The Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Portland Trail Blazers marked their third consecutive defeat to start the 2022-23 season. They are rooted to the bottom of the Western Conference with teams like the Houston Rockets and don’t even benefit from their low position, as the New Orleans Pelicans will get their pick if it’s higher overall than the Pels pick itself.
Coach Darvin Ham benched Russell Westbrook for a large chunk of the game and the Lakers looked incredibly promising offensively. Ham’s decision to bring Westbrook back on at the end of the game led to the Lakers losing their lead over the Blazers and losing the game. Coach Ham justified the decision by claiming he needed an athletic defender like Russ, but also said that he doesn’t care about players being in their feelings.
Darvin Ham when asked if he has concern about how Russell Westbrook will handle being benched late on Sunday: “We don’t have time for people to be in their feelings”
— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) October 23, 2022
Even if Westbrook was subbed on in clutch time, he did miss most of the fourth quarter on the bench. For a former league MVP, that has to be a tough pill to swallow. But after Westbrook caused the game to slip away, Ham was probably feeling vindicated in keeping Russ out and regretting subbing him back on.
Did Darvin Ham Need Westbrook On The Floor?
When Ham says that he needed Russ’s defense, he isn’t lying. The only positive of the Lakers’ season so far has been their defense and Russ especially has taken a step in the right direction on that front. The other guards on the Lakers don’t match the athletic ability of Russ, so using him to cover open spaces on the court is a great defensive scheme that he would have been too proud to commit to last season or prior to that.
This relationship between the Lakers and Westbrook seems to be doing a lot of harm to everyone. The Lakers are 0-3 and looking set to miss the playoffs for a second year, Westbrook’s reputation in the league might be irreversibly damaged, and the fans are watching the twilight of LeBron James’ career on a team that can’t even be above .500. Trading Russ away might be the best course of action for everyone.
