Russell Westbrook enters the NBA health and safety protocols; Here’s what we know so far
The run of challenges for the LA Lakers will continue as guard Russell Westbrook became the latest addition to their already lengthy list of players in the NBA's COVID health and safety protocols Thursday, according to a report.
NBA Insider Shams Charania of The Athletic tweeted that Lakers star Russell Westbrook has entered the protocols.
Sources: Lakers guard Russell Westbrook entered health and safety protocols.
Another challenge for the LA Lakers
Avery Bradley is also expected to be placed in the health and safety protocols. Westbrook and Bradley join a group that already included Dwight Howard, monk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">Malik Monk and Talen Horton-Tucker.
Charania also reported that Los Angeles on Thursday signed 32-year-old guard Isaiah Thomas to a 10-day contract to add depth and scoring. Thomas has played just one G-League game this season. That game was played Wednesday, and Thomas scored a whopping 42 points.
Los Angeles (16-13) has had to deal with adversity this season. Injuries, including losing superstar forward LeBron James for an extended amount of time with an abdominal injury, have jostled the lineup and led to inconsistent play. Even so, the Lakers started to find some momentum lately, winning eight of their past 12 games.
The loss of Westbrook is the latest curveball.
The timing couldn't be worse for the Lakers, coming just as the team has matched a season high by winning three straight games. The run includes Wednesday night's impressive overtime 107-104 overtime win at the Dallas Mavericks.
Los Angeles, sixth in the Western Conference, will now be shorthanded in upcoming games against challenging teams like Chicago, Phoenix and Brooklyn.
The Lakers play at the Minnesota Timberwolves (13-15) on Friday and the Chicago Bulls (17-10) on Sunday. They then return home to face the Phoenix Suns (22-5) on Dec. 21, the San Antonio Spurs (10-17) on Dec. 23 and the Brooklyn Nets (20-8) on Christmas.
Westbrook, a nine-time All-Star and the 2016-17 MVP, is going to be a sizeable piece to try t0 replace. In his last two games, Westbrook has averaged 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game while shooting 47.2% from the field. For the season, he averages 19.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg and 8.4 apg.
Monk adds 9.7 ppg, Horton-Tucker 11.3 ppg and Howard 5.0 ppg and 5.4 rpg. Bradley started 21 games, while Horton-Tucker started 12.
More of the burden of carrying the team, of course, will be shouldered by LeBron James and Anthony Davis.