Though he was in 1st gear the whole game, it took an incredible performance from Aaron Judge to outlast the Red Sox and give his team a victory.
He was in 1st gear the whole game is a quote from the movie The Fast and the Furious. The line is used to describe how someone drives.
Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, and the Los Angeles Lakers kicked off their season against the Golden State Warriors this week, officially establishing the league’s new Big Three. Despite James and Davis demonstrating why they won a championship together two seasons ago, Westbrook failed to a large extent, resulting in the Lake Show’s 0-1 start.
Overall, it will take time for the Lakers to figure out how to play together, but Magic Johnson, one of the franchise’s best players, didn’t hold back in criticizing Westbrook’s poor start.
Russell Westbrook’s first game with the Lakers was a letdown.
Russell Westbrook is widely regarded as one of the best basketball players of all time. He’s a former league MVP who has averaged a triple-double in four of the past five seasons, including 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and a league-best 11.7 assists per game for the Washington Wizards last season.
In his debut start in a Lakers jersey, though, he looked terrible.
The squad was powered by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, who combined for 34 points, 11 rebounds, and five assists. The Brow had 33 points and 11 rebounds. Westbrook, on the other hand, seemed to have forgotten his game in D.C., as he only had eight points, five rebounds, and four assists on 4-of-13 shooting from the field, including 0-of-4 from 3-point range.
Fans shouldn’t be concerned, obviously. It’s just one game out of 82 for Westbrook, who is a proven superstar. The Laker fans, on the other hand, were undoubtedly hoping for a better start to the season, particularly since it was a primetime game in front of millions of viewers.
Following the defeat, a guy who had the same job title as Westbrook in the 1980s didn’t hold back in criticizing the nine-time All-performance. Star’s
Westbrook’s Lakers debut was panned by Magic Johnson.
Magic Johnson and Russell Westbrook (L-R) | Turner Sports/Michael Kovac/Getty Images; Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
NBA icon Magic Johnson spoke on ESPN’s NBA Today the day after the Lakers’ defeat to the Warriors, and he lost no time in voicing his feelings about Russell Westbrook’s debut game in LA.
On the Oct. 20 episode, Johnson stated, “Westbrook struggled because he was in first gear the whole game.” “LeBron played quicker than Russell, in my opinion.” To be successful, he has to play quickly…. I believe he was anxious since it was his first game in a Laker jersey, and he’s a young guy from Los Angeles, but he’ll have to figure out, ‘How do I play with these other two superstars?’ They’re going to need his point-production.”
Johnson made some excellent arguments. Over the years, Westbrook has earned a living on playing quickly and making plays with his agility. If he doesn’t do that, and James, who is four years his senior, plays faster, he will be rendered ineffective. He must also score his 20.0 points each night, which he has done every season since his third season in the NBA. After James and Davis last year, they didn’t have a third option, which backfired.
Fans, on the other hand, should give the Lakers a month or two to sort things out, according to Johnson. And that was the most important lesson they learned from their first game: Rome wasn’t built in a day.
The Big Three of the Los Angeles Lakers simply need some time to gel.
Things will be OK if history is any indicator of how the Lakers and Russell Westbrook will perform this season.
Each of the past two seasons, Westbrook has had a sluggish start. He averaged 21.7 points and shot 39.9% in his first 19 games with the Houston Rockets in 2019-20. That year, he averaged 27.2 points per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field. During his first 14 games with the Wizards last season, he only averaged 19.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 9.0 assists while shooting 41.3 percent from the floor. Throughout the season, he averaged 22.2 points, 11.7 assists, and 11.5 rebounds per game, while shooting 43.9 percent from the field.
In their first seasons together, James’ Big Threes have likewise gotten off to a poor start. The Miami Heat were 9-8 in their first 17 games in 2010-11, but went on to win 58 games and reach the NBA Finals. The 2014-15 Cleveland Cavaliers had a similar start, going 19-20 through 39 games before ending 53-29 and reaching the NBA Finals. “Rome wasn’t constructed in a day,” James told the skeptics in each of those occasions.
After the first game of the season, everyone must remember that. It was just the first of 82 games, as sluggish as Magic Johnson said Russ played and as out of sync as the Lakers were at times. They have plenty of time to put their affairs in order.
Yes, Russell Westbrook struggled in his first start as a Laker, but, as Aaron Rodgers famously stated to Packers fans, R-E-L-A-X.
Basketball Reference provided the statistics.
RELATED: Charles Barkley Shockingly Claims He’d Pay Russell Westbrook $44 Million to Be a Bench Player: ‘I’d Play Russ With the 2nd Unit’
The shifting into first gear while moving is a phrase that has been used in the past to describe someone who is not very athletic.
Related Tags
- driving in 1st gear damage
- if when driving at high speed you select a low gear this may result in
- 1st gear in car
- what happens if you shift from 5th gear to 1st
- 1st gear speed
