Getty Russell Westbrook of the LA Clippers.
Clippers guard Russell Westbrook had some subtle shade for the Los Angeles Lakers after helping lead his team to victory against the Phoenix Suns.
Westbrook’s stat line against the Phoenix Suns in Game 1 was unique. He was a miserable 3-of-19 from the field with nine points but his pure energy and hustle helped the Clippers score the upset victory.
And despite Westbrook struggling offensively, head coach Ty Lue stuck with him in crunch time. That wasn’t always the case with the Lakers.
“My whole career, I pride myself every season on doing everything,” Westbrook said. “Whatever is needed of me to win the game, I’ll do it. I’m just grateful Ty Lue and the staff believe in me.”
Russell Westbrook: “Whatever is needed of me to win the game I’ll do it. I’m just grateful Ty Lue and the staff believe in me.”
Westbrook was removed from the starting lineup with the Lakers and there were many occasions under both Frank Vogel and Darvin Ham when he sat down the stretch, especially if he was having a rough game offensively or piling up turnovers. But he appears to have a little more leash with the Clippers and it’s paying off for them.
“No. I wasn’t thinking about that,” Lue said when asked if he considered benching Westbrook. “He was too good for us defensively tonight.”
Clippers star Kawhi Leonard echoed that sentiment on Westbrook.
“Making winning plays, getting deflections on balls, offensive rebounding, getting us into our sets — that is playoff basketball,” Leonard said of Westbrook. “You might not have the best night shooting, but you’ve got to impact the game some type of way and he did that tonight.”
Charles Barkley Backs Russell Westbrook: ‘Lakers Had a Crap Team’
The trade has worked out better for both parties. Westbrook is fitting in well with the Clippers, while the Lakers have been able to turn their season around with a new-look roster.
Charles Barkley thought the treatment Westbrook got with the Lakers was unfair and liked that he took a shot at his former team.
“You know how much I love Russ. Only thing I can ask out of anybody in life is give me great effort and I love that dude. But, I love the shot he took at the Lakers. He said, “You know…it’s great to just be somewhere where they don’t worry about my shot all the time!’ Because he does other stuff,” Barkley said on Inside the NBA. “You know they start calling him Westbrick and with the Lakers, they blame everything on him. The Lakers had a crap team before they made all these trades. But, for some reason they blamed him.”
Westbrook Created Controversy With Fan Clash
GettyRussell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Clippers.
It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies for Westbrook, who is under fire for a video that shows him verbally going after a fan in a suite. He could be heard telling the fan, “Watch your mouth motherf**ker” and the fan told him to “take it like a man.”
“Watch your mouth motherf**ker”
Russell Westbrook to a Suns fan tonight:
It crossed a line and there’s concern that Westbrook could be suspended, per Heavy.com NBA insider Sean Deveney.
“Yeah, that was a surprise and it is something to worry about,” a source told Deveney. “He was in the stands. That not only gets you knocked out for a game, it can get you two or three games. I don’t know how much it will matter that he did not go overboard and there was nothing physical. But now you’ve got to worry about a suspension.”
Eddie Gonzalez said he was in the room when it happened and it was sparked by the fan calling him “Westbrick.” During his time with the Lakers, Westbrook made it clear that he would fire back if he heard that derogatory name directed at him, feeling like it was disrespectful to his family.