The Los Angeles Lakers sit 9th in the Western Conference standings of the NBA and their woeful form continues. When the Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook on August 6, 2021, the Lakers were widely projected to steamroll the regular season with their stacked squad.
In what was touted to be a strong championship-contending season for them, they have heavily disappointed Lakers fans. Not that the rest of the league is complaining though. Their trio of superstars just hasn’t got going. Mr. Triple Double himself is experiencing an unforeseen downside to his game and the Lakers faithful have blamed LeBron James‘ recruitment.
Westbrook has averaged his lowest numbers in a decade. An underwhelming 18.2 points per game, 7.3 assists, and 7.7 rebounds. His steals are at an all-time low at 1.1 per game in 59 matches played. His shooting has been trolled online and his lack of impetus has had many Lakers fans feeling disgruntled.
LeBron James has not fared any better either. While his scoring rate is at its highest in a decade at 29 points per game, his creation numbers have taken a dip with Westbrook handling the ball too. Injuries have riddled the 4-time MVP and forced him to miss 17 games.
The third star of this Lakers team has also had an injury-plagued season that has hindered the 2020 Champions from finding any rhythm. Amidst all these lows, there is one high that the Los Angeles Lakers and Russell Westbrook are consistently hitting. And it is not a positive one either.
Russell Westbrook and the Lakers’ turnover woes
The Lakers have a turnover problem, plain and simple. In their latest outing against the New Orleans Pelicans, they recorded 23 turnovers and tumbled to an embarrassing defeat at home. Westbrook and LeBron both had 7 turnovers in a dismal performance, which leaves them closer to exiting the Play-In tournament.
The Lakers have recorded 887 turnovers in total this season, and although it is not the worst record, it certainly is not befitting of a team with 2 former MVPs. Perhaps, Russell Westbrook was not vetted well enough by the Lakers front office. Westbrook led the league in turnovers last season with 312 turnovers. Likewise, he tops the charts this season too with 238 turnovers already.
Westbrook also has the most turnovers in a single game this season with 10 against the Oklahoma City Thunder on October 27, 2021.
There have now been 2 instances in NBA history where a team with 2 former MVP winners in the lineup lost by 25+ points at home to a team with a losing record.
Both of them were by the Lakers this season (December 23 vs. Spurs, tonight vs. Pelicans).
— Stats By STATS (@StatsBySTATS) February 28, 2022
Another record that this MVP-heavy team has gained is being the first and only second team to lose by more than 25 points to a team with a losing record when it has 2 former MVPs in the team.
If the Lakers and LeBron James have any hope of salvaging this season, they will strive to root out issues such as these. Sloppy ball-handling and erratic play never got anyone to the playoffs.