Russell Westbrook was assessed a technical foul for his participation in the skirmish during the third quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers-Detroit Pistons matchup at Little Caesars Arena — ignited by LeBron James' elbow of Isaiah Stewart. Westbrook still doesn't know why.
one of the wildest NBA videos I've ever seen https://t.co/A8IIBH3gri
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) November 22, 2021
One thing is for sure, though: he's not happy about it.
Shortly after Stewart was escorted to the locker room and things began to settle down, the officials reported the violations after reviewing the incident. The PA announcer delivered the message: LeBron James: flagrant-2, Isaiah Stewart: ejected, Russell Westbrook: technical foul.
During his postgame remarks after leading the Lakers to a hard-fought (almost, literally) 121-116 win over the Pistons, Westbrook was asked why he received the T. He was flummoxed to learn that he received a technical in the first place.
“Who got a tech? I got a tech? Oh, wow. Why'd I get a tech? I didn't know I had a tech. Wow. That's interesting.”
Then he posited a theory.
“Well, you know, that's just being Russell I guess. When you're Russell Westbrook, they just try to do anything, apparently. But whatever. I don't know what I did. But whatever, they had to put it on somebody. I'm easy to sh*t on. Why not me?”
He was then asked if he had spoken to LeBron since the incident:
Article Continues Below“No, I haven't. I'm still trying to figure out how the hell I got a tech.”
as Russ goes on it seems increasingly clear that he was genuinenly upset about this https://t.co/vBmDtyMLeZ
— Michael Corvo (@michaelcorvo_) November 22, 2021
Lead official Scott Foster was asked about the reasoning for singling the Lakers guard out. Vaguely, Foster said the officials “deemed him an escalator and not a peace maker” upon review.
Pool Report on the Ejection of LeBron James and Isaiah Stewart in the Third Quarter of Tonight’s Los Angeles Lakers at Detroit Pistons Game. pic.twitter.com/HyCZ48Qcn1
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) November 22, 2021
I'm not sure how exactly they determined Westbrook as the lone escalator amidst all the chaos, but this probably didn't help.
Westbrook now has five Ts on the 2021-22 season — tied for second-most in the NBA. Los Angeles is second (or second-to-last) in the league in Ts per game.