Author Topic: The Future of Russell Westbrook  (Read 3413 times)

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The Future of Russell Westbrook
« on: April 24, 2019, 08:31:10 AM »

Offline Big333223

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Another elimination game, another gross stat line for Westbrook. While Paul George scores 36 on 20 shots, Westbrook scores 29 on 31 shots. The capper is Damian Lillard going for 50 and splashing an insane game winner.

Is this the final straw for Westbrook? Does this loss finally alert him to the fact that he can't be a one-man basketball team and will need to sacrifice some of his numbers if he actually wants to win? Sure, he's a great rebounder but what is the effect of having your pg start every break from under the opponent's basket with the entire defense in front of him. If he let Adams and his other bigs do their job, he could be catching outlet passes at half court, the defense in disarray and he could use his athleticism to get easy baskets. Learn to play off ball a little and that means others can handle the ball and get into their own rhythms and might mean he has stronger legs under him when taking 3's.

I'm trying to figure out who Westbrook should emulate and, weirdly, I think his ideal might be a guard version of Draymond Green with some more scoring. If he committed himself to defense he could be a monster. A stat line like 18-5-8-2 with great defense might be his ideal.
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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #1 on: April 24, 2019, 08:42:15 AM »

Offline Moranis

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George was awful down the stretch of that game, missing 2 foul shots, turning the ball over, and of course having Lillard hit the game winner over him.  Westbrook obviously wasn't good either, but a lot of the blame is on George.
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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #2 on: April 24, 2019, 08:46:35 AM »

Online RJ87

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Dame hit the game winner on Paul George, not sure what Russ could've done about that.

Everyone is going to dump on Russ but as I said in another thread, the complexion of their season changed because Paul George was playing injured. Not just a sore shoulder but a legitimate injury that's going to require surgery (hearing torn labrum which is seriously painful. Props to him for playing through it). And you can legit trace their collapse to that injury. They were the #3 seed for a good chunk of the season, and a beast of a team defensively (and that's without Roberson making it back).

Was Russ perfect this season? No. His shooting numbers were terrible. But he took a noticeable step back in the offense and played sidekick to PG with no hesitation. His defensive effort improved significantly. He made a concerted effort to adapt his game to PG in a way people claimed he wouldn't.
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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #3 on: April 24, 2019, 08:49:37 AM »

Offline Green-18

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Another elimination game, another gross stat line for Westbrook. While Paul George scores 36 on 20 shots, Westbrook scores 29 on 31 shots. The capper is Damian Lillard going for 50 and splashing an insane game winner.

Is this the final straw for Westbrook? Does this loss finally alert him to the fact that he can't be a one-man basketball team and will need to sacrifice some of his numbers if he actually wants to win? Sure, he's a great rebounder but what is the effect of having your pg start every break from under the opponent's basket with the entire defense in front of him. If he let Adams and his other bigs do their job, he could be catching outlet passes at half court, the defense in disarray and he could use his athleticism to get easy baskets. Learn to play off ball a little and that means others can handle the ball and get into their own rhythms and might mean he has stronger legs under him when taking 3's.

I'm trying to figure out who Westbrook should emulate and, weirdly, I think his ideal might be a guard version of Draymond Green with some more scoring. If he committed himself to defense he could be a monster. A stat line like 18-5-8-2 with great defense might be his ideal.

I think you are on the right track by referencing Draymond as a player worth emulating.  While not at his athletic peak, Westbrook still has more than enough in the tank to wreak havoc for another 3 or 4 years.  Honestly, he should take some cues from Marcus Smart.

Unfortunately, I can't envision Russ putting in the work to learn how to play within a team offense.  He might be willing to lower his usage, but what does it matter if he's not going to learn how to play effectively without the basketball?




Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #4 on: April 24, 2019, 09:05:21 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Paul George scores 36 points on 24 shooting possessions and he gets blame?  ???

If the shooting decline doesn't bounce back then its going to get real ugly. He's just not drawing enough shooting fouls or hitting enough FTs when he does to make up for his poor jump shooting.

NBA teams have gotten a lot smarter on defending non-shooters in general over the years and .500 TS% on a 30 USG player isn't going to win in the playoffs. (Edit: And he was worse in the playoffs .466 TS% on 31 USG)

I don't think Westbrook changes a ton myself. He won an MVP and has been an all-nba player playing this way. I don't see him becoming a dedicated defender and off the ball cutter at age 30.
« Last Edit: April 24, 2019, 09:13:43 AM by Fafnir »

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #5 on: April 24, 2019, 09:10:12 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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Was Russ perfect this season? No. His shooting numbers were terrible. But he took a noticeable step back in the offense and played sidekick to PG with no hesitation. His defensive effort improved significantly. He made a concerted effort to adapt his game to PG in a way people claimed he wouldn't.
I don't think his defense improved, all his bad/lazy habits remained on full display this season.

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #6 on: April 24, 2019, 09:17:57 AM »

Offline johnnygreen

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George was awful down the stretch of that game, missing 2 foul shots, turning the ball over, and of course having Lillard hit the game winner over him.  Westbrook obviously wasn't good either, but a lot of the blame is on George.

To be fair, Lilliard took an awful shot, but was fortunate that he made it. If he misses that shot, and Portland goes on to lose in OT, there would have been talk of why Lillard took a 35' shot when he had over 10 seconds to get a better look or create a good shot for someone else.

BTW, Lilliard has been hands down, the best player in the playoffs so far. If he keeps playing like this, Portland has a legit shot of making it out of the West.

