Hoops Habit
Fansided

Oklahoma City Thunder: 5 Midseason Takeaways

By Jerran Anderson

January 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) controls the ball against Los Angeles Clippers guard Austin Rivers (25) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
6 of 6
Next
January 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during a stoppage in play against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
January 16, 2017; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during a stoppage in play against the Los Angeles Clippers during the second half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports /

1. Russell Westbrook will need to work smarter, not harder

Russell Westbrook has been great this season. His performance has him deep in the MVP discussion next to Houston Rockets‘ guard James Harden. And for good reason. Westbrook has 21 triple-doubles with 38 games remaining in the season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are 16-5 when he records a triple-double this season.

However, Westbrook is shooting 38.6 percent from the floor and 28.4 percent from the three-point arc in the team’s losses. Triple-doubles aside, Westbrook tries to do too much on his own as the focal point of the Thunder’s offense.

Granted, as the point guard, he’s going to have the ball in his hands a ton. But he leads the NBA in turnovers and is averaging a career-high 5.5 turnovers this season.

As mentioned earlier, Westbrook has just 163 assists in the team’s 19 losses. Now, it’s still 8.3 assists on average but look at his shooting numbers overall. He has attempted a team-high 275 three-pointers, even though he’s shooting just 32.4 percent on the season.

His teammate, Jerami Grant, is shooting 41.7 percent with just 60 three-point attempts. Starting shooting guard Victor Oladipo is shooting 37.3 percent on 201 attempts.

Next: 25 Greatest Dunkers In NBA History

The Oklahoma City Thunder are shooting 32.5 percent as a team from three, 29th in the league. It may be time for Westbrook to trust somebody else to take some of the three-point shots.

Home/Oklahoma City Thunder