Different Westbrook shines for Thunder
Russell Westbrook drove the lane Monday night and soared for one of those mad-at-the-world dunks. Seemed like old times.
But it wasn’t and it’s not.
The Thunder routed Chicago 121-96 in a game that didn’t solve all of Westbrook’s puzzling problems. This still isn’t the old Westbrook. Not an old Westbrook, either, even though he turned 30 last month and the clock ticks on all men.
This is just a different Westbrook. Even his triple doubles have evolved. Yep, Westbrook had another crazy line — more rebounds (16) than points (13), to go with 11 assists.
The basketball took some crazy journeys when Westbrook shot Monday night. An airballed 20-footer (Westbrook wanted a foul; he also wants the tree ticketed in a single-car crash). Another foul shot that barely caught the rim. More misses (six) than makes (five) from the paint. No 3-point shots.
Russell, we just don’t
know you anymore.
Is he rusty? Maybe. Is he weary? That dunk says no. Is he frustrated? Doesn’t seem like it.
Actually, this Westbrook is pretty darn good. He’s playing more defense than he’s played in years. And he’s on a different kind of team.
The Thunder doesn’t need Westbrook to score like he’s had to in the past, which is a good thing, since his scoring average is down to 20.7 points per game, his lowest since 2009-10.
Westbrook has more offensive help than he’s had since maybe the Finals team of seven years ago, if then.
“I think he knows
I try to take pressure off,” Paul George said. “Dennis (Schroder) is taking pressure off. He can just play the game. He doesn’t have to worry about us, getting us shots.”
The Thunder led Chicago 39-37 with less than six minutes left in the first half, then outscored the Bulls 25-7 the rest of the quarter.
And Westbrook had only two of those 25 points, on the spectacular dunk.
Even more impressive, of the eight Thunder baskets during that spree, Westbrook assisted on only two.
“Russell’s been great,” Billy Donovan said. “It speaks to his greatness as a player that he can see what the team needs and from there, facilitate, so to speak. He’s generating shots for Paul, he’s generating shots for Steven (Adams). When he and Dennis (Schroder) are out there, they’re both creating.”
Not so long ago, if Westbrook wasn’t scoring or assisting, the OKC offense was dormant. No longer. Not that this Thunder team is any kind of offensive juggernaut. OKC entered the game 20th in NBA offensive efficiency.
That’s a number that must rise for the Thunder to have the season it wants, and for that number to rise, Westbrook needs to be the finisher and foul shooter he was since the world was young.
Of course, Westbrook’s struggles probably have been overstated. Not the foul shooting. That’s been atrocious. But Westbrook has not been reluctant to drive.
He entered this game shooting a bigger percentage of his shots, .398, from 0-3 feet than any season since his rookie year and making the highest percentage of his career from that distance, .647.
“I never really think that Russell struggles, so to speak,” Donovan said. “There’s other ways he impacts the games. There’s so much more he’s done. His shots, his rhythm, his layups, it’s all going to come.”
And Westbrook still has that ability to explode into a dunk you can’t believe.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel.