Lakers News: Sport Psychologist Addresses Criticism Being Leveled At Russell Westbrook

The "Russell Westbrick" chants have quieted lately.

Bally Sports' Brandon "Scoop B" Robinson chatted with sports psychologist Dr. TM Mosley about Los Angeles Lakers reserve point guard Russell Westbrook prior to his move to the bench last month.

At the time, Westbrook's jumper was not falling, as he was forcing his shot too much in late-game pressure situations. The 6'3" ex-All-Star's shooting has stabilized somewhat, though he is still shooting a bit below his 43.8% career mark from the floor, at a rough 40.4% from the field on 13.7 tries a night. He is connecting on 32.7% of his 4.2 triples a night, which is actually his third-best percentage ever in his 15-year NBA career. He is making a decent 80% of his 4.2 free throws per game.

The 40.4% field goal number is bad any way you slice it. Westbrook had long been called "Russell Westbrick" by his online detractors for his poor jump shooting.

"Anyone who has someone who names them, you know it’s an old black mama saying: It’s often not what people call you, it’s what you answer to,'" Dr. Mosley said. "This is where the confidence and having the support system and having the coping skills and resources internally to be able to show up and go out there and give your absolute best in spite of... people who are saying that are not in that arena playing, they’re not at that elite level; so you don’t even want to give power to that because giving power to that undermines your ability to go out there and give it your best. So I can’t champion and say that I’m the best at something if I’m letting in information that tears me down."

Westbrook has indeed found a way to drown out the haters lately, as his move to sixth man has improved his scoring efficiency and morphed him from overpaid ex-superstar to beloved, fan favorite role player. Will the Long Beach native and his $47.1 million expiring contract stick around all season, or will he eventually be moved for role-playing depth or a more current All-Star? Time will tell.