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #7 on: April 24, 2019, 09:19:29 AM »

Offline Green-18

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Paul George scores 36 points on 24 shooting possessions and he gets blame?  ???

If the shooting decline doesn't bounce back then its going to get real ugly. He's just not drawing enough shooting fouls or hitting enough FTs when he does to make up for his poor jump shooting.

NBA teams have gotten a lot smarter on defending non-shooters in general over the years and .500 TS% on a 30 USG player isn't going to win in the playoffs.

I don't think Westbrook changes a ton myself. He won an MVP and has been an all-nba player playing this way. I don't see him becoming a dedicated defender and off the ball cutter at age 30.

I don't see it happening either.  Westbrook is likely going to burn out on his own terms before becoming a role player.  I see a lot of Iverson in him, as opposed to J-Kidd and Gary Payton. 

I really hope he figures it out because his compete level is off the charts.  He still has more than enough ability to transform into a player who makes winning plays at an elite level. 

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #8 on: April 24, 2019, 09:23:01 AM »

Offline Fafnir

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I don't think its an awful shot to shoot that if you are in the Lillard/Iriving/Curry/Harden class of shooter.

Is a pull up 2 pointer with PG being closer to contest (with help maybe rotating) actually a higher percentage?

To me it comes down to this, does Lillard think he could get to the rim (and get a good shot off) against PG in that isolation? Because of how he took that shot I think he answered that question for us. If they brought a screen in they almost certainly blitz Lillard and take the ball out of his hands.

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #9 on: April 24, 2019, 09:27:57 AM »

Offline Green-18

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Was Russ perfect this season? No. His shooting numbers were terrible. But he took a noticeable step back in the offense and played sidekick to PG with no hesitation. His defensive effort improved significantly. He made a concerted effort to adapt his game to PG in a way people claimed he wouldn't.

Russ might believe that he made a concerted effort, but accepting less touches doesn't mean that he truly adapted his game.  All it means is that he was willing to stand around more often while the ball wasn't in his hands. 

We all know that Russ is never going to be a great shooter or off-ball player.  Still, that doesn't mean he can't learn to be competent.

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #10 on: April 24, 2019, 09:34:32 AM »

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Too bad Magic left the Lakers. I could see Magic trading for Westbrook if they miss on AD.  LeBron and Westbrook would be a hilarious train wreck to watch.

Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #11 on: April 24, 2019, 09:40:39 AM »

Offline Moranis

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I don't think its an awful shot to shoot that if you are in the Lillard/Iriving/Curry/Harden class of shooter.

Is a pull up 2 pointer with PG being closer to contest (with help maybe rotating) actually a higher percentage?

To me it comes down to this, does Lillard think he could get to the rim (and get a good shot off) against PG in that isolation? Because of how he took that shot I think he answered that question for us. If they brought a screen in they almost certainly blitz Lillard and take the ball out of his hands.
There is also a much greater chance that Lillard turns it over, someone commits an offensive foul (on a pick), or he leaves time on the clock for OKC (in addition to giving Paul George a much better chance defensively).  I think it was Vinnie Johnson on First Things First that described the sequence in that manner and it made a heck of a lot of sense.  If Portland was losing, Lillard approaches that sequence differently, but tied up at home, there was almost a 0% chance of anything other than Lillard taking a final shot the way it played it out and that final shot either wins the series or misses and they go to OT at home with the momentum firmly in their favor.
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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #12 on: April 24, 2019, 09:49:00 AM »

Offline Big333223

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Dame hit the game winner on Paul George, not sure what Russ could've done about that.

Everyone is going to dump on Russ but as I said in another thread, the complexion of their season changed because Paul George was playing injured. Not just a sore shoulder but a legitimate injury that's going to require surgery (hearing torn labrum which is seriously painful. Props to him for playing through it). And you can legit trace their collapse to that injury. They were the #3 seed for a good chunk of the season, and a beast of a team defensively (and that's without Roberson making it back).

Was Russ perfect this season? No. His shooting numbers were terrible. But he took a noticeable step back in the offense and played sidekick to PG with no hesitation. His defensive effort improved significantly. He made a concerted effort to adapt his game to PG in a way people claimed he wouldn't.

I only watched the highlights but I believe you George stumbled down the stretch.

I'm not going to hold the Lillard shot against him, though. If you force a guy into a step back 37-footer, you've down about all you can. Lillard just hit an amazing shot.

And while George's injury is definitely a big factor, his injury isn't the reason Westbrook had an eFG% of .410 in the playoffs.
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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #13 on: April 24, 2019, 10:06:09 AM »

Online Roy H.

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Westbrook won’t change. He will continue to chase stats, he’ll remain ball dominant, and he’ll conserve energy by not playing defense.


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Re: The Future of Russell Westbrook
« Reply #14 on: April 24, 2019, 10:39:55 AM »

Offline indeedproceed

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I don't think its an awful shot to shoot that if you are in the Lillard/Iriving/Curry/Harden class of shooter.

Is a pull up 2 pointer with PG being closer to contest (with help maybe rotating) actually a higher percentage?

To me it comes down to this, does Lillard think he could get to the rim (and get a good shot off) against PG in that isolation? Because of how he took that shot I think he answered that question for us. If they brought a screen in they almost certainly blitz Lillard and take the ball out of his hands.

Lillard actually addressed this:

https://youtu.be/55rTFXsVXbY?t=92

Apparently it's a shot he works on, and he didn't want to chance a well defended attempt and he didn't want to hope for a foul call if there was significant contact.

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