The Los Angeles Lakers just pulled off an incredible win over the New Orleans Pelicans in OT that saw the entire team put on a strong performance. While they were outmatched and got lucky with the Pelicans missing free throws and layups, they got the job done through the grit and toughness that everyone expected Darvin Ham to bring to the team.
Coach Ham is clearly a great fit for the team as he has already done something Frank Vogel couldn’t. Convince Russell Westbrook to come off the bench. Westbrook has publicly bought into the idea and it has yielded great results for the Lakers so far, going 2-1 in games with Westbrook as their sixth man. As a result, coach Ham wants Westbrook to be in the conversation to win Sixth Man Of The Year.
Darvin Ham says one of his goals is to get Russell Westbrook in the Sixth Man of the Year conversation.
— Jovan Buha (@jovanbuha) November 3, 2022
If the Lakers can actually overcome their 0-5 start and become a solid playoff team that’s above .500, Westbrook could very well be in that conversation. However, there are better candidates for the award through the first month of the season in Christian Wood on the Dallas Mavericks and Jordan Poole on the Golden State Warriors.
What Does Westbrook Need To Do To Win The Award?
The issue with Russ being too proud to come off the bench is clearly in the past. He has made the team objectively much better since he agreed to come off the bench and that sort of positive impact doesn’t go unnoticed. Considering how heavily scrutinized he’s been, it makes for a wonderful story for the voters as well.
However, it will be tough to beat out some of the other contenders as they are all on teams with better records than the Lakers. All awards ultimately factor in how many wins a player contributed to, and it’ll be challenging for Russ to win it if they are far behind in record to the Mavs or the Warriors and their leading sixth men.
