The Los Angeles Lakers bounced back with a win on home court after a tough road schedule.
LA Lakers fans expected to see a response from the team after a miserable defeat at the Memphis Grizzlies in midweek.
Head coach JJ Redick called out every player in the team barring LeBron James, pointing out that their effort levels were sub-standard.
One of these was D’Angelo Russell, who was benched by Redick during the game, and his poor defense was subject of heavy criticism from analysts.
The Lakers were playing the perfect team for their situation, a Philadelphia 76ers team without Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey.
Redick’s Lakers moved to 5-4, with the 76ers slipping to a scarily bad 1-7. That’s tough news for their efforts to still make the playoffs.
D’Angelo Russell was dropped as a starter and moved to the bench, with Cam Reddish taking his place.
Russell contributed 18 points from the bench, responding well to the benching, as former teammate Danny Green expected he would.
Teammate Austin Reaves spoke post-game to say: “Shout out to D-Lo to be professional, he’s been an all-star in this league, to take that news and make it a challenge to make this bench unit better, that’s what he did tonight.”
Speaking on the broadcast post-game show, former NBA champion with the LA Lakers, James Worthy, talked up the decision, and Russell’s contribution.
He explained: “32 points off the bench, this needs to happen more often. The defense picked up at the beginning of the game.
“This may be the solution, D-Lo, a willing guy, to have this role, it may beneficial for him to have this role.
“He came in the game, he didn’t have to defend the top starters right away, he was able to concentrate on scoring, 18 points.”
The Lakers were also helped by Anthony Davis‘ return from injury. The NBA have him number one on their MVP ladder early this season. He contributed 31 points, with James 21.
The Lakers are next in action at home to the Toronto Raptors.
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