With the Los Angeles Lakers struggling to start the new season, head coach Darvin Ham made a big decision to have Russell Westbrook come off the bench. There were rumors floating around in the offseason that Russ might end up coming off the bench, and we did see a glimpse of it in the preseason. Westbrook came off the bench in their final game, but the experiment didn’t last for long, as he exited in the first quarter due to a hamstring injury.
The experiment is in full effect now, though, and the results are quite promising. Westbrook had a good game off the bench against the Timberwolves, and he followed it up with an even better one against the Nuggets. He had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists which led to Lakers fans being full of praise for him, and he played a big role in helping the team finally get their first win of the season.
Darvin Ham Reveals How He Convinced Russell Westbrook To Come Off The Bench
Ham was delighted to finally get a win under his belt, as he would have been feeling the pressure. The Lakers were the only winless team left in the NBA, and a big reason why they finally got that win was because of his bold decision with regard to Westbrook. After the game, he revealed just what he told Russ to convince him to come off the bench.
(starts at 7:17 mark):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOt66n-eNko
“I told him he’s going to thrive, man. Just trust me. I always told him, “If you sacrifice, man, a player of your magnitude, for you to do this, it’s going to send waves. It’s going to help our team.'”
“Everybody gets so caught up in the starting. If I remember correctly, he finished the game, right? And so It’s like, ‘Dude, I’m putting you in a position where you’re gonna come off, and you’re just going to lead the charge of a whole new wave.’ And it helped tonight.”
“I’m so happy man. I can’t even imagine what that kid has been going through. One of the biggest things about me getting this job was for him to get that respect that he deserved, because a lot of what went on last year was not his fault and all the blame was placed on him.”
“I told him, ‘Just listen to me, believe in me, bro, I’m going to put you in a position to succeed with the group, but you have to put the group first. It can’t be about me, or I or mine. It’s got to be us, ours, we’, and he’s done that.”
It would have taken a lot to convince Westbrook to accept this role, but Ham’s message got through, and you have to give both men a lot of credit here. Westbrook put his faith in Ham, and he has been rewarded for it.
Ham has seemingly navigated a situation that could have gotten messy extremely well, and that is quite impressive considering it is his first head coaching job. He deserves a pat on the back for it, but now he needs to make sure that they start winning with regularity.
