Russell Westbrook is back.
On Sunday, the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard made his early, unexpected return from two knee procedures. He finished with 21 points, seven assists, four rebounds and a steal in 33 minutes, helping lead the Thunder to a 103-96 victory over the Phoenix Suns.
In honor of his return, Sheridan Hoops takes a look at the facts: the most mercurial and fashionable guard in the NBA is the key to Oklahoma City’s title aspirations.
During the course of his five-year career, Westbrook has been labeled a number of different things. No one in their right mind will question his world-class abilities. But his inconsistency as a scorer and ballhandler has led to some labeling him as a player who is holding Kevin Durant back as opposed to helping him win an NBA championship.
If you still believe that Westbrook is a liability, you need to stop infecting the world with false diatribe. This young man is critical.
It’s rare that a player is in such good health that a stunning absence offers insight into just how important they are to a team. That’s the case for Westbrook, who had played in all 394 regular season and 45 postseason games that he was eligible for leading up to his previously alluded to injury.
Since he has been out, Oklahoma City has gone from the Western Conference frontrunners to a team that could barely stay afloat.
Westbrook and Durant led the Thunder to a 2-0 start in the playoffs before he went down. But from there, Oklahoma City went 3-6 en route to a Western Conference semifinals exit. Durant’s efficiency dwindled due to the absence of a No. 2 scorer, Serge Ibaka forgot how to play offense and Oklahoma City’s title hopes were lost.
One look at the advanced statistics will tell you why.
During the 2012-13 regular season, the Thunder averaged 108.3 points scored and 97.4 points allowed per 48 minutes with Westbrook on the floor. With Westbrook on the bench, those numbers dipped to 99.1 points scored and 93.2 points allowed, which is a dramatic drop-off.
Not only did OKC score 9.2 points less per 48 minutes without Westbrook, but its point differential was plus-10.9 with him and plus-5.9 without him—a difference of 5.0 points.
For all of his supposed inconsistency, the Thunder shot 2.2 percent better from the field, 2.7 percent better from three-point range and 4.1 percent better from the charity stripe with Westbrook on the floor than without him. Not only was the team dramatically better, but its two stars were, as well.
During the 2012-13 regular season, Durant shot 7.0 percent worse from three-point range without Westbrook on the floor than with him. More applicably, Durant shot 44.8 percent from the field during Westbrook’s injury absence. He’s a career 47.4 percent shooter.
As for Ibaka, he averaged 15.6 points per 36 minutes on a field goal percentage of 59 with Westbrook on the floor and 11.3 points per 36 minutes on 36 percent shooting when Westbrook was on the bench. After shooting 57.3 percent from the field during the 2012-13 regular season, that number fell to 37.0 percent without Westbrook during the postseason and first two games of the 2013-14 regular season.
That’s the theme here.
Without Westbrook, OKC is a very good team that lacks legitimate title dreams. With Westbrook, it’s one of the top championship contenders. Thankfully for Thunder fans, he’s back.
That’s good news for the NBA as a whole.
Additional Notes
- Brandon Jennings made his season debut on Sunday, putting up 14 points, four assists, three rebounds and four steals in 31 minutes. It was his first game with the Detroit Pistons.
- Orlando Magic rookie shooting guard Victor Oladipo scored a career-high 19 points in 21 minutes on 8-of-13 shooting from the field. He also added six rebounds, four assists, two steals and seven turnovers.
- All three members of the Miami Heat’s Big Three (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh) topped 20 points. It was the first time this season that the trio simultaneously topped 20.
- Xavier Henry has as many double-digit scoring outings through four games in 2013-14 as he did during the entire 2012-13 season. He scored 18 during the Los Angeles Lakers’ 105-103 win over the Atlanta Hawks.
Maxwell Ogden is a regular contributor to Sheridan Hoops. Make sure to follow him on Twitter.