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Report: Russell Westbrook Has Made 3-Point Shooting a 'Big-Time' Focus
August 1, 2018
Despite being regarded as one of the best players in the NBA, Russell Westbrook does have a weakness when it comes to three-point shooting.
Appearing on The Lowe Post podcast (via Uproxx's Bill DiFilippo), ESPN's Royce Young noted the Oklahoma City Thunder star has been focusing on improving his long-distance shot this summer.
"He's been working on it this summer, I've been told," Young said. "That's been a big-time offseason focus, we'll see."
Westbrook has only made 31.1 percent of his three-point attempts during his NBA career. His success rate has been under 30 percent in three of the last four seasons.
Young noted the Thunder have stressed to Westbrook they want him to get better at being a catch-and-shoot guy.
When Westbrook attempted a catch-and-shoot three last season, he made 34.2 percent of his attempts, per NBA.com.
The problem for Oklahoma City is Westbrook is a ball-dominant player. The seven-time All-Star led the NBA in touches per game (95.9) and average time of possession (9.2 seconds) last season.
The Thunder did bring back Paul George and added Dennis Schroder to boost their backcourt depth. Westbrook may be asked to do less moving forward in an effort to make him a more efficient player and help the team get past the first round of the playoffs.