Russell Westbrook has had a rough couple of days. While he has been criticized an awful lot over the last year for what he did on the court, he came under fire for what he didn’t do during the Lakers preseason game against the Timberwolves. Russ wasn’t a part of the pre-game huddle and during the game, he didn’t want to join a team huddle, which drew criticism from a lot of people.
On the pre-game huddle part, Westbrook explained that it was something he had been doing for years, but that didn’t stop the criticism coming his way. He then found out that he was going to come off the bench in their final preseason game against the Kings, which wouldn’t have made him too happy.
Russell Westbrook Leaves The Court After Suffering A Hamstring Injury Against The Kings
Head coach Darvin Ham explained before the game that Russ going to the bench wasn’t a demotion, but a realignment and that Westbrook understood the decision. Still, it would have been a blow to Russ, but he received a bigger blow during the game, as he had to leave the court and head to the locker room towards the end of the first quarter. We soon found out the reason behind it, as it appears Westbrook suffered a hamstring injury during the game.
Lakers’ Russell Westbrook has a left hamstring injury and won’t return to game tonight vs. Kings.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) October 15, 2022
“Lakers’ Russell Westbrook has a left hamstring injury and won’t return to game tonight vs. Kings.”
That’s what happens when you start like 1,000 games straight then the routine and habit gets ruined
— 🌔 (@thundercudi) October 15, 2022
THIS SEASON IS CURSED pic.twitter.com/sMCqrb1Kwt
— Lakers Lead (@LakersLead) October 15, 2022
https://twitter.com/osicash/status/1581117445980708864https://twitter.com/ssrlara300/status/1581123091052126209
#Lakers Vegas sportsbook odds to win the 2023 NBA title actually increased after this Russel Westbrook hammy news broke https://t.co/nJQajEpe8E
— Pistol Pete⏱ (@PeteOfTheMoment) October 15, 2022
The extent of this hamstring injury isn’t clear as of now, but there was no point in playing him in a preseason game if he felt any kind of discomfort. Things are just going from bad to worse for the Lakers, as this is the second injury they have suffered in their backcourt in a short period of time.
Dennis Schroder was the first to be ruled out as he has a right finger injury and the team is worried that he could be sidelined for a while due to it. The talk earlier was about the team having too many guards and now they are down two before the season started. They haven’t had a lot of success in this preseason as it is, having lost 4 of their 5 games and they are heading towards yet another defeat here as they are down big against the Kings. It is shaping up to be another rough season for the Lakers.
