OKC Thunder fail to play to defensive identity losing to Denver – 5 key takeaways
Not all triple-doubles are created equal!
Sure, Russell Westbrook produced a triple-double in this match, but I’m sure he’d gladly trade it in for the ‘W’. The moral of this performance is although Westbrook is doing his best to change his style and habits it’s not something which will automatically occur.
On night’s like the win against the Hornets when everyone was scoring at will it wasn’t an issue for Russ to let the offense flow. But, in situations like the Nuggets game when the Thunder were trailing by as much as 25 points there can be the natural tendency to shift back to bad habits.
I’m speaking specifically of shooting 12 perimeter attempts. More importantly, doing so when those shots aren’t falling is a disaster waiting to happen. I’m sure we could forgive Russ if he was on fire from deep, but even The Brodie will tell you he’d like to take some of those shots back.
As @MadyssonMorris and I were leaving the arena after recording our podcast, Russell Westbrook came back to the court and put up some shots. Surreal moment to catch but cool to see a player of his caliber put in so much work pic.twitter.com/iniZoBvGGG
— Brady Trantham (@BradyDoesSports) November 25, 2018
Case in point, Westbrook returned to the practice court long after his teammates were gone into the Oklahoma City night to get up more shots. This is the nature of Russell Westbrook – he’s a leader and there won’t be any need for him to read the salt thrown his way on his 12 perimeter attempts. He knows – he’ll carry the burden of the loss on his shoulders. And, he’ll be better next time out.