Russell Westbrook had perhaps one of the greatest 3-19 shooting performances in NA history tonight in Game 1 between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns. With Paul George sidelined due to a right knee sprain, the Clips have successfully stolen homecourt advantage from the Suns.
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Kevin Durant has not won a Playoff game since Game 5 of the 2021 ECSF against the Bucks and tonight marked 7th straight postseason loss. It is also his first loss as an active member of the Suns lineup.
While the story tonight has been about the Clippers beating the Suns, at the crux of it all was Russ. The former MVP had a horrendous shooting night but was told by head coach, Tyronn Lue, that he wouldn’t take him out of the game due to his valuable intangibles. This certainly was the right decision.
Russell Westbrook gets into it with a fan
Russell Westbrook was all heart tonight as each and every hustle play of his was a plus for Los Angeles. The game-deciding play was him blocking Devin Booker’s layup and throwing the ball off him out of bounds, making it Clips ball. He also had a slew of offensive rebounds to help retain possession of the ball.
In the midst of all of this, he seemingly got into a heated verbal exchange with a fan. Russ came into a Suns fan’s suite and berated him for something he said, yelling out, “Watch your mouth motherf**ker.”
It’s unclear what this Suns fan said to Russ but it must’ve been something quite foul for Westbrook to track him down to his suite and confront him face-to-face. He’s yet to address this incident following the Suns loss.
Russell Westbrook claims he’s the best rebounding guard
During tonight’s postgame press conference, Russell Westbrook ‘humbly stated’ that he’s the best rebounder at his position. It’s hard to argue with that statement considering the fact that he grabbed 10 rebounds in Game 1, 5 of which were on the offensive glass.
Statistically speaking however, guys like Luka Doncic, Josh Hart, and Jaylen Brown dis average more rebounds than him this past 2022-23 regular season. Though, there’s no denying just how much heart and vigor Russ approaches the game with, leading to all of his rebounding opportunities.
