Russell Westbrook Elevates his Game for Thunder
Russell Westbrook has always been regarded as a special talent since entering the league as the #4 selection in the 2008 NBA draft. A brief collegiate career at UCLA featured him at shooting guard alongside Darren Collison raised questions by scouts about how he would adapt to the point in the NBA. They are no longer wondering.
Westbrook surfaced as the most reliable and dominant player during the Thunder’s first trip to the playoffs, with the pinnacle of his performance happening during game 6: 21 points, 9 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals. The highlight of his performance? He committed zero turnovers.
Fisher was ineffective at stopping Westbrook.
Though it wasn’t enough to offset a miraculous offensive tip in by the Lakers’ Pau Gasol with 0.5 seconds remaining, giving the Lakers a 1 point lead and costing the Thunder the series, Westbrook unquestionably carried the Thunder against the defending World Champion Lakers.
The Thunder are now on the map.
While Durant was contained and Jeff Green was shaky at best, NBA teams have to realize they must stop Westbrook in order to have any chance at stopping the Thunder.
During the infancy stage of his career Westbrook was heavily criticized for his turnover proneness and low shooting percentages, and with good reason. As a rookie he shot 39% from the field, and only raised this to 41.8% during his second season. He consistently averaged 3.3 turnovers both seasons, but that number is very misleading. Westbrook was notorious for constant inconsistency by having a low turnover game, then a turnover-plagued game.
Definitely what you want to see out of a young player: signs of hope plagued by games of regression. A coach’s dream.
For the playoff series Westbrook finished with averages of 53% from the field, 87% from the line, and only 2.3 turnovers. If you toss out the abysmal game 5 in which he committed 8 turnovers, that percentage drops down to only 1 turnover per game.
It’s highly promising for his future that he reduced his turnover average by 1 at a time where it’s expected for a younger player to see a significant increase. Sometimes all a player needs is a NBA playoff series to reach the next level.
Seriously, having the ball in your hands, running the point for 36 minutes a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, but committing only 2.3 turnovers a game while dominating so hard that Kobe is assigned to defend him? That is serious dominance.
Westbrook had his way against the Lakers.
Kobe rattled him during game 5, but Westbrook posted dominant numbers in game 6 with Kobe defending him. Kobe’s defense could not slow him down, and Westbrook reduced his turnovers from an abysmal 8 to 0. Westbrook did this while being defended by the legendary Kobe Bryant. Not bad.
We seldom see young players make these sort of strides during the postseason. Derrick Rose, Brandon Jennings, and Westbrook all exemplify the unexpected and swift emergence of a young player exceeding all expectations but yet attaining all hopes and dreams. It’s not easy to do this (as evidenced by Kevin Durant’s regression with each passing game)which makes it even more special to witness when it does happen.
For those special players who perform when the pressure is on, while every possession counts, the game becomes easier for them after experiencing the playoff epiphany.
Look for Westbrook to continue building of his postseason emergence while elevating the Thunder into newer heights in 2010-11.
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Fri, Apr 30, 2010 by Adam Sedie
NBA Playoffs, News, Opinions