The Rockets: Westbrook's Team?
Image courtesy of Bleacher Report
By ANTOINE WILEY ‘20
When Russell Westbrook was traded to the Houston Rockets from the OKC Thunder in the off-season, the idea was that Westbrook would play second fiddle to the ball-dominant, step back-happy James Harden; the only point of debate was how successful such a ball-hungry duo could be. In terms of team success, Harden and Westbrook have proven the detractors wrong, with the Rockets boasting a 39-21 record, putting the team fourth in the Western Conference and just a couple wins away from the second seed in the West. I’m going to dismiss the Rockets’ loss to the Knicks this past Tuesday as a freak anomaly and pretend it didn’t happen. More unexpected, however, is the dramatic shift in the Rockets’ dynamic, in which Westbrook's heroics are shifting the Harden-dominated dynamic of the Rockets and making a strong case for the hyper explosive 6’ 3” point guard being the centerpiece of the Rockets team.
In the month of February, the former MVP averaged 32.3 PPG on 54.2% shooting, 7.1 REB, 6.1 APG, propelling the Rockets to a stellar 8-1 record and reminding the league that he is one of its brightest stars. A major part of his success is his smarter shot selection; Westbrook has never been a good three point shooter (he’s shooting just 25.1% from deep this season), but that has typically never stopped him from chucking up three pointers (last season he attempted almost six three pointers a night despite averaging just 29% that season). It’s largely because of this insistence on shooting threes in spite of woeful efficiency that Westbrook is known to his legions of social media detractors and trolls as “Westbrick”. However, the former MVP has changed that narrative and has averaged less than two attempts from three a night since January 15, signalling a change in how he views his role in the Rockets offense and helping him shoot a career-best 47% from the field.
A prime example of Westbrook’s brilliance is his dominant performance in this past Saturday’s overtime win over the Celtics. Westbook scored a game-high 41 points while shooting a beautifully efficient 16-27 from the field, willing the Rockets to victory despite Harden’s struggles from the field (the Beard scored 21 points on 7/24 shooting). More than anything, such a show of sheer determination and all out effort is characteristic of Westbrook’s game. After the game, Rockets head coach Mike D'antoni said of Westbrook: “You can’t go to the supermarket and buy heart… You know [Westbrook] has that. It’s pretty impressive.” Whether this competitive fire can help Westbrook and the Rockets land a championship is still to be seen, but Houston is putting together a valiant effort.