Russell Westbrook has been in the league for 15 years, and he has been one of the most entertaining players for the most part. Unarguably, his prime years were spent with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Since leaving OKC, Russ’ career has spiraled downward, and it’s honestly hard to see him in such a condition.
Russ has become a shell of himself and is playing so badly that there have been rumors about the Lakers planning to make him come off the bench. They tried it in one game during the preseason. But according to Westbrook, doing so resulted in him picking up a hamstring injury.
It was a weird excuse from the former NBA MVP. And even the Lakers’ head coach Darvin Ham called him out for saying that. Ham believes a player should be able to do whatever his team requires, and that’s the definition of being a professional per Ham.
Tim MacMahon Calls Out Russell Westbrook
Westbrook isn’t having a great season. In the first three games of the new season, Russ has failed to find his form. If anything, he cost the Lakers a victory in their most recent matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers.
So amidst that, when he blamed his injury on coming off the bench, he was rightfully called out by many. NBA analyst Tim MacMahon became the latest person to call out Russ for making a lame excuse about his injury.
“The most interesting post-game press conference was Russ saying that his hammy acted up because he’s not used to coming off the bench. Remember his back tightened up here because he isn’t used to sitting so much in the fourth quarter like he did. Early in the game, it’s his hamstring, late in the game it’s his back. I’m just wondering how in the hell has Russell Westbrook survived so many halftimes in his NBA career. What, is he like just you know jumping in a vat of icy hot during halftime or running on a treadmill? What in the hell kind of passive-aggressive ridiculous crap is this?”
As MacMahon pointed out, Westbrook is making some pretty bad excuses for his poor performances with the Lakers. At the end of the day, there is only so much the organization and the fanbase can take.
If he cannot improve his performance in the coming weeks, it will not be a surprise if the front office finally decides to trade Westbrook for whatever offer they can manage to get in return for the 33-year-old.
