Lakers: Frank Vogel Defends Russell Westbrook's High Turnover Rate

Lakers fans have grown tired of Russell Westbrook turning over the ball so often. Even though his style of play often results in a high number of turnovers, averaging close to five per game really seems to have hurt the team so far. 

 But not everyone is ready to pile on Russ for giving opposing teams the ball so often. That includes Lakers coach Frank Vogel, who openly defended Russ's turnovers following their game against the Kings this week. 

Nobody plays the games with zero turnovers, nobody plays games where they shoot 100 percent from the field. That’s part of the game. Sometimes you have stretches where there are more misses and turnovers than usual, but there are still other ways you impact the game with defense, screening, setting guys up with assists.

Russ did not turn over the ball during that contest, the first time in six years that he managed to do that in a game. The Lakers went on to win that game despite very low production from Russ in it. 

It doesn’t tell the full story is what I think he’s trying to say. I agree with him on that. With regard to the turnovers, you got back and look at the turnovers it’s like football. A guy has a few interceptions when he throws the ball off guys’ hands. It’s not always the quarterback’s fault. So you keep it all in context. Russell is a winning player. He’s really helping us and even in nights where the stat sheet may not look favorable for him. He’s still helping us impact winning.

The good news for the Lakers is that January appears to be a new page for Westbrook. He has turned the ball over just three times over the last two games, but he did turn it over nine times in their game against the Timberwolves. 

It's just a part of Westbrook's game. He's going to pass a lot, and he's going to chalk up a few turnovers.