After being benched late in the game during the Los Angeles Lakers' 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday, Russell Westbrook came out with a noteworthy bounce-back performance on Friday against the Orlando Magic. Russ helped LA cruise to victory against Orlando, 116-105, as the former league MVP looked to make the most out of his current situation.
After the Magic game, Westbrook spoke out about the mindset he had entering the contest. According to the nine-time All-Star, he's doing the best he can with the cards he's been dealt:
“My job as a player, as a professional, is to do my job, continue to find ways to be able to help impact winning,” Westbrook said, via Dave McMenamin of ESPN. “That's all I was thinking about and turned the page to do and that's what I tried to do tonight.”
It sounds like Russ has accepted Lakers coach Frank Vogel's decision to keep him on the bench during late-game situations. Westbrook has always been one of, if not the most important player in all of his other teams before joining LA in the summer, and it is clear that he has yet to fully adjust to playing alongside the likes of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
The good news is that Russ appears to be taking a team-first mentality here. It's long been said that egos will be one of the biggest hurdles this current Lakers side will need to overcome this season, so Westbrook's statement here should sit well with LeBron and the rest of Laker Nation.
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