Russell Westbrook Says He’s Been ‘S*it’ Recently And Needs To Be Better


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Russell Westbrook is a man who has averaged a triple double for two consecutive seasons, something that’s never happened before in NBA history. But even he knows there’s always room for improvement, especially if the shots are not falling.

The Thunder are fine — sitting third in the West and looking good with Paul George, Westbrook and Steven Adams leading the way — but they’re just 5-5 in their last 10 and Westbrook has said publicly that he’s not doing enough to help the team. One of the big reasons for that is his shooting, which was dreadful on Sunday night against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday.

Westbrook put forth one of the worst shooting performances of his career: a 4 of 22 effort from the floor in a 105-103 loss that gave him a stat line of 9 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists. It’s a ghastly number in the points category for sure, one that does occasionally happen for a guy that insists he shoots through his issues rather than hesitate to fire away.

But Westbrook clearly knows it’s impacting the team and wants people to understand that he’s just as hard on himself as his critics will be on a 4 for 22 night. According to ESPN he spoke to reporters on Sunday and admitted he’s been “sh*t” for a month and knows he needs to be better for his teammates.

“It’s really on me. I’ve been s— the last month or so. I’ve just got to get focused in and locked back in on what I need to do. I’ve got to help my guys out. I’ve been letting them down, man, just not being consistent on the offensive end.

“Defensively, I’m fine, but just being more consistent, because I pride myself on being the most consistent player in the league. I come out every night and compete, play hard and all that stuff. Missing and making shots is a part of the game, but I’ve got to do a better job, and that’s on me. I’m going to definitely do that, so I’m not really worried. We play tomorrow, and I’ll be better from then on. It’s on me.”

This kind of awareness is good, and Westbrook is absolutely a player that needs to work through his struggles on the court to figure things out. That might mean more bad shooting nights in order to get right, but being a force on defense and in other areas of the game can be big. Oklahoma City has lost three of four, but they’re no longer a team that only has Russ to rely on when they need a basket. They need Westbrook right, sure, but not every night in order to win.

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