Shannon Sharpe has been criticized for his scapegoating of Russell Westbrook as pertains to the struggles of the Lakers, but that isn’t stopping him and his co-host Skip Bayless from making sure that they skew Russ on the Bar-B at least one good time each show.
Russell Westbrook was benched for the last 8.4 seconds of a Wednesday night’s loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. Russ was reportedly so frustrated that he left the arena before everybody showered.
Westbrook said he was “disappointed I didn’t go back in, but I’m more disappointed that we lost the damn game.”
He also added that he’s willing to do what his team needs to win in the long run.
Daily Russ Roast
Neither Shannon nor Skip was feeling Westbrook’s comments or his response to the benching.
Neither of them believe that Westbrook was more interested in winning the “damn game”.
Skip posed the question: “When has he ever been interested in winning the game?”
Shannon said straight-up that Westbrook is just not as invested as LeBron and the other guys. Sharpe has formed the opinion that Russ doesn’t care one way or the other at this point, based upon various comments that Westbrook has made pertaining to the pressure to win an elusive championship.
Sharpe also suggests that LeBron should be ticked off and ready to ship Russ out of town and poked fun at some of Russ’ life-is-bigger-than-basketball quotes.
“‘The sun is going to shine. I get to see my kids’ faces everyday … That’s happy’ What?” Sharpe asked Bayless.
“Man, I’m trying to win a championship and you’re over here talking about some happy kids. You know what. I need you to go to another team so you and your kids can be happy and give me somebody that might not be the level player you are, but that is the only way you can win top to bottom. You have to be equally invested.”
Every episode Shannon delivers one death blow, and that was it.
Sharpe didn’t mince words about his belief that Westbrook has accepted the fact that he might finish his career like Patrick Ewing, Charles Barkley and his current teammate Carmelo Anthony; as Hall of Fame or possible future Hall of Fame players who couldn’t quite get over the championship hump.
“I’m never going to invest in an individual that does not invest in me,” Shannon said, before theorizing about what the Lakers were thinking at this point in the season while also incredibly claiming to know how invested Westbrook is.
He must have a hell of a mole working in the Lakers organization. One who can read minds.
“They told Russ without telling Russ [by benching him],” Shannon declared. “We have a better chance of winning the game with the guys on the floor and you sitting here next to me. They told Russ we have a better chance of winning the game with Austin Reaves, Stanley Johnson, Malik Monk … than Russell Westbrook. “
It was a typical “Undisputed” show. They ripped Russ’ turnovers and three-point shooting, basically discounted his triple-double average in four of the past five seasons and continued the team obliterator narrative.
In the process, they tick a lot of people off and stay relevant.
Lakers Rebound Against Orlando
The Lakers and Westbrook responded to the tongue-lashing with an emphatic 116-105 win over the Magic on Friday night. Westbrook was back in the starting lineup, and he played one of his more efficient games of the season.
The stat line was familiar: 18 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, but it was also impactful. He was the perfect compliment to LeBron James, who scored a team-high 29 points.
Carmelo Anthony also had one of his best games of the season, scoring 19 of his 23 points in the second half. The future Hall of Famer also hit four 3-pointers.
It got so good for Westbrook that when he fed James for an alley-oop in the final quarter, chants of ”M-V-P” erupted for James.
”I’ve been here doing my job since Day 1 and doing everything asked of me,” Westbrook told reporters a day after he was benched. “I want to continue to do that for the betterment of the team.”
This seemed to be the case on Friday night as Russ shot 47 percent from the floor and appeared determined to show that he is not the problem.
The Great Enigma
Westbrook is the great enigma. He’s averaging 19/8/8 but leading the league in turnovers. With the Lakers at 23-23 and limping towards the All-Star break, the media pile-on is extreme, and you have to take it with a grain of salt because Shannon is a full-fledged shock jock at this point and Westbrook is such an easy target right now.
The win on Friday night gets the Lakers back to .500. It’s hard for people to talk about you when you’re winning. And the return of Anthony Davis will also improve the Lakers and quiet some of the hyperbole as to the team’s early demise. AD is a game-time decision vs. the Miami Heat today after a 16-game absence.
Despite FS1 using its pulpit to eviscerate Russell Westbrook, things are looking up for the Lakers.
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