Russell Westbrook: A man of extremes
Russell Westbrook is on the road to having one of the lowest three-point shooting percentages of all time amongst high-volume shooters.
Russell Westbrook is one of Oklahoma City's best players. He's an enigmatic guy who gives the game his all. However, he does not play the game in any sort of moderation. He takes 'giving it your all' in the most literal sense of the word and thus has one of the lowest three-point percentages of all time.
There are many things Westbrook is very good at. He's been collecting for himself a record number of triple-doubles this season. He is strong enough to tear up the court and his style is to die for. Unfortunately being good in these other aspects have left him lacking heavily in the three-point region.
There is no other player in NBA history who has made as many threes as Westbrook in a single season with such a low percentage. He is currently shooting at only 23%. However, the NBA has also seen a massive influx of shooters in the last few years, this means two things.
Firstly, people like Westbrook must push extremely hard to make their converted numbers count and secondly there are a lot more bad shooters out there now. NBA players are highly incentivized to shoot and even if they don't convert these shots at a high percentage they keep doing what they're not too good at.
What is good for the Thunder though is that they are completely built around Westbrook. therefore, while they have accounted for his talents they have also accounted for his falling, and missing threes is a big one at that. Oklahoma surrounds him with offensive rebounders and the team's numbers have been absolutely amazing in that sense.
The question, however, remains that is this the new normal? Are players being pushed so hard to shoot that their other talents are being undermined, or is missing at high percentages okay now? Let us know what you think about the large influx of shooters into the NBA in the comments down below!