The 35-year-old former MVP is now far past his prime era, but he has still been a quality player for the Clippers. The James Harden trade, however, raised enough questions about the starting lineup and how the chaos is leading Harden to underperform. Something to take into account here is that the Clippers were standing at 3-1 before they traded Harden, and the team hasn’t won since then.

It was obvious, after six straight losses, that a major change had to be made to either the rotation or the lineup. However, an unexpected move was witnessed when Russell Westbrook decided to take the hit and sacrifice the position.

Ty Lue on Russell Westbrook and the request

The head coach of the Los Angeles Clippers revealed in a pregame media interaction how ‘Beastbrook’ came out to be the bigger one here. Brook has often been called out for being a selfish player, even though he ranks among the top players in terms of assists. However, this act of going low on his pride and giving leeway to the new teammate negates all those claims. Tyronn Lue made a statement about how Westbrook himself requested the administration to not put him in the starting lineup.

The nine-time NBA All-Star will be coming off the bench in tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets. This doesn’t seem to be an easy move since the player has always played in the first unit with the Clippers. Averaging 14.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.7 assists, the star guard hasn’t missed a Clippers game since. Although there were speculations that the head coach was placing Westbrook on the options list for the second unit, the voluntary move by the player just shines through.

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Replacing the void, Terance Mann will make the move in the first unit along with Harden, Leonard, George, and Zubac. The question here is, since ‘Beastbrook’ has displayed a better number than Harden, will the franchise really benefit from the decision?

What’s in it for the Clippers?

The Los Angeles Clippers have descended to 12th place in the Western Conference, with 3-7 in the standings. After James Harden’s acquisition from the Philadelphia 76ers, this issue has become even more grave since the franchise is not able to showcase a strong game. The foremost reason for this is that all five players, including Westbrook, are dominant ball-handlers, which in turn makes the starting lineup a bit chaotic.

Terance Mann’s adaptive capabilities might ease up James Harden a bit and assist him in adjusting to the momentum of the game. Although any bets on the outcome before the final result would not yield any great results, the expectation that the franchise might seem a little better off on the hardwood still stands.

Watch this story: “5-time champion’s bold prediction on LeBron James comes with 1 crucial caveat”

What do you think about Russell Westbrook’s decision? Let us know in the comment section.