Oklahoma City Thunder: Russell Westbrook Showed His Value Against the Knicks

Russell Westbrook has received more criticism than any other NBA player not named LeBron James in the last year or so.

But against the New York Knicks on Saturday, he showed the world why the Oklahoma City Thunder will do everything they can to keep him.

All we hear from analysts and "experts" about Westbrook is how he isn't a "true" point guard, how he shoots too much or how he can’t cede the alpha role to Kevin Durant. It seems like no one talks about the upside to this guy despite how tremendous that upside appears to be.

On Saturday against the Knicks, Westbrook had one of those games he periodically has that makes NBA executives salivate. Westbrook scored 21 points and had eight rebounds and eight assists.

That stat-line alone would be enough, but there's more.

Westbrook also shot an efficient 50 percent from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range, and made six of his seven free-throw attempts. I must not forget to mention that he had just two turnovers and did all of this in just three quarters of play.

Westbrook's detractors will tell you that this was a fluke, a flash in a pan, just one game out of 66.

They'd be partially right, it is just one game out of 66.

But that's where their correctness ends.

This game, along with the seventh game of last season’s playoff series with the Memphis Grizzlies (14 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds) and others show what Westbrook can be. He has the potential to be the next Jason Kidd, only more athletic. He could very easily be that kind of triple-double machine.

However, Westbrook does have improving do to. His outside shooting still isn't good enough, and he continues to struggle at times to efficiently run an offense. Running an NBA offense takes time to learn, though, and Kidd became a better shooter as he grew older.

Westbrook isn't a guy to give up on; even his average games are better than most. He's emotional and fiery, but so were other guys who became superstars and championship winners.

These games prove what Westbrook can be. So many teams lack foresight in today's NBA, and the Oklahoma City Thunder have proven in the past that they aren't one of those teams.

Thunder GM Sam Presti built this team over the course of five years with solid draft picks, key trades and smart free-agent acquisitions. He won't give up on Westbrook because he can see the potential Westbrook has. We should follow Presti's lead and support the potential superstar through his bumps and cruises on the road to greatness.