"Westbrook grew up a Laker fan, but he is not a Laker" - Skip Bayless on point guard's antics in Lakers-Suns game

The league-leading Phoenix Suns handed a thorough beating to Russell Westbrook, LeBron James and the undermanned LA Lakers on Tuesday. The Lakers suffered their third consecutive loss and dropped to 16-16 for the season. There was no sense of a beat-down early in the first quarter, with LA off to a hot start.

First Take host and sports analyst Skip Bayless called out Russell Westbrook’s antics after the LA Lakers came blazing out of the gates. Westbrook brought out his signature “Rock-the-Baby” celebration to cap off an 11-2 run by the Purple and Gold outfit.

Here’s how the ESPN analyst detailed his biting remarks:

“Remember when Westbrook ‘rocked the baby’ on Bridges? With 5 minutes left, the Lakers have all of 80 points and trail by 20. Just embarrassing for Laker Nation. Westbrook grew up a Laker fan. But he is not a Laker.”

The play that Skip Bayless was referring to happened with about 5:52 seconds remaining in the opening quarter. Russell Westbrook posted down low on the left block, with defensive ace Mikal Bridges draped all over him. The LA Lakers superstar faked a move towards the middle before spinning for a fadeaway turn-around bank shot.

Russell Westbrook’s shot off the glass capped off the LA Lakers’ run to lead 16-6. The triple-double king sprinted back to play defense, “rocking the baby” along the way. That proved to be a premature celebration for Westbrook and the Lakers as they ended up losing the game 108-90.

---

The LA Lakers and Russell Westbrook suffer blowout loss to the Phoenix Suns

The Phoenix Suns carved the LA Lakers defense, particularly in the second half [Photo: Lake Show Life]

Sure, the LA Lakers were short-handed, but they also had themselves to blame for the blowout loss. Russell Westbrook himself played a big part in the hammering at the hands of the relentless Phoenix Suns.

The LA Lakers starting point guard finished with 22 points on 20 shots. He also recorded 10 rebounds, five assists and two steals. The numbers look solid, but fans watching the game can confirm that he played out of control at times. His 7 turnovers really hurt the team in this game. The Lakers lost by 18 points and allowed the Suns to score 22 points off of those turnovers.

In many instances, Russell Westbrook was just loitering around the perimeter waiting for LeBron James to do his thing. Whether it’s a coaching decision or simply Westbrook not evolving as a player is anybody’s guess. The LA Lakers shouldn’t pay him $44 million a season to be a bystander most of the time on offense.

Russell Westbrook tried to play bully ball against Mikal Bridges in the third quarter only to see the Phoenix Suns’ best defensive player swat his shot away. At that point, the celebratory mood earlier in the game had turned to frustration and resignation of the inevitable.