Russell Westbrick Discussion: Clipper Gonna Clip

Russ plays much more confident when everything revolves around him. I doubt he can duplicate that effort with Davis and James in the lineup. He needs to handle the ball nearly every possession to get in rhythm.

 

I agree. As a third option he is very passive, trying to cut down turnovers and not make mistakes. He just seems to in his head. In the second half he finally let go of everything and just played his basketball.

But that’s not conductive to playing with this Lebron who is going on his own tear offensively. It’s a real conundrum.

 

Come on Knicks- see what Russ could do for you?

 

Great performance by him in the second half. We Came up short in the end mainly because of a terrible call but gotta give credit where it’s due.

 

This backfired haha!

 

The conundrum is really convincing Lebron to give up the ball and play off of Russ and AD. Ironically that was supposed to be the impetus for making the trade in the first place. The problem is that Lebron is still playing at a high level, and AD has missed a lot of games, so the transition has not occurred. Lebron and AD knew exactly who Russ was when they recruited him during the off-season. Then as Rob has conveniently leaked...they went out and shot down that Buddy Hield trade.

Lol yet...they are both in street clothes and have only played in 16 games together with Russ. It's Hollywood, Lebron,the Lakers, the drama seems almost fitting.

I still expect them to figure it out if they can stay healthy. I thought it was going to be Lebron letting these guys do work, and then closing the show in the 4th. It might still play out that way.

 

Russ has proven time and time again that against good defenses, he’s not efficient. When it comes to the Golden States and Phoenix’s he’ll be stifled, so the ball will ultimately be in Lebron’s hands so unless you stagger them, Russ will ultimately need to figure out how to play off him.

 

I admit It was promising to see "2nd half of the season" Westbrook here. Just no support. If he continues 3 out of 4 games like that and Mr Glass can his a$$ on the floor for us maybe we can make some noise

 

Yeah, I guess.

Lol.

 

The question comes down to, how do we get more out of Russ without losing much from Lebron and AD’s contributions. It reminds me a bit of Wade and Lebron learning to play together.

 

the thing is he can't do this with Lebron especially on the floor, he needs the ball in his hand on every possession.

I'm afraid Skip Bayless is right. He is the ultimate solo act.

 

He isn’t a solo act at all. He has played great with all the star players next to him. It’s just Lebron and Russ have the same skill set and it makes his game redundant.

 

in theory, russ and AD should be able to play together just fine. we've limited opportunities to even give it a shot, though.

and yes, russ is a lot like wade--moreso than most would admit, i think. and wade and lebron were an awkward fit even when they were both in their primes. it's part of why the breathless projections for the heat didn't come to fruition. the whole was less than the sum of the parts. the sum was just still pretty big.

 

It’s also why Dirk got his ring. Wade had to take a step back the following season to get the most out of Lebron. And so ended the mvp version of Wade. In their first season together Wade was the better player.

 

hmmm...hard disagree from me. i was never much of a wade fan, tbh, and i think you're right that their mistake was trying to give him equal billing with the obviously better player in their first year together. this is why i don't think we can invert our scheme so that we maximize russ while letting lebron and AD fit in. the best player is the one you work around, not the other way.

 

What a great game........

Trade him now. I dread these good performances for him now because in his head he's thinking he's still got it and will jack up those bad jumpers or get an out of control TO in close games. He did this with Durant on his team and hes done it this year so can't wait to see it in the playoffs.

And Wade was an awesome defender who didn't turn the ball over in like Westbrook. Russ who played awesome defense and didn't turn the ball over, would be someone who wouldn't be so polarizing

 

True, but close only counts in horseshoes. I’m not interested in moral victories- especially from a team that at the beginning of the year was a Championship favorite.

 

Oh, I didn’t realize that we won the game. My bad.

 

we gotta hope for the best. Lol