EL SEGUNDO, California – After having a day off to digest his team’s season-opening loss to the Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel said that the debut of Russell westbrook it was not as terrible as it seemed.
“[Westbrook jugó] pretty good, “Vogel said after practice Thursday when asked what the Lakers’ big offseason acquisition looked like in his movie review of the game.” We didn’t get him involved enough, and that’s up to me. We continue to analyze situations to make it useful and not move away from what [Anthony Davis] and [LeBron James] They are doing.
“Those guys obviously got going, but I didn’t do a good job getting Russ going, and that’s an easy fix. Something that we’re familiar with and that we keep seeing every day and feel a little more comfortable with. that”.
Westbrook posted the worst plus-minus on the team, as the Lakers were outscored 23 in 35 minutes on the court. LA led by 16 in the 13 minutes Westbrook was on the bench.
James (34 points on 13 of 23 shots) and Davis (33 points on 15 of 26) both connected on more than 50% of their shots, while Westbrook (eight points on 4 of 13 shots) shot just 30.8%. His five rebounds and four assists were also offset by four turnovers and four fouls.
Davis said you wouldn’t know that Westbrook struggled on his return home to Los Angeles because of how he performed in practice.
“He was himself, as a person and on the court,” Davis said. “He got into some of his moves, the post-ups, where he scores. He dribbles back-downs where he scores and he dribbles pull-ups from the glass, his option when he scores. Talking to everyone. And all of that.
“He was his normal self, and it’s good to see that. He had a day off to reflect, get over it, clean it up. And then go back to practicing and being himself again. He can be Russell Westbrook.”
Showdowns aren’t any easier for Westbrook and the Lakers. After facing Stephen Curry on Tuesday, Chris paul and defending Western Conference champion Phoenix Suns arrive in town on Friday.
Getting Westbrook up and running will help, especially as LA got more bad injury news Thursday. Kendrick nunn, who missed the end of training camp and was out Tuesday due to a sprained right ankle, experienced pain in his right knee and an MRI revealed a bruise to the bone. It will be reevaluated in two to three weeks, according to Vogel. Vogel said that Wayne ellington (hamstring) would also be out on Friday.
And LA was already without Trevor ariza (ankle) and Talen Horton-Tucker (thumb) after they both had surgery during the preseason.
Davis seemed confident the Lakers would work things out with Westbrook, and said it might take some time.
“We know him as a person, as a friend, as a brother,” Davis said. “We played on the Olympic team, but obviously that’s totally different. All-Star Games, totally different. To play a season with him, this is the first time for Bron and me. It takes time to figure it out. It’s what he needs. to go back or this is what we have to run to get him going. Or this is what he likes to do. He only played in three preseason games, him and Bron, so the pace keeps coming. for all three … So we’ll make sure to do our best to try and help you speed up that process to keep you going.
“But he’ll be fine. He just has to be himself, like I said before, and everything will work out for him.”
Vogel said he believes the same for his team in general.
“We’re going to need more patience than most teams because we have 11 new players. It’s that simple,” Vogel said. “We are very different and new to each other. So there will be more need for patience with our team than with anyone else.”
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