Wednesday’s loss to the Indiana Pacers was more about what would happen in the aftermath than the actual result for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The Lakers couldn’t stop Caris LeVert’s offensive explosion, and during the late comeback attempt with 3:52 remaining in the quarter, Russell Westbrook was not seen.
After the game, Vogel said he played the players he thought would win the game, an interesting quote about a player making $44 million. This was the first time Westbrook had been benched in this context, but according to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, Vogel had the green light from the front office:
Long before Russell Westbrook was benched down the stretch of Wednesday’s 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel was given assurances that the organization would support him in taking a hard line while coaching the star, sources told ESPN.
Over the past week and a half, Lakers management has told the coaching staff to coach Westbrook as the coaches see fit, even if that means pulling him from a game, as Vogel did for the final 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the fourth quarter against Indiana, sources told ESPN.
One source close to the situation described the message from management to the staff as, “You got to do what you got to do.”
Despite shooting 4-of-6 from 3-point range, Westbrook shot 1-of-11 from inside the arc to finish with a 5-of-17 clip for 14 points. His defense was not on point as well.
Westbrook left the game before it ended and also exited the arena before discussing the game with his teammates, via McMenamin:
James was left to speak on Westbrook because the 14-year veteran — who exited the court with 8.4 seconds remaining on the clock — departed from the arena without speaking to reporters.
Westbrook also had already vacated the locker room by the time his teammates were finished showering, sources said, forgoing any postgame discussion with the team.
This all puts Los Angeles in a predicament, especially with Vogel reportedly being evaluated on a game-by-game basis. Let’s see how the Lakers respond Friday against the Orlando Magic.
