The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2021-22 season opened in disappointing fashion on Tuesday, as the team dropped a 121-114 decision to the Golden State Warriors.
It was a rough debut for Lakers newcomer Russell Westbrook. After the game, superstar Anthony Davis revealed his strong message to the former MVP.
“We want him to be himself, be aggressive, be Russell Westbrook,” Davis said. “Be the reason why we traded for you.”
Westbrook has a big transition on his hands. He’s used to having an extremely high usage, but that’s probably not going to be the case very often with the Lakers.
The veteran scored just eight points on 4-for-13 shooting in the opener. He did collect five rebounds and four assists, but he also turned the ball over four times.
There will certainly be some growing pains as Westbrook and the Lakers try to figure out how to make their new Big 3 work cohesively.
L.A. will look to earn its first win of the 2021-22 season against the Phoenix Suns on Friday. Westbrook will look to silence some of the outside noise and prove that he’s capable of being a key contributor for this team.
