In ESPN reporter Pablo Torre’s appearance on Zach Lowe’s podcast Thursday, the conversation about the Houston Rockets broke out into a discussion over point guard Russell Westbrook:
Is this the best basketball Westbrook has ever played?
“Objectively speaking, this feels like the best basketball of Russell Westbrook’s life,” Torre said on the Lowe Post. “Obviously, his MVP season, when the numbers would sort of suggest it that OK, maybe it was then. But in terms of being the most efficient Russ, this feels like right now, that is the answer.”
After a little more than a month, and particularly when James Harden started slumping, Westbrook stepped up in a big way.
Since the Dec. 7, Westbrook is averaging 31.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game while shooting 50.2% from the field, which would by far be a career high if done over a full season.
In Westbrook’s 2016-17 MVP year, he shot 42.5% from the field, a touch below his career average of 43.6%.
He’s still an awful 3-point shooter, but his attempts are way down: Westbrook has only attempted more than two twice in the past 11 games.
“Is it the best Russ there’s ever been? It’s clearly the most efficient, right?” Lowe answered. “But … the year he won the MVP, he didn’t have anyone nearly of his own caliber on his team so he had to do all these other things. Playing next to Harden makes his life a little easier, but this is as efficient he’s ever been.”
Lowe is in agreement it’s Westbrook’s most efficient season, but he doesn’t think it stacks up to that triple-double-filled MVP year.
In 2016-17, Westbrook led a weakened Oklahoma City Thunder coming off the loss of Kevin Durant to a playoff appearance. He scored more than 40 points 18 times, eight of which were triple-doubles. Three of his four games with 50-plus points were triple-doubles.
His usage percentage of 40.2% was the highest ever and he led the league in go-ahead or game-tying shots in the last minute of games, Lowe wrote in his 2017 awards article (Lowe put Westbrook third in the MVP race, behind Kawhi Leonard at No. 1 and Harden at No. 2).
Now, it’s more than the Westbrook show, which has allowed him to do more than control the ball 40% of the time and force bad shots. With an actual system, a stronger cast of shooters and Harden co-starring, Westbrook doesn’t have to try to take on all five defenders on his own.
“It’s my favorite Russell Westbrook to watch ever, it’s not close,” Lowe said. “I like this Russell Westbrook better than triple-double Russell Westbrook.”
Torre understands and pointed out the main difference: Instead of making what he called “weird” decisions because he had to, the Rockets system allows him to make better choices.
“Part of the joy of Russell Westbrook, for those who felt differently from you, and somewhat from me, they loved the fact that he made ‘weird’/’that’s a euphemism for terrible’ decisions,” Torre said. “Russ now, though, he’s just making of all the right decisions!”
Without a true big man, the Rockets are spacing the floor unlike any team ever. Swapping Chris Paul for Westbrook allowed — or maybe even necessitated — the change from Clint Capela at center to keep four shooters on the court at all times.
Torre said he loves the new style.
“If James Harden is OK with watching Russell Westbrook be the big man and just attacking the rim over and over again, and James seems to be OK with that for now, then it just seems like a team that I had never contemplated really until like two weeks ago,” Torre said.