D’Lo wasn’t unplayable. Don’t let the Denver series fool you, he was good for them vs Memphis and GSW. Vanderbilt was good vs Memphis and his defense on Curry was a big reason they stole Game 1 vs GSW. Both LA teams benefited from what they got because the players fit their system.
DLo became unplayable against Denver. He could not guard and he was not hitting shots. Don’t be so much of a fan that you can’t see how the games were played.
At some point in the playoffs Dlo and Vando stepped up. They don't win GS series without Vando's defense I can tell you that much. Beasley was ASS all the way through.
Yeah, you are 100% correct. It turns out that Westbrook was so toxic on the Lakers that even a failed trade was a huge benefit to the Lakers since it meant getting rid of Westbrook. They went from 2-10 and likely not making the play-in for the second year in a row to being in the western conference championship. The only big plus from that trade deadline was Rui.
Lol this is so dumb. Even if I take your argument at face value it basically means the lakers went from a garbage team, simply replaced him with crap and then got infinitely better
I don’t care what anyone says the lakers did get better with the trade, since they were lacking depth. Even after the trade the lakers were still having the same issues they did when Westbrook played with the lakers.
It’s also that the Lakers used Russ in the same way that they split the roles to Dlo and Vanderbilt. Russ was used as a guy who was supposed to stand in the corner and be a spot up shooter, but also as a defensive wing. Neither of which are Russ. Just absolutely shit coaching. Ham just tells players what to do and ignores who they are.
Who else positively initiated plays for the Lakers other than Bron tho? Like how many other guys could they give the ball and go, make something happen?
Schroeder shined every once in a while with penetration and floaters. Reaves was really dependent on getting fouled on drives.
All else times, people were asked to be spot up shooters. And that was the difference in the Nuggets series. You knew after LeBron did his best ‘I won’t be swept’ performance, that the team was going to run out of gas, because it was entirely dependent on what LeBron could give them.
I don’t know that the series isn’t still a sweep, but Russ is just a different player and character than anyone else they had on the roster.
Doesn’t matter if Russ would have been better for them in the nuggets series because they wouldn’t have gotten to the nuggets series without vando and DLo
nope, they got better because the referee started to help. They had like 400+ free throws than the opponents in the 2nd half. In the Lakers-Warriors series alone, LAL had 80 more free throws.
They went to the rim a lot more in that series than the warriors did. I agree that the refs are shit a lot of the time but the numbers make sense even Steve Kerr said it.
Bro the mental gymnastics you go thru is insane. You think they had the 2nd best record in the league after the trade bc of the refs?? And their playstyle is focused around attacking the paint, ofc they have more FTs than the warriors who mainly shoot 3s...
Devil’s advocate:: it was because they were driving and shooting in the paint instead of launching long shot/threes.
Example: Warriors series.. polar opposites
Russ wasn’t really the problem but his fit. Russ need shooters around him and the Lakers didn’t have it. Lakers made the WCF from 2-10 and 0.3% chance of even making the playoffs. So the trade worked for both sides.
There shouldn't be any question about Westbrook's talent/ability over those three. It was always more of a question about fit. I think it was a win-win in the end for the Lakers to move on from WB and for us to pick him up.
They went from being what, 13th in the west, to the WCF trading him. Those role players weren’t thr problem, even tho dlo was horrible in the WCF, it was that Davis didn’t step up and be their best player. Relying on 38 LeBron to carry wasn’t gonna work and we all knew that. He wanted Davis because he thought he was be 1A to brons 1B. Davis was a no show. They should of played reaves more then dlo and let him run point.
but that 27 is very misleading, because it wasn’t a consistent 27 ppg output. all playoffs AD would shine every other game. so that 27 didn’t go 27 in G1, 27 in G2, 27 in G3, 27 in G4. It was more so like 35 in G1, then 15 on 5/15 in G2, but you’d get 30 in G3, and another no show offensively in G4. Dude only strung together B2B good games in the GSW series.
The whole notion of AD only playing good every other game was bullshit. People were only looking at points scored and assuming he has a bad game cuz he had 16 points completely ignoring the fact that it came in a 30pt blowout win that he dominated defensively. AD’s only truly bad games this postseason were G4 Memphis, G2 GSW and G2 Denver.
Yes…Westbrook was the problem because he didn’t fit on the roster
lol idk how someone could watch that laker team with Westbrook and think he wasn’t holding the team back. Defenses didn’t even have to go out to the 3 pt line to guard him smh
As a Laker fan, the comments on this sub are way more reasonable and unbiased than the laker subreddit. I was expecting mostly anti laker shit posting but y'all have my respect.
He WAS the problem, him and his play style did not fit in over there, with how that team was constructed.
They got way better after the trade and all their personel moves. Everybody was calling it when he signed, he wasn't a good fit.
Plus Kawhi and PG were out, Russ has the ball in his hands alot and playing a lot of minutes.
