Prior to their Wednesday game versus the Denver Nuggets, the Los Angeles Lakers decided to sit Russell Westbrook.
He was listed as out due to a hamstring ailment he’s been dealing with since their last preseason contest, but some Lakers fans thought it was a facade and that he had been held out because of his bad play of late.
It didn’t make any difference. L.A. continued to have massive problems shooting the basketball and lost 110-99 to Nikola Jokic and company.
Head coach Darvin Ham said Westbrook was held out of the contest purely as a precautionary measure because his hamstring had acted up.
Darvin Ham talks about Russell Westbrook being out tonight due to a hamstring soreness and what he expects from the starting lineup against the Nuggets. pic.twitter.com/eeh1cDOTCm
— Spectrum SportsNet (@SpectrumSN) October 27, 2022
“I don’t want to jump to conclusions. It’s something we’re just handling day to day. It got irritated, so were just taking precautions.”
Westbrook is hopeful he can play on Friday when the Lakers visit the Minnesota Timberwolves, but he reportedly will come off the bench in that contest if he’s good to go.
Russell Westbrook will come off the bench Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, per @stephenasmith
“That's what I'm being told.” pic.twitter.com/eTCNyGPW3C
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) October 26, 2022
Los Angeles is 0-4 and is badly in need of a string of victories to turn its season around before the situation becomes truly dire.
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