Russell Westbrook has blamed injury on bench role for second straight season on Thursday night. He believed that new head coach Darvin Ham’s decision to bench him during the game against the Sacramento Kings is what caused his hamstring injury.
The Los Angeles Lakers’ final pre-season game saw the point guard led the second unit as the coaching staff attempted with potential starting lineups.
Asked if going to the bench had an impact on the injury, Westbrook was emphatic: “Absolutely. I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years,”
“I didn’t even know what to do before the game. I needed to understand how to keep myself warm and relaxed. For me, the way I play basketball, fast, I need to be hot. So when the coach put me on, I felt it.
“I’m not sure what it was, but I definitely wasn’t going to risk it for a preseason game. However, I was definitely not warm enough. But it was something I just wasn’t used to.” Westbrook added.
The decision has already been criticized by the 2017 MVP. But the player’s ego, which doesn’t believe there’s any cause to leave the bench, seemed to be causing the complaint. However, his health is now the focus of the complaint.
Westbrook’s opinion that playing on the bench is not ideal, he overcame his hamstring injury to take part in the Lakers’ season opener against the Golden State Warriors.
He produced 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists in the Lakers’ defeat, but did not impress fans with his performance.
The team’s coach was asked why he decided to start the match with Westbrook. According to Ham, the idea was to have energy coming off the bench.
“I wanted to start the game, the season, with a lot of energy and in attack mode. There is no one better than him for this,” Ham said.
Although the Lakers lost their first game of the season, the team returns to the court on Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