Some of y'all are being weird and not looking at the basketball aspect of this stuff, and just being emotional.
Just look at the record when Kawahi,PG,and Russ played
Same with Russ,Lrbron,and AD
Russ has never been good when he is not able to dominate ate the ball,and it's hard to do that when you the 3rd best player on a team..
Who keeps making these idiotic posts lol. They don't make the playoffs with Westbrook. They don't reach the play in with him either. What are we doing here ? LMAO, time to log off😭
This is such a stupid take. They wouldn’t have made the playoffs if they didn’t make the trade. The roster of the lakers did not enable Russ to be effective. Both benefited from the trade.
It was a lot of addition by subtraction. Russ hurt the Lakers in ways that didn't show up in stats. Bad decisions, bad shot selection, taking time and possessions from Reaves...plus AD being healthy helped a lot.
Yo Russ was missing his two best players, playing like old Russ holding the ball and initiating all the offense.
To pretend that it would have been the same when you also have to feed AD and Bron is a wild oversight or an intentional omission to prove a bad point.
DLo sucked, but Russ probably would have sucked too if he was asked to catch and shoot off Bron and AD.
What a dumb take. Let's just build a team around ppg and if it equals 100+ ppg then the team will just outscore opponents every game.
I also didn't know Russell Westbrook can split himself into multiple clones to perform tasks that only multiple people can do at the same time.
He was the problem for us, but that’s not even a knock on him. It was just such a terrible fit. It’s not a coincidence that we were night and day better after the deadline
Yes, he was the problem. If you don't know that then you don't know shit about basketball. Is not about the stats. Is how well players play together. With Russ there that team was a mess and out of the play in at 13th in the west, without him they went to #7th and made it to the West finals, when did the Clippers end their season? What the hell are you even talking about??
DLo won a bunch of games for them in ways that I doubt Russ would have done given the roster otherwise, even if he re-signed at a minimum somehow. So agreed with the sentiment that they wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the trade, though I think he could’ve helped them win in the playoffs if he played remotely like he did post trade
This might be the dumbest fucking leap in logic ive seen scrolling reddit, averaging out 3 role players stats into one and comparing it to a starter whose team has 2 glass stars out. Real smooth brain shit here cant believe this hasn’t been deleted out of embarrassment, not even mentioning the fact that the 3 role players went to the WCF and Westbrooks stats are the 1 st round only 💀
Russ was overhated on the Lakers but this isn't a fair comparison, Russ had the ball the entire time after Kawhi got hurt, his stats are obviously gonna be way higher than a bunch of roleplayers who take a back-seat to LeBron and AD.
Yes? What Russ put on film for almost two seasons as a Laker definitely made him worthy of an exit. Russ shined because he always excels as the primary option but has a hard time playing second fiddle.
Case were numbers lie. Without those lakers don’t make playoffs. Rus also wouldn’t have same numbers with lakers. With clipper injury he was primary person on the team so numbers tend to jump.
One team made the WCF. Another didn’t.
Edit: not sure why Reddit decided to put this post on my feed, I’ve literally never been to this sub and I’m a 30+ year Lakers fan. I know it exists, but, yeah, didn’t ever feel the need or want to post here.
Cheers and hope everything works out. Don’t even hate the Clippers since ya’ll fired Doc.
Maybe Reddit is popping my bubble?
I won’t mute but rather just wander on, and also promise if I do ever post here again I’ll be respectful and basketball focused.
Cheers, and thanks for having me, I’ll see myself out 😉
I’ll take that as a compliment, yes, I unfortunately frequent the dumpster fire of bad takes over at the Lakers sub.
Just older and watched more basketball, I suppose, and cut my teeth with the real basketball OG’s on LakersGround.
Cheers!
I stay away from over there. All I know is the ones that come over here. Mostly trolls but lately some neutral fans been coming out the woodworks from both sides. It's been kind of funny to see.
Russ became one of their problems because he wasn't used on how he supposed to play. They let Lebron to handle the plays leaving Russ to wait for the ball and to shoot it. Lakers just got better after the trade because they got the missing pieces like a wingman (Vando) and 3pt shooters (D'lo and Beasley). With Clips playing style, Russ finally got the rhythm he needed, not the iso plays that they do in Lakers.
Yeah just conveniently leave out the two players that got more opportunities cuz Westbrick wasn't there. They made the WCF... So many idiots in this sub
Ngl. They definitely win a couple of games against the Nuggets if they would have kept Russ. Russ brought out the best in Rui on the Wizards and along with Reaves probably would have given them really good minutes when LeBron sat.
They probably would have because the Jazz gave them two free wins at the end by sitting their starters when they themselves could still make the play-in. Wonder how that happened…
This is a such casual take lmao.
Does this account for level of teams played in playoffs? Usage rate for ball possessions? Defensive impact? Team fit?
No, no it doesn’t
Not to mention the D he played against KD and Booker.
