At the start of the season, everyone expected that the Lakers’ addition of Russell Westbrook would pay off with a title win. However, that has not been the case. As things stand, the Lakers are in play in tournament contention by a whisker. Moreover, Russell Westbrook has not had a great season either. He looks nowhere close to his MVP form with OKC.
Following the Lakers’ most recent loss to the Dallas Mavericks, Westbrook had an encounter with a reporter. When questioned about what the Lakers should change, Russ asked the same question back at the reporter and left the press conference.
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However, in the end, both the reporter and the star guard would be on amicable terms. In light of this, Skip Bayless offered a piece of advice to Russ by explaining what Kobe Bryant would have done in the same situation.
Skip Bayless on Russell Westbrook
During a discussion with Shannon Sharpe on ‘Skip and Shannon: UNDISPUTED‘, Skip Bayless spoke about Westbrook’s demeanor in the encounter with the reporter and explained what Kobe Bryant would have done in the same situation.
He began by stating that Westbrook carried a defensive demeanor and spoke back to anyone who spoke wrongly of him. Thereafter, he explained how great players like Kobe, Magic, and Kareem would have handled the same situation.
“Hypothetically, they’re going to be angry. They’re going to show you fury over the shame of this. They are not going to stand for it,” said Skip.
“But they would own it. We never get that from Russ because it’s mostly all about him,” he explained.
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Clearly, Skip believes that players like Kobe would have accepted their mistakes despite being angry at the losses. They would, in fact, acknowledge their poor performances, unlike Westbrook.
What’s In Store for the Lakers?
Following the Lakers’ loss to the Dallas Mavericks, they slipped into the eleventh seed temporarily. This came as a shock for the NBA community. Although the poor season was a surprise, nobody expected the team to dip this low. At present, their playoff hopes are barely afloat. Following the Spurs’ loss, the Lakers have moved up to 10th only because they have a game in hand over the Spurs.
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With 7 games left this season, the franchise will hope to secure as many wins as possible. This would help them secure a position for the play-in tournament. Thereafter would come the test to make it to the playoffs.
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Regardless, it’s going to take a miracle to save the Lakers from utter disappointment.