Russell Westbrook was not part of the closing rotation for the Los Angeles Clippers’ final game on Tuesday. He will reportedly not be in the starting lineup for the team’s NBA in-season tournament game against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
According to Bleacher Report’s Chris Haynes, Terrence Mann will make his first start of the season in Westbrook’s place.
Haynes said Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star, was asked to come off the bench to strengthen the second unit and inspire the team. The 35-year-old reportedly told Clippers officials that he was willing to make sacrifices for the team, which has lost six straight games.
Five of those losses came after James Harden arrived. The starting lineup of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George, Harden and Westbrook was already looking doomed Wednesday when Haynes reported that head coach Ty Lue would try a different rotation.
“The biggest thing is getting the players to make sacrifices for the players, whether it’s starting the game, ending the game, shots, touches, who’s going to play the pick-and-roll, things like that. But,” Lou told Haynes. “Sacrificing them is going to be our biggest challenge all season.”
Lue reportedly had discussions with third-year guard Bones Hyland about the possibility of a reduced role in the coming weeks, and it appears Westbrook had a similar vision for himself.
The Clippers’ 111-108 loss to the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday may have shaken Westbrook’s perspective. Lue was vague ahead of the matchup when reporters asked who would be the primary ball handler. He said he wants Harden to control the ball after he makes the basket. But he didn’t care who took control after a mistake as long as he kept up the pace.
Pressed for a win, Lue allowed Westbrook to play in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter. Los Angeles had a five-point lead, but Lue replaced Harden with Westbrook. Norman Powell and P.J. Tucker were substituted, and the game ended with Harden, Leonard and Mann still on the court.
Westbrook’s reported request to become the sixth man is a better prospect than the replacement, who would have expressed dissatisfaction with reduced playing time. Given the Clippers’ theme of sacrifice, it seems likely that we’ll see more coverage of the use of their star players throughout the campaign.