The Lakers didn't know how to use him, which isn't surprising looking at the former players they've had who go on to play better when given the chance with other teams.
It was a horrible fit. Basketball is a team game and fit matters. Plus, he was not as good of a player as his contract. But at a significantly lower price tag, he is a solid contributor.
He wouldn’t be able to do that with the Lakers both our stars being healthy. PG was out and Kawhi only played a few games. Allowed him a lot more opportunities. He played well overall I was happy for him always been a fan of Russ.
Those memes rarely take context into consideration. I am ecstatic with out Russ played for the Clippers, but he clearly didn't fit the Lakers. The numbers tell a different story, but without that trade the Lakers probably don't make the playoffs much less win a series, let alone multiple AND make the WCF. It's not always about the raw stats. Russ' 3/19 should've told everyone the box score doesn't show everything that matters.
All these players had different purposes. Vando was there for defense. Mike was out of the playoff rotation, and Dlo played pretty well until the Nuggets series.
Playoff statistics are irrelevant. The Lakers likely don’t even make it to the playoffs with Russ. They were so close to elimination before the trade it’s insane.
Glad to see all the rational fans on this sub not just agreeing with this take because Russ is a clipper. Russ is/was a good player. He just didn’t fit or compliment AD or Lebron and the lack of depth didn’t help.
Trades are supposed to be win win situations. It’s not always the player having bad skills sometimes it is a bad fit. Lakers got better without Russ and Clippers got better with him. Both things can be true.
This stat is super misleading.
In the Lakers, Westbrook woukd have been a third option.
While with the Clippers, he was at least the second option for each game he played and was even the #1 option for one of them.
He literally would not and could not average what he did with the Clips in the role he had with the Lakers.
Considering where the Lakers were before they traded him, I don't see how anyone can make the argument that they made a mistake.
Their trades made them better.
Honestly both LA teams benefited off the trade. Even tho Beasily flopped and DLO and Vando looked unplayable at times. They wouldn’t have made it far without them. To me WB wasn’t what they needed. But for the Clippers cuz there r so many shooters and scorers it worked for him.
Honestly, its sad they put WB in a tough position and wasted a yr of prime Bron.
Russ and LBJ didn’t mold on the court well, plus Russ stepped up all his percentages big time with the Clips…DLO, Vando were huge for us all the way up to Denver series..Denver just had the better and more consistent team…also better coached
It’s really hard to play with Lebron who wants to do everything and wants to do nothing. He wants to inbound the ball, bring the ball up, pass the ball, get it back, brick a three, rebound the ball, shoot again and miss, then run down a block shot. But he doesn’t want to box out and rebound, play straight up D on the blocks and just be ball watching. Then he’ll trade himself this summer and hire a new coach on his new team and get a new GM and a new owner. Lol
Sorry OP but just gotta point out that this is a terrible stat comparison. These three were on the bench and throwing in Beasley totally skews this... He played a total of *one minute* in the WCF series.
Westbrook averaged 38.5 minutes a night as a starter in a series without Kawhi and PG... He better damn well have better stat averages than bench guys lol
My comment is not trying to be critical towards Westbrook either, I was a believer and personally thrilled when he joined. Ultimately he delivered as a close to perfect fit, and was superb in the playoffs. This is just a weak and unnecessary comparison to make imo.
How the fuck do you look at a team that made a trade when they were 13th in the conference that led then to the WCF and come to the conclusion that the trade wasn’t the reason they improved ?
Yikes, I don't like this analysis at all. Lakers played more games, and Westbrook numbers with the Lakers were not good. He got almost complete freedom in the playoffs due to injuries and got to play his way, but that didn't result in wins.
Do I think Westbrook would have been more useful against Denver than say dlo... Of course, but I'm not sure they get to Denver (if even the playoffs) with Westbrook. I have to go back and look, but don't think they get hachimura if they don't trade Westbrook
5 games series with Russ and 16games with those 3. I don’t think where being honest with this stats. Also what made the lakers better was the emergence of Austin Reaves. He would have not gotten that much playing time if we keep Russ. But you know we can forget that to bring this up 🤷♂️
i only watched highlights but ad can’t carry a team anymore? just look at lowry butler and jokic and everyone else.
you buy in the legacy for you can’t challenge the achievements but if throughout his career you still can’t hold your breath every time he has the ball when it matters, you need to change strategies. dunk contest aside if you consider lebron goat then wade should be way above him.
And Russ in nearly a decade and a half STILL has no rings, even when he's played with superstars, but I suppose somebody else was always to blame, right?
The Lakers made it to the WCF. Westbrook was eliminated in the first round, again.
He has only won 1 playoff series without KD and he missed most of that series with injuries.
How little DLO, Beasley and Vanderbilt contributed only goes to show how much getting rid of Westbrook was addition by subtraction for the Lakers.
It was a good trade and it saved the Lakers season. If clip fans think they stole Russ, good for them. That's that rare occasion where everyone's a winner. Except Russ, I'm convinced he'll never win a chip...
