OKC ‘s surprise for the NBA: Westbrook makes early return
Russell Westbrook made a return from an injury to his knee far sooner than expected and his first game back showcased the expected ups and downs with clear signs of rust and recovery. But the Oklahoma City Thunder fans were just excited to see their All-Star point guard return, even more so as it was their first home game of the season.
Westbrook drives through the lane against the Phoenix Suns in his first game back since injuring his knee in the Playoff last post-season
Scoring 21 points, dishing 7 dimes and grabbing hold of 4 boards in 33 minutes, Westbrook played a key role in Thunder’s win Sunday night over the Phoenix Suns. Other than three turnovers in the first period, Westbrook seemed back to normal with aggressive drives to the basket and running from coast to coast at blazing speeds.
Westbrook’s return is a huge confidence boost and would definitely lift the morale of the Thunder locker room. With his return, Scott Brooks can go back to his regular rotation and the Thunder can go back to playing in an offensive system they are familiar and comfortable with.
But there are a lot more positives more important than the win on Sunday.
Favorites in the West: -
Yeah I didn’t include them earlier in my top 5 in the West and now here I’m calling them the favorites but that’s the difference Westbrook makes to his team. His return sooner than expected does nothing but back my earlier decision.
Oklahoma City Thunder finished second in points per 100 possessions with 110.2 behind Miami Heat’s 110.3. Nobody needs the above stat to know that the Thunder is a team that can score at an absurd rate when they are fully fit. Quite often what is forgotten is that they were the league’s third best defensive team last season.
A week into the NBA and the other contenders in the West have not looked unbeatable although the Houston Rockets and Minnesota Timberwolves display unbeaten records on the table. San Antonio Spurs, Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Clippers all have games to show in the loss column.
The Conference is still searching for its leader and the a healthy Thunder, who were last year’s first seed, look favorites to run away with the first seed once again this season.
Thunder’s 1-2 punch back: -
Who would be most relieved with Westbrook’s return? Without doubt it has to be Kevin Durant.
Thunder’s 1-2 punch
Durant has been shouldering the offensive load for Thunder ever since Westbrook was out. Although there have been handy contributions from the combination of Reggie Jackson and Jeremy Lamb but their offense has not been threatening enough.
Teams have been throwing double teams and making defensive adjustments to shut Durant down and nobody would be happier to see Westbrook return than Durant.
“His presence was big,” Kevin Durant said. “Russ is Russell Westbrook, a three-time All-Star, 23-5-7 the last three years so you’ve got to respect it. He put pressure on the defense all night. He missed a few layups, but it was good to see him aggressive and not worry about anything and just play freely. He opened it up for a lot of people tonight.”
Heading into last season’s Playoffs Thunder were looking forward to another dream run to the Finals and in the West they certainly, were the favorites. However Westbrook’s injury in game 2 of just the first round saw the dream of making the Finals shatter.
Although Durant carried them past the first round defeating the Houston Rockets in 5 games, against a defense first Memphis Grizzlies team, he couldn’t carry the team through.
While remaining a deadly scorer, over the course of the post season and the 8 games played without Westbrook, Durant also developed his game to become the facilitator. A trait that would not just make him better with time but reduce the pressure on Westbrook to return to form.
Change in mindset: -
OKC has tasted mortality in the months without Westbrook. Durant developed his all round game over the post-season and other players on the roster got a chance to realize and appreciate the position they were in, as an elite team.
We all know they are better than other teams by quite a margin when healthy courtesy of them leading the league during the regular season in point differential and the Thunder would be more than just healthy this season with the kind of adversity they faced in the time without their superstar point guard.