Lakers: Russell Westbrook Leaves Without Talking to Reporters Following Disappointing Loss

Russ probably was not happy with the way things went down.

The Lakers somehow managed to lose a game to a team that had pulled out just 15 wins heading into Wednesday. The Pacers came into town with no indication that Los Angeles would walk away with a huge loss, but they did. It was embarrassing on so many levels.

But oddly enough, it just about sums up the Lakers season perfectly. So many highs and lows have come to define the year, and Wednesday was the latest valley. With questions circulating about Frank Vogel's job status, the loss just added fuel to the fire. 

Vogel's decision to bench Russell Westbrook late in the contest is one of the big head-scratchers. And after the loss, Russ left Crypto.com Arena without speaking to reporters. That's very uncommon. 

Russell Westbrook left the arena without speaking to reporters tonight.

— Dave McMenamin (@mcten) January 20, 2022

It was reported today that Vogel's decision to bench Russ late likely came down from the top brass. Management allegedly gave Vogel the go-ahead to make the decision on him during games, and he took the defensive liability out of the game. Unfortuantely for him, that still resulted in a Lakers loss.

Even LeBron James couldn't give an answer to reporters when asked about Vogel benching Russ. He opted to answer that he was late to a movie with his wife, which I can completely understand. 

Russ had another rough night on Wednesday, shooting 5-17 from the field and putting up just 14 points. So while the decision can be easily scrutinized with the loss, Russ was struggling big time. 

Will Frank Vogel have his job intact by the time the Lakers return from their road trip? If they play like Wednesday night, absolutely not.