The Los Angeles Lakers are bringing point guard Russell Westbrook off the bench Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports it's the Lakers' plan for the "foreseeable future."
Forward Anthony Davis is out for the Lakers against the Timberwolves due to lower back tightness.
Amid a slow start for LA, Westbrook's struggles have been magnified — in the fish bowl that is Los Angeles basketball — and he's become a lightning rod for criticism.
But it's not without reason. Across three games, he's averaging career lows in points (10.3) and assists (4.3), while shooting 28.9 per cent from the field and a shocking 8.3 per cent from three.
Last season, Westbrook resisted a bench role which caused tension with former head coach Frank Vogel, who was dismissed at the season's conclusion.
Off-season hire Darvin Ham appears to have gotten through to him.
At 0-4, the Lakers are sitting solidly at the bottom of the competitive Western Conference, and their dismal offence (96 points per 100 possessions) desperately needs a spark. Ham is hoping his $44 million man will be just that.
Ham envisions Westbrook being the primary facilitator for the second unit, which would allow him and teammate LeBron James, both ball-dominant playmakers, to each spend more time with the ball in their hands.
The last time Westbrook, 33, came off the bench was in 2008.
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