The Los Angeles Clippers signed Russell Westbrook to revamp their roster ahead of the playoffs. But they’ve gone 0-4 without him, and some believe he’s not what they need to go the distance.
That was on full display when they faced the Golden State Warriors. They pretty much targeted him on both ends of the floor, and the results were far from encouraging for Tyron Lue’s team.
As a matter of fact, Warriors star Draymond Green confirmed that coach Steve Kerr planned the game to try and make the most of Westbrook’s struggles, raising even more doubts about his fit with his new team.
Draymond Green Claims Warriors Targeted Russell Westbrook
“He [coach Kerr] hinted that would be that game plan,” Green said postgame. “And then we went through it this morning in shootaround and try and get everybody to grasp the concept — it’s very easy when a guy is sagging off like that, when a guy catches it, you just rotate to him, and we didn’t want to do that.”
“The game plan worked for us tonight,” continued Green. “We got Russ to miss some shots. I think when you have a game plan like that I know everyone will always judge Russ’ jump shot—but what that does to you mentally is tough.”
“I think it was more mental than his shot. He’s been shooting the ball well. I think he’s shooting the three at 33 or 34 percent. But mentally, that can get tough. I thought we did a good job of sticking with the game plan, and we was able to muck it up on the defensive side. It ended up working out for us,” Green concluded.
So, there it is. If the rest of the league didn’t already have a blueprint to stop the Clippers— and more specifically, Westbrook— all they need to do is let Westbrook pull up from 20+ feet as often as he wants to.
