It seems that Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni isn't abandoning the Russell Westbrook ship any time soon.
After successfully clawing their way back in Sunday's Game 2, the Rockets ran out of gas the Los Angeles Lakers were able to keep them at bay and grabbed a 117-109 victory to even out their series at 1-1. It didn't help Houston's cause that their starting point guard Russell Westbrook had quite a forgetful night—missing wide open jump shots and turning the ball over numerous times.
Though a lot of experts have been weighing in on Westbrook's effectivity (or lack there of) for the Rockets, D'Antoni is sticking with his guns.
“We're not going to win anything without Russell. He's going to break through it.” D'Antoni said, per Ben DuBose of USA Today. “He's more upset than anybody. He's a great, great player. He'll be fine. Not worried about him.”
Westbrook's greatness though was rather absent in Game 2 as he seemed to be one of the Rockets' biggest liability whenever he was on the court. The former MVP had just four assists to add to his 10 points and 12 rebounds. He was also had a -14 efficiency rate on Sunday and missed 11 of his 15 shots with six of those misses coming from long range.
Westbrook was also burdened with foul trouble almost all game long and was careless again with the basketball as he turned the ball over seven times. Houston turned the ball over a total of 17 times tonight, which will almost always spell defeat against the highly efficient Los Angeles Lakers squad.
For what it's worth, some might argue that Houston won't be in the position they're in now without the huge contribution of their point guard, Westbrook's first on the Rockets, so D'Antoni sticking with him and having full confidence that Brodie will be better might be the best option they have at the moment.
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