Oklahoma City Thunder: Who Will Help Russell Westbrook?
After so many debates, so much speculation, and some dreaming we finally got what we wanted as NBA fans during the Oklahoma City Thunder season opener; Russell Westbrook was the guy, running his very own NBA team.
Certainly it didn’t happen the way anyone wanted it to with regards to Kevin Durant‘s foot injury that will keep him out at least another month, but with that aside it was definitely one of the more intriguing games to keep an eye on.
Westbrook did not disappoint on the stat sheet, he offered up 38 points, six assists, and three rebounds. The Thunder were in position to win the game against the Portland Trail Blazers heading into the fourth quarter, but a total team collapse left them on the wrong end of a blowout, confused and wondering what exactly had occurred.
What happened was that Westbrook is essentially on an island; he had little in the way of help, and he was going against a playoff team. That is not a matchup that a single player can win often, even one as talented at what he does as Russell Westbrook.
So the question arose, and we will ask it here: Who is going to help Westbrook?
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The easy answer is Serge Ibaka. He is, by all accounts, healthy enough to contribute and has shown the ability to be a high-level offensive player capable of being a second banana to a guy of Westbrook’s caliber. He shot poorly in their season opener, and never really made his mark on the offensive side of the ball.
Usually, that’s OK, as he is the key defensive piece on the Thunder, but with Kevin Durant in a walking boot, it’s simply not going to cut it.
The hard, and probably more accurate answer is this: Kevin Durant is the help that Russell Westbrook needs, and he’s a month or more away from riding in on his white horse to save the day. The way the Thunder are built, their offensive attack is predicated on massive production from Westbrook and Durant in tandem; and it showed when the time came in their opener.
The players around the dynamic duo are solid, and good enough to grease the wheels of the machine when they need to on occasion, but they don’t power the engine. That would be the explosive scoring ability of the best one-two punch in the entire NBA. Durant has about a 50-percent stake in the offense, with Westbrook grabbing whatever is left.
Serge Ibaka must step up for the Thunder to make it out of this Durant-less stretch alive. Westbrook can will them to wins against the bottom dwellers of the NBA, but against tough teams like Portland it simply won’t be enough.
If he doesn’t, Oklahoma City will be chasing the top-tier of the Western Conference all season, hoping to gain some meaningful ground in the playoff race. Durant will be pressed into action immediately upon his return to health, which could lead to more negative things than positive.
In their quest for a championship, this will be a crucial stretch. The ability to find adequate help for Russell Westbrook will be key to finding victories without the reigning MVP. If the Thunder can, they should be right in the thick of things upon his return. If not? There may be little anyone can do to help them rise to the top.