Though the Los Angeles Lakers crumbled again to remain winless this time around against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the franchise found some silver lining in the form of Russell Westbrook.
For the first time since his rookie year for the Oklahoma City Thunder, Westbrook settled for a second unit assignment. Despite the Lakers’ Friday loss, the former All-star guard kept his head high with 18 points, eight boards and three assists in 33 minutes off the bench.
For Westbrook, sacrificing for the better serves as his contribution for the sake of team success.
“From Day 1, I mentioned I’m the guy that’s willing to do whatever for the team,” Westbrook said. “I’ll sacrifice whatever it is that needs to be sacrificed — parts of my game that I’ve done for years to accommodate whatever it is that the coach needs me to do, and I’ll continue to do that.”
Amid his significant reserved performance, Westbrook shot 6-for-17 overall from the field and was responsible for the team’s five out of 22 turnovers. Nevertheless, head coach Darvin Ham was encouraged on how the future hall of famer approached his adjustment.
“Russ, my hat’s off to him once again,” Ham said. “Came off and showed the type of impact he can have in that reserve role and shoring up our bench — not just coming in and trying to maintain anything but coming in and taking it up a notch.
“So he was great in that role tonight. And I look forward to seeing him in it more once we start getting healthy bodies back.”
