Out of five losses in a row, the Kings needed a win. The reception of the Lakers, intimate enemies in this California derby, was therefore timely.
Despite an 11th game (out of the last 12) at 30 points or more for LeBron James (34 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists), a good Malik Monk (22 points) and a career record 19 points from rookie Austin Reaves, the Lakers failed to keep pace with the Kings in the second half. Cashing in 40 points in the 3rd quarter, and 70 points in the paint, Los Angeles was far too permissive to hope for anything.
“We did not defend against anyone”, railed Frank Vogel. “We have respect for this team. They haven’t made it through the playoffs yet in recent years, but they have a lot of young talent and a lot of ammunition in attack. They can beat us if we don’t play at our level. We’re going to have to play better than that to beat them. “
At the center of the debacle, it was Russell Westbrook who again shone with his mediocrity. In the midst of a crisis of address, the star leader of the Lakers chained brick after brick to end his evening with 8 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, but with an excruciating 2/14 on shots including a 3-point bubble (0 / 5).
And the Sacramento venue DJ had a blast, sending not-so-subliminal messages to the former Thunder MVP throughout the night with clips from « Cold As Ice » from Foreigner and downright from « Ice, Ice baby » by Vanilla Ice on Russell Westbrook’s last (failed) attempt …
20% on shots over the last three matches
” It’s funny “, Russell Westbrook responded with a smile. “I hope they have played these extracts for the last fourteen seasons as well (note: in reference to the seasons without the Sacramento playoffs). But it’s fun, it’s cute. (…) Who are you saying that to ? I can’t get a fucking shot in! “
While it seemed to be better in December for Russell Westbrook, at 18 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists on average, all at 48% success on shots, the point guard has fallen back into his failures since the new year. . It’s very simple, in five games in 2022, he still has not reached 50% success.
“Any player is necessarily frustrated when he is having a bad time, it’s natural”, adds LeBron James.
Remaining on an 8/40 on shots (20% success) over his last three games, Russell Westbrook is well aware that he must react. But he keeps his spirits up. As an old driver of the circuit, he has seen others …
“I try to look at it all in a positive way. I see it like this: since I’ve been in the League, the fans, the venues, the jokes, whatever happens to me, I take it as a compliment. Because if I hadn’t done anything in this League, no one would pay attention to me, no one would be interested in what I do and how I do it. If we continue to be interested in what I do, when I do it and how I do it, that means that I necessarily do things well. So I’m going to continue to hold my head up high and keep my “why not?” Mentality. And continue to use this sport to achieve other things. It’s that simple. “
| Russell Westbrook | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Tirs | 3pts | LF | Off | Def | Until | Pd | Fte | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2008-09 | OKC | 82 | 33 | 39.8 | 27.1 | 81.5 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 4.9 | 5.3 | 2.3 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 0.2 | 15.3 |
| 2009-10 | OKC | 82 | 34 | 41.8 | 22.1 | 78.0 | 1.7 | 3.2 | 4.9 | 8.0 | 2.5 | 1.3 | 3.3 | 0.4 | 16.1 |
| 2010-11 | OKC | 82 | 35 | 44.2 | 33.0 | 84.2 | 1.5 | 3.2 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 2.5 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.4 | 21.9 |
| 2011-12 | OKC | 66 | 35 | 45.7 | 31.6 | 82.3 | 1.5 | 3.1 | 4.6 | 5.5 | 2.2 | 1.7 | 3.6 | 0.3 | 23.6 |
| 2012-13 | OKC | 82 | 35 | 43.8 | 32.3 | 80.0 | 1.4 | 3.9 | 5.2 | 7.4 | 2.3 | 1.8 | 3.3 | 0.3 | 23.2 |
| 2013-14 | OKC | 46 | 31 | 43.7 | 31.8 | 82.6 | 1.2 | 4.5 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 2.3 | 1.9 | 3.9 | 0.2 | 21.8 |
| 2014-15 | OKC | 67 | 34 | 42.6 | 29.9 | 83.5 | 1.9 | 5.4 | 7.3 | 8.6 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 4.4 | 0.2 | 28.2 |
| 2015-16 | OKC | 80 | 34 | 45.4 | 29.6 | 81.2 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 2.5 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 0.3 | 23.5 |
| 2016-17 ★ | OKC | 81 | 35 | 42.5 | 34.3 | 84.5 | 1.7 | 9.0 | 10.7 | 10.4 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 31.6 |
| 2017-18 | OKC | 80 | 36 | 44.9 | 29.8 | 73.7 | 1.9 | 8.2 | 10.1 | 10.3 | 2.5 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 0.3 | 25.4 |
| 2018-19 | OKC | 73 | 36 | 42.8 | 29.0 | 65.6 | 1.5 | 9.6 | 11.1 | 10.7 | 3.4 | 2.0 | 4.5 | 0.5 | 23.0 |
| 2019-20 | HOU | 57 | 36 | 47.2 | 25.8 | 76.3 | 1.8 | 6.2 | 7.9 | 7.0 | 3.5 | 1.6 | 4.5 | 0.4 | 27.3 |
| 2020-21 | WAS | 65 | 36 | 43.9 | 31.5 | 65.6 | 1.7 | 9.9 | 11.5 | 11.7 | 2.9 | 1.4 | 4.8 | 0.4 | 22.2 |
| 2021-22 | LAL | 41 | 35 | 44.4 | 29.8 | 65.3 | 1.4 | 6.7 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 3.1 | 1.1 | 4.5 | 0.3 | 19.0 |
| Total | 984 | 35 | 43.8 | 30.5 | 78.6 | 1.7 | 5.8 | 7.4 | 8.5 | 2.6 | 1.7 | 4.1 | 0.3 | 23.0 | |
