Getty Images Russell Westbrook of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Frank Vogel hopes his decision to bench Russell Westbrook in overtime against the New York Knicks will be a turning point for the polarizing Los Angeles Lakers guard.
Westbrook did not play in the deciding final five minutes, with Talen Horton-Tucker taking his spot in the lineup. Vogel said the decision to sit Westbrook was spurred by how he finished the fourth quarter. The former MVP guard did not notch a point over the final five-plus minutes of regulation and went 0-for-2 on a pair of crucial free throws.
“That [fourth quarter] stretch was part of it,” Vogel told reporters after the game. “I think obviously Russ was having a tough night on both sides of the ball and Bron was really going. So I knew the ball was going to be in Bron’s hands and I felt like we were going to get more from a defensive perspective and off-ball action with Talen, so… You just make tough decisions in the spirit of whatever the team needs to win a game.”
Westbrook finished the game with five points on 1-for-10 shooting with six assists and four turnovers. Vogel hopes that the benching will be motivation for Westbrook to turn things around.
“Hopefully the response is that player plays better,” Vogel said.
Lakers Want Westbrook to Remain Confident
To say Westbrook has struggled this season would be a massive understatement. Westbrook is averaging 18.4 points on 43.7 percent shooting to go with 7.8 rebounds and 7.7 assists. However, he’s failed to fully mesh in the Lakers system and has had limited time to mesh with LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Saturday against the Knicks was just the 17th time the star trio had played together this year.
It was James and Davis who pushed for Westbrook to be traded to LA, per veteran NBA reporter Marc Stein. The move obviously hasn’t gone as planned but James is positive Westbrook can turn it around.
LeBron James on Russell Westbrook:
“I just told him to text me later. I told him to keep going, to stop second-guessing himself.”
“He’s a big-time player and I have the utmost confidence in his ability.”
“I just told him to text me later,” James said of his postgame conversation with Westbrook. “I told him to keep going, to stop second-guessing himself during the game. There were a couple of times where he had good looks, second guessed himself and a couple times where he had some drives and he had them and second-guessed himself. He’s an instinctive player and he should never, what he’s done in this league, he should never second-guess himself if he’s put the work in — and he’s put the work in. So I just told him to just hit me later.
“And I don’t need to harp on what we need to say to him. I mean, he’s a big-time player. And I have the utmost confidence in his ability, not only for this team but for himself, individually.”
Westbrook Was Upset Over Initial Benching
Saturday was the second time Vogel chose to it Westbrook in clutch time. He also did it against the Jazz last month, although the Lakers came out on the losing end of that game.
“I just talked to [Vogel] about that I was upset about it,” Westbrook said of that situation. “But I was more upset I didn’t win the game. But not about when or how he would do it. But it doesn’t matter. Like I said, it’s not about me. I don’t want to make it about me. It’s more about our team and our guys. Tonight we got a good win and now move onto the next one.”
The Lakers have to figure out how many “next ones” there will be for Westbrook in purple and gold. With the trade deadline approaching and his production and confidence waning, the Lakers have to see what they can get back in a trade for Westbrook as they eye a second-half surge.