Russell Westbrook named Western Conference Player of the Month for December 2017.
Not surprisingly the OKC Thunder began to hum about the time Russell Westbrook decided to go back to being BeastBrook. Westbrook has been rewarded by receiving the December player of the month in the Western Conference. In the Eastern Conference LeBron James took the honor.
Westbrook lead his OKC Thunder to a 12-5 record in December although the loss to the Milwaukee Bucks deserves an asterisk beside it. Six of the wins came against current playoff seeds. Benchmarks were also hit as OKC finally found a way to win on the road in the West, close games in the clutch and hold onto leads. Perhaps the most spectacular win came against Joel Embiid and his 76ers although it required three overtimes to capture.
Triple Double Average:
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In the holiday month Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double of 27.8 points, 10.6 assists and 10.2 rebounds per game. Each of these stats categories ranked in the top five with the assists ranking tops in the NBA.
Westbrook produced six performances of triple doubles in the month (Jazz x 2, Grizzlies, Pacers, 76ers, Mavs) and fell one rebound or assist shy in three others.
Led way during six-game win streak:
During the month the OKC Thunder had their longest win streak of six games. Westbrook was vital in their stretch averaging 30 points, 10.3 assists and 8.3 rebounds. Moreover the Brodie’s efficiency is this six game segment was insane (58.7%). Another clear delineation during this segment was the reduction in attempts from the perimeter. In the six games he attempted only 10 connecting on 3 for 30%.
LeBron James East’s winner:
For his part LeBron James continued playing like he’s discovered the fountain of youth registering per game averages of 27.5 points, 10.3 assists and 8.2 rebounds.
"Other nominees for the Kia NBA Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Month were Boston’s Kyrie Irving, Golden State’s Kevin Durant, Houston’s James Harden, Indiana’s Victor Oladipo, Milwaukee’s Giannis Antetokounmpo, Minnesota’s Jimmy Butler, New Orleans’ DeMarcus Cousins, Toronto’s DeMar DeRozan and Utah’s Donovan Mitchell."
Rookies and Coaches recognized for December:
Also of note, the Rookies of the Month for the same time frame were Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and Jayson Tatum of the Boston Celtics.
Coaches for the month were Steve Kerr of the Golden State Warrior and Dwane Casey of the Toronto Raptors.