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The riddle that is Russell Westbrook

    by Marcus Hayes
    Published 
There has never been a player quite like Russell Westbrook, and we're not just talking about the clothes.
His cutting-edge outfits are as singular as his skill set: a 6-foot-3 point guard with strength, speed and quickness; a giant first step, a cobra-strike release, the ability to pull up or go all the way to the rim, the capacity to rebound with 7-footers, the willingness to defend, an insatiable desire to win.
He is not this generation's Oscar Robertson, or any generation’s anyone else. He is unique, with gifts unmatched at his position. 
If he ever learns to control these gifts – if he develops the sense of synthesis every point guard must have – he will be the best player in the NBA. His teams will win championships.
Until then, he will sabotage his team’s best chances.
He will carry the blame for Oklahoma City’s collapse after taking a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals. Most of the blame will concern his play late in Game 6 in Oklahoma City, when the Thunder blew an eight-point lead with less than nine minutes to play in the fourth quarter. However, Westbrook was just as guilty of shoddy play during crucial points of Game 7.
It is his DNA.
Westbrook continually, maddeningly, forces the issue and abandons his teammates. This is incredible, since one of them is former MVP Kevin Durant, the game’s most versatile scorer. Too often, Westbrook ignores the clock as his ally. He has MVP talent but a WTF head.
Consider the last three minutes of the second quarter of Game 7 on Monday.
Durant scored on Andre Iguodala, the game's current Scottie Pippen of defenders, with 2 minutes, 53 seconds to play in the half, giving Oklahoma City an 11-point lead. Durant didn’t get another shot in the half. Meanwhile, Westbrook attempted a wild drive, missed a 27-foot 3-pointer early in the shot clock when the lead had shrunk to five; it was six at halftime. Better judgment and more patience likely means a double-digit halftime lead.
From the time Durant hit that jumper over Iguodala until Durant’s personal run in the fourth, the Warriors outscored the Thunder, 57-35.
Until the time Durant hit that jumper, Westbrook had played a heady, patient game. He returned to that form in Game 7, but, occasionally, he relapsed.
Trailing by five with 5:14 to play, Westbrook lost Klay Thompson on a screen. Thompson hit a three. Predictably, Westbrook charged downcourt with the ball, eager to claim vengeance on Thompson, who was his defender. Thompson gave ground, then blocked the shot. Draymond Green drained a 3-pointer at the other end to make it an 11-point difference. The Thunder cut it to four, thanks to Durant, but that sequence essentially sealed the game.
A Westbrook-a-Palooza gifted the Warriors Game 6, too, when, with the score tied, he turned the ball over four times in 100 seconds. These turnovers led to the Warriors’ last seven points and limited the Thunder to one shot.
Certainly, the Thunder cannot hope to take a series from a team like the Warriors without Westbrook. If Westbrook played perfectly OKC still might have lost.
Billy Donovan coached like an intimidated rookie in the last two games. Golden State is a deeper team with better ball movement, better team defense, better shooters and an undeniable desire to compete. Still, they looked finished, but for Westbrook's failings.
Durant will be a free agent. He always needs the ball. Westbrook either cannot understand that, or he cannot stomach it. That reality could push Durant to leave the Thunder.
When Westbrook plays like a mature basketball player, the Thunder are a force of nature.
When Westbrook plays like a playa, they are sound and fury, achieving nothing.
    MH
    Marcus Hayes
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