Russell Westbrook has been one of the league’s best for the better part of a decade now, but he has been on an absolute tear since the start of 2020.
Russell Westbrook was named to his ninth All-Star game this season and for good reason. Westbrook has been leading the Houston Rockets in points, rebounds and assists over the last two months. Not only has he been leading the Rockets in the box score, but he has also been the emotional leader of one of the best teams in the Western Conference.
Ever since the start of the small-ball experiment in Houston, the Rockets have looked like a legitimate contender. Since Capela’s last game in a Rockets uniform, Houston is 10-2 with massive wins against the Celtics, Jazz and Lakers.
It’s safe to say this experiment is working but it will be interesting to see how it holds up in the postseason.
Since the start of the new year, Russell Westbrook has been averaging 32.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.3 assists per game. He has also been having this kind of production while shooting 53.3 percent from the field, 31.8 percent from three (on just 3.2 attempts per game) and 75.8 percent from the free-throw line.
These numbers are easily the most efficient of Westbrook’s career. While many people are attributing this explosion to Westbrook’s lack of three-point attempts and the Rockets’ small-ball lineup, there are a lot more reasons behind this recent explosion.