Russell Westbrook Can Do More By Doing Less

Sometimes less is more.

Nobody should take anything away from Russell Westbrook's season in 2016-17. It was a historic, monumental season for sure. Only one other person did what he was able to do. He probably will win the MVP. Would I have voted for him if I had a vote? Hard to say. I'd lean more towards James Harden at this point, but I have no real gripes on Westbrook winning.

With all that said, if Oklahoma City ever wants to be a competitive force in the Western Conference again, Westbrook CANNOT have another season like he had.

First and foremost, I won't question the guy's drive, but I think he gets way too amped up when the 4th quarter arrives, especially late. That is where he gets unglued. How often do we see him make costly turnovers, take poor shot selections and such late in the games? It seems like HAS to try ten times as hard as he had in the previous quarters. And I made a snide remark Sunday when Westbrook lost at home was so far the guarantees in the NBA in 4th quarters over history were that you were guaranteed Michael and Kobe would take-and make the final shot of the game, LeBron would dish it to Kyrie to win the game or make a huge defensive stop and Westbrook would turn the ball over at least twice.

Sad, but true.

But how Westbrook played in the 4th quarter this year was pretty much his downfall and the team's downfall.

And you have to figure out where things went wrong. The fact is, the team's style of play revolves around Westbrook. That is a major problem right there. This is where Billy Donovan needs to change the style of Oklahoma City's play where the team (Westbrook included) has to be less reliant on Westbrook. It seems like when Westbrook was out of the game the team had the style like he was still in there, thus creating problems. There was nobody like Westbrook on the Thunder that can do that. They have to build a style of play when Westbrook is out of the game first and foremost. They never really did that. And it isn't Westbrook's fault. It somewhat has to go on Billy Donovan. He has to find other guys to get involved with the offense and he hasn't really done that.

Secondly, Westbrook needs to cut the shots down. That was obvious this year. His FG% was .425, the lowest since his 2nd year in the NBA. Somehow he averages 31.6? It is a knock that many have pointed and honestly it is a legitimate knock on the guy. Despite the 10+ assists per game he had, Westbrook needs to involve others on a more consistent basis than what he has done, especially late in the games. It will also lower his turnover rate, which was also high.

Finally, he has to play more poised. Sometimes he is too emotional out on the court and loses his cool a little too much. When he loses it, he is of no use to anybody on Oklahoma City. Westbrook needs to play smarter at times. And he really hasn't done that.

One player Westbrook can take a page of is Jerry Stackhouse. When Stackhouse was with the Pistons in 2001, he averaged 29.8 PPG. The Pistons failed to make the playoffs. The next year, Stack dropped his average to 21.4 PPG. He took far less shots, but the Pistons made the playoffs and got to the 2nd round that year. Of course, the argument is that Stackhouse was a shooting guard while Westbrook is considered a point, but the offense wasn't as predictable and the team was more balanced in the process.

So the obvious solution is to add pieces in the off-season. Do you get a small forward to help out and make another splash, maybe a guy like Andre Iguodala? I mean they have to spread the court more anyway so the pressure is eased off of Westbrook. And that is what the team needs to do. Right now the pressure is on him to perform at a high level and even as good as Westbrook is, he will go backwards sooner or later as being too much the guy (though he probably loves being that in OKC). I really believe Westbrook is a team player, but I think he is that player who believes that he has to do EVERYTHING in order for the team to be successful.

But if Oklahoma City wants to be a legit threat, Russell Westbrook needs to rely more on his teammates and Billy Donovan needs to find a style that the teammates to get more involved not just have it be the Russell Westbrook show.

-Fan in the Obstructed Seat

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