When the Los Angeles Lakers lost to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night to drop below .500, there was one player noticeably absent on the court in the final four minutes: Russell Westbrook.

The 33-year old, who is earning over $44 million in 2021/22, has struggled to fit in with the Lakers and been under heavy scrutiny from fans and media throughout the season.

His poor shooting and lack of defensive prowess has forced Lakers head coach Frank Vogel to change things up, which manifested in sitting the supposed star in crunch time of a close game.

Despite everything, Russell Westbrook continues to maintain a positive mindset and keeps his eyes on the prize. Even if he doesn’t agree with every decision being made.

“I want to be able to be on the floor to help my teammates and be able to help our team win in games like that — but that was a decision that was made” said Westbrook.

“Ultimately, you have to be OK when s— doesn’t go well, and I’m OK…I’ve done everything that’s been asked of me here, and I’ll continue to do so and ride this out as long as we can toward our ultimate goal — and that’s to win a championship”

The Long Beach, California native has averaged 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.8 assists in 45 games this campaign.

This season is already a write off for the Montreal Canadiens, we know that. But this is essentially the icing on the cake for what has become a disastrous season for the 2021 Stanley Cup finalists.

The team announced that veteran netminder Josh Allen will be sidelined for at least the next eight weeks due to an undisclosed lower body injury.

He hasn’t played since hurting himself during the team’s 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on January 12th.

Allen has posted a 5-16-2 record with a 3.15 goals-against average and .901 save percentage in 24 games this season.

We still can’t get over the legendary open ice hit Washington Capitals enforcer Tom Wilson laid on Boston Bruins forward Anton Blidh last night!

And unlike other Luke Wilson hits, you can’t argue that this one was dirty.