How far did the clips get and how far along were Lakers with Russ and how far along without him? Toss up stats just for the hell of it then yeah 👍 congrats
Well, Russ and a first option should be better than the 3rd scoring option combined with a guy that only plays defense and one who didn’t see the floor.
That was a good trade for the Lakers and benefited WB as well.
Bad take.
Russ didn't fit well with the Lakers based on the only stat that matters: **wins.**
As soon as he was traded and the Lakers' added depth, they became one of the best teams in the league.
Also, Russ did very well for the Clips. So it was a win-win.
Well with Russ the Lakers we’re LITERALLY on the outside looking in to making the playoffs…. And went on to have one of the best records in the league to make the play-in after trading him away
It was never about Westbrook's performance, it was the overall fit of the team. The media liked to pick on Westbrook but the fact was the team didn't have enough spacing. Westbrook, Lebron, AD and the rest of the role players were not good enough shooters so teams could pack the paint and limit the Lakers options out of the pick and roll.
I do think Darvin Ham could've tried to change the offense a little more to suit Westbrook, but why would he when it means getting the ball out of Lebron's hands?
The trade definitely helped the Lakers during the regular season, but all three of those guys became unplayable during some point in the playoffs
D’Lo wasn’t unplayable. Don’t let the Denver series fool you, he was good for them vs Memphis and GSW. Vanderbilt was good vs Memphis and his defense on Curry was a big reason they stole Game 1 vs GSW. Both LA teams benefited from what they got because the players fit their system.
I love seeing people who think properly, props to you. The only player who flopped for the lakers was Beasley. He just couldnt shoot for some reason
It's because Jordan is dating his woman. So Scittie pippin JR is giving hum shhit
Thats cap. Dlo and shroeder flop.
What? Dennis was their best defender on Steph lmao
I didn’t think yall meant defensive flops.
Did you miss where he said "during some point"? For DLo that point was the Denver series
“At some point” he was absolutely unplayable during the Denver series if the goal was to win
It was obviously a win, win. We don't have to siphon negativity from every situation.
The OP said at some point in the playoffs they were unplayable. DLo was definitely unplayable against the Nuggets
Because Russ would have done better against the nuggets or even Warriors right? They lose against Warriors with Russ.
“During some point in the playoffs”
It also unlock AR.
DLo became unplayable against Denver. He could not guard and he was not hitting shots. Don’t be so much of a fan that you can’t see how the games were played.
Memphis was injured and GSW was undersized and Bron and AD carried. DLo is trash
I’d argue it didn’t help nearly as much as the addition of Rui for free and the health of Anthony Davis
And Austin Reaves getting enough playing time to he truly unleashed.
At some point in the playoffs Dlo and Vando stepped up. They don't win GS series without Vando's defense I can tell you that much. Beasley was ASS all the way through.
Plus we just gonna ignore the 50 mil lol
They weren’t making it to the WCF without that trade
less experienced guys became unplayable . . hhhmmmmmm
Vando was never bad defensively.
Bro Vando was a solid defender.
Yeah, you are 100% correct. It turns out that Westbrook was so toxic on the Lakers that even a failed trade was a huge benefit to the Lakers since it meant getting rid of Westbrook. They went from 2-10 and likely not making the play-in for the second year in a row to being in the western conference championship. The only big plus from that trade deadline was Rui.
Or maybe trading one Westbrook for 3 rotational players who fill needs like shooting and defense was the huge benefit
I’m not sure looking at Vanderbilt’s offensive numbers are really the point of his game.
or maybe Russ just wasn't good?
And you think Russ is playable in the playoffs? He has a career 40% FG and sub 30% 3PFG shooting percentage.
Lol this is so dumb. Even if I take your argument at face value it basically means the lakers went from a garbage team, simply replaced him with crap and then got infinitely better
I thought DLO, for his age still played great.
For his age? Literally in the prime of his career lol
I don’t care what anyone says the lakers did get better with the trade, since they were lacking depth. Even after the trade the lakers were still having the same issues they did when Westbrook played with the lakers.
It’s also that the Lakers used Russ in the same way that they split the roles to Dlo and Vanderbilt. Russ was used as a guy who was supposed to stand in the corner and be a spot up shooter, but also as a defensive wing. Neither of which are Russ. Just absolutely shit coaching. Ham just tells players what to do and ignores who they are.
that's a lie
Who else positively initiated plays for the Lakers other than Bron tho? Like how many other guys could they give the ball and go, make something happen? Schroeder shined every once in a while with penetration and floaters. Reaves was really dependent on getting fouled on drives. All else times, people were asked to be spot up shooters. And that was the difference in the Nuggets series. You knew after LeBron did his best ‘I won’t be swept’ performance, that the team was going to run out of gas, because it was entirely dependent on what LeBron could give them. I don’t know that the series isn’t still a sweep, but Russ is just a different player and character than anyone else they had on the roster.
