OKC and its boisterous irruption into the contender arena

Let´s talk about the Oklahoma City Thunder and what awaits them in the NBA this year and beyond.
As anyone that has followed this team this year knows, that means a very good starting point, and perhaps the most logical one in the light of the many controversies that surround this particular ball club, is to discuss Russell Westbrook.

What haven´t I read about him! He´s a lightning rod for criticism, and frankly, he doesn´t seem like the best candidate for this role to me. If there´s anyone that can hold back this team that is poised for greatness, it´s Scott Brooks, if you ask me. But we´ll come back to this later. Right now, we can examine one by one all the barbs directed at Russell Westbrook.
I have to preface this by saying that I think the Honey Badger is, after LeBron James, the most incredible athlete in the NBA. His combination of size and explosiveness is jaw-dropping, and makes him a walking highlight reel.

Now, don´t misunderstand me. I don´t love Russell Westbrook, and in fact he irritates me quite a lot, but the things he´s accused of often border on erroneous. First of all, he´s said to be selfish, a ballhog, and a reluctant play-maker. I disagree with that. There are some interesting studies that show he´s one of the best shot creators in the NBA, as defined by the amounts of baskets scored by the player himself and his assists. It´s actually quite telling how some people came to the previous mistaken conclusion, though. His assists numbers are rather low, especially for a point guard. But that has little to do with him refusing to pass the ball, and it´s linked to how poor the offensive sets of the Thunder usually are. Ball movement is usually startingly scarce. I´ve rarely seen at any level of competition a team with so few cuts to the basket, for example (and still their offensive efficiency is remarkable, which tells you how freakishly talented their main players are. Scary).

Think about it. How many times on a fastbreak where he could have forced the issue and tried to take the ball to the rack himself has he fed the ball to a streaking Durant or Sefolosha? I can remember plenty of moments where he chose to involve other players.

He is a shoot first point guard, that much is true, but it doesn´t equate him refusing to share the rock. Especially with KD. No, from what I´ve seen (right now, that´s 61 of the 63 games of OKC so far, so...), my pet peeve in this area is that he doesn´t know how to distribute the ball according to how his fellow teammates are doing. In other words, he doesn´t have a good grasp of the flow of the game in terms of who´s being efficient and who has the hot hand. A few of the defeats the Thunder has had this year are due, in my opinion, to the fact that they stopped feeding a player who was shooting lights out (which is NOT only on Westbrook. I´m looking at you, Scott Brooks), only to come back later and find them in a slump. That happened a few times in a row during the string of horrendous games OKC had lately, particularly when Durant was that "in the zone" player. Now, I realize some of it might be linked to Durant´s own struggles to get the ball in a good position (that too we´ll see later), but I´ve also seen enough to recognize a few instances when it was a lack of situational awareness that did them in. KD is a bit of a streaky shooter within a game, you know. In those games I´m thinking of, he´ll be 7-10 midway through the second quarter, with 16 beautifully quiet points, and inexplicably, he´ll get only two more shots before the half, and shoot 0 for 5 in the third quarter, which will lead to him becoming complacent and settling for 3s, precipitating an offensive collapse for the entire team generally.

So yeah, I disagree vehemently with the often touted idea that Westbrook is unusually selfish. My beef with him is that he somewhat lacks basketball smarts. Yet he´s one of the most dominating PGs in the league, you know?

No, what drives me batty, absolutely batty with him, and the reason I will laugh in the face of anyone who says he´s seriously overlooked as an MVP candidate, is that his defense is atrocious. Atrocious. He might have a lot of steals, and so some analysts will tell you that if you take those risks it will inevitably lead to a few openings for the other team, but that´s a bunch of horse poo-poo, let me tell you. Because Westbrook´s defense is consistently absent and lazy. Dear Doggies in the Sea, is it lazy. Almost every possession for the other team sees Westbrook suddenly 3 meters away from the opposing point guard within 2 seconds without there being any pick involved. Seriously, watch that version of the Matador defense, which in his case is more about unconcerned nonchalance. He completely relies on his athleticism on the defensive end, thinking he can close in on the shooter at the last second, a thing which usually doesn´t happen.

I just don´t understand that. I mean, he went to UCLA! Yet his defense rates as the most disappointing part of this game, because that part of the game is 80% about will power, except if you´re completely overmatched athletically. Something that clearly isn´t the case with the Hound of Nasty. I´m not saying he´s the only subpar defender within the Thunder ranks, mind you, seeing as how Harden is often regarded as a repeat offender in that area as well. But frankly, I´d need to observe Harden more to come to a solid conclusion, because I´ve been honing in on the starters. In the case of Westbrook, though, I have no doubts, and I am surprised not many people have commented on that. The fact he had a monster block at the end of a close game, where he once again displayed his earth-shattering athleticism, doesn´t erase his innumerable contributions to defensive breakdowns.

My last point about Russell Westbrook is that his attitude has been at times utterly deplorable. Oh, I am not talking about that time he and KD screamed at each other over Sefolosha´s passivity. His passion for the game is an admirable attribute in my eyes, even if it leads to him being hotheaded. It´s part of who he is, and who he is is an impressive basketball player (whose shortcomings should be correctable if he so desires).
No, I´m referring to incidents like the one that lead to him being benched a game ago for a reckless, lazy inbound pass 2 minutes before the end of the game, something which apparently didn´t concern him at all, despite Brooks´ near shouting fit (props to Scott Brooks for that). Or to the unforgivable instance where he just ignored a journalist´s question after the game about his technical for taking a shot at Dragic in what turned out to be a 1-point defeat.

That´s what makes me dislike him, to be honest. This kind of petulant reaction and refusal to take responsibility are not about the intensity he brings to basketball. They show that occasionally, he´s about him and only him. These are not the kind of actions of somebody who will always lead the ship with an unwavering rectitude. And that´s why OKC is KD´s team, through and through.