The Sixth Man of the Year contender had some thoughts.
Following your Los Angeles Lakers’ disappointing 119-115 overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks, a big talking point circulating among media members postgame was the team’s struggle to convert buckets in the clutch.
First, there was LA’s botched late-game possession at the end of regulation, with both clubs tied 101-101. From around the top of the key, LeBron James passed to a wide-open Troy Brown Jr., who attempted a triple that missed everything. In fairness, Mavericks wing Tim Hardaway Jr. blocked the rock, and may have also fouled Brown in the act of shooting, though at the team game officials ignored it if so.
With the clock ticking down during the game’s first overtime period and the score once again tied, 108-108, James tried to take Dallas All-Star guard Luka Doncic off the dribble himself. The 18-time All-Star stagger-stepped into the lane, then drove baseline for a reverse lay-in — only to get absolutely stuffed by Mavericks Christian Wood, a crushing reminder of James’s encroaching basketball mortality. A decade ago, he would have dunked that through the contact.
Though he was only peripherally involved in both those not-clutch moments, reserve LA point guard Russell Westbrook was asked by attendant journalists after the game about the team’s struggles to score efficiently in late-game situations. He offered up a relatively terse, measured response. This was not the 15-year vet’s first postgame rodeo.
“Just depends on [the] kind of shots we’re getting, where they are, what we’re running. But [we’ll] watch film, kinda see what that looks like,” Westbrook said.
Westbrook hasn’t really been the problem for LA late in games. He’s been efficient, played within himself, has deferred to others with time running out, and has stepped up defensively.
Across his last 10 games for LA, Westbrook has ramped up his production to help accommodate the team’s loss in key contributors: he is averaging 23 points on 47% shooting, 9.8 assists, and 7.6 rebounds.
