Home

NBA

After Triumph Over the Lakers, Clippers Stars Get Candid About Having Russell Westbrook’s Back and ‘Proving Everyone Wrong’

Published 04/06/2023, 9:30 AM EDT

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

The battle of Los Angeles unfolded as the Clippers hosted the Lakers for their final meeting before the postseason. The Los Angeles Clippers had their foot on the pedal right from the get-go, with one of the Clippers going against his former team for the first time. After a wonderful performance and having defeating the Lakers, the Clipper in question left the building, leaving his teammates to face the media. They had his back!

A star Clipper was nowhere to be found after the game

This was the first game that the Clippers played against the Los Angeles Lakers after Russell Westbrook got traded. During his time with Lakeshow, Westbrook had become a scapegoat for everything that went wrong with the Lakers.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Now Russell Westbrook is with his new team, beyond ready to play some great basketball after all the criticism that was thrown at him during his time with his former team. 

Trending

Get instantly notified of the hottest NBA stories via Google! Click on Follow Us and Tap the Blue Star.

Follow Us

USA Today via Reuters

‘Brodie’ had an average night in terms of scoring. However, it was his effort and intensity on defense that stood out. He had no problem finding his teammates on the floor for several smooth assists during the game. Westbrook finished the night with 14 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists. The Clippers managed to defeat the Lakers despite having no Paul George on the lineup since he is recovering from an injury.

After the game, Russell Westbrook was nowhere to be found by reporters. According to Clippers writer Tomer Azarly, “Russell Westbrook has already left the building after his Clippers defeat the Lakers. No media for him.”

Westbrook’s teammates, on the other hand, made sure to fill in for him and appreciated his performance and role in the team during their interviews with the press post-match.

Westbrook’s teammates have his back

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

As Russell Westbrook couldn’t be reached for a word during the post-game press conference, his teammates stepped in for him. Bones Hyland and Ivica Zubac both spoke highly of Westbrook and what this game against the Lakers meant to him.

Hyland was asked how much the team wanted to win this game for Westbrook. To that, he said, “We’ve been telling Russ that for the past 2 days, ‘Russ, we’ll match your energy. We got your back. And we’re gonna come out with this win.’ We got each other’s backs.”

Ivica Zubac said, “We knew what was said about him and when he came over here, it’s the complete opposite of who he is. He’s a great dude. Great leader. Always happy…We just wanted to prove everyone wrong,” when asked about Westbrook.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch This Story – 5 games that Prove that the Russell Westbrook criticism is not fair

So, it seems like Russell Westbrook is finally someplace where he is appreciated. With teammates and performances like these, Westbrook and the Clippers should surely manage to make a big playoffs entry – even without Paul George – and then some!

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :

Written by:

Abhishek Dhariwal

1,425Articles

One take at a time

Abhishek Dhariwal is an NBA writer at EssentiallySports with a background in journalism and mass communication. Abhishek uses storytelling along with feedback gathering to curate elegant and exclusive content for ES. His writing covers a wide range of topics, from in-game coverage to off-court activities of NBA stars.
Show More>

Edited by:

Aayush Kapoor