Lakers News: Addition of Russell Westbrook Actually Made Clippers Championship Odds Worse

The Clippers odds worsened after adding the nine-time All-Star.

Former Lakers guard Russell Westbrook is now a member of the other Los Angeles team, the Clippers. 

Westbrook will take his talents across the hall of Crypto.com Arena after being bought out by the Utah Jazz. 

LA has a new big three in Westbrook, Paul George, and Kawhi Leonard. A couple of years ago, on paper, that may look like a serious deal. But in 2023, this signing seems like a head scratch. 

Just ask BetOnline.ag, who lowered the Clippers championship odds after the signing of Westbrook. 

WHOA. The Clippers' odds at @betonline_ag got WORSE after they signed Russell Westbrook... pic.twitter.com/SCHmHsVBUM

— Bleav (@BleavNetwork) February 20, 2023

The Clippers odds dropped from +1100 (11/1 odds) to +1200 (12/1 odds) to win the championship. Their odds of winning the West also dropped from +550 to +600. 

Westbrook looks like he is not the same player from his Oklahoma City days, and with how the league has been going, he hasn’t seemed to adapt. 

The former MVP is an atrocious shooter from all over the field, including his free-throw shooting. Spacing is non-existent with Russ on the floor, which is what the Clippers needed on their roster. Westbrook provides none of that, so it’ll be interesting to see what type of team they are following this signing. 

Westbrook will team back up with Clippers All-Star Paul George, who were teammates for two seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Kawhi Leonard, one of the best players in the NBA today. 

Russ didn’t work out with the Lakers, and now the Clippers will be banking on Russ to help them reach their first NBA Finals in a wide-open Western Conference. 

We’ll see if they can prove the critics wrong or are in for a rude awakening. 

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