Russell Westbrook’s tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers has never been a smooth one, but Wednesday offered up a potential breaking point that could permanently fracture the relationship.
Trailing 101-94 late in the fourth quarter against the Indiana Pacers, head coach Frank Vogel opted to bench Westbrook in favor of Malik Monk and Austin Reaves, sitting his former star point guard for the final 3:52 of the team’s eventual loss.
The decision would have been a talking point regardless of the outcome of the game, but the Lakers losing only stoked the flames, and Vogel did little to extinguish them.