Lakers Legend Magic Johnson's Advice for Russell Westbrook: 'Take Accountability'
Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson has waded into the ongoing discourse centered around Russell Westbrook.
Johnson said on Shannon Sharpe's podcast he would tell Westbrook to "take accountability" when his performance isn't where it needs to be. The Hall of Famer related Westbrook's struggles to when he was on the receiving end of criticism from Lakers fans after losing the 1984 NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics.
To some extent, it's apples and oranges to compare what Johnson experienced in the aftermath of the 1984 Finals to what is happening with Westbrook.
Sure, Johnson's seven turnovers in Game 7 led to some unflattering analysis. But he had already helped lead the Lakers to two championships to that point, winning Finals MVP in both series. Magic was one of the NBA's best players, a proven winner, and in the prime of his career.
Westbrook, on the other hand, is a star on the decline, and he may have already reached a point of no return in his Lakers tenure.
Through three games, the 33-year-old is shooting 28.9 percent from the field and hitting less than 10 percent (8.3) of his three-point attempts. There's undoubtedly a segment of NBA fans who are watching Lakers games just to see what he does wrong that night.
Westbrook isn't helping himself to some degree because he's simply unable to change how he has played for the entirety of his career. Maybe he and the Lakers would be better off with him moving to a bench role, too.
Still, you have to wonder whether there's any coming back from this.
Not to mention, taking accountability might only serve as a temporary reprieve for Westbrook without an accompanying improvement in his play. Eventually, fans will grow tired of a player admitting he performed poorly and want to see change and results.
With Westbrook, this is who he is. He's the same poor shooter he's always been, only now he has lost some of the explosion off the dribble that helped him to compensate. The decline has been ongoing for multiple seasons as well.
Johnson's advice might be straightforward, but it might not offer much of a solution to Westbrook's current predicament.
