The OKC Thunder earned a huge win over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday Night, and there was a lot of positive to take away from it.
After the thrilling, last second win, there are almost too many things to talk about regarding the OKC Thunder.
Russell Westbrook’s maturation
The superstar point guard for the OKC Thunder, who was recently voted the leagues most overrated player, played phenomenally. Most importantly, the 30 year old guard showed growth last night. Westbrook has spent this season reinventing his image, but for the most part, it has fallen on deaf ears, as he tries to break down the lazy narrative around him. That he is selfish.
Russell Westbrook passed up a potential game winning three that he could’ve shot, for a better look and a better shooter in Paul George. That was Russell Westbrook’s fifth assist in the last 30 seconds of a 3-point game this season. That is good enough for third in the NBA. If you expand the time to the final minute of a 3-point game, Westbrook has dished out eight assists the best number in the NBA.
Even Paul George is trying to reshape the lazy narrative around Russell Westbrook that started with Kevin Durant making a never before seen move.
"The reason I came back here is I want to play with a guy like that." ✊@Yg_Trece hit the game winner in OKC and tells @ROSGO21 why he likes playing with Russ! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/cWPc256uvf
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 10, 2019
That was not the only area in which Russell Westbrook flashed his growth last night.
Westbrook has been known for bad shots and frustration fouls. The OKC Thunder did not get the benefit of the refs, in fact, they would play perfect defense at times and the Rockets would either nail the shot anyway or get a cheap foul call. That is pretty frustrating.
Russell Westbrook did not get charged with a foul until the 11:29 mark in the third quarter, he quickly followed that up with a frustration foul at the 11:19 mark in the frame.
Westbrook would get charged with four fouls all in the second half. Now, imagine if Russell Westbrook even just got one foul in the first half due to frustration, he would be playing with five. Not getting in first half foul trouble allowed for Westbrook to play free, and aggressive in the second half.
Westbrook also took a two late in the game with seconds remaining and OKC down three. He did not force a terrible three that he likely would have missed, he played smart, controlled and within himself.
A lot of people rag on Westbrook game in and game out. For last night’s performance, he deserves all the praise.