Dwight Howard Believes Russell Westbrook Should Sacrifice More And Carmelo Should Be OKC’s ‘Closer’


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The Thunder’s very eventful 2017-18 season came to a disappointing end with a first round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz. Since then, the talk around Oklahoma City has centered around what went wrong with their version of the Big Three and who shares what portion of the blame.

Russell Westbrook has found himself at the center of that conversation, with many criticizing his style of play as selfish (a familiar refrain from his days with Kevin Durant). There have even been some around the league that have suggested the Thunder should explore trade possibilities for Westbrook in an effort to find a different lead star.

Dwight Howard knows a thing or two about being singled out as a problem and a disruptive force in a locker room, and he gave his thoughts on Westbrook and everything going on with the Thunder on Tuesday morning. Howard was a guest on ESPN’s Get Up and told Jalen Rose he felt Westbrook was the one that needed to sacrifice more for the good of the team while also noting Carmelo Anthony should’ve been the one given more opportunities to close out games with the ball in his hands.

“I would say Russ, cause Russ has the ball more times in his hands,” Howard says. “And I watched Carmelo and Paul George at times, and they were just standing there watching. Late in the games, I think the ball should have been more in Carmelo’s hands because he’s more of a closer. He’s more of a closer. Paul George, he’s that guy that’s going to get you the 20-30 points between the first and the third quarter. And then Russ, he should just facilitate, get everybody involved early in the game, and just let those guys play. At this point in his career, he’s done everything as far as the individual. He has all the accolades. But now, it should just be about making everyone around him better.”

There’s an awful lot to unpack here. For one, it’s Dwight Howard saying someone should sacrifice their role for the good of the team, when he has been disgruntled over a lack of post touches with the Lakers, Rockets, and Hawks to the point that Atlanta traded him for Marco Belinelli, Miles Plumlee, and moving down in the second round.

Beyond the irony of Howard saying Russ should sacrifice, his thoughts on Anthony being the one who should be closing out games was so astonishing Michelle Beadle could barely hide her confusion, offering up a “Really?!” as he said that. Jalen’s raised eyebrows and “Mmmm!” was also great at that point as well.

Then, while explaining how Westbrook should sacrifice, he seemingly wanted to turn Russ into a pure facilitator. While he’s a good passer, that has never been the focal point of his game and would seem to take away from the best of what he does, which is attack and put pressure on the defense by being a threat to score or pass if they collapse on him.

There is absolutely some truth to saying Westbrook (and by proxy coach Billy Donovan) probably should figure out a way to incorporate those stars into the offense in better ways to keep them engaged and involved. However, Howard’s thoughts on making Russ a facilitator first and letting Anthony be the closer seem to be rooted in two things: having not watched Carmelo this season, and Howard’s obvious feelings towards what a point guard should be, which is a passer first and foremost.

(Via SLAM)

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