Sunday NBA Roundup: Russell Westbrook's Legendary Run Shows No Sign of Stopping
There are two forces in the known universe capable of keeping Russell Westbrook from continuing his assault on what you thought was possible on a basketball court: his own self-control and Kevin Durant's presence on the floor.
We'll get to the latter in a moment, but based on the way Westbrook stat-stuffed the Toronto Raptors in the Oklahoma City Thunder's 108-104 victory on Sunday, the former is totally out of the question.
Russ went off for 30 points, a career-high-tying 17 assists, 11 rebounds and four steals. He also coughed up nine turnovers, coming ever so close to the elusive quadruple-double.
It was his fifth triple-double in the last six games and his seventh overall this season—a performance punctuated by the typical litany of superhuman highlights.
And when it was over, the "Westbrook was the first to accomplish ridiculous thing X" notifications followed, as they unfailingly have since this wild ride started, via Tommy Beer of Basketball Insiders:
If you've been paying attention to Russ' rampage, you also know what comes next: the incredulous reaction of the seasoned, yet somehow still stunned, observer.
Grantland's Zach Lowe fulfills that requirement here:
Apologies for treating Westbrook's absurd greatness as a rote activity, but it's his own fault. He's been so consistently incredible since Durant has been out with a nagging foot injury since Feb. 21 that his games (and our reactions to them) have begun to take on a pattern.
Triple-doubles are supposed to be stop-the-presses moments. Westbrook, per ESPN Stats & Info, has made them the norm:
So if you're waiting for Westbrook to stop himself, to arrest his assault on opponents and take a more measured approach, give up now. Freight trains careening down 70-degree grades with shot brakes are more likely to stop of their own volition.
"We can’t let ourselves relax," Westbrook told reporters (via Nick Gallo of NBA.com). "We have to take advantage of this and come out and compete every night."
The reins are off Westbrook. Fatigue is a foreign thing. Broken faces don't faze him.
Unfortunately, if you're a Thunder fan who'd like to see the reigning MVP, Durant, play again soon—the second method of stopping Westbrook—his return to the lineup doesn't look likely either.
KD's streak of missed games is certain to extend into double digits, and the most positive prognosis we've received from the man himself is that he has "no doubt" he'll play before the end of the year, per Royce Young of ESPN.com.
Being sure of a return is good, but not having any clear idea of when that return will fall within the next six weeks isn't.
Westbrook doesn't play like this when Durant is on the court, which, if you think about it, probably means critics owe Russ an apology. Though he's been routinely needled for being too hard-charging, too laser-focused, too aggressive, often at Durant's expense, this recent run actually shows us Westbrook has been holding back.
He could have been doing this all along.
You can toss in the usual caveats—the fact that OKC is 2-5 when Westbrook scores at least 40 or the one that shows the Thunder's net rating to be substantially better with Russ on the bench over the past nine games, per NBA.com—if you want.
A logical look at his production has to at least include those things as starting points for discussion, but when you watch him play, it's difficult to conclude he's somehow a negative.
And even if the facts all pointed that way, for entertainment's sake, you wouldn't want him to stop.
Good news: He's not going to.
Around the Association
Draymond Green Won Twice
Draymond Green led the Golden State Warriors with 23 points and six assists in their 106-98 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. As the principal outlet valve for passes from the constantly double-teamed Stephen Curry, Green was the key to a Warriors offense that shot 50 percent from the field and 45.5 percent from deep.
That's win No. 1.
As Green gave a postgame interview, little-used Clips reserve Dahntay Jones passed by, administering a not-so-subtle bump in the process, leading to this priceless double-take:
Green then fired off these burn-unit-certified quotes, via Tim Kawakami of the San Jose Mercury News, Diamond Leung of Bay Area News Group and Ethan Sherwood Strauss of ESPN.com:
That's win No. 2.
Green had himself a nice little Sunday.
The Spurs Sorted Things Out
Well, that was fast.
Just a couple of weeks after some idiot explained why it was time to doubt the San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker and friends have won five straight, looking a whole lot like themselves in the process. The latest skepticism-eraser: a 116-105 Sunday win over the Chicago Bulls in which Parker put up a season-high 32 points on 13-of-19 shooting.
Bleacher Report's Alec Nathan documented the proceedings: "For the first time all season, point guard Tony Parker looks right. After dealing with nagging hamstring injuries, his burst is back, a regular dose of his shots are coming within the restricted area and mid-range jumpers are starting to fall."
It's not just Parker pulling things together, either. It's Kawhi Leonard scoring 20 points and swiping steals all over the place. It's Patty Mills knocking down three triples in 16 minutes off the bench.
It's a San Antonio team finally getting healthy—healthy enough to win a game by double digits, despite Tim Duncan failing to register a field goal for the first time in his career.
