Former Lakers Player Defends Russell Westbrook From Unfair Criticism

During a recent appearance on Club Shay Shay, former Los Angeles Lakers forward Trevor Ariza sat down with Shannon Sharpe to discuss a multitude of topics. Amongst these was Russell Westbrook's time on the Lakers, which Ariza thinks the former MVP was unfairly criticized for.

"We were f--king old," Ariza said of that Lakers team. "You got all players that are like vets, super vets, super super vets. You can’t ask [Carmelo Anthony] to go dive on the floor for a loose ball or chase Anthony Edwards around for 40 minutes. You're not gonna get that outta him... When you have things like that and all those elements in that form, it’s hard to win."

When asked if Westbrook as unfairly criticized, Ariza said, "Absolutely. Russ every single night he put his hard hat on, and he does everything that you ask of him. Every single time. They were asking him to go play in the dunker spot, he was doing that sh-t. And that’s not his game. When you put anybody in a situation where you have [LeBron] on the team, he’s not coming off the rock. Russ is a point guard."

Ariza added that Westbrook's numbers with the Lakers would be All-Star numbers anywhere else, but because he was the one sacrificing his game the most, he received all the criticism. This was very interesting perspective from Ariza, who saw this play out as a member of that team.

Now with the LA Clippers, Westbrook has again shown this willingness to adjust his role, consistently doing whatever is asked of him.

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