National Basketball Association

NBA Stock Watch: Signs of redemption for Russell Westbrook?

Updated Jan. 26, 2023 11:24 a.m. ET

Russell Westbrook may finally be shifting the narrative. It's early, but that's one takeaway from the Lakers' first win.

Across town, the Clippers are showing just how much they need Kawhi Leonard.

Let's get into NBA Stock Watch, our weekly column looking at whose stock is rising and whose is falling.

RISING: Russell Westbrook's shot at redemption

There was something different about Westbrook on Sunday.

After making a layup in the second quarter, he did a shoulder shimmy. And as Anthony Davis shot a free throw in the third quarter, he faced the crowd and repeatedly raised his hands, gesturing for fans to cheer. They responded by standing and screaming.

Westbrook, who has been utterly sapped of his joy since joining the Lakers, seemed palpably happier during his team's first win of the season, a 121-110 victory over the Denver Nuggets.

The ironic part? He came off the bench.

While Westbrook has said he's willing to do anything to help his team, he has made it clear that he feels differently -- until now. In fact, he recently said not starting during the preseason finale "absolutely" could've caused a hamstring strain he suffered, a statement that led coach Darvin Ham to have a little meeting with him.

But Westbrook seems to have had a change of heart since coming off the bench the last two games. He seems to finally be accepting that the best way for him to play his game is alongside the second unit. He seems to be willing to put his ego aside.

Westbrook finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and eight assists against the Nuggets, following an 18-point, eight-rebound performance on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

He has been aggressive. He has been engaged. And it was striking how the crowd at Crypto.com Arena roared in approval, the same crowd that booed him at times over the last two seasons and hurled insults at him such as "Westbrick." Last season, Westbrook acknowledged that he didn't even want to bring his children to games because he didn't want them to hear their father's derogatory nickname. And just over a week ago, a video clip went viral of a fan yelling at Westbrook, "You suck a--," as he walked through the tunnel.

For Ham, watching Westbrook finally look at ease was a giant sigh of relief.

"I'm so happy, man," Ham said Sunday. "I can't even imagine what that kid is going through. One of the biggest things about me getting this job was for him to get that respect that he deserved because a lot of what went on last year was not his fault. And everything, all of the blame, was placed on him.

"And so I told him, ‘Man, just listen to me. Believe in me, bro. I'm gonna put you in a position to succeed with the group. But you have to put the group first. It can't be about me or I or mine. It's gotta be us, ours, we.' And he's done that."

Westbrook had a shaky start to the season. In one loss, he shot 0-for-11 from the field. In another, he took an incredibly unwise jumper with the Lakers up by one point with 27.3 seconds left (18 on the shot clock) that led LeBron James to visibly show frustration and Lakers play-by-play broadcaster, Bill Macdonald, to exclaim, "No, Russ, no."

But with Westbrook coming off the bench, the Lakers look a little sharper. They have an infusion of energy in the form of a nine-time All-Star, who is finally able to play his way, unshackled by the constraints of sharing the court with both James and Davis.

The Lakers are still in the cellar of the league with a record of 1-5, but it's fair to wonder: Is the Lakers' Westbrook problem finally beginning to be smoothed over?

FALLING: The Clippers without Kawhi Leonard

Leonard has been sidelined for four consecutive games after feeling stiffness in his surgically repaired right knee, and the Clippers had dropped four straight before eking past Houston on Monday, 95-93. Leonard is also expected to miss the team's upcoming trip against Houston and San Antonio, meaning they'll likely be without their superstar for at least six games.

But the thing is, the Clippers were without Leonard all of last season (and Paul George for much of it) but that didn't stop them from being a very solid team that would have made the playoffs had they not lost two play-in games.

Over the last week, they fell to Phoenix, Oklahoma City twice and then were blown out by New Orleans by 21 points. They have the second-worst offensive rating in the league (100.6) behind the Lakers (100.3). And they're averaging a league-worst 17 turnovers a game.

Even without Leonard, the Clippers are a deep team with a variety of sharpshooters, gritty defenders and All-Star-caliber players, such as George and John Wall. But they currently look as though they're resting on their laurels and deferring instead of playing with the sense of urgency that we saw last season.

"Right now, I think we are just showing up and thinking we can win because of the talent we have, because of all the things we have on this team," Marcus Morris Sr. told reporters Sunday. "That's just not the case."

FALLING: Kyrie Irving

The Brooklyn Nets' horrible play has been overshadowed by Kyrie Irving's comments about his offensive social media post.

To break it all down, Irving spoke for the first time Saturday about tweeting a link to the Amazon page of the antisemitic film, "Hebrews to Negroes: Wake Up Black America." And he chose to defend himself.

"Did I do anything illegal?" Irving asked reporters? "Did I hurt anybody? Did I harm anybody? Am I going out and saying that I hate one specific group of people?"

Irving went on to double-down on his decision, despite Nets owner Joe Tsai and the NBA releasing statements condemning hate speech.

"I'm not going to stand down on anything that I believe in," Irving told reporters. "I'm only going to get stronger because I'm not alone. I have a whole army around me."

Over the weekend, Irving deleted the tweet and wrote that "the 'Anti-Semitic' label that is being pushed on me is not justified."

Even though Kevin Durant told reporters that the Irving drama is "absolutely not" impacting the team's play, the Nets have been struggling mightily.

They had lost four games in a row before beating the Pacers on Monday (116-109) to improve to 2-5. And they have the second-worst defensive rating in the league (119.1).

RISING: Giannis Antetokounmpo is balling, man

There's one team in the league that's undefeated: Milwaukee. And there's one reason: Giannis Antetokounmpo.

Antetokounmpo has been nothing short of amazing to open this season. He's second in the league in both scoring (33.8 points a game) and rebounding (12.8 a game), all while holding opponents to 32.3 percent from the field. And he's already had two 40-point performances.

Not to mention, he has also been charming fans off the court. There was the time he interrupted his own answer during a news conference because he saw himself in a commercial. "Oh, that's me," he said, as he put his hand over his chin, watched and provided amusing commentary.

Then, after he was told that he had scored the most combined points of any four-game stretch of his career, he interrupted a reporter by leaning forward, smiling, and asking, "Really?", before adding, "I'm balling, man!"

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Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.