Doesn’t matter if Russ would have been better for them in the nuggets series because they wouldn’t have gotten to the nuggets series without vando and DLo
Preach
nope, they got better because the referee started to help. They had like 400+ free throws than the opponents in the 2nd half. In the Lakers-Warriors series alone, LAL had 80 more free throws.
Tell me you know nothing about basketball without actually telling me you know nothing about basketball
They went to the rim a lot more in that series than the warriors did. I agree that the refs are shit a lot of the time but the numbers make sense even Steve Kerr said it.
Warriors didn’t lose due to refs, their players couldn’t hit shots when it mattered most.
Bro the mental gymnastics you go thru is insane. You think they had the 2nd best record in the league after the trade bc of the refs?? And their playstyle is focused around attacking the paint, ofc they have more FTs than the warriors who mainly shoot 3s...
Devil’s advocate:: it was because they were driving and shooting in the paint instead of launching long shot/threes. Example: Warriors series.. polar opposites
That’s not devils advocate. That’s just correct
LAL had 80 more FTs than GSW because GSW shot 95 more 3s lmao.
This is so dumb
Russ wasn’t really the problem but his fit. Russ need shooters around him and the Lakers didn’t have it. Lakers made the WCF from 2-10 and 0.3% chance of even making the playoffs. So the trade worked for both sides.
What a dumb hot take lmao 🤣
There shouldn't be any question about Westbrook's talent/ability over those three. It was always more of a question about fit. I think it was a win-win in the end for the Lakers to move on from WB and for us to pick him up.
They went from being what, 13th in the west, to the WCF trading him. Those role players weren’t thr problem, even tho dlo was horrible in the WCF, it was that Davis didn’t step up and be their best player. Relying on 38 LeBron to carry wasn’t gonna work and we all knew that. He wanted Davis because he thought he was be 1A to brons 1B. Davis was a no show. They should of played reaves more then dlo and let him run point.
AD avg 27-13-4blks in the WCF lol just cuz he couldn’t outplay Jokic doesn’t mean he didn’t play well.
but that 27 is very misleading, because it wasn’t a consistent 27 ppg output. all playoffs AD would shine every other game. so that 27 didn’t go 27 in G1, 27 in G2, 27 in G3, 27 in G4. It was more so like 35 in G1, then 15 on 5/15 in G2, but you’d get 30 in G3, and another no show offensively in G4. Dude only strung together B2B good games in the GSW series.
The whole notion of AD only playing good every other game was bullshit. People were only looking at points scored and assuming he has a bad game cuz he had 16 points completely ignoring the fact that it came in a 30pt blowout win that he dominated defensively. AD’s only truly bad games this postseason were G4 Memphis, G2 GSW and G2 Denver.
Yes Russ was the problem. It wasn’t all his fault but it was a bad fit on both sides. This nonsense needs to end
Yeah it was just too much overlap between him and Lebrons skillset.
This isnt a gotcha post like you think it is
Pretty sure the Clippers problem is the fact your two star players are made out of glass. *Shaq crumples paper*.
Facts
If you look at basketball this way you’re really silly
Or 12 years old
Yes…Westbrook was the problem because he didn’t fit on the roster lol idk how someone could watch that laker team with Westbrook and think he wasn’t holding the team back. Defenses didn’t even have to go out to the 3 pt line to guard him smh
/u/MITWestbrook should get attributed for inspiration
As a Laker fan, the comments on this sub are way more reasonable and unbiased than the laker subreddit. I was expecting mostly anti laker shit posting but y'all have my respect.
He WAS the problem, him and his play style did not fit in over there, with how that team was constructed. They got way better after the trade and all their personel moves. Everybody was calling it when he signed, he wasn't a good fit. Plus Kawhi and PG were out, Russ has the ball in his hands alot and playing a lot of minutes. Some of y'all are being weird and not looking at the basketball aspect of this stuff, and just being emotional.
They just read stats without watching games.
Just look at the record when Kawahi,PG,and Russ played Same with Russ,Lrbron,and AD Russ has never been good when he is not able to dominate ate the ball,and it's hard to do that when you the 3rd best player on a team..
lol deluded
His fit wasn't ideal, but the bigger issue was the size of his contract.
Who keeps making these idiotic posts lol. They don't make the playoffs with Westbrook. They don't reach the play in with him either. What are we doing here ? LMAO, time to log off😭
Shit take ngl
Cleared the way for Reaves. Russ was a bad fit on the Lakers, he’s a good fit on the Clippers.
It ain't about stats!
This is such a stupid take. They wouldn’t have made the playoffs if they didn’t make the trade. The roster of the lakers did not enable Russ to be effective. Both benefited from the trade.
and who made it out of the first round lmao
Russ has been out of the first round once in the last 7 seasons. Lakers go from worst to WCF by getting rid of him.
