With Kevin Durant out for the majority of 2014, the entire NBA community is expecting Russell Westbrook to step up, get into “Russ Mode,” and take over the team the same way Derrick Rose did in his MVP season.
That might not be the best idea.
We all know that Westbrook plays an out of control style and gives it his all every single minute of every single game. It’s what makes him a special yet frustrating player. With Durant, he’s able to get away with this as KD is the yin to his yang. While Westbrook is flying all over the court and taking more abuse than any point guard should take, Durant is the one who keeps his cool and makes the plays that need to be made.
The Thunder and Westbrook have never experienced life without last year’s MVP. While asking Westbrook to takeover the team and step up sounds like a good idea, it might actually be a detriment to the team in the long run.
A more aggressive and more out of control Westbrook doesn’t sound so good to me. Let’s not forget that Russ is coming off a couple of knee injuries, played far too many minutes in the playoffs, and is the most psychical point guard in the league. He already does far more than he needs to, which is one of the reasons why “experts” are so quick to want him to take a step back and do less.
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Obviously a “do less” Westbrook wouldn’t be the best thing for the team without Durant, but a “do more” Westbrook might put himself and the team in jeopardy, especially when Durant returns.
If Westbrook gets in the mindset of being “the guy” without Durant, how will he react once Durant returns? I’ve always believed that the media has overblown the “feud” between Durant and Westbrook, but their dynamic could really be tested once Durant returns.
Durant and Westbrook have grown up together and compliment each other perfectly. When Westbrook went down, Durant stepped up, but when Westbrook returned, Durant reverted back to the dynamic he’s always shared with Russell because that’s just his personality. With Durant down, if Westbrook steps up, will he revert back to the KD/Russ dynamic when KD returns? If you believe that he has a selfish personality and wants to be “the man” over Durant, then you might be a bit worried that he won’t. And if the Thunder don’t have the KD/Russ dynamic and instead have a KD———Russ dynamic, things could go extremely bad.
When ask about life without #35, Russ said, “It’s not about me. It’s about our team. I can’t win games by myself. I can’t do anything by myself. I kind of want to take the attention off me and put it more on the team. Everybody keeps asking what I’m going to do and how I’m going to change. I think it’s more about our team and what we can do.”
That’s what I like to hear and hopefully that’s what happens. We know what Russell can do. We know that he’s going to be in Russ mode and that he’s the most talented guy on the team besides Durant and one of three guys (Ibaka being the third) that Scott Brooks has the utmost trust in.
Now is the time where we find out who else Brooks can trust.
OKC should still be a top eight team without Durant. All Westbrook needs to do is make sure the confidence level is high when the MVP steps back onto the court. Players can’t be thinking, “who cares what happens now, KD will save us.” They need to be thinking, “we’re playing this well without KD, just imagine how good we’ll be with him.”
Russ doesn’t need to step up with without Durant. He needs to make the plays he always makes and take care of the team first.
If anyone needs to step up, it’s Scott Brooks. He needs to manage his rotations better, no rely so heavily of isolation plays, and not rely so heavily on Westbrook. Brooks needs to make sure others get involved. Westbrook isn’t going to replace 32 points, 5.5 assists, and 7.4 rebounds a game. The whole team must chip in to replace those numbers and that starts with Brooks and his philosophy, not Westbrook and his play.