Paul George Shares High Praise for Russell Westbrook After Raptors Win

While certain narratives surrounding Russell Westbrook portray him in a negative light, LA Clippers star Paul George is always the first to have his back. There was noise surrounding Westbrook during his time with the Lakers that made it seem as if the veteran point guard was more concerned with his own performance than wins and losses; however, George recently stated the exact opposite about Westbrook, calling him a "team-first" player.

Playing just 23 minutes on Thursday night vs. the Toronto Raptors, Westbrook received the fewest minutes in any of his six games with the Clippers so far. This was despite being a game-high +12, but the Clippers' bench backcourt of Terance Mann and Eric Gordon caught a good grove down the stretch, and Ty Lue let them finish the game without going back to Westbrook.

During his time on the floor in Wednesday night's win, Westbrook did a lot of little things for the Clippers, which included playing as the roll-man on several offense possessions. When asked about this after the game, Paul George said, "Russ is gonna do whatever it takes to win. He’s a team-first player. He’s gonna do whatever it takes, and I think you saw that tonight."

Not upset with his lack of minutes or on-ball duties, Westbrook bought into his reduced role on Wednesday night, and played it perfectly on the way to a win. There will be nights when the Clippers ask more of him, as has already been the case, but Wednesday night's game was a perfect example of Westbrook's willingness to do whatever the team needs him to do.

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