Russell Westbrook's LA Lakers teammate comes out in defense of struggling guard

LA Lakers superstar Russell Westbrook may be bearing the brunt of the media criticism, but his teammate Juan Toscano-Anderson has shown up to defend him. Putting his loyalty towards his teammates on full display, Lakers forward Toscano-Anderson recently revealed why he stands up for Westbrook.

Russell Westbrook is already having a nightmare season with the LA Lakers. After a failed campaign last term, Westbrook hoped to wipe the slate clean with a successful and fresh start this year. Unfortunately, things have gone off the rails in less than a week.

With fans and the media criticizing the superstar for his poor performances, Westbrook is still portrayed as the root of all problems. However, the 9x All-Star, fortunately, has the support of some of his teammates.

Juan Toscano-Anderson has often been seen offering support to Russell Westbrook during post-game pressers. While he was only acquired this offseason, the forward has done a lot to show his support for the Lakers superstar.

In an interview with Kyle Goon, Juan Toscano-Anderson revealed why he defends Russell Westbrook the way he does. He said:

"It's funny because before I met Russ, I didn't really like Russ. And I think a lot of people have that type of lens about Russ just because he's so competitive.

"From the little time I've known Russ - and I've had some hell of ... I've had some great teammates - Russ is probably in my top five, top three teammates I've ever had. He's an amazing person and an amazing teammate.

"He's a human being. And I think people forget that. Or people think, 'Oh, you make all this money and you play a professional sport, you should be numb to these things.' When in actuality, that's not true.

"So for me, as a teammate, I feel like that's my job. If I'm going to put on the same jersey as you, I'm going to have your back because I'm going to expect you to have my back."

Toscando-Anderson also highlighted that his view of teammates comes from his outlook on family. Given that a team is also a tight-knit unit, the forward mentioned that having each other's backs meant everything. With this in mind, he added:

"So I hope I never have to live and die by my teammates, but I'm going to have his back along with all my other teammates while I have this Lakers jersey on."

In light of all these matters, Russell Westbrook also appears to have fallen out of favor with the Lakers team. With some speculation suggesting that Westbrook will come off the bench in the future, the 9x All-Star sees the situation taking a turn for the worse.

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Russell Westbrook likely to come off the bench for the LA Lakers

Russell Westbrook looks on from the LA Lakers bench

The LA Lakers have been toying with the idea of having Russell Westbrook come off the bench for a while. Although this was suggested earlier in the offseason, it has only been implemented once in the preseason.

In light of the recent string of poor performances, the Purple and Gold are reportedly willing to pull the trigger on the idea going forward. As reported by The Athletic's Shams Charania, the Lakers are expected to integrate Austin Reaves into the starting lineup over Westbrook.

While the primary reason for this adjustment on Wednesday was due to Westbrook's injury, the LA Lakers will experiment with this move going forward as well. This could be one of several combinations that the Lakers will try as they hope to rack up their first win of the season.

After their fourth loss against the Denver Nuggets, LA Lakers featured the worst record in the NBA. Considering that Westbrook wasn't on the floor, the Lakers will have a hard time conjuring an explanation for this failure.