James backs Westbrook after poor shooting game
When the NBA schedule makers locked in the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets to play on Christmas Day, the vision was to pit L.A.’s Big Three of LeBron James, Anthony Davis
and Russell Westbrook
against Brooklyn’s Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden in a starstudded affair.
Thanks to a left knee injury to Davis and health and safety protocols for Durant and Irving, half those stars weren’t on the court in the visiting Nets’ 122-115 win on Saturday.
Despite having two of its marquee names as compared with just one for Brooklyn, L.A. still ended up on the losing end for the fifth straight game to fall to 16-18 — eighth place in the Western Conference. And while Westbrook’s résumé as a nine-time All-Star and former league MVP warrants him a mention in company like James, who scored a season-high 39 points, and Harden, who had a 36-point triple-double, Westbrook’s play on Christmas didn’t.
The Lakers point guard shot 4-for-20 from the field, finishing with 13 points, 12 rebounds and 11 assists with five fouls and three turnovers.
Westbrook (pictured) left Crypto.com Arena without speaking to reporters, but James spoke up on his behalf and focused on what the 14year veteran did well, rather than highlighting Westbrook’s struggles.
James dismissed the 16 misses — including an 0-for-3 mark in the fourth quarter that was punctuated by a missed dunk that got blocked by the rim with 26 seconds remaining that could have brought L.A. within one point of the Nets — as an “off-shooting night.”
Instead, James lauded Westbrook’s “spectacular” decision-making that led to the guard’s double-digit assist total and pointed out how five of Westbrook’s rebounds came on the offensive glass, which meant more chances to score for the Lakers.
“He gave us extra possessions, he gave us a lot of looks around the basket, which I know that he can’t stand (failing to convert) as well,” James said. “But as far as the effort piece, if a guy plays hard, if a guy leaves it all out on the floor, I got no problem with that. It’s a make-ormiss league.”