LeBron James has jumped aside his teammate Russell Westbrook after his poor performance in the loss to the Brooklyn Nets. While James cracked two records and led a furious comeback that was ultimately not crowned, the point guard caught a day to forget.
Westbrook did a triple-double at 115: 122 against the Nets (13 points, 12 rebounds, 11 assists) – he was the second player in history after Oscar Robertson to do this a second time at Christmas – a positive influence on the outcome of the game he hardly took it, however. The veteran only hit 4 of his 20 throws, none of his 3 triple attempts and in the end came up with the worst plus / minus of all players on both sides (-23).
While Westbrook left the hall without speaking to the reporters, James only described his performance as an “off-shooting night” and also referred to the positive aspects. Westbrook made “specular” decisions and grabbed five offensive rebounds, which meant extra possessions for the team.
“It annoys him as well,” said James of the ex-Thunder’s missed opportunities. “But when it comes to betting, I have no problem at all as long as someone plays hard and leaves everything on the court.” Ultimately, it is just a “make-or-miss league”. David Fizdale, who represented the head coach Frank Vogel, who is in the corona protocol, justified the frustration at the point guard with the fact that Westbrook had planned a lot after moving to the Lakers.
Westbrook stumbles: “knows it’s tough for him”
“He wants it so badly. That’s a big part of it. You can see it – in everything he does. And I know it’s tough for him when it doesn’t work. He cares like crazy. I want to that he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself and just attacks and plays the game as we know it from him, “said Fizdale. However, it was easier for him to answer questions about James, who, apart from a few problems from a distance (3/9, 0/4 to the final quarter), made a very strong game.
He was the only Lakers starter with a positive plus / minus (+9), with his 13th point he overtook Kobe Bryant in the all-time scoring ranking of the Christmas Games. He is also the oldest player to have more than 30 points at Christmas. “I hate that such an effort was wasted on loss,” said Fizdale. “Simply spectacular, he put an incredible amount of effort into it.” He has “never seen anyone like this guy”.
It wasn’t up to James that the Lakers recently left the floor as a loser five times in a row. Four times in a row and even ten times in the past 14 games, he scored more than 30 points, but he could not compensate for the fluctuating performances of Westbrook and the lack of co-star Anthony Davis.
There are also numerous other players in the corona protocol. In the case of the Nets, who in addition to James Harden (36 points) could also rely on an outstanding Patty Mills (34, 8/13 3FG), two thirds of the Big Three (Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving) were missing.
LeBron James: “Nobody will feel sorry for us”
James, who turns 37 on Thursday and was most recently heavily criticized on social networks for an Instagram post in which he compared the coronavirus with the flu and a cold, is also clear: “Nobody will feel sorry for us – not because of our balance sheet, not because of the many failures. “
“I’m not a particularly patient person, but under these circumstances, without our head coach and with a lot of players we still miss … we’re just trying to keep our balance,” said LeBron. “If someone gets a chance, they have to make the best of it.”
With a record of 16-18, the Lakers are still in seventh place in the crazy Western Conference, even fourth (Memphis Grizzlies: 19-14) and the home advantage is only 3.5 games away. Only the three top teams Golden State, Phoenix and Utah have separated.
But if the Lakers don’t slowly win again in the upcoming games in Houston, Memphis and against Portland, they have to look downwards: The lead over the Blazers in 11th place, which would even mean missing the play-in tournament , is only 2 games.
