Hoops Habit
Fansided

Oklahoma City Thunder: Is Russell Westbrook Hurting Or Helping OKC?

By Sipho Mangoye

Dec 2, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) against the New Orleans Pelicans during a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

While Kevin Durant was out due to his fractured foot, the onus was put on Russell Westbrook to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder. As such, many expected the All-Star point guard to hoist up a hefty number of shots and sure enough, he didn’t disappoint, taking 26 shots on his way to 38 points in the season opener.

Unfortunately for Russ, he too got injured just nine minutes into the very next game and missed 13 games. However, upon his return from a broken index finger in his shooting hand, he picked up where he left off during the season opener as he went for 32 points from an effiecient 17 field goal attempts.

Now, though, Durant is back to full fitness and the general consensus was that he would be back leading the troops once again. Turns out no one sent the memo to Westbrook. He is still clinging on to the alpha-dog status for as long as possible — case in point: the recent outings featuring both the superstars.

In the past three games, Westbrook has either matched or surpassed Durant in shot attempts, which at first may not sound as bad since both a capable scorers. However it changes into a completely different ball game when you consider each player’s role and credentials.

Dec 2, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) and guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 2, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (right) and guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second half of a game against the New Orleans Pelicans at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Thunder 112-104. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /

Russell Westbrook is the “point guard” for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As such, you want him racking up the assists and making things happen for his teammates — not leading the club in field goal attempts per game.

More from Hoops Habit

Even more so when you rememeber that he is playing alongside the world’s most lethal scoring machine in Durant — his four scoring titles in five years is testament to that.

Furthermore, Westbrook’s return has signinficantly taken away from the rest of the squad as well — namely, Reggie Jackson and Serge Ibaka. In games without Westbrook, Ibaka averaged 16.2 points. In games with the him, that figure plummeted to 12.4. For Jackson, his scoring went from 20 points per game, down to 10.5 per game.

Admittedly, it is somewhat unfair to suggest there is a direct correlation between Westbrook’s returns and his teammates’ struggles. Although at the same time, it is hard to ignore the common denominator.

So with that in mind ideally, if you’re Oklahoma City, you would want Westbrook chucking up fewer shots and Durant (or preferably the rest of the squad) shooting a little more. At least that way OKC has more of a balanced attack, which will only help make them an even more potent outfit.

Then again, perhaps Westbrook, taking boatloads of shots is actually necessary. As much as I have bashed him for taking too many shots, his aggression is exactly what makes him such a valuable to OKC.

Defenders have to worry about his scoring ability first and foremost and that creates openings for his teammates, all because it’s almost impossible to stop him with just one defender. That’s exactly why Russ has averages almost seven assists for his career — currently at 6.5 assists for this season.

In addition to this, the 26-year-old has been the only constant performer OKC has had this year. Durant isn’t back firing on all cylinders just yet, so someone has to step up to the plate — even if the results aren’t always ideal.

Besides, even if he isn’t scoring, he still finds other ways to contribute as proven by the rebounding as he is currently tallying more than five per contest.

As for Ibaka and Jackson’s struggles, both players seem to have taken a step back under their own volition — particularly Ibaka. The Congo-born big man has seemingly decided to focus primarily on defensive and let the others do the majority of the heavy lifting on offense.

He is no longer being aggressive and that is illustrated by the fact that his free throw attempts and points in the paint are both down from a season ago.

With regards to Jackson, the decline no doubt has a lot to do with the fact that his playing time has been significantly reduced. At one point he was leading the NBA at 40.2 minutes, but now that’s down to roughly 30 minutes per game — and it’s probably going to continue dropping.

At the end of the day, Russell Westbrook being aggressive and jacking up shot after shot is a must right now. Durant is getting up to speed, averaging 21ppg (second lowest of his career), plus his other key teammates aren’t having as much of an impact on games, therefore he has to take the reins.

The only question now is: when Durant gets back to his usual stellar Durant returns to form, will Westbrook relinquish control and bring his 40.7 percent usage rate down a peck?  (The current usage rate record is 38.74 percent set by Kobe Bryant during the 2005-06 season).

Next: Is KD One Of The 50 Greatest NBA Players Without a Championship?

Home/Oklahoma City Thunder