The Los Angeles Lakers faced off against the struggling Washington Wizards for their most matchup in the 2022-23 NBA season. While it was an insanely close game, the Lakers ended up winning the game and improved their record to 13-16.
Following Anthony Davis’ recent right foot injury, most of the burden fell on LeBron James‘ shoulder. But James is not someone who crumbles under pressure and led the Lakers to a sensational victory over the Wizards. While it was good to see LeBron get the job done for the Purple and Gold, many expected Russell Westbrook to step up as well.
After all, since coming off the bench, Westbrook has been quietly having an efficient season for the Lakers. But against the Wizards, Westbrook had an underwhelming game in which he had 9 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 assists. The biggest flaw in Russ’ game was his 4-12 shooting, which forced head coach Darvin Ham to bench the former NBA MVP during crunch time.
Was Darvin Ham Wrong For Benching Russell Westbrook?
Since taking over the duties of head coach for the Lakers, Darvin Ham has shown nothing but support for Russell Westbrook. But when a player is having a rough night, it’s understandable to keep him out of the game during clutch time.
Darvin choosing a 19-year-old Max Christie, gimpy Reaves and Lonnie over Russell Westbrook in crunch time is insane.
— Lakers Daily (@LakersDailyCom) December 19, 2022
Evident from this tweet, some fans were certainly not happy with Ham’s decision and decided to call out the Los Angeles Lakers head coach on Twitter.
The reason why westbrook is on the bench in crunchtime is because Lebron, you think Ham is the coach ? Really? haha You think Lebron wants westbrook to Cook ? of course not Lebron wants to run the shot clock down and take a step back 3 for an airball he dont want Russ to bring it
— Squatch Biggs (@SquatchBiggs) December 19, 2022
I think "bold" is the word you're looking for because it's not insane to not play a player that cramps spacing, is defended from the perimeter like Damian Jones, and is liable to make questionable decisions in close games.
— Richard Staple, BSN, RN🇯🇲 (@RichStapless) December 19, 2022
Was at the game, completely the right choice. Darvin Ham finally making big boy decisions 🔥
— Red Mamba (@Purpl3andGold) December 19, 2022
https://twitter.com/knowwellavila/status/1604723345786044416
We won. As a coach you have to make these type of decisions. Christies length was giving Beal trouble.
— hollywoodhamilton (@Hollywoodham824) December 19, 2022
Its winning basketball when Russ' shots aren't falling, which is a lot
— Finsider (@B_Rogers11) December 19, 2022
I dont usually agree with his lineups but he did the right thing keeping russ on the bench..that game was too close.. russ would've found a way to blow it
— Eric Harris (@Ered127) December 19, 2022
They won. That’s all that matters. I would like for Russ to finish games but he shot the ball terribly. Can’t have him in the closing lineup when the games are this close.
— LA LAKERS (@AxavierLake) December 19, 2022
Russ was literally walking in the paint because they were just daring him to shoot. It killed the spacing. Closing with Russ is always gonna be a tough decision because some games he is cooking but the risk..
— Forever Laker24 (@Forever_Laker24) December 19, 2022
Russ was not himself in this game. He made his decision and Lakers won.
— TrojanSeij ✌️🇵🇭🇯🇵🇺🇲 (@TrojanSeijo) December 19, 2022
While a few fans called out Ham for making this decision, most understood the thought process behind it. After all, keeping Westbrook in the closing lineup when he had an awful shooting night wouldn’t have made much sense. At the end of the day, the decision paid off, and the Lakers got a valuable victory in the absence of Anthony Davis. Hopefully, the Lakers can continue this until AD returns to the team.
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