Russell Westbrook is 6’3, 200 pounds with long arms and a wide base. He’s in that enviable space between sinewy and thick when it comes to musculature, boasting both the otherworldly athleticism and bare-chested modeling photos to prove it. If scientists could create the prototype point guard in a lab, he’d look, run, cut, and jump a lot like the Oklahoma City Thunder superstar.
That’s obvious. Westbrook’s reign of basketball terror in 2014-15 was marked by some of the most mind-bogglingly explosive plays the league has ever seen. He may not be everyone’s ideal of a star floor general, but is universally considered as not just one of the most physically imposing players in basketball today, but history, too.
Thunder coach Billy Donovan fully understands the benefits gleaned from Westbrook’s supreme athletic advantages, and plans to utilize them in a way Oklahoma City, confusingly, never quite has before. After the five-time All-Star dominated his overmatched Fenerbahce Ulker defender on the block for consecutive possessions in an exhibition win Friday night, Donovan explained to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater that Westbrook post-ups will be a staple of the Thunder offense in 2015-16.
“Against most guards, [Westbrook’s] gonna be bigger and stronger,” Donovan said. “So I think that’s gotta be part of what we do offensively because from there he can score and then when you’re forced to bring help, he can create space and throw it to other guys.”
A steady diet of box touches for Westbrook flies in the face of the flow-based system Oklahoma City has been putting in place since Donovan took over early last summer. The departed Scott Brooks was lambasted for his old-school approach to offense, one that didn’t utilize the immense talents of his team’s best players while they were away from the initial action. It goes without saying, too, that basketball has never been further removed – both chronologically and mentally – from the era dominated by low block scoring.
But there’s still room in the NBA for isolations by certain players, and the same goes for back-to-the-basket scorers. Drawing multiple defenders to the ball will always be the surest way to eventually finding an open shot. Will Westbrook post-ups be able to coax defenses into the unenviable scenario of frequent double-teams?
Donovan thinks so, and that Westbrook learned to score down low from some of the league’s best perimeter-oriented post players suggests as much, too. Who inspired the 26-year-old’s burgeoning repertoire on the block?
“Watching some of the older guys, Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller,” Westbrook said… ““I learned a lot [from Kobe Bryant].”
Westbrook converted from the post on three consecutive possessions against Fenerbahce last weekend, but that’s not an accurate indications of his potential effectiveness from there this season. NBA defenders aren’t only more bigger and more than their overseas counterparts, but better versed in defending one-on-one, too. Still, there’s more reason to believe Westbrook could be a major weapon than one preseason game alone.
The Thunder scored on 46.7 percent of the 107 possessions that were the result of a Westbrook post-up last season, a solid number that placed him in the league’s 58th percentile. More encouraging, though, is that he drew free throw attempts on a staggering 21.5 percent of those occasions – the second-highest mark among players with at least 100 such possessions.
Obviously, there’s ample room for Westbrook to grow on the bock. His current stable of moves is mostly limited to simple variations of turnaround bank shots and quick, powerful spins; there’s no reason to believe additional counters and overall nuance won’t come with additional time and repetition.
And considering Donovan’s obvious confidence in Westbrook’s ability as a post player, it almost certainly will.
[Via The Oklahoman]
