Los Angeles Lakers: Buy or sell Russell Westbrook’s recent hot streak

Buy or sell Russell Westbrook’s recent hot streak and what it means for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

Through the first quarter of the 2021-22 NBA season, an argument can be made that there hasn’t been a more disappointing team than the Los Angeles Lakers. At 12-11, sitting in the 8th spot of the Western Conference, the Lakers haven’t been much more than a mediocre team through this point in the season.

And while there are many different theories as to why the Lakers have struggled so much this season, one of the headlining ones has been the inconsistent – or consistently bad – play of Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook was the team’s splash move of the offseason and the hope was that he would be the third star that could help take this team to the next level. At least thus far, that hasn’t happened. Though, there has been a glimmer of hope for the Westbrook faithful.

Over the past six games, it’s beginning to look like he has turned a corner in his struggles.

During Westbrook’s first 17 games for the Lakers, he was averaging 19 points, 43 percent shooting from the field and 30 percent shooting from 3-point range. He was also averaging five turnovers per game and had a -4.6 plus-minus when he was on the floor.

In his last six games, though, Westbrook is averaging 26 points, nine assists, and eight rebounds per game on 50 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from 3-point range. He has also averaged just 3.8 turnovers per game and, perhaps most importantly, is a 5.7 plus-minus. The Lakers are 4-2 over that stretch.

There’s no question that Russ is certainly playing better as of late. The big question, of course, is whether or not this is him actually turning a corner in his struggles or if this is a simple hot streak that is unsustainable.

There is some evidence that suggests that Westbrook actually suffers from slow starts, especially in his last two seasons. If that remains the case this season, there’s a good chance that we have yet to see Westbrook’s best basketball of the season.

Without much wiggle room to drastically improve the roster via the trade market, the Lakers have to hope that this recent play from Westbrook is more of a trend than just a hot streak that will eventually burn out.

If the Lakers are going to rebound from this slow start to the season, they’re not only going to need a strong effort from both LeBron James and Anthony Davis for the rest of the season but also a huge step forward from Westbrook.

Is Russ finally getting comfortable as a member of the Lakers, or is this simple progression to the mean that will flame out in a couple of games? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess. Can you trust Russ? The Lakers may not have any other choice.