Oh, and that ball movement that defined San Antonio's title run a year ago? That's also back (via James Herbert of CBS Sports):
Don't look now, but the Spurs have their hands on the No. 6 spot in the West. And they may finally be equipped to trade up.
Utah is Getting to Know Itself
The Utah Jazz will be a lottery team this season, but their recent run of play suggests they may not be one for much longer.
After dropping the Brooklyn Nets by a final score of 95-88, Utah is now 7-2 in its last nine games. Since Feb. 1, it boasts the top defensive rating in the league, according to NBA.com.
Not only that, but the Jazz, with their 26th win, have now also surpassed their total from all of last year.
What's happening with this team, led by Derrick Favors (22 points and eight rebounds), Gordon Hayward (24 points and five rebounds) and Rudy Gobert (four points, 11 rebounds, five assists and two blocks) is about more than numbers and stats.
The Jazz are finally figuring out who they are.
After some early struggles, head coach Quin Snyder sees something profound happening.
"There’s a process of gaining an identity," Snyder said, via Paul Flannery of SB Nation. "That’s the challenge for us. That identity is starting to evolve. It started out for us a team that was really unselfish and moved the ball offensively. My strong belief is when you play that way on offense, it leads to good team defense."
Unselfishness, great defense, ball movement. Sounds like a winning recipe.
The Jazz are on the right road. Beating the Nets in Brooklyn was just the latest mile marker Utah has zoomed past since the break.
Marcus Smart Breaking Ground
It's hard to commit a flagrant offensive foul, but Boston Celtics rookie Marcus Smart found a way in the C's 103-98 loss to the Orlando Magic on Sunday.
He was assessed a flagrant-2 foul and ejected for the following play (via Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe):
It looks like Smart maybe threw a left elbow into Elfrid Payton's grill on a drive to the bucket with 28 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. But the mechanics are so strange and the anomaly of a flagrant-2 foul on offense is so jarring that it's hard to be sure.
Smart, of course, disagreed with the call.
"I was just making a basketball play to the rim," he said, per Jay King of Masslive.com. "And all of a sudden, they waved their hands [to signal] an offensive foul."
What's perhaps more surprising is that Payton was cool with the play, per Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel:
The NBA: providing something new every day.
The Hornets Have a Decision to Make
Kemba Walker suited up for his first practice in six weeks on March 7 and reported no problems, which means his torn meniscus won't keep him from game action much longer, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
Strangely, his return could put the Charlotte Hornets in an uncomfortable position.
The Hornets dispatched the Detroit Pistons by a margin of 108-101 on Sunday, the team's fifth consecutive win and the latest indicator that maybe, just maybe, Walker's comeback isn't all that important.
Mo Williams, the man who has replaced Walker since coming over in a trade from the Minnesota Timberwolves, scored 21 points and handed out nine assists in the win. On the season, Williams' on-court impact in Charlotte has been immensely positive, according to NBA.com. Walker's: less so.
| Mo Williams | 107.3 | 100.1 | +7.2 | 55.7 |
| Kemba Walker | 99.1 | 102.4 | -3.2 | 49.8 |
To be fair, the Hornets' recent climb up the standings (they currently hold the No. 7 spot in the East) has been a product of their defense. NBA.com has them as the league's stingiest unit since Jan. 1, sporting a defensive rating of 95.9.
But Williams has made an impact, and it's difficult to ignore the numbers that show his performance has been better than Walker's this year.
In games Walker has missed this season, Charlotte is 12-7. With him, they're 16-26.
Using the two small guards together could compromise the brilliant defense the Hornets have played, and it could be tough to convince Walker, who signed a $48 million extension this past summer, to sit behind a journeyman short-timer like Williams.
Head coach Steve Clifford has pushed a lot of the right buttons lately. It'll be fascinating to see how he handles Walker's return as the Hornets look to scale the East playoff ladder.
Monta Ellis Will Tell You When It's Over
Knotted at 90-90 with 4:22 remaining in the fourth quarter, it looked like the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks were headed down to the wire.
Monta Ellis removed the suspense with six points in the next three minutes, opening up Dallas' lead to nine points before Wayne Ellington converted a meaningless layup to make the final margin 100-93 in favor of the Mavs.
On a night when they got demolished on the boards (47-33) and Dirk Nowitzki's mobility was more limited than usual, Ellis provided the necessary spark. He led Dallas as it outscored the Lakers 25-16 in the final period. The shooting guard scored a game-high 31 on 12-of-22 shooting.
Five Lakers scored in double figures, led by Carlos Boozer's 17 off the bench. But the offense stalled down the stretch, and L.A. rolled over, allowing the Mavericks to avoid a three-game slide.
