The 2022-23 season has gotten off to about as bad of a start as anyone could've expected for the Lakers.
Following their opening-night loss to the Warriors, the Lakers fell to the Clippers in Kawhi Leonard's return from injury. The game was close at times, but the outcome was never really in doubt.
There are many reasons for the Lakers' 0-2 start to the season, but Russell Westbrook is once again shouldering a lot of the blame, especially after a rough showing against the Clippers.
Is it fair? Let's take a look at the good, the bad and the ugly from Westbrook's performance.
MORE: Kawhi Leonard shows no signs of rust in return from injury
The ugly: Russell Westbrook's (and the Lakers') shooting
We might as well start here.
Westbrook's shooting is going to get all of the attention for obvious reasons. He finished the game with two points and missed all 11 of his field goal attempts. He went 0-for-4 in the restricted area, 0-for-1 from midrange and 0-for-6 from 3-point range.
It got to the point where the Clippers had their 7-foot center, Ivica Zubac, guard Westbrook for a decent portion of the game. Zubac wasn't worried about Westbrook taking jump shots, and there wasn't nearly enough space for Westbrook to even think about attacking the basket.
The spacing in general for the Lakers is rough. As a team, they've made 22.4 percent of their 3-point attempts through two games. You read that right — 22.4 percent. And the bulk of those weren't contested.
For example, this is the kind of attention LeBron James was receiving down the stretch:
Yikes.
So yeah, the shooting is not just a Westbrook problem. It's a Lakers problem. Even the decent shooters on the roster aren't high-volume 3-point shooters, so the spacing is probably going to be shaky all season long. It didn't take long for even James to acknowledge that.
The good: Russell Westbrook's defense
It wasn't all doom and gloom for Westbrook. He dished out four assists while committing only one turnover, and he led all players with five steals. It's the most steals he's recorded in a game since the 2018-19 season.
Steals aren't always the best barometer for good defense, but Westbrook was incredibly active on that end of the floor and was even able to bother Leonard some.
Two of Westbrook's five steals came down the stretch when the Clippers tried entering the ball to Leonard in the post. He also forced Leonard into a turnover at a critical point of the game.
It's easy to forget, but Westbrook was projected to be a lockdown defender when he was drafted. Lakers head coach Darvin Ham wants him to be a defense-first player, and he did his part against the Clippers.
"Defensively he was in tune, he was locked in," James said of Westbrook after the game. "He pushed the tempo. He just didn't make any shots and that's OK. I mean he had five steals, two back-to-back in a critical time when they were trying to post him against Kawhi. He just didn't make any shots and that's fine.
"Flush it down the toilet and get ready for Sunday."
The bad: Russell Westbrook's fit
Paul George, who played two seasons alongside Westbrook in Oklahoma City, had a telling quote after the game.
"I'm always a huge Russell supporter," George said. "I won't undermine the great moments we had in Oklahoma. He was tremendous for my career. Honestly, I don't get the shade or the hate or the stuff that's thrown at him. He's one of the best players to ever play this game. It's hard when you've got the pressure they're putting on him here.
"Quite frankly, it's not the team that's very ... it's not geared for him with the roster they have as well. Like, it's got to work both ways. He was very easily a 30-10-and-10 guy when he had the keys to the team. We can't forget about that. For me, I just want him to keep having that joy, keep having that excitement, that fun. That's what makes him special, the fact that he can do that on a nightly basis.
"I hate to see that it doesn't look like it's there for him. But, you know, hopefully in the end, it works out for him in his favor."
Charles Barkley had the same observation following the Lakers' loss to the Warriors on opening night, saying it's time for the Lakers to trade him because they have "taken all his joy out of life and basketball." Kevin Durant, who played eight seasons with Westbrook, said that the criticism of him has reached a level he doesn't understand and is "starting to turn into something else." Paul Pierce said he's a scapegoat.
Westbrook's fit alongside James and Anthony Davis was questionable from the beginning, but it's gotten to the point where a trade feels like it would be the best course of action for all parties involved.
