Defiance was the fuel for everything Russell Westbrook was and achieved in his NBA career.
It doesn’t matter what his critics or opponents said, because very often his game – or rather, the result of his performances – had the last word.
Now that he’s playing badly in the form of the Los Angeles Lakers, the NBA’s greatest instigator of pressure, he sees and hears everything, and he no longer has a game to drown out all the noise.
The athlete in decline here is the main course, and everything else is a side dish. There’s so much in one shot, so much Westbrook said at his last press conference, it’s almost impossible to digest in one sitting.
“I support my wife 100 percent. It’s not just because of this year. She’s reached a point this year where it’s really weighing on them,” Westbrook said. “It’s just a game. It’s just a game, that’s not all, and when it comes to basketball, I don’t mind criticism of misses and shots, but the moment it becomes, you know, my name becomes ashamed, it becomes a problem. “.
There, a man is protecting his wife. Westbrook’s wife, Nina, expressed her opinion with numerous tweets about fans or even members of the media who went too far with criticism. It is difficult to define the line between justice and harshness when the volume is so loud, and the love for a spouse penetrates deeper than the passion of even an ardent admirer.
A generational basketball player who is fighting Father Time can’t agree on the corners he can’t beat and the fact that his elevator no longer leads to the penthouse.
And there’s a player from the leading franchise in all sports who has to deal with daily setbacks – and without mercy, to the point where he doesn’t want his family to come to home games.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is clearly in the twilight of his career playing for a top franchise. (Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
On several occasions, Russell Westbrook has explained how much it means to him to return home to Los Angeles. Sometimes it looks like you’re holding your family as a human shield to protect yourself from liability, especially when he’s known to be unkind to criticism or media questions.
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It could just be a player showing more depth than we thought, given that Westbrook proudly boasted at his peak that the ball was his only friend on the court.
His brand was one of the rebellious ones, the guy with the Jordan brand’s “Now I do what I want” ad when Kevin Durant left Oklahoma City for the Bay Area in 2016. reinforced the impression that Westbrook was playing on one man’s terms: his own.
There is a price to pay for disobedience, and the bill must be paid at the most inopportune time. Those who have waited for this day, knowing that Westbrook’s recklessness will have an expiration date if he doesn’t develop and grow, will show little grace.
Wolves circled Allen Iverson in a similar nature when his uniqueness could no longer overpower his warts. He went from All-Star to relegation in less than two years because the fall happens so quickly.
One fears that Westbrook is following the same path.
Westbrook’s arrival in Los Angeles, no doubt with the assistance of LeBron James, also plays a part in this. James’ resentment and James’ fandom meet at the intersection of Westbrook Boulevard and he is unarmed to protect himself on the floor.
Every wayward throw that hits the shield, every mishandled pass that turns into a spade-two, reflects badly on James, and his most ardent fans need someone to blame. James’ detractors love to point out his failures.
And Lakers fans who dream of champagne and have forgotten the days when Nick Young was a franchise ambassador want it anytime, anywhere.
Westbrook and his decline make him an easy target.
Westbrook’s edgy, competitive nature — the baby swing, the Eurostep in celebration after the mesmerizing move — rendered double birds useless in Philadelphia.
But now the rabbit has a gun and it’s not fun at all.
Calling him “Westbrick” because of his last name and his inaccurate target on the ring seems more clever than mischievous. But when it’s mixed in with what Nina Westbrook said:[obscenities] and wishes death to me and my family”, everything will hurt the living. It will be difficult to discern intentions, especially from a distance.
There are times when fans go too far, and coming back from the COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t made most of them any more empathetic or understanding. Some Knicks fans spat next to Trae Young during the playoffs last year, when the world got its first taste of real air.
Young, like Westbrook, tends to be a heel, and the NBA is better suited for variety. Some obviously go too far and would not be so eager to heap insults if there was a threat of true lynching on the menu, working under the guise of “the customer is always right” and “I buy a ticket, so accept my disrespect.” “.
Westbrook liked to shut up opponents and players alike. Now that he is clearly on the decline and may not accept it, everyone is grabbing their pound of flesh.
And showing Westbrook’s vulnerability in the face of his struggles doesn’t sound the same as others because it doesn’t parallel what we know about him. It’s not that Westbrook was too fat to be criticized, but he was so stubborn and athletically gifted that it was impossible to know if he was bleeding, let alone bruised.
Playing on national television every night and no longer in relative obscurity – my apologies to Oklahoma City, Houston and Washington – his game is attracting even more attention and attention.
The general underachievement of the Lakers is in need of a facial villain, and Westbrook has always been happy to play the part. James plays at a high level, while Anthony Davis is unavailable due to constant injuries. It’s hard to boo a coach who goes out of his way to take his personality out of the equation, and no matter how dysfunctional the Lakers show to the world, Jeanie Bass and the Rambis family don’t skip layups or quit. to another team.
For better or worse, Westbrook has absorbed both love and criticism because of his narrow vision. He was often the patron saint of players who refused to submit to the analytical world, or even those who believed in “correct play,” whatever that meant.
Maybe Westbrook will get the fans off his back by warning the home fans, but the crowds on the roads will only get more pissed off. For a player who has been so mentally tough over the years, Westbrook has reached a breaking point that can only be corrected by the factor he has the most control over: his game.