Los Angeles Lakers point guard Russell Westbrook has taken a lot of criticism during the 2021-22 season for his struggles with the team.
Some of it is justified, but Westbrook isn’t the only reason that the Lakers were eliminated from playoff contention earlier in the week.
Westbrook has had his fair share of shooting struggles this season, as the Lakers guard is shooting just 29.8 percent from beyond the arc. He has also missed a troubling amount of chances at the rim.
According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, that led people on the Lakers and around the NBA to wonder if there was something wrong with Westbrook’s hands or eyes.
“People on the team and around the league began to wonder if something was wrong with his hands or eyes,” Shelburne wrote. “It’s not often a player makes just 65% of his dunks in a season.
“Sources close to Westbrook insist he has had his hands thoroughly checked by a specialist and that the treatment he receives regularly is no different than the regular treatment he does on his ankles and knees.”
It has definitely been a tough season for Westbrook in the scoring department, as he is averaging his fewest points per game since his second year in the league.
Overall, he is recording 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.1 assists per game this season while shooting 44.4 percent from the field. While those numbers aren’t horrible, they are far from the MVP level that people around the league have grown accustomed to seeing.
L.A. may decide to move on from the nine-time All-Star this coming offseason, with both sides reportedly having mutual interest in parting ways. The Charlotte Hornets are apparently a “team to watch” on the Westbrook trade front.
The Lakers traded for Westbrook last offseason, but he hasn’t fit in well alongside LeBron James in Los Angeles.
As long as Westbrook is healthy, he can still be a solid contributor for any team. Only time will tell which franchise he ends up playing for next season.
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