Russell Westbrook had a major impact on the Los Angeles Clippers’ surprising Game 1 win over the Phoenix Suns, however, a poor decision by the future Hall-of-Famer may lead to him missing at least one game in the NBA playoffs series.
While Russell Westbrook didn’t light up the scoreboard on Sunday, he still delivered big for his new team. The one-time NBA MVP nearly logged a triple-double and was a defensive force late in their 115-110 victory over Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and the Phoenix Suns. While that was the big story afterward, the narrative quickly shifted.
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Following the game, a video of Westbrook verbally clashing with a Suns fan made its way to social media and went viral. The video shows Westbrook yelling at the fan, however, that may not be the biggest issue with the incident. Because it didn’t occur as the star guard walked to the locker room — like a similar incident he had in October.
In this instance, Westbrook actually went up to a suit at halftime to air his grievances and that is a major no-no and breaks very specific league protocols. Now, the Los Angeles Clippers — who are expected to be without star Paul George for the entire series — are worried they could be without Westbrook for a game or more.
Los Angeles Clippers record (’22-’23): 44-38
On Monday, Heavy.com NBA writer Sean Deveney reported on what an NBA source told him about how the Los Angeles Clippers may be looking at the situation on Sunday.
“Yeah, that was a surprise and it is something to worry about. He was in the stands. That not only gets you knocked out for a game, [but] it can get you two or three games. I don’t know how much it will matter that he did not go overboard and there was nothing physical. But now you’ve got to worry about a suspension.”
– Heavy.com report
Deveney suggests that a potential suspension could be as many as three games after Isiah Thomas received that amount a few years ago when he went into the stands to confront a fan as a member of the Wizards. And that encounter was far less volatile.