NBA superstar Russell Westbrook has somewhat redeemed himself since his move to the Los Angeles Clippers. The 2017 NBA MVP carried the brunt of the criticism during his time with the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook was blamed the most for the team’s mishaps. After joining the Clippers, Westbrook has been playing at a high level and his recent game against the Phoenix Suns was no exception. In game 1 of the first round matchup, the point guard made some huge plays and Charles Barkley loved every bit of it, especially his dig at the Lakers.
During his stint with the Lakers, Westbrook’s shot selection and misses came under a lot of scrutiny and it did not help his confidence. Safe to say, Russ felt like an outsider playing for the Purple & Gold and he is finally opening up about his experience in LA, now that he is past it.
Charles Barkley loved Russell Westbrook’s dig at the Lakers
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Russell Westbrook recently helped the Clippers to a 115-110 win over the Suns. He had a poor shooting performance, making just 3 of 19 from the floor. However, he made up for his shortcomings on the offensive end with plays on the defensive end. Westbrook finished the game with 9 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 blocks, and 2 steals.
The nine-time NBA All-Star’s clutch plays helped the team seal the win. After the game, Charles Barkley was happy for Westbrook and showed love for his performance even though it was against his former team. Furthermore, Barkley admitted that he liked Westbrook calling out the Lakers and their tendency to make the 2017 MVP a scapegoat for all their organizational flaws.
The Chuckster stated, “But I love the shot he took at the Lakers. He says, ‘You know it’s just great to be somewhere where they don’t worry about my shot all the time.’ Because he does other stuff. They started calling him Westbrick. With the Lakers, they blamed everything on him.”
The 1993 NBA MVP added that the Lakers had a “crap team” during Westbrook’s tenure, but they shirked personal accountability, shifting all the blame to Russ. He noted the team is better now after they made some great trades. However, he was not happy with the blame-game against Westbrook since he first arrived.
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Russell Westbrook on his poor shooting performance
After the immense road win against the Phoenix Suns, Russell Westbrook gave his thoughts about the game. He was asked about his poor shooting performance, and it looked like he was not bothered about it. Westbrook said, “I don’t know. But I guess that’s a secret number. We won both games, but s— if it works, I’m good with that.”
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