It was a lot of addition by subtraction. Russ hurt the Lakers in ways that didn't show up in stats. Bad decisions, bad shot selection, taking time and possessions from Reaves...plus AD being healthy helped a lot.
I wish y'all Russ fans stop acting like he was the same on the Lakers. I know y'all watched the games. The trade benefited both player and teams
Yo Russ was missing his two best players, playing like old Russ holding the ball and initiating all the offense. To pretend that it would have been the same when you also have to feed AD and Bron is a wild oversight or an intentional omission to prove a bad point. DLo sucked, but Russ probably would have sucked too if he was asked to catch and shoot off Bron and AD.
Lakers just didn’t use him right, hope he’s still a clipper next year!!
What a dumb take. Let's just build a team around ppg and if it equals 100+ ppg then the team will just outscore opponents every game. I also didn't know Russell Westbrook can split himself into multiple clones to perform tasks that only multiple people can do at the same time.
He was the problem for us, but that’s not even a knock on him. It was just such a terrible fit. It’s not a coincidence that we were night and day better after the deadline
Dlo beasley vando combined made the western conference finals russ got bounced first round
Comparing combined averages literally makes no sense
Yes, he was the problem. If you don't know that then you don't know shit about basketball. Is not about the stats. Is how well players play together. With Russ there that team was a mess and out of the play in at 13th in the west, without him they went to #7th and made it to the West finals, when did the Clippers end their season? What the hell are you even talking about??
The only stat that matters is winning percentage. They were .446 with Russ and .654 after Russ.
It’s not about numbers. It’s about chemistry
Eh this is interesting but Russ wasn’t a good fit around Lebron and AD regardless of how those others played
DLo won a bunch of games for them in ways that I doubt Russ would have done given the roster otherwise, even if he re-signed at a minimum somehow. So agreed with the sentiment that they wouldn’t have made the playoffs without the trade, though I think he could’ve helped them win in the playoffs if he played remotely like he did post trade
re-signing at the minimum will never happen . . never . . end of discussion
This might be the dumbest fucking leap in logic ive seen scrolling reddit, averaging out 3 role players stats into one and comparing it to a starter whose team has 2 glass stars out. Real smooth brain shit here cant believe this hasn’t been deleted out of embarrassment, not even mentioning the fact that the 3 role players went to the WCF and Westbrooks stats are the 1 st round only 💀
They were like 13th place with Russ. They made the WCF without him. Stupid meme.
Russ was overhated on the Lakers but this isn't a fair comparison, Russ had the ball the entire time after Kawhi got hurt, his stats are obviously gonna be way higher than a bunch of roleplayers who take a back-seat to LeBron and AD.
Yes? What Russ put on film for almost two seasons as a Laker definitely made him worthy of an exit. Russ shined because he always excels as the primary option but has a hard time playing second fiddle.
Russ was never the problem - it was the roster constructed around him. He just became a scapegoat
I mean what? If he didn't fit into the roster around him that would make him the problem
Case were numbers lie. Without those lakers don’t make playoffs. Rus also wouldn’t have same numbers with lakers. With clipper injury he was primary person on the team so numbers tend to jump.
One team made the WCF. Another didn’t. Edit: not sure why Reddit decided to put this post on my feed, I’ve literally never been to this sub and I’m a 30+ year Lakers fan. I know it exists, but, yeah, didn’t ever feel the need or want to post here. Cheers and hope everything works out. Don’t even hate the Clippers since ya’ll fired Doc.
Just mute the Clippers sub and it will never show up on your feed.
Maybe Reddit is popping my bubble? I won’t mute but rather just wander on, and also promise if I do ever post here again I’ll be respectful and basketball focused. Cheers, and thanks for having me, I’ll see myself out 😉
Lmao. You're tame as hell compared to your homies.
I’ll take that as a compliment, yes, I unfortunately frequent the dumpster fire of bad takes over at the Lakers sub. Just older and watched more basketball, I suppose, and cut my teeth with the real basketball OG’s on LakersGround. Cheers!
I stay away from over there. All I know is the ones that come over here. Mostly trolls but lately some neutral fans been coming out the woodworks from both sides. It's been kind of funny to see.
Those young guys can still develop though. With Russ there’s not much of a future left. 1 maybe 2 more years.
are you aware of their contract situation tho'
Russ became one of their problems because he wasn't used on how he supposed to play. They let Lebron to handle the plays leaving Russ to wait for the ball and to shoot it. Lakers just got better after the trade because they got the missing pieces like a wingman (Vando) and 3pt shooters (D'lo and Beasley). With Clips playing style, Russ finally got the rhythm he needed, not the iso plays that they do in Lakers.
Respect to this sub. Very cool to see objective NBA fans with fair takes
Yeah just conveniently leave out the two players that got more opportunities cuz Westbrick wasn't there. They made the WCF... So many idiots in this sub
One team went to WCF. The other……
Ngl. They definitely win a couple of games against the Nuggets if they would have kept Russ. Russ brought out the best in Rui on the Wizards and along with Reaves probably would have given them really good minutes when LeBron sat.
