Russell Westbrook was blamed for losing OKC, but it wasn’t enough for Shannon Sharpe who skewered his game

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The Los Angeles Lakers lost a 26-point lead Wednesday night in a loss to the modest Oklahoma City Thunder 123-115. Russell Westbrook was the story of this game and Fox Sports personality Shannon Sharpe showed little mercy in her review.

Russ finished the game with a quadruple double: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 10 turnovers. He had a -12 for the game.

“I have to take care of the ball,” Westbrook said, taking the blame. “Too many misadventures allowed. It’s my fault. It’s on me. But I’ll take care of it. I know that. And keep the game simple. Because we need these goods, especially in games like this.

This game was the complete Westbrook experience. The horrible shooting. Forty percent in the field, of which 25 percent in three. The spellbinding energy, effort and athleticism, and the inexplicable and carefree twists and turns.

Westbrook has averaged a triple-double over four of the past five seasons. It’s a remarkable and unprecedented feat in the NBA. But despite all the build-up of stats, what did that do for his team’s chances of winning?

In those five seasons, his teams have made the first round of the playoffs just once. The Lakers knew what they were signing up for when they traded him to the Washington Wizards.

The dominant thought was that they were going to let Russ be Russ and figure out everything else.

On the surface, this isn’t a bad plan, given that Russ was joining LeBron James, who is perhaps the greatest player of all time, and Anthony Davis, a rare unicorn if ever there was one.

But we’ve seen this movie before. It’s year 14 for Westbrook. Russ being Russ has his limits. If your ultimate goal is to win the title, his playstyle is an obstacle.

Noted Speaking Chiefs Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe spent a day in the field Thursday morning discussing Westbrook’s shortcomings, on their FS1 TV show “Undisputed”.

Read Sharpe’s scathing rebuke against Westbrook here.

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