Los Angeles Lakers backup Russell Westbrook: How he performed and why LeBron James and Darwin Hamm praised him despite another loss

The Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Timberwolves on Friday night, a loss that marks the third time in franchise history with an 0-5 start to the season. Still, LA managed to find at least one silver lining in its latest loss.

For the first time since his rookie campaign, Russell Westbrook came on as a substitute, giving some much needed energy to one of the lowest scoring reserve groups in the league. Sumo 18 points (6-17 from the field), 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 turnovers in 33 minutes.

Lakers coach Darwin Hamm, who removed Westbrook from the starting unit after just three games, praised the nine-time All-Star for his contributions.

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“I’m thinking about him again. He came (off the bench) and showed the impact he can have in that backup role, and supporting our bench.”Hamm said after the game. “He didn’t just come in and try to hold onto something, he came in and stepped up. He was great in that role tonight and I’m looking forward to seeing more of him when we start getting healthy bodies.” he added.

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Los Angeles had to deal with Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, Minnesota’s interior, without Anthony Davis, who sat out with a strained back. The team was also without other key pieces like Thomas Bryant and Dennis Schroder.

Instead of putting Westbrook in the starting job for Davis, Ham decided to go with Patrick Beverley, Lonnie Walker IV, Troy Brown Jr, LeBron James and Damian Jones from the start against the Timberwolves.

“It was like a multiple-choice thing trying to find a tradeoff in terms of who’s healthy and who’s not.”Hamm explained. “Once we get there, we’ll definitely, hopefully, close out some of those games on the right side of the win-loss column.” he hoped

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LeBron, who added 28 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 stealsalso offered a positive review of Westbrook’s performance. “He was great. He definitely got us going. He was great the whole game.”he emphasized.

Before Friday’s game, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that the Lakers plan to bench Westbrook for the foreseeable future. Westbrook admitted it’s hard to make sacrifices when the losses keep piling up, but he believes the Lakers “will figure it out.”

“I’m a guy who’s willing to do anything for the team”Westbrook said. “I’ve sacrificed everything I have to sacrifice, parts of my game that I’ve been doing for years to accommodate what the coach needs me to do. I’ll continue to do that.” are analyzed.

The views expressed here do not necessarily represent the NBA or its organizations.