Westbrook sparks lineup
Every so often, the Thunder needs a jolt of energy.
That could be considered an understatement the way the Thunder has bounced between cohesive and clunky on offense through 23 games. Before the Thunder was able to get to clutch time against the Jazz on Tuesday, it needed something special. Chesapeake Energy Arena was dead silent as the Thunder sleepwalked through the first twoand-a-half quarters.
Enter Russell Westbrook. He played conductor brilliantly in the fourth quarter against the Jazz, but when the Thunder was playing poorly (himself included), he provided a spark through a lineup straight out of his MVP season.
You saw a glimpse of it against San Antonio on Sunday out of necessity.
In the second quarter, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony each had three
fouls, so Billy Donovan inserted Andre Roberson first, then Jerami Grant. Alex Abrines and Steven Adams completed the group.
The last three minutes of the first half looked like a lineup from last season. It was Roberson receiving the pass after screening for Westbrook, then passing out to Alex Abrines for a 3-pointer. It missed, but the intent was right.
It was Westbrook curling in front of the free throw line with his dribble just enough to lure Pau Gasol forward, then lobbing over his head as Steven Adams caught an alley-oop pass.
Roberson hadn’t even given the lineup any thought.
“It’s just kind of a familiar group of guys that has been out there and kind of know what
each other does a lot and very well,” he said. “We kind of have certain sets on the offensive end that we go to, as well as on the defensive end.
“It just makes the game that much easier when you have a little more chemistry, which all of the other guys, we’re all still figuring it out and continuing to grow each and every day.”
The Thunder’s greatest potential will come with Anthony and George on the floor with Westbrook. The Thunder starters have already shown itself to be a potent defensive combination, ranking fourth in the NBA in points allowed per 100 possessions among lineups which have played 100 or more minutes. That same unit’s offense is still a work in progress, 29th out of 38 five-man units per 100 possessions.
Tuesday’s blitz of the Jazz in the fourth quarter was promising, where Westbrook perfectly balanced
between scorer and distributor, logging six points, four assists and just one turnover as Anthony and George shot 7-of-10.
But it’s OK to use familiarity in pockets. Donovan’s gone back to the throwback lineup for only five minutes in the last two games, but had used it just one minute in the previous 21 games before this week. The pace (number of possessions per 48 minutes) increases from the Thunder’s season average of 99.12 to 100.51, but what drastically improves is the Thunder’s turnover percentage, a mere 7.1 compared to a season average of 15.6.
With the Thunder down 17 points in the third quarter against the Jazz, Westbrook took over, hitting two quick jumpers, then Donovan decided to roll the last three minutes with Westbrook, Adams, Roberson, Grant and Abrines. The 17 points was whittled to
12, but more importantly, the Thunder was reenergized.
“Closing out that third quarter, he was playing really well,” Donovan said. “And I just decided in that situation to stay with him because I thought he was playing well and we were kinda slowly, I felt like we were getting into the game. That was really the real reason for it.
“Right about that time, I thought Russell really started to play ... just his whole disposition, his mentality, you could just see he was really trying to will our team to play with more urgency.”
Entering the season, a prevailing thought was that George and Anthony would each need individual pockets of time as the focal point of the offense, but the same could be said for Westbrook. It’s not the final answer to toppling the NBA hierarchy, but it's a simplification when the Thunder needs a spark.