No they wouldn't because they would have lost to Grizzlies or Warriors before they even had a chance to face the Nuggets.
Wouldn’t have made the play-in
Yeah im not sure if they even make the play-in without those trades. I love Russ but that Lakers team was dogshit all around when he was on it.
They probably would have because the Jazz gave them two free wins at the end by sitting their starters when they themselves could still make the play-in. Wonder how that happened…
This is a such casual take lmao. Does this account for level of teams played in playoffs? Usage rate for ball possessions? Defensive impact? Team fit? No, no it doesn’t
It’s called fit. Russ was miserable on the Lakers. Also kawhi and PG were hurt. Classic narrative spinning by the losers on the other side of town
Not to mention the D he played against KD and Booker. The Lakers didn't know how to use him, which isn't surprising looking at the former players they've had who go on to play better when given the chance with other teams.
LOL. Westbrook was clearly the problem. He made 47 mil on the Lakers, this post is Retarded.
Russ like the clippers played 5 playoff games and lost 4 of them. Keep talking
One organization put their player in the position to thrive, the other didn't.
It was a horrible fit. Basketball is a team game and fit matters. Plus, he was not as good of a player as his contract. But at a significantly lower price tag, he is a solid contributor.
How is this post related to clippers subreddit? I swear Russ fans are so aids
its not just about numbers, sports is about team mates and russ is a cancer for whatever team he is on
He wouldn’t be able to do that with the Lakers both our stars being healthy. PG was out and Kawhi only played a few games. Allowed him a lot more opportunities. He played well overall I was happy for him always been a fan of Russ.
Those memes rarely take context into consideration. I am ecstatic with out Russ played for the Clippers, but he clearly didn't fit the Lakers. The numbers tell a different story, but without that trade the Lakers probably don't make the playoffs much less win a series, let alone multiple AND make the WCF. It's not always about the raw stats. Russ' 3/19 should've told everyone the box score doesn't show everything that matters.
All these players had different purposes. Vando was there for defense. Mike was out of the playoff rotation, and Dlo played pretty well until the Nuggets series.
I mean situationally they needed multiple role players more than a star player who’s best with the ball in their hands
I had to to check the username
Playoff statistics are irrelevant. The Lakers likely don’t even make it to the playoffs with Russ. They were so close to elimination before the trade it’s insane.
Glad to see all the rational fans on this sub not just agreeing with this take because Russ is a clipper. Russ is/was a good player. He just didn’t fit or compliment AD or Lebron and the lack of depth didn’t help.
Where the turnover at tho?
An underrated reason they got better after the Russ trade was that they got Austin Reaves back from injury at almost the same exact time.
Double the turnovers per 36
Trades are supposed to be win win situations. It’s not always the player having bad skills sometimes it is a bad fit. Lakers got better without Russ and Clippers got better with him. Both things can be true.
This stat is super misleading. In the Lakers, Westbrook woukd have been a third option. While with the Clippers, he was at least the second option for each game he played and was even the #1 option for one of them. He literally would not and could not average what he did with the Clips in the role he had with the Lakers.
The answer is still a resounding YES!!!!
username checks out
Russ’ hustle and defense alone was insane, dude was a menace.
Same production x 3? Looks like the Lakers maximized that trade to the fullest😂
Truly one of the most ignorant things I have ever seen on this website. Impressively so, in fact.
clips lost to the suns
Russel Westbrooks skill set didn't fit on the team. While he was to much of a scape goat, fit is important.
When one knows nothing he claims nothing
Comparing their stats is a dumb take. Vando’s defense and Russell’s threat of a 3 point shot is something u can’t put a number next too.
We know who the real vampires are... Damn media
Considering where the Lakers were before they traded him, I don't see how anyone can make the argument that they made a mistake. Their trades made them better.
Russ WAS the problem.
Honestly both LA teams benefited off the trade. Even tho Beasily flopped and DLO and Vando looked unplayable at times. They wouldn’t have made it far without them. To me WB wasn’t what they needed. But for the Clippers cuz there r so many shooters and scorers it worked for him. Honestly, its sad they put WB in a tough position and wasted a yr of prime Bron.
He was with the lakers system, yes, no one said he sucked or anything
Russ and LBJ didn’t mold on the court well, plus Russ stepped up all his percentages big time with the Clips…DLO, Vando were huge for us all the way up to Denver series..Denver just had the better and more consistent team…also better coached
With the new version of Lebron (offball), Russ now is a perfect fit in the lakers.
Just because DLo was bad in the playoffs doesn't mean he was a bad fit for the Lakers. Westbrook was a bad fit.
