Russell Westbrook came off the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers for a single game during the preseason. He would underperform severely and would leave the game with an apparent hamstring injury. When asked about it, he would blame bench minutes to be the reason behind his injury.
Advertisement
Fast-forward to today and head coach, Darvin Ham, seems to have convinced Russ on coming off the bench for extended minutes during the regular season. Ever since he has done so, the Lakers have won 2 games and gone 2-1.
This is the first time in Russ’s career that he’s had to come off the bench minus his rookie season. However, with the way the team is playing, it feels as though keeping him out of the starting lineup is perhaps the way to go until a little longer.
Nick Young lambasts the media for getting Russell Westbrook benched
Nick Young, a former Los Angeles Laker himself, went off against the media in a tweet recently. He would go on to claim that it is because of their harsh criticism of Russell Westbrook that he has been relegated to a bench/ 6th man role.
In addition, he believes Patrick Beverley and the likes would be in the G-League on any other team besides the purple and gold.
While Westbrook simply does not mesh with a player like LeBron James given their playing styles are too similar, it is strange having the former MVP come off the bench. This isn’t the first time it’s happened however as most famously, Bill Walton was an extraordinary 6th man after his Blazers days.
While Pat Bev and Austin Reaves and the rest aren’t stars by any means, they certainly aren’t G-League players either. Lonnie Walker IV adds great rim pressure and spacing for them while Reaves and Beverley do the same (minus the rim pressure but plus the perimeter defense).
How does Russell Westbrook off the bench compare to him in a starting role?
Darvin Ham’s goal all along was to have Russell Westbrook command the bench unit and play exactly the way he wants to play with that unit. In the 3 games he’s come off the bench, he’s averaged 16.3 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 6.7 assists, all while shooting 46.2% from the field.
Compare that to the stats he’s put up from a starting position, he’s dropped 10.3 points per game on 28.9% shooting from the field.
