OKC Thunder: Regrading Russell Westbrook trade to Rockets – one year later
The rejuvenated Point God
The unknown was the work Paul did this past offseason to reshape his body, He had already switched to an all plant-based diet in June — over a month before the trade.
| Season | Tm | G | MP | FGA | FG% | 3PA | 3P% | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | HOU | 58 | 31.8 | 13.8 | .460 | 6.5 | .380 | 7.2 | .532 | .550 | 3.8 | .919 | 5.4 | 7.9 | 1.7 | 18.6 |
| 2018-19 | HOU | 58 | 32.0 | 12.4 | .419 | 6.1 | .358 | 6.3 | .479 | .508 | 3.5 | .862 | 4.6 | 8.2 | 2.0 | 15.6 |
| 2019-20 | OKC | 63 | 31.8 | 12.8 | .489 | 4.4 | .362 | 8.3 | .557 | .552 | 4.0 | .900 | 4.9 | 6.8 | 1.6 | 17.7 |
| Career | 1013 | 34.9 | 13.8 | .470 | 3.7 | .370 | 10.1 | .507 | .520 | 4.8 | .870 | 4.5 | 9.5 | 2.2 | 18.5 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/11/2020.
Clearly the diet made a difference but then again so too did Paul’s mindset. He’s happier it seems than he’s been since his years with New Orleans. And while his assists have regressed slightly that was expected given the trio of point guards on the Thunder.
In Oklahoma City, the veteran is able to play to his strengths on a team that seemingly is infatuated with his talent, wisdom, humor, and friendship.
In his resurgence, the main hot button has been his leadership and clutch time prowess but his shooting efficiency shouldn’t be ignored. His field goal percentage (48.9%) is the best in the last three seasons, ditto for his free throw average (90.0%) and his 3-point percent is slightly better than last season (36.2%).
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Even more impressive is his statistical production through the third segment (last 23 games) of the season. During this stretch run phase, Paul increased key areas such as his point total (19.7), and assists (7.4) with shooting splits of 52.2 field goal percent, 36.3 perimeter percent, and 90.8 percent from the charity stripe.
He ranks ninth on the average rank of catch-all categories among a list of who’s who in the NBA and as noted is the NBA best clutch time performer in a myriad of categories.