When examining the Los Angeles Lakers’ box score against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday, many areas of weakness leap apparent. Russell Westbrook’s lack of success with field goals is one that immediately stands up on the page. During the post-game press conference, LeBron James was questioned about Westbrook’s fruitless offensive effort.
King James delivered a clear message to the Brodie:
LeBron told Westbrook to “flush everything down the toilet and be ready for Sunday.” He has experience. All of us have had awful shooting nights. I have experienced awful shooting nights. In this league, everyone has experienced poor shooting nights. Who cares?
While LeBron is correct that everyone occasionally has bad shooting nights, Westbrook’s 0-for-11 performance cemented his place in NBA lore as the first player to miss every field goal he attempted over a ten-year period. It’s not exactly your typical difficult day out.
But to Russ’ credit, he did play a respectable game in other aspects, particularly on defence. The bad shooting, which LeBron also harped on in his answer, did little to stop his aggression and focus in trying to slow down Kawhi Leonard.
“I believed he played a fantastic game. He was tuned in when defending. He was confined. He quickened the pace. He simply missed all of his shots, which is fine. He had five thefts, including two consecutive ones during a crucial period when they were attempting to post up Kawhi. Simply put, he missed all of his shots, and that’s okay.
LeBron James made sure to leave Russell Westbrook with the same message that he had begun.
“Put it in the trash and get ready for Sunday,” was the advice.
After his embarrassing 0-of-11 performance, LeBron James tells Russell Westbrook to “flush it down the toilet.” This article first appeared on ClutchPoints.
