Long before Russell Westbrook was benched down the stretch of Wednesdayโs 111-104 loss to the Indiana Pacers, Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel was given assurances that the organization would support him in taking a hard line while coaching the star, sources told ESPN. Over the past week and a half, Lakers management has told the coaching staff to coach Westbrook as they see fit, even if that means pulling him from a game, as Vogel did for the final 3 minutes, 52 seconds of the fourth quarter against Indiana, sources told ESPN. One source close to the situation described the message from management to the staff as, โYou got to do what you got to do.โ
Source: Dave McMenamin @ ESPN
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New story: Frank Vogelโs decision to bench Russell Westbrook was sanctioned by Lakers management, sources told ESPN. With the team teetering around .500 at the midway point, the staff in essence was told โyou got to do what you got to doโ with…