In what was seen as a possible preview of the regular season, Russell Westbrook came off of the bench for the Los Angeles Lakers in Friday’s preseason finale against the Sacramento Kings. Unfortunately for Westbrook and his team, things didn’t go well.
Westbrook headed to the locker room with a hamstring injury. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the game.
On its own, Westbrook being out for the rest of the game is nothing to delve too deep into. He’ll be 34 in November. The Lakers would likely be cautious with him if he was hurt in a regular season game. In the preseason, there’s absolutely no reason to bring him back.
The problem is, it’s a hamstring injury. Historically speaking, those are some of the toughest to come back from because time and rest are the only cures. How much time and rest is needed is very much a case by case basis, but it’s usually not a quick recovery.
Naturally, the reaction to this news was not pleasant.
Given how much he struggled a season ago, the 2022-23 season is really a make-or-break campaign for Westbrook. One injury won’t automatically derail the season for him. But four days away form the season opener, this is anything but welcome news for Westbrook and the Lakers.
[Photo Credit: Spectrum SportsNet LA]
Related: Lakers coach uses fancy word to describe Russell Westbrook’s new role
About Michael Dixon
About Michael:
-- Writer/editor for thecomeback.com and awfulannouncing.com.
-- Bay Area born and raised, currently living in the Indianapolis area.
-- Twitter:
@mfdixon1985 (personal).
@michaeldixonsports (work).
-- Email: mdixon@thecomeback.com
Send tips, corrections, comments and (respectful) disagreements to that email. Do the same with pizza recommendations, taco recommendations and Seinfeld quotes.