Lakers: LeBron James Reveals His Message to Russell Westbrook

The Lakers superstar is still confident that Westbrook can play at high level for LA.

The Lakers beat the Knicks in overtime on Saturday night in LeBron James return. LeBron had missed LA’s last five games with swelling in his knee. There will likely a lot of smiles in the Lakers locker room after overcoming a 15-point first half deficit. Russell Westbrook was probably scowling.

Westbrook shot 1-for-10 in the game and at one point, was showered with boos at Crypto.com after a particularly bad miss.

Despite another bad night from Westbrook, LeBron is still in Russ’s’ corner.

"I told him to text me later. I told him to keep going, stop second-guessing himself... He's an instinctive player, with what he's done in this league, he should never second guess himself... I have the utmost confidence in his ability."

Westbrook’s play on Saturday led to him sitting on the bench for the entirety of overtime as LeBron and the Lakers wrapped up the win.

Westbrook has struggled this season, with, or without LeBron on the court. A downtrodden Westbrook even exclaimed, “I can’t make a [expletive] shot” in the middle of a tough shooting stretch earlier this year. Frankly, it’s bizarre to see an ever-confident player look so..unconfident.

On Saturday, Westbrook was tentative with the ball in his hands for much of the second half. He passed up a wide-open corner three when the game was tight. He failed to consistently drive to the rim. The home crowd audibly groaned before a potential Westbrook jump shot.

All of that fed into Russ attempting just three field-goal attempts in the second half.

LeBron has a more vested interest that most in Westbrook succeeding. According to a report by Marc Stein, LeBron lobbied the Lakers front office to acquire Russ this summer instead of trading for Kings shooting guard Buddy Hield.

Westbrook can still turn it around, but it’s going to take more than a couple of text messages from LeBron.