THUNDER VS. JAZZ

•What: Game 4 of a Western Conference first-round playoff series. Utah leads the best-of-7 series, 2-1.

•When: 9:30 p.m., Monday

•Where: Vivint Smart Home Arena; Salt Lake City, Utah.

•TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37/HD 722, Dish 412, DirecTV 675, U-verse 751/1751; TNT (Cox 31/HD 730; Dish 138; DirecTV 245; U-verse 108/1108)

•Radio: WWLS 98.1 FM

Utah forward Jonas Jerebko said. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can step up, so let’s see what they take away.”

Three possessions after Rubio set up Ingles, he made a stand-still ball fake with seven seconds on the shot clock, 23 feet from the rim. Rather than stand Rubio up behind the 3-point line, he closed out wildly, leaving his feet, and Rubio blew past him for a mid-range runner.

Westbrook could do what he says he will against Rubio, forcing him to shoot closer to his Game 2 and 3 averages (37.5 and 27.8 percent).

It won’t matter to the Jazz.

“(It) doesn’t become for us really about any one matchup,” Jazz coach Quin Snyder said. “Ricky just needs to take what the defense gives him and be solid. So does Joe. We need to attack as a group.”

Westbrook’s problem isn’t a disrespect of Rubio’s game, but an entire season of deficient defensive discipline and effort that is being exposed against a team that executes. It’s not just him. The Thunder, particularly George and Corey Brewer, cheated into the paint on the Jazz’s pick-and-roll game Saturday and it led to a combined six corner 3-pointers from Ingles and Donovan Mitchell.

Thunder coach Billy Donovan balked at the idea of putting Westbrook on Derrick Favors on defense for possessions, instead saying the Thunder has to execute defensively with “more force” and aggressiveness.

“There’s a level of physicality that goes into all that stuff, whether it’s getting over a screen or getting over a pick and roll,” Donovan said in reference to defending Rubio. “You want to be able to play with force in those situations.

“There’s also the coverage for the big, what they’re doing in specific situations, specific areas of the floor. So, it’s two people having to work together and then you’ve gotta deal with obviously the rolls to the basket and backside help. That’s a job of everybody.”

Yet, while a lot is on his plate offensively, Westbrook has too often picked and chosen his nights of defensive focus rather than keeping his assignment in front of him and doing the early work necessary in a defensive set to snuff out a developing play.

When that effort isn’t put into action, it leaves teammates at a disadvantage and the Thunder’s defense scrambled.

“If somebody breaks down in their job, something is going to get exposed,” Donovan said. “I think as it relates to Russell on Rubio, Russell has guarded great point guards throughout this league for a long, long time. He knows the things that he has to do to help us defensively in his job and in his role.”

It exacerbates Westbrook’s defense when his offense is off-kilter.

When matched up on Westbrook, Rubio is scoring 2.6 more points than his regular-season average per 100 possessions, whereas Westbrook is minus-12 below his per 100 possession average when matched up with Rubio, per Second Spectrum. Granted, it takes less for the light-scoring Rubio to exceed his standard than Westbrook, but Rubio is defending Westbrook better than Westbrook is defending Rubio. The Jazz guard has outscored his counterpart 30-28 when they’re matched up on each other.

Westbrook understands he needs to be better. In postgame on Saturday, he acknowledged his bad decisions that led to eight turnovers.

“I was getting myself in trouble jumping in the air, trying to get the ball to Melo (Carmelo Anthony), other guys on the floor,” he said.

On both ends for Westbrook, understanding and executing have to meet. The Thunder’s playoff life depends on it.