After the team’s overtime win over the Knicks on Saturday, Russell Westbrook’s recent struggles were on full display and he had no interest in speaking about his own woes with reporters after the game.
“I don’t want to keep making it about me,” he said. “When I play bad, you guys ask me a s--- ton of questions and then when I shoot the ball well, I don't really hear too many of those questions.”
During the team’s 122–115 win, Westbrook was not only booed by the home crowd, but was benched for the entirety of the overtime period. He finished the game shooting 1-for-10 from the field, 0-for-3 from three-point range and had just five points in 29 minutes of action.
Westbrook said bad games happen and that he didn’t care so long as the team won. LeBron James and Anthony Davis addressed his struggles and believe his psyche is a factor in his play.
“I just told him [Westbrook] to text me later,” James said. “I told him to keep going, told him to stop second-guessing himself during the game. There was a couple of times where he had good looks, second-guessing himself. Couple of times where he had drives, second-guessing himself.”
Davis was consistent with James’s message and it’s clear both of Los Angeles’ stars want some more confidence from Westbrook.
“The fans obviously want to see him [Westbrook] play better,” Davis said. “One thing you can’t do is put too much pressure on yourself. You gotta go out there and play freely. There was some shots tonight that he usually takes in rhythm and he kind of passed up or hesitated.”
The Lakers (26–28) are currently sitting at the No. 9 seed and will need Westbrook playing like the nine-time All Star he is if they want to turn this season around. Their next opponent is the Bucks (33–21) on Tuesday at 10 p.m.
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