OKC Thunder Must Embrace Russell Westbrook as Lead Guy This Year
Once entered as contestants in the NBA's regression sweepstakes, the Oklahoma City Thunder have suddenly jolted back to life as likely Western Conference playoff contenders. That's because Russell Westbrook has channeled his previously polarizing reckless abandon into controlled brilliance in the midst of Kevin Durant's injury struggles.
Westbrook's been so brilliant, in fact, that he's now far and away the league's most efficient scoring point guard, according to ESPN.com's Tom Haberstroh:
"Truthfully, he is playing like the best player in the league, to me," Kendrick Perkins told The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry. "I can’t really pinpoint somebody who’s playing better than him right now. He’s at a high level."
But where did this sudden spike in efficiency come from? If it's sustainable, how should the Thunder redefine Durant's role in order to further accentuate Westbrook's refined skill set?
With Oklahoma City 1.5 games behind the eighth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans heading into Friday night's contest against the Los Angeles Lakers, it's time to explore how Westbrook's excellence will help the Thunder prosper and develop in new ways.
Flourishing in the Lane
For years, Westbrook dissenters have been clamoring for the Tasmanian Devil play-alike to jack fewer threes and focus on getting higher-percentage looks closer to the rim.
Finally, those prayers have been answered.
Last season, Westbrook shot 39 percent on drives, scoring an average of 4.3 points on 6.6 drives per night, according to NBA.com's player tracking data. This season, his conversion rate has increased by a massive 9 percent to 48.1. As a result, Westbrook is scoring 7.3 points on 8.7 drives per night.
But truly appreciating Westbrook's strides isn't possible until you examine the stark contrast in his shooting heat maps, courtesy of Basketball-Reference.com.
Here's what Westbrook's shooting distribution looked like during 2013-14:
And here's where it stands through 12 games this season:
As you can see, Westbrook has been simply hell-bent on getting to the rim. While a higher volume of attempts would generally lend itself to a lower shooting percentage, Westbrook is actually drilling 61.3 percent of his attempts at the cup. That's a 3.4 percent jump from last season.
Small sample size be damned, that production has thrust Westbrook into the NBA's MVP conversation, as Bleacher Report's Dan Favale recently explained:
"Small sample sizes are in themselves colossal caveats. Westbrook's 2014-15 display has yet to qualify him for the PER leaderboard, so its soaring status is both fluid and perhaps unsustainable.
But Westbrook is also 26 years old. Wilt Chamberlain, Michael Jordan and [LeBron] James were between 24 and 28 when registering above-30 PERs. If there were ever a time for Westbrook's individual efficiency standing to skyrocket, it's now in the prime of his career, when he's proved dynamic on both ends of the floor while expanding his offensive range.
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Few players pack as much explosive punch into their first few steps as Westbrook, so it's nice to see him finally maximizing his potential as a runaway freight train in the lane who isn't content with settling.
Pull-Up Proficiency and Fewer 3s
For the time being, Westbrook has largely holstered his trademark three-point pistols in favor of a more efficient jump-shooting approach.
Here's how his efficiency shakes out in relation to his shot distribution over the past two seasons:
| Three-Pointer | 31.8% | 27.1% | 34.1% | 15.8% |
| Pull-Up Jumper | 38.0% | 50.2% | 42.5% | 46.9% |
| Pull-Up Three | 32.7 | 19.3% | 36.7% | 13.3% |
Quite a difference, right?
Not only have fewer three-point attempts bolstered Westbrook's conversion rates, but his preferred style of play has put serious stress on primary defenders thanks to a lethal pull-up jumper.
Since he's such a threat to blow past the opposition via quick dribble-drives, defenders have to provide some cushion in anticipation of a rack attack. Given his supreme change-of-pace capabilities, Westbrook has a few options.
First, he can lull defenders to sleep by sauntering down the floor and then quickly exploding below the free-throw line. Or, if he's feeling really maniacal, he is able to put defenders on their heels as he glides down the court, create space due to the threat of penetration and then stop on a dime before launching a 15-foot jumper from the elbow.
What About Durant?
Instead of focusing heavily on Westbrook's flaws and Durant's potential marginalization—as has been the case in the past—it's time to look at the issue through a more nuanced viewfinder.
Durant has been continually banged up this season, with a sprained right ankle representing his most recent ailment. In his place, Westbrook has assumed the alpha-dog role with aplomb.
ESPN.com's Royce Young recently touched on this:
"Nobody is saying Westbrook is definitively better than Durant. Or at least they shouldn't be. But the fact we're willing to wonder, even if it's with the quietest whisper, tells you how terrifyingly good Westbrook is, and thereby, how terrifyingly good the Thunder are. Think about that: The Thunder might have a player at least comparable to Kevin Durant.
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While it's easy to get swept away by the "1-2 punch" paradigm, Westbrook's continued dominance may be the best possible thing for Durant at this point.
So instead of shuddering at the thought of Westbrook hogging the ball and launching shots, it's time to recognize that the feisty floor general can actually serve to take some much-needed pressure off the reigning MVP.
If we've learned anything from the past few years, it's that health, come playoff time, can make or break title hopes. As such, it would behoove Durant to slide into a pseudo-complementary scoring role a la Serge Ibaka and feed off of Westbrook's playmaking abilities from the perimeter while head coach Scott Brooks bequeaths a few more rotational minutes to Perry Jones.
Trepidation regarding any sort of diminished role for Durant is understandable, of course. However, with Westbrook, Ibaka and a burgeoning supporting cast including Jones, Anthony Morrow and Steven Adams, among others, there's plenty of space for Durant to earn some added breathers while the Thunder carve out a playoff niche.
This imaginary divide between Durant and Westbrook has been painted as a war of attrition at times, but a rejuvenated Westbrook may be exactly what Oklahoma City needs in order to finally cross the championship threshold.
All statistics current as of Dec. 19 and courtesy of NBA.com and Basketball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.
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