When the Los Angeles Lakers acquired Russell Westbrook from the Washington Wizards, he would bring more than just the numbers.
Westbrook, a former league MVP, has averaged triple-doubles in four of the last five seasons, but his impact in the purple and gold should extend beyond that.
The point guard has been known to have a tremendous motor anytime he’s on the court, and his new teammate Kent Bazemore is stoked to play alongside him.
“Russ an animal, he’s an animal in every sense of the word, just an absolute beast,” Bazemore said after Friday’s practice. “The force he plays with, the swagger he brings to the team when he’s on the floor, all those things. His energy is infectious, and feeding off of it is amazing. I think he’s going to be an absolute force for us all season.”
Bazemore continued about how Westbrook’s passion could ignite the Lakers on certain occasions.
“The energy he brings every night is going to be pivotal for us with the long season. Maybe some nights we’ll be in a city, low energy and here comes Russ storming down the middle with a dunk to get us going,” Bazemore said. “That’s kind of the intangibles he has as a player, as a person that is going to help us a lot this year.”
Westbrook had a rough start to the preseason, but that’s usually been the case for him since he’s been bouncing around to new teams frequently the last few seasons.
However, he turned in a much better performance against the Sacramento Kings to close out the preseason, so the Lakers must hope that’s a sign of what is to come for the soon-to-be 33-year-old guard.
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