Before the trade, the Lakers were a mediocre team, but after the trade they improved their record and made it to the Western Conference Finals. However, in the Western Conference Finals, the Lakers' role players performed poorly, and their influence was greatly diminished.
In the trade, the Lakers sent Westbrook and got D'Angelo Russell, Malik Beasley and Jared Vanderbilt. For some time after the trade, the three players were loved by fans with the Lakers. However, in the Western Conference Finals, these players played less minutes and contributed less to the team.
The Lakers relied heavily on the scoring of core players such as LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Austin Reeves and Rui Hachimura in the Western Conference Finals. These players played a key role in the regular season and previous rounds of the playoffs. However, the role of role players becomes even more important during the critical playoff phase, and role players for the Lakers have underperformed in this series.
The Westbrook trade brought some positive changes to the Lakers, but also some glaring weaknesses. Beasley, Russell and Vanderbilt who got after the trade all have some obvious shortcomings, such as insufficient defensive ability and limited scoring ability. In this series, their performances further highlighted these weaknesses.
While the Los Angeles Lakers were 3-0 down in the series against the Denver Nuggets, that can't be entirely blamed on the Russell Westbrook trade. The Lakers' role players really didn't perform as well as one might expect in this series.
Before the Westbrook trade, the Lakers didn't do well in the regular season. However, after the trade, the Lakers improved their performance, entered the playoffs, and showed their strength in the Western Conference Finals. This fully proves that this deal is the right decision for the Lakers, whether or not they can eventually win a championship.
However, in the Western Conference Finals against the Nuggets, these role players did not perform well. Vanderbilt played just 41 minutes in three games, Beasley barely played time other than garbage time, and Russell shot low from the field in the series. Their absence negatively impacted the Lakers' performance.
The success of the Lakers doesn't just depend on ball carriers, it's important that role players contribute on both the offensive and defensive ends. However, the downside of trading Westbrook was that they traded for three players who had obvious weaknesses in some areas. Beasley and Russell weren't good enough on the defensive end, while Vanderbilt lacked in scoring. In the series, they can't even play the role of one-way players.
This is a challenge for the Lakers as they rely on these role players for support and balance. Their performance is not as good as one would expect, probably because of their lack of experience in the face of high-intensity playoff pressure.
In addition, the Lakers faced other problems in the series against the Nuggets. James' injury affected his performance, costing the Lakers an important scoring point on the offensive end. And the Denver Nuggets have performed very well, and their defensive strategy has limited the Lakers' offense, especially against Davis' targeted defense. The Nuggets showed better teamwork and execution in the game.
Overall, the Russell Westbrook trade isn't the only reason the Lakers haven't performed well in the series, with the performance of role players and the difficulties they faced also playing a big role. The Lakers need to focus on their next game, play to their potential, fight for a win, and gradually turn things around.