,” James said. “I feel like this is an interview of trying to set me up to say something. You guys seem to be in the Russell Westbrook category. … You guys can write about Russ and all the things you want to try to talk about Russ, but I’m not up here to do that. I won’t do it. I’ve said it over and over. That’s not my (M.O. That’s not who I am.”
Davis, who is one of the more candid interviews on the team, couldn’t hide his frustration. He was just as downbeat at a postgame press conferences as a Laker.
“There’s no way we’re supposed to lose this game,” Davis said.
To Davis’ point, the Lakers once again had a solid defensive performance, including monster games from Davis (22 points, 10 rebounds and 6 blocks) and James (31 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 steals and 2 blocks). They won the game late. They should have won.
The loss was not caused solely by the Lakers’ defense. The Lakers’ stout defense collapsed over the final few minutes. Ham acknowledged he could’ve called a timeout as Westbrook dribbled up the floor. James and Beverley made questionable shots in the final stretch (Los Angeles was 3-of-9). Kendrick NunnHe was unable to get his game rhythm back and this has been a major problem.
Not least, 3-point shooting difficulties continued to be comical. Los Angeles started the game with a 1-of-18 start from deep and finished 6-of-33 (18.2%) They are 25-of-118 on 3s for the season (21.2 percent) — the worst start by a team in NBA history.
But Westbrook’s broken shot and the subsequent effect it has on the Lakers’ 30th-ranked offense is exacerbating many of their issues. The Lakers have already been limited in their shot-making and spacing. Westbrook and Davis are the only Lakers being ignored in the same way as Westbrook. Davis has many other positives. This is one of few areas the Lakers have control over.
This situation is getting more complicated every day. Westbrook is no longer the elephant in a room. He has become the oxygen in the midst of it all. Postgame press conferences have descended into Westbrook-centric interrogations. This puts Ham, Westbrook, and his teammates in an unenviable position as they dance around the obvious.
For what it’s worth, Ham said he isn’t concerned with how Westbrook will respond to being benched over the final 12.4 seconds, indicating bigger rotational changes may be on the horizon.
“We don’t have time for feelings or people being in their feelings,” Ham said. “For one person to be in their feelings about when and where and how they should be in the game, I don’t have any time for that. We’re not pushing that. We’re not allowing that narrative to even exist in our program that we’re doing to get the Lakers back to where they should be, and that’s at the top of the food chain.”
If that’s truly the case, then Ham should adjust off the first three games and bring Westbrook off the bench and/or stop closing games with him on the court. Part of the reason the Lakers hired Ham was to get through to Westbrook — at least temporarily — and to make difficult rotation decisions that former head coach Frank Vogel wasn’t always willing or empowered to make.
Ham made it clear that he regards his rotation as a meritocracy. However, his coaching decisions are not consistent with this notion. He brought Westbrook off the bench in the preseason finale in Sacramento, only to pivot away after Westbrook’s hamstring injury (which Westbrook implied occurred from coming off the bench).
Since then, Ham has played Westbrook at the expense of the team’s offense and/or defense, particularly in crunch time. Reaves Brown and Lonniewalker IV were the better options for the Lakers if they wanted to win the Blazers game without a plus-perimeter defender like James, Lonnie Walker IV, Lonnie Davis and James. Juan Toscano/AndersonSitting on the bench.
The Lakers’ loss to the Blazers was as close to a must-win game as it gets this early in the season. Their next four games — really, their first 13 games — are challenging, with Denver (twice), Minnesota and New Orleans on deck. All three teams currently are 2-1 and project to be favorites over the Lakers. It is possible that the Lakers will start the season as 1-6 or 0-7, which would lead to a significant early deficit in the West standings.
The Lakers are still diligently pursuing Westbrook deals and roster upgrade opportunities. Recently, they worked out free-agent Moe Harkless. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported. But a Westbrook trade remains unlikely until after Thanksgiving — around the 20-to-25-game mark or so when the Lakers will have a clearer understanding of both their team and the best options on the trade market.
There will be better times ahead for the Lakers in the interim. They will be better at shooting and eventually play more easily against opponents. They have the league’s second-best defense so far. James and Davis play at a high level. Things aren’t as dire as their winless record indicates.
The Westbrook dynamic is becoming a problem for the Lakers’ second season. His inability to exploit sagging defenses is derailing the Lakers’ offense in critical moments. It’s on Ham and the Lakers to adjust, once and for all, before it’s too late.
(Top Photo: Kevork Dransezian/Getty Images
