The Lakers' record is sluggish, the ranking has fallen to ninth in the West, James's dissatisfaction and departure are raging, and the purple and gold giants have fallen into turmoil only a year and a half after winning the championship. Prior to that, Westbrook was seen as the biggest drag on the team. As the Lakers' backstabber this season, Wei Shao's reputation has been seriously damaged, and the former superstar has become the target of public criticism.
In the voting of the 75 biggest stars in NBA history, Westbrook has once again sparked controversy. Considering that he once averaged the peak season of triple-doubles per game, and once brought shock to the fans at the Thunder, this controversy is itself disrespectful to him. Even Perkins has fought for him, bluntly saying that Westbrook is one of the 75 biggest stars in history. "We can't stick to the situation in front of us, we can't respect his whole career because of his current struggles with the Lakers."
Famous coach Stan Van Gundy has been very vocal on social media, bluntly saying that he is not the trigger for the Lakers' sluggish record. In Van Gundy's view, Westbrook's performance this season has met the lakers' basic expectations. The reason is that many of Wei Shao's statistics have reached the career average.
This season, Westbrook averaged 18.3 points, 7.8 boards, 7.5 assists and 1.1 steals per game, shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 29.9 percent from three-point range and 66.8 percent from the free throw line. Throughout his career, Westbrook averaged 22.9 points, 7.4 boards and 8.5 assists per game, shooting 43.7 percent from the field, 30.5 percent from three-point range and 78.5 percent from the free throw line.
Van Gundy said bluntly, "Westbrook hit the Lakers' expectations, his shooting percentage reached the career average, and his personal true shooting rate even exceeded the career average, but the three-point shooting rate was a little lower than the career average." His turnovers are the lowest in nearly eight years, and even when questioned, he can still average 18.3 points, 7.8 boards and 7.5 assists per game. ”
Of course, some fans pointed out that although the basic data is barely OK, the inefficient way of playing that Wei Shao controls the ball makes his high-level data very ugly. For example, its PER value is only 15.1, creating a new career low.
However, the Lakers' problem is definitely not a problem with Wei Shao. It is undeniable that Wei Shao's state has dropped significantly compared to when he was younger, but the Lakers are so bad that they can't let him carry the pot alone. When the Lakers signed Wei Shao, they should have known about Wei Shao's technical play, predicted his state fluctuations and lineup suitability, and now everyone is targeting Wei Shao, which is really too chilling.