The Los Angeles Lakers opened the 2022-2023 NBA season with a 123-109 loss to the Golden State Warriors as the 2022 NBA champions received their rings.
As the Lakers begin the season, many questions linger for a franchise that missed the playoffs last year, including what role nine-time All-Star Russell Westbrook will play.
Westbrook has been involved in trade rumors all offseason, and first-year head coach Darvin Ham has considered bringing Westbrook off the bench to lead the second unit.
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In LA’s preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings, Ham brought Westbrook off the bench. Westbrook, who played five minutes in the game, tweaked his hamstring and said Tuesday night that the bench role contributed to the injury.
"Absolutely," Westbrook said when asked about the role change, according to the LA Times. "I’ve been doing the same thing for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do pregame. Being honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and loose.
"For me, obviously the way I play the game, it’s fast-paced, quick, stop-and-go. And I just happened to, when I subbed in, I felt something. Thought it was... didn’t know what it was, but I wasn’t going to risk it in a preseason game. But definitely wasn’t something I was used to. Wasn’t warm enough. But that’s something I just wasn’t accustomed to."
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Westbrook was in the starting lineup against the Warriors Tuesday night, scoring 19 points on 7-12 shooting from the floor, adding 11 rebounds and three assists.
"You want to start the game off the right way in terms of your energy and being in attack mode, and no one better than him," Ham said after the game, according to ESPN. "I mean, it's what we have, and we got some key guys hurt. It's Game 1, give them a chance to go out and compete at the highest level. I thought he was solid. I thought he was solid. A couple possessions I wish I can get back, but overall, I thought he was solid."
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Westbrook, who opted-in to his $47.1 million player option during the offseason, is coming off a difficult first season in LA, with the guard averaging his lowest point totals since his second season in the league while shooting just 29.8% from beyond the three-point line as the Lakers went 33-49 and missed the playoffs.
The Lakers are looking to rebound from a wildly disappointing year that ended in the firing of head coach Frank Vogel, who led the team to a championship in the shortened 2020 NBA season.
