Despite a solid showing so far in Russell Westbrook’s first few games with the Clippers, head coach Tyronne Lue still doesn’t completely trust Russ to close out games this season.
Down the stretch in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, Russ was kept on the bench in favor of Terrance Mann, and Lue was very open with the media as he explained the reason why.
“Ty Lue said he’d kept Russell Westbrook out in the 4th and OT because he felt the team had caught a good rhythm and wanted to keep it rolling,” wrote Andrew Greif of The L.A. Times said. “He said he could have played Russ more.”
Ty Lue said he'd kept Russell Westbrook out in the 4th and OT because he felt the team had caught a good rhythm and wanted to keep it rolling. He said he could have played Russ more.
— Andrew Greif (@AndrewGreif) February 27, 2023
The Clippers have the talent and experience every championship team requires, but adding Russell Westbrook was a risk that could come back to hunt them in a major way.
As a Laker, Westbrook struggled to accept a lesser role alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis, and it remains to be seen how he’ll handle benchings from Tyronn Lue and the Clippers going forward.
But without a single win in the Westbrook era so far, there are some real concerns about how this team will perform come playoff time.
What Is The Ceiling For The Clippers?
Besides a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2021, the Clippers haven’t had much success since the arrival of Kawhi Leonard in 2019. Between various injuries, heartbreaks, and load management games, Kawhi has been unable to get over the hump in Los Angeles so far.
This year has been mostly the same story. Despite the greatness of Kawhi and the depth of the roster, the Clippers are just 33-30 and hold a half-game lead for 5th in the conference.
But as the team continues to experiment with all of their new arrivals, it’s clear that there will be growing pains for this team. The question is, can they survive them and come out on the other side of the playoff race?
Only time will give us the answer, but it’s never a good idea to bet against the Klaw. If anyone can make this work and help Westbrook regain his value and status around the league, it’s him and this Clippers team who offers him his best chance at being a champion.
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