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James Harden was traded to Houston Rockets and in came Kevin Martin. This added further onus on Westbrook to shoot more. His haters mocked his “inability to pass” but Westbrook kept going. Not only did he nearly average 8 passes a game which is one of the highest in the NBA, he matched that up with 5 rebounds a game – a stat not many point guards can be proud of.
Letting go off Harden was a tough decision for the Thunder management, but a crucial aspect of it was learning that Durant and Westbrook could make do without the man presently in Houston. A championship team and formula still exists in Oklahoma City, and Westbrook is as pivotal to it as Kevin Durant or Scott Brooks are.
2012-13 was a smooth sailing by general means for the UCLA product. In games the Thunder lost, Westbrook showed up and set the game on fire including the Staples Center loss to the Lakers where he put up 20+ points and 8 assists while not any of his teammates matched his energy or charisma on the court.
A .800% in the free throw zone also indicated his consistency throughout the season with him blistering around nearly 45% from the field accompanied by his .32 beyond the arc. Westbrook also had outbursts when he outscored Kevin Durant and others on the court. An example was against the Timberwolves in March as the Thunder slipped away 127-111 with the primo point guard scoring as many as 37 points with nearly 60% from the field. The same happened against Phoenix in November and in the pulsating loss to Denver at the Pepsi Center.
Going into the playoffs, the Thunder were heavy favourites to march into the NBA Finals. However, calamity in the form of Russell Westbrook’s injury happened and the tide switched sides.
The 2013 NBA playoffs illustrated an exposed weakness of the Thunder – their inconsistency in the Field Goal percentage. Except Durant, almost every other player expected to score failed miserably, including the likes of Ibaka and Kevin Martin. Meanwhile, Westbrook was out injured – his first such in years as aforementioned.
What is ahead for Westbrook going into 2014? The answer is simple. Get healthy and come back storming the league with a rejuvenated core of Thunder players! The NBA draft wasn’t the most lucrative for the Thunder this time around but with a young but energetic mindset, Scott Brooks’ team will be keyed in as one of the preseason favourites.
For Westbrook, the story will revolve around if he can continue to gel in a team consisting of the best pure scorer in the NBA and the second best talent. Will he pass the ball more and play the role of the creator instead of the forceful shooter he has become over the years? Or will he continue to rack up 15-20 points per night and assist for 4-7 a game? Only time will tell.
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