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The shorthanded LA Lakers remain winless after losing a close game to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Anthony Davis was sidelined while Russell Westbrook started the game off the bench.
Coach Darvin Ham and LA Lakers franchise player LeBron James praised Russell Westbrook’s performance in a reserved role for the team. Westbrook’s impact was felt more in this game than in any of the other games this season.
Westbrook emphasized after the game that he has been sacrificing two seasons for the Lakers and will continue to do so. He is just frustrated that everything he has done has not resulted in the team winning games.
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LA Lakers are still winless this season after losing to the Minnesota Timberwolves
The LA Lakers didn’t have Anthony Davis, who sat out with lower back tightness on the road against the Minnesota Timberwolves. AD’s absence was heavily felt as the Timberwolves’ twin towers of Rudy Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns caused heavy damage.
Gobert finished with 22 points and 21 rebounds while Towns scored 14 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter. LA battled on the boards against Minnesota’s imposing frontline but still got beat in the end.
LeBron James bounced back from a poor outing against the Denver Nuggets with 28 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. He surpassed Karl Malone for the most 20-point games in NBA history.
The story of the night belonged to Russell Westbrook, who started off the bench for the first time in his career since his rookie season. Westbrook had a more telling impact on the LA Lakers than in any of his previous games.
“Russ” was still cold from the outside, but he played with more energy and was more engaged on both ends of the court. The LA Lakers are reportedly continuing to make him the team’s sixth man.
The Lakers will be at home in their next four games, starting with a rematch against the Denver Nuggets on Sunday.
Darvin Ham and LeBron James were all praise for Russell Westbrook’s sixth-man role
Darvin Ham finally put to the test what many basketball experts believed was Russell Westbrook’s best role with the LA Lakers. Westbrook’s numbers didn’t jump out, but he was definitely a spark plug as the leader of the team’s bench mob.
Here’s what Ham had to say about Westbrook’s role and performance:
“My hat’s off to him once again. Came off [the bench] and shows the type of impact he can have in that reserve role and shoring up our bench and not just coming in and trying to maintain anything but coming in and taking it up a notch.
"He was great in that role tonight and I look forward to seeing him in it more once we start getting healthy body backs.”
Ham and Westbrook have had conversations since the offseason about how the point guard could play off the bench as a ball-dominant playmaker. It was a small sample size, but Westbrook showed more energy and hustle than in his previous games this season.
LeBron James wasn’t nearly as effusive as Darvin Ham, but was nonetheless appreciative:
“He was great, definitely pulled us. He was great all game.”
Russell Westbrook’s sacrifices for the LA Lakers are still not paying off with wins
After more than a decade of playing as a starter, Russell Westbrook finally started off the bench. Darvin Ham inserted Westbrook into the lineup with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
The former MVP finished with a decent stat line of 18 points, eight rebounds and three assists. He did have a team-high five turnovers.
Following the game, here’s what Russell Westbrook had to say about his new role:
"From Day 1, like I mentioned, I’ve said (I’m a) guy who’s willing to do whatever for the team. I’ve sacrificed whatever it is that need to be sacrificed. Parts of the game that I’ve done for years to accommodate whatever it is that the coach needs me to do. And I’ll continue doing that.”
He also had a very candid response to questions about his frustrations with all the losing:
“Hell yeah. Coming off last season. Sacrificing. OK. Sacrificing more, and you’re still losing. It’s difficult. Especially playing, and doing things I know I can be able to help out our guys. And I’ll continue to do whatever is asked of me. We’ll figure it out and get on the board.”
The nine-time All-Star is reportedly set to start games off the bench for the foreseeable future. Hopefully, his sacrifices will translate to wins for the LA Lakers.
