Russell Westbrook played in his third game of the NBA season and notched his third triple-double. Westbrook looks like the Brodie of old with his latest performances, making a very tangible impact on the Washington Wizards. However, the impact is yet to translate into wins as the Wizards fell to their fourth loss of the season against the Chicago Bulls.

If there was any team entering this game in worse form than the Wizards, it was the Bulls. However, the 1-2 punch of Westbrook and Bradley Beal wasn’t enough to get the win. The Wizards have looked good but just haven’t been able to coalesce defensively.

The team is under-fire, and fans are attacking Russell Westbrook for padding his stats at the expense of team success. He has responded to such critics on Instagram with a quote from Martin Luther King Jr.

Westbrook had come out after the Wizards’ first loss of the season and said that he doesn’t want to be praised for getting triple-doubles if his team is losing. He has once again reiterated this stance and exemplified his leadership by trying to communicate to his teammates that they are in this together.

Russell Westbrook: Can he lead the Wizards to a turnaround?

Westbrook is easily one of the best players of this generation. However, his play-style has often been criticized for being selfish and very stat-oriented. While one can easily look at the numbers and say that, the eye-test on the court reflects a different picture.

Brodie is trying his best to facilitate his teammates, especially Bradley Beal. The 27-year-old has continued on the scoring clip from last season anyway.

The reason this team is struggling is just inadequate defense. They don’t have especially solid defensive players on any side of the court. Thomas Bryant is a better offensive center than a traditional shot-blocker. Beal and Westbrook are also known to be poor defenders. Deni Avdija, Rui Hachimura, Davis Bertans, etc. are not known for their defensive prowess either.

Hopefully, Coach Scott Brooks can address the lack of defensive talent in his unit and overturn their woes. Unless they do that, Beal and Westbrook’s offensive wizardry will be pointless.