“The fly in the ointment is Russell Westbrook, LeBron has failed miserably in getting the best out of Russ” – Skip Bayless talks about LeBron James, comparing his LA Lakers team to the 2020 Buccaneers

The LA Lakers middling season has put many eyes on veteran guard Russell Westbrook.

Although the Lakers were expected to be a contender with their veteran roster of stars, Los Angeles (21-20) has nevertheless hovered around .500 all season.

Since being brought in to complement fellow stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Westbrook has mostly failed to fit in with his new team. After winning four of their last five games, James said this team reminds him of Tom Brady and the 2020 Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady, in his first season in Tampa, helped the Bucs win a Super Bowl last season after Tampa Bay got rolling late.

On "Skip and Shannon: Undisputed" Wednesday, analyst Skip Bayless stressed caution when it came to James' comments.

"LeBron just won't give it up. He keeps trying to compare himself to Brady, and you just can't ..."

Bayless talked about how difficult it is for any player in any sport to compare themselves to Brady and his overall success. Bayless also said that if there's any player who could potentially compare himself to the NFL great, it would be the legendary Michael Jordan.

Throughout the segment, Bayless talked about James struggling to get the best out of his players, specifically Westbrook, who leads the league in turnovers.

"The fly in the ointment is Russell Westbrook," Bayless said. "LeBron has failed miserably in getting the best out of Russ."

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Can the Lakers get back on track?

LA Lakers guard Russell Westbrook

With a roster of veterans, the LA Lakers may be able to get hot in the second half of the season. They are clearly not among the elite four teams in the West (the Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies). But after those four, there is little separation – just 2.5 games – among the teams fifth through ninth.

The Lakers won a season-high four straight games before losing 127-119 Sunday at Memphis.They will have a number of upcoming favorable matchups. But the Lakers will also then have a challenging road trip which features showdowns against the Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.

Concerns about Russell Westbrook continue to grow. It doesn't help that the trade deadline is inching closer as well, and many have speculated the Lakers will attempt to make a move to bring in help. During the Lakers' previous five-game stretch, Westbrook averaged 13.8 points, 8.2 rebounds and 7.6 assists per game while shooting just 35.2%.