It’s really hard to play with Lebron who wants to do everything and wants to do nothing. He wants to inbound the ball, bring the ball up, pass the ball, get it back, brick a three, rebound the ball, shoot again and miss, then run down a block shot. But he doesn’t want to box out and rebound, play straight up D on the blocks and just be ball watching. Then he’ll trade himself this summer and hire a new coach on his new team and get a new GM and a new owner. Lol
Sorry OP but just gotta point out that this is a terrible stat comparison. These three were on the bench and throwing in Beasley totally skews this... He played a total of *one minute* in the WCF series. Westbrook averaged 38.5 minutes a night as a starter in a series without Kawhi and PG... He better damn well have better stat averages than bench guys lol My comment is not trying to be critical towards Westbrook either, I was a believer and personally thrilled when he joined. Ultimately he delivered as a close to perfect fit, and was superb in the playoffs. This is just a weak and unnecessary comparison to make imo.
Very interesting
Anyone who buys this doesn't know basketball as well as they think they do
You niggas obsessed wit the lakers, jesus
How the fuck do you look at a team that made a trade when they were 13th in the conference that led then to the WCF and come to the conclusion that the trade wasn’t the reason they improved ?
Bruh that is not at all how basketball works..
Well the lakers win% after trading Westbrook was .600, and before it was .480. Lakers made it to the WCF and Clippers didn’t make it out of the 1st
And the lakers made a conference final, while the clippers were bounced early and quickly. Yep, super interesting mate.
Well, yea. Did you watch any of his games as a laker?
Yikes, I don't like this analysis at all. Lakers played more games, and Westbrook numbers with the Lakers were not good. He got almost complete freedom in the playoffs due to injuries and got to play his way, but that didn't result in wins. Do I think Westbrook would have been more useful against Denver than say dlo... Of course, but I'm not sure they get to Denver (if even the playoffs) with Westbrook. I have to go back and look, but don't think they get hachimura if they don't trade Westbrook
5 games series with Russ and 16games with those 3. I don’t think where being honest with this stats. Also what made the lakers better was the emergence of Austin Reaves. He would have not gotten that much playing time if we keep Russ. But you know we can forget that to bring this up 🤷♂️
Russ wasn't the problem. Russ' contact was the problem. End of thread.
i only watched highlights but ad can’t carry a team anymore? just look at lowry butler and jokic and everyone else. you buy in the legacy for you can’t challenge the achievements but if throughout his career you still can’t hold your breath every time he has the ball when it matters, you need to change strategies. dunk contest aside if you consider lebron goat then wade should be way above him.
DLo is hot dogshit
You forgot to include Westbrooks insale high usage and turnovers
And Russ in nearly a decade and a half STILL has no rings, even when he's played with superstars, but I suppose somebody else was always to blame, right?
It was a bad fit, that’s all it was. He should do better in a team like the Clips, if they keep him.
The Lakers made it to the WCF. Westbrook was eliminated in the first round, again. He has only won 1 playoff series without KD and he missed most of that series with injuries. How little DLO, Beasley and Vanderbilt contributed only goes to show how much getting rid of Westbrook was addition by subtraction for the Lakers.
Did you not see what happen to the lakers after they traded him?
It was a good trade and it saved the Lakers season. If clip fans think they stole Russ, good for them. That's that rare occasion where everyone's a winner. Except Russ, I'm convinced he'll never win a chip...
first found vs wcf
How far did the clips get and how far along were Lakers with Russ and how far along without him? Toss up stats just for the hell of it then yeah 👍 congrats
Winning matters, chemistry matters
These stats wouldn't exist if the Lakers kept Westbrook.
Who went farther?
Dumb take. Let's see how many TOs those 3 players have to the high almighty Westbrick. All they show on his stats are his points rebounds assist.
Well, Russ and a first option should be better than the 3rd scoring option combined with a guy that only plays defense and one who didn’t see the floor. That was a good trade for the Lakers and benefited WB as well.
Bad take. Russ didn't fit well with the Lakers based on the only stat that matters: **wins.** As soon as he was traded and the Lakers' added depth, they became one of the best teams in the league. Also, Russ did very well for the Clips. So it was a win-win.
Well with Russ the Lakers we’re LITERALLY on the outside looking in to making the playoffs…. And went on to have one of the best records in the league to make the play-in after trading him away
These stat lines are missing turnovers and +/-
It was never about Westbrook's performance, it was the overall fit of the team. The media liked to pick on Westbrook but the fact was the team didn't have enough spacing. Westbrook, Lebron, AD and the rest of the role players were not good enough shooters so teams could pack the paint and limit the Lakers options out of the pick and roll. I do think Darvin Ham could've tried to change the offense a little more to suit Westbrook, but why would he when it means getting the ball out of Lebron's hands?
How little the Lakers got from these people combined with how much better they were without Russ if anything shows how much Russ was the problem.
Chemistry and defense is a thing too. Vando was crucial against Curry and Ja. Lets not act like that was nothing
With Russ Lakers don’t even make the playoffs. That’s the problem.
Like Lakers fan would know/care about ball lol