LeBron James Makes A Statement After Russell Westbrook’s First Game Off The Bech: “He Was Great. All Game.”

LeBron James praised Russell Westbrook in his first game off the bench for the Lakers as he stated that he looked great all game.

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Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

With the Los Angeles Lakers having started the season 0-4, new head coach Darvin Ham had to change this up a bit. The front office had seemingly refused to make any changes to this roster till Thanksgiving, so Ham had to make do with making some adjustments to what he already had with him.

He decided it was time to experiment with Russell Westbrook coming off the bench and it is something the Lakers will stick with for the foreseeable future. Ham had made the call to have Westbrook come off the bench in their final preseason game as well, but Russ exited that one with a hamstring injury in the first quarter, so we weren’t really able to get a good look at how it would work out. Westbrook played the whole game this time around and the results were promising.


LeBron James Makes A Statement After Russell Westbrook’s First Game Off The Bench

Russ had his second-highest scoring game of the season as he finished with 18 points to go with 8 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal, and a block. He was inefficient, but there were still a lot of promising signs, and Lakers fans were encouraged by what they saw. LeBron James also complimented Russ when he was talking to the media after the game.

It is just one step at a time. Westbrook wasn’t suddenly going to have a terrific game just because his role changed, but he was more effective than usual, which is a positive. If he can completely embrace this role, then we expect him to keep getting better as the season goes on.

Despite this positive though, the Lakers still lost the game 111-102 for their 5th straight defeat to start the season and the fans in the arena trolled them with ‘0-5’ chants. One contributing factor to this defeat was that they didn’t have Anthony Davis, who fell short of his goal of playing all 82 games by missing a game this early on due to injury. The injuries just keep piling up for Davis and he isn’t going to get healthier as he turns 30 next year. The Lakers at some point will have to consider their options as it is becoming more apparent with the passing day that you cannot rely on Davis to stay healthy. The problem, however, is that his stock is as low as it has ever been at this point, so they won’t get much in return, which makes a trade unlikely. They’re stuck with what they have and it, unfortunately, might not be enough to even earn a spot in the playoffs.

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Gautam Varier is a staff writer and columnist for Fadeaway World from Mumbai, India. He graduated from Symbiosis International University with a Master of Business specializing in Sports Management in 2020. This educational achievement enables Gautam to apply sophisticated analytical techniques to his incisive coverage of basketball, blending business acumen with sports knowledge.Before joining Fadeaway World in 2022, Gautam honed his journalistic skills at Sportskeeda and SportsKPI, where he covered a range of sports topics with an emphasis on basketball. His passion for the sport was ignited after witnessing the high-octane offense of the Steve Nash-led Phoenix Suns. Among the Suns, Shawn Marion stood out to Gautam as an all-time underrated NBA player. Marion’s versatility as a defender and his rebounding prowess, despite being just 6’7”, impressed Gautam immensely. He admired Marion’s finishing ability at the rim and his shooting, despite an unconventional jump shot, believing that Marion’s skill set would have been even more appreciated in today’s NBA.This transformative experience not only deepened his love for basketball but also shaped his approach to sports writing, enabling him to connect with readers through vivid storytelling and insightful analysis.
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