OKC Thunder: How the LeBron James – Russell Westbrook experiment could work

Establishing the challenge

One of Jame’s primary questions will be the potential fit with Westbrook. Unlike the similarly ball-dominant pairing in Houston, neither LeBron or Westbrook look comfortable as spot-up shooters.

And so the question remains, apart from James and Westbrook taking turns to attack the defense, can they actually coexist well together? Based on the game film, the answer is yes, albeit unconventionally.

Staggering the playing time

First and foremost, Lebron and Westbrook will see their playing time staggered from each other. It’s a league-wide practice arguably popularised by Westbrook and Durant. The question is who gets forced onto the bench unit.

Westbrook holds the key to this situation. Ideally, Westbrook moves to bench unit, where he gets to go right at weaker defenders and control the entire team’s offense. Meanwhile, LeBron, the far superior distributor, gets to milk the gifts of the starting lineup. Plus, there’s little chance LeBron James decides his “ghost chasing” business happens by battling second-string lineups.

The crux of this partnership comes down to Westbrook swallowing his ego. It will be hard, for someone who has shown the organization nothing but loyalty. But, if Westbrook can turn up at the pitch meeting and declare right from the beginning that top dog status belongs to LeBron, the OKC Thunder immediately has one foot in the door.

Attacking off-the-catch

Critics like to harp on Westbrook’s standing far behind the three-point line whenever he’s off the ball as evidence for why he would not fit with James. I respectfully disagree.

Westbrook avoids standing too close to the three-point line because he knows he’s not a long-range threat. Starting further out not just affords the secondary ball-handler more space, but also gives him a running start when attacking the rim.

Look at this play. The defense hasn’t been forced to rotate much. But, just by virtue of his explosiveness and the fact that the big man was pulled away from the rim, Westbrook can get an easy layup.

Even without any complex half-court action, Westbrook and LeBron can feasibly attack the rim off-the-ball, and still dominate their opposition.

Lebron picking his poison

Quietly, James has molded his game towards less, not more, heroism, even if his playoff exploits paint a different picture. As Kobe rightly pointed out, James has shifted away from the running start pick-and-rolls of his first stint in Cleveland and the grueling post-up heavy model in Miami.

Now, he prefers dictating the offense out of the mid and high-post, where he can utilize his passing gifts.

Here, Cleveland load the strong side with all three of their All-Stars. The thing about this play is that it offers so many options. In OKC, Paul George can set the screen for Westbrook as he cuts towards the basket.

If Westbrook gets it, he can either attack the rim hard, or kick the ball out to his weakside shooters. If he doesn’t, Paul George can curl towards LeBron for a hand off, while LeBron slips towards the basket.

For opposing defenses, having all three of OKC’s All-Stars would just be an exercise of damage control.

Westbrook pushing in transition

Having both Westbrook and James immediately makes the OKC Thunder the most potent transition team in the league. And, it’s not just about their high-flying antics.

Westbrook’s athletic prowess in transition should not cause his passing chops to get glossed over. Here, watch how Adams picks up an easy two points because of Westbrook’s much improved passing instincts.

With LeBron leaking out for wide receiver-style catches, OKC’s transition game would go up another notch.

Screening for each other

This play here is slightly left field, but worth considering. There is almost no precedence at all for Westbrook being a screener. And as LeBron seeks to preserve his body, it’s unlikely he’ll want to rack up too much mileage setting screens. So think of this as a secret weapon. In small dosages, this play is nigh on unguardable.

Look at how the Cavs generate an easy look without overly fancy player movement. Simply by virtue of Kyrie and LeBron’s gravity, Channing Frye gets an easy look at the rim. Now swap Irving out for Westbrook, a much better distributor.

As Draymond Green has shown, having a “roll man” who can pass is the start to good ball movement. With James and Westbrook screening for each other, even without either being a standout shooter, defenses will have a hard time covering their bases.

So, even if the fit isn’t quite the space-laden dreams that Houston might conjure, it should be clear that LeBron James would fit well within the OKC Thunder scheme.