Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook will begin to come off the bench for the “forseeable future,” reports Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
The Lakers will start LeBron James, Patrick Beverley, Troy Brown Jr. and Damian Jones against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night, ending Westbrook’s streak of 1,007 consecutive appearances as a starter.
Westbrook last served in a reserve role in an NBA game on Nov. 28, 2008, when he was a rookie on the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Westbrook did not play in the Lakers’ last game, a 110-99 loss to the Denver Nuggets, because of a sore left hamstring.
The 33-year-old former Kia MVP is averaging 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists this season. He has one double-double. He is mired in a slump, shooting just 28.9% from the floor and 1-for-12 from 3-point range.
Anthony Davis will sit out Friday night due to low back tightness. Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham said Davis felt the tightness when he woke up Friday morning and that the team decided to take the cautious approach with the oft-injured big man.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
