Watch: Russell Westbrook shows benevolence by assisting Crypto.com arena's staff by mopping a part of the basketball court during the Utah Jazz-LA Lakers game

Russell Westbrook is known to be a great facilitator on the court. He has led the league in assists three times and even today continues to surprise fans with his court vision. However, in the LA Lakers' recent game against the Utah Jazz, the 33-year-old provided service on the court in a different way, as he helped clean the spilled water, which was affecting the play.

Donovan Mitchell complained about an on-court spillage and the concerned authorities came on the floor to deal with it. But Russell Westbrook was a step ahead and helped the cleaning staff to get the patch of water cleaned quickly. This was a great move from the former MVP and sent out a great message to the youngsters watching the game.

Russell Westbrook looked on fire in the first half, and against Rudy Gobert he put down a monstrous dunk that certainly appeared to be one of the slams of the season. After posterizing the reigning DPOY, Westbrook was pumped and trash-talked the Frenchman on his way to a technical foul. The play had the crowd all fueled up, as a big performance from him was long overdue.

Is Russell Westbrook the reason behind the Lakers' struggles this season?

Atlanta Hawks v Los Angeles Lakers

Russell Westbrook is an LA native and always dreamt of playing for the Purple and Gold. However, his stint has not gone totally as planned and he is receiving a lot of heat for the Lakers' struggles this season. The nine-time All NBA selectee is currently averaging 18.7 PPG, the lowest for him since his sophomore year in the league. He has averaged 4.3 turnovers this season, the third-most in the league.

Before scoring 19 points against the Nuggets on Saturday, the two-time NBA scoring champion had three games where he posted less than 10 points. This was an obviously uncharacteristically low level of scoring for Russell Westbrook, even with his dip in production this season. Despite his scoring struggles, coach Frank Vogel and members of the Lakers team still have confidence in his abilities, as they know what he brings to the table.

As Russell Westbrook battles to find consistency, the one thing that remains with him is his ability to get triple-doubles. The 33 year old is the joint-leader in triple-doubles this season with nine, alongside Denver's Nikola Jokic.

With the Lakers failing to perform to their expected standards, however, Russell Westbrook seems to be the player that has taken maximum heat from the media this season. However, this is nothing new to the former MVP as he is often on the receiving end of criticism from fans and analysts alike.

Last season, Westbrook started slow and was blamed for the Wizards' dismal start. However, without giving any heed to media narratives, Westbrook kept working hard and eventually ended the season averaging a triple-double with 22.2 points, 11.7 assists and 11.5 rebounds per game. He also carried them to the playoffs and silenced all of his haters once again.

As far as the Lakers are concerned, the team has had a number of health issues. The team is currently without Anthony Davis and Kendrick Nunn. They are yet to play with all their players on the roster being fit and this has somewhat affected the way the team has played this season.

There is no doubt that Russell Westbrook can play a lot better than he has this year. However, the nine-time NBA All-Star has been known to be a slow starter on new teams and seems to pick up the pace post the All-Star break. He is undoubtedly one of the best point guards in the league and nothing can ever take that away from him, as he has the records and accolades to back that up.

With the season approaching a crucial stage, Russell Westbrook will be hoping to get back to his best and help the Lakers comfortably get into the playoffs and once again for what seems to be a recurring theme throughout his career, silence all his critics.

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