Lakers: Russell Westbrook Booed and Benched Against Knicks
The Lakers beat the Knicks on Saturday night at home, but it probably felt like a loss for Russell Westbrook. Westbrook struggled to find his shot and went 1-for-10 in the game. At one point in the second quarter, Westbrook was booed at home after a bad miss.
Westbrook’s rough night did not end there. Head coach Frank Vogel benched Russ for the entirety of overtime. It’s not the first time Vogel has benched Westbrook in the crucial moments of a close game.
The coach let Westbrook ride the pine in the Lakers 111-104 home loss to the Pacers on January 19th. Both Vogel and Russ said all the right things in the aftermath, but there’s little doubt that the guard was frustrated with his coach’s decision.
Prior to Saturday’s game, Westbrook was enjoying one of the better shooting performances of his season. In his last five games, Russ shot 47% from the field and 39.1% from three. It all came crashing down on Saturday night.
Russ missed layups, jumpers, and all three of his three-point attempts in addition to the bank shot that brought out the boo-birds at Crypto.com Arena.
Westbrook, Vogel, and the Lakers have little margin for error these days. Vogel simply cannot afford to leave Russ in when he can’t find his shot. The guard also had the worst plus-minus on the team in Saturday’s (-15) win.
There is a world where Russ plays in crunch time for the Lakers, but Saturday night was not it.
