Raptors’ turn to try to stop Westbrook
It is the year of the triple-double in the National Basketball Association, and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook is leading the pack.
In the first season in league history to see three or more players reach 10 or more triple-doubles, Houston Rockets’ James Harden and Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James have each put up respectable double-digit numbers.
But it’s Westbrook — with 33 triple-doubles to his name so far — who is the North Star in that category, the driving force behind a record number of triple-doubles in the league this year.
It’s not simply the sheer number of points, assists, rebounds and the like that’s eye-catching, though. It’s the consistency with which Westbrook’s putting them up that’s drawing attention.
Earn eight more triple-doubles in his fifteen games before season’s end, and Westbrook — already the highest active player on the all-time list and fifth overall — would tie retired Oscar Roberston’s record for the most tripledoubles in a season at 41.
That’s what the Toronto Raptors have to contend with when the Thunder roll into town on Thursday. And they’re not underestimating the man who has carried his team on his back for much of this season.
Westbrook’s triple-doubles, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said on Wednesday, are “out of this world.”
“He’s a freak of nature. He’s just continuously coming at you with the same spirit, the same force. You wait for him to take a night off, and he doesn’t. He just continues to come at you, come at you.”
It’s an old-school approach that Casey believes is required to be a great player.
“He’s coming out to try to take your spirit every time he walks on the floor,” he said.
To maintain that spirit on Thursday, it’s going to take a team effort from the Raptors.
That will be especially important in the key — Oklahoma leads the league in rebounds per game, and more than 46 per cent of its points this season have come from within the paint. It all starts with Westbrook. “We’ve got to show him five bodies, five bodies,” said DeMar DeRozan. “All we can do is make it extremely hard. I think every team in the league has tried every single thing. We’ve got to go out there and do it collectively. And have a little hope in there as well.”
Thursday’s game aside, DeRozan is hoping his fellow California native — who he affectionately called “I-Robot or something” — finishes the season with a tripledouble average.
“Just to see somebody do that,” he said. “That’s something that hasn’t been done since Oscar Robertson. To have a player in your era accomplish something like that, you’re definitely rooting for him.”
But that doesn’t mean DeRozan’s ready put his weight behind the “Westbrook for Most Valuable Player” campaign just yet.
Golden State Warriors’ Steph Curry said earlier this week that he believes Houston’s Harden will edge out Westbrook for MVP because of his team’s higher place in the standings.
DeRozan was more diplomatic, giving kudos to Westbrook and Harden, as well as San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard.
“When you look at the MVP case right now, it’s so hard to judge because you can’t take away what James Harden is doing. It’s incredible what he’s doing as well, with his team being third in the West,” he said.
The Compton native joked that the success had by Westbrook, of Long Beach, and Harden, of Lakewood, this year “just shows you the production that comes out of California.”
But DeRozan admits Westbrook’s unique season is hard to resist. “Numbers-wise, there’s no doubt that when you look at averages and see a triple-double across the screen, it stands out.”