The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to be fighting for a title this season. With six regular-season games left, they are instead fighting for a spot in the play-in tournament. They are tied in record with the San Antonio Spurs and would miss the playoffs entirely if the season ended.

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Russell Westbrook has been the poster child for the Lakers' failures this season, for reasons both fair and unfair. With Los Angeles so close to slipping out of the playoffs, the 33-year-old is still going hard. He told Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that he is still going full speed despite the team's near-zero chances of making the playoffs because he wants to set the right example.

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“Because it’s bigger than me, man,” Westbrook told Yahoo Sports. “I’m super blessed to have a platform to be able to help show and help other people. So I’m very prideful in showing people on the outside that regardless of the situation, the circumstances that I may be going through, there are ways to be able to get through it. I strongly believe that if I’m healthy, then I’ll be able to play and go out and compete.”

The Lakers could end up buying out Westbrook's contract, which will be worth a whopping $47 million. It's clear that trading for him has backfired, though it isn't because the team is giving up on him. He seems to still be getting along with LeBron James but the front office may not see that as enough of a reason to keep him, though.