5 Things Russell Westbrook Can Learn from Chris Paul

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has quickly become one of the NBA's top point guards in a mere 3.5 seasons in the league.

Westbrook is fifth in the NBA in scoring at 24.0 points per game, leading all point guards, and is a major reason why the Thunder lead the Western Conference with a 34-11 record.

However, is Westbrook's game tailored to when it matters the most? That would be crunch time in the playoffs.

For comparison purposes, let's take a look at the Los Angeles Clippers' Chris Paul, who's widely regarded as the games premier floor general. While it's true Paul has yet to win a championship as well, much of his game is tailored to how postseason basketball is won.

Here's a look at a few things that the All-Star Westbrook can still learn from Paul as the two teams prepare for tonight's big Western Conference showdown.

Keep teammates involved

Compared to Paul, Westbrook is a guy that doesn't like to give the ball up. He's shooting the ball a lot, and while the scoring numbers look nice on paper, that necessarily doesn't get it done in the postseason, where every possession matters.

Westbrook is averaging a mere 5.6 assists per 36 minutes, which is not good for a point guard. In comparison, Paul has averaged 9.5 throughout his career.

Take shots throughout the flow of the offense

Westbrook is a score-first type of guard, there's no denying that, but he can still do that within the flow of the offense.

Paul is a scorer as well, but for the most part he lets the game come to him and gets his shots within the offense.

Westbrook is averaging close to 20 shot attempts per 36 minutes, and his 43 percent career field goal percentage is a result of a lot of forced shots. In the same comparison to Paul, we see him averaging only slightly more than 14 shot attempts per 36 minutes while shooting over 49 percent from the floor and still averaging more than 19 points per game.

Paul's much more efficient on the offensive end, while Westbrook's shot selection still can be questioned.

Cut down on the turnovers

Westbrook isn't sloppy with the ball, but he doesn't value it either. He's averaging 3.9 turnovers per 36 minutes after averaging 4.0 last season. Paul, on the other hand, takes much better care of the basketball, averaging only 2.1 miscues per game.

Point guards have to value the ball and again, while Westbrook isn't sloppy, he could be much better.

Defense, defense, defense

Paul is a phenomenal defensive guard. Westbrook could be that, but the effort isn't always there at the defensive end. Westbrook is a decent rebounding guard and racks up good steals numbers, but if he ever dedicated himself at the defensive end, he could be awesome.

Westbrook is strong and lightning quick and should be able to shut down almost everyone on a nightly basis. The effort Paul gives just isn't there from Westbrook all the time.

Improve long-range shooting

Paul isn't a great three-point shooter, but he's improved throughout his career and is shooting it at a 39 percent clip this season.

Westbrook, on the other hand, is not so good, as he's connected on only 28 percent of his three-point attempts throughout his career.