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Russell Westbrook has struggled with the Los Angeles Lakers this season, and it has looked like his $44 million price tag isn’t looking so great. Chris Broussard, FOX Sports analyst and co-host of The Odd Couple with Chris Broussard & Rob Parker, went to the extent of predicting that Westbrook could be out of the league in four years.
Broussard has become one of the most prominent sports analysts for FOX Sports, being part of multiple shows, including acting as another co-host on First Things First. Even though he can argue on just about any sports topic, the NBA remains one of his biggest strengths.
On his show, he praised Russell Westbrook's career but also critiqued him for his lack of evolution and how his game has fallen off in recent times. Despite Westbrook's multiple triple-double seasons, Broussard doesn't see him being in the league for much longer.
“Russell Westbrook is an individual spectacle by he's gonna go down as this incredible phenom who wasn't greatly skilled. So athletic, so energetic, so determined, played so hard, that he did something that no one else in the history of basketball has done. This dude's done in four years. So I do give him credit for that.”
He has won an MVP award, two scoring titles and led the NBA in assists per game on three occasions in his ongoing playing career, and by many accounts Westbrook has had a Hall of Fame career. Unfortunately there are a few weaknesses in his game coupled with his overall demeanor that seem to hinder him when it comes to being part of a championship team.
Has Russell Westbrook really been that bad this season?
Russell Westbrook currently averages 23 points, 7.4 rebounds and 8.5 assists in his career. By comparison, in this his first season with the Lakers, he is averaging 18.7 points, 8.2 rebounds and 8.1 assists.
It makes sense that his numbers are trending downward alongside the team's two All-Stars in LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Westbrook’s stats haven’t been all that bad, it is his overall fit within the Lakers team and his inability to evolve his game that has proved to be the problem this season.
In the last 12 seasons, he has had a usage rate percentage over 30%, but it is down to 27.6% this season. That again is mainly because of the team he is on now, however, despite the decrease in usage, he is still averaging 4.4 turnovers this season, to a career average of 4.1.
Even beyond that, Russell Westbrook has continued to be a poor shooter as the NBA has evolved into a shooting league. This season he is shooting under 30% from three and has only hit over 34% once in his career.
Westbrook might not be having as bad a season as most people think. Instead a more fair appraisal could be that he has played a little bit below his usual standard on a team that is struggling as a whole.
The biggest reason why this season looks so bad for him is that he plays for arguably the most well-known basketball franchise in the world. Russell Westbrook's dip in form this season has been magnified by the big-market limelight in Los Angeles, which has only made the level of scrutiny more severe.
Guess the Lakers players!
