Lakers need to put Russell Westbrook in Javonte Green role
By Jack Simone
Lakers need to put Russell Westbrook in Javonte Green role: Passing
As much as Green loves to cut off the ball, he also thrives when standing in the dunker spot. Billy Donovan plants Green there because he’s not a great floor-spacer, and it works to perfection.
Green has become one of the best players in the league when it comes to grabbing offensive rebounds for put-back jams. He simply stands under the rim unnoticed, uses that aforementioned athleticism to out-jump opposing big men, and slams it home.
With how talented Westbrook is, there’s no doubt that he too could play that sort of role. It’s just a matter of the Lakers being willing to downgrade his status to that point.
But Westbrook possesses something that Green doesn’t which will make him even more effective from the dunker spot/post – elite playmaking abilities.
Green is a simple player. He runs, he dunks, he defends. And while that works for him and the Chicago Bulls, the Lakers obviously need to get more out of Westbrook. That’s where his playmaking comes into play.
While simultaneously playing in the same spots as Green, Westbrook can also play the same role as someone like Domantas Sabonis. You won’t see Sabonis handling the ball too much, but when he does, he gets rid of it quickly.
His ability to make plays from the post is elite, so if the Lakers are able to position Westbrook in the same spots Green plays in, he would also be able to make the same types of passes that Sabonis does.
That’s without mentioning Westbrook’s elite rebounding for a guard. That would also translate well if he were to be run as a small-ball power forward rather than a point guard.
However, while this all sounds fine and dandy (and would probably work out well), there’s one small problem with the whole idea…