OKC Thunder: Ranking the Most Intriguing Pick & Roll Combos
By Tony Heim
2. Russell Westbrook and Domantas Sabonis
Did you really think I was going to gush about Sabonis and not name him again? Did you really think Russ would only appear once? As fun as a Victor Oladipo-Domantas Sabonis combination will be, it can’t beat out a partnership with the best point guard in the world.
Westbrook showed last postseason that he can run the pick-and-roll with Steven Adams (hint hint) to perfection. Replace Adams with a more skilled offensive player and there’s reason to believe that anything is possible.
Westbrook brings everything you want in a guard coming off a screen. He’s fast with the ball. He can stop on a dime. He enjoys racking up assists. Pairing those qualities with a big who can shoot, score from the block and pass only makes sense.
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Russell Westbrook cannot be guarded by one singular person when coming off a screen. He’s too fast for his defender to get through a screen and recover so Sabonis man’ will have to hedge. This gives Sabonis a fleeting moment to read and react.
IF Russ passes back to the rookie someone will have to rotate and cover the 20-year old. That’s when Sabonis’ instincts and passing ability kicks in. He’s young, but his basketball IQ is high enough already that he can find the open man almost instantaneously. If nobody rotates, Sabonis has an easy jumper or dunk (depending on the situation).
Don’t you love when theoretical situations work out perfectly?