J-Speaks: The Magnificent Russell Westbrook

Ever since he came into the NBA six seasons ago out of UCLA, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook has been a dynamic player unlike any other. He can score in a multitude of ways. He has been a solid 1-2 sidekick to fellow All-Star teammate Kevin Durant, even though at times he has shown that he should be the No. 1 option. Even though he has had injury problems the past two seasons, he has put up solid numbers and has helped the Thunder win a lot of games. This past month he has played at a level that has not been seen since Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.

Last month, the Western Conference Player of the Week for March 1^st-7^th averaged 31.2 points, 10.3 assists and 9.1 rebounds and three steals per game in the month of February, joining the aforementioned Robertson as the only players to average 30-10-9 for a month in NBA history.

Westbrook also joined the late great Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlin as the only players to put up 120-plus points, 40-plus boards and 30-plus assists in a three-game stretch, which the Thunder lead guard did from Feb. 26 to Mar. 4.

If that was not enough, the 2015 All-Star Game MVP last Wednesday when he had the best game of his career with a career-highs of 49 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists in leading the Thunder (35-28) to a 123-118 overtime victory over the Philadelphia 76ers (14-49).

It was the fourth consecutive game in which Westbrook notched a triple-double, which tied Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who accomplished that back in the 1986-87 NBA campaign. The great Michael Jordan had seven straight games with a triple-double back in the 1988-89 season.

The 49 points Westbrook scored are the most with a triple-double since Hall of Famer Larry Bird, who also had 49 points back in a game in 1992. He also joined Jordan and the late “Pistol Pete” Maravich as the only players in league history to have back-to-back 40-plus point games with a triple-double and joined Memphis Grizzlies swingman Vince Carter, Alvan Adams and Hall of Famers Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Chamberlin have at least 45 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in a game.

“Just a blessing,” Westbrook said to FOX Sports’ Lesley McClasin after the game. “I’m just happy to be able to play the game I love. My teammates do a great job of providing me anything I need throughout the game and they got us this win tonight.”

What makes the performance even more remarkable is that this is after Westbrook missed a game because of a right cheek fracture he sustained in the closing moments of the Thunder’s 115-112 loss at the Northwest Division rival the Portland Trail Blazers (41-20) last Friday night from an elbow shot from teammate Andre Roberson. Westbrook, who had 40 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists in the game last Friday night had surgery that Saturday and was out when the Thunder garnered a 108-101 victory at the Los Angeles Lakers (16-46) on Mar. 1.

Westbrook did wear a protective facial mask, but that nor the Sixers defense slow him down.

The triple-double streak came to an end last Thursday and so did the Thunder’s two-game winning streak when they sustained a close loss at the Chicago Bulls (39-26) 108-105. Westbrook had 43 points, eight boards, seven assists and two steals.

He and the team got back on track versus the struggling Toronto Raptors beating them, 108-104 this past Sunday. Westbrook garnered his fifth triple-double in the last six games, his NBA-leading seventh of the season and the 15^th of his career with 30 points, tying a career-high 17 assists, 11 rebounds and four steals.  

A season ago, Westbrook was on the mend because of injury and Durant had the best season of his career and went on to be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player. This season the roles have been reversed as Durant has missed 36 games because of injury and is currently on the mend because of another surgery on the same foot that he had operated in on Oct. 12, 2014. Westbrook is averaging career-highs 27.4 points, which leads the league, 8.3 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

The magnificence of Westbrook is a big reason why the Thunder have gone from out of the playoff picture to the current holders of the No. 8 and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

What has really stood out in Westbrook’s play of late besides the out of this world scoring is how Westbrook has made the rest of his teammates better like Dion Waiters and the new additions at the trade deadline like Enes Kanter, D.J. Augustin and Kyle Singler.

Over the past couple of seasons, the biggest issue many have had with Westbrook is could he curtail his game as the point guard of the Thunder to where he can find a way to be the gifted scorer he is and get the rest of his teammates involved in the game, in particular Durant.

With Durant missing so much time this season, Thunder head coach Scott Brooks has had to get production from other people and he has gotten that thanks to Westbrook.

In the aforementioned overtime win versus the Sixers last week, Waiters had 20 points on 9 for 15 from the field to go along with a career-high 10 rebounds off the bench. Augustin had 17 points and Anthony Morrow had 11 points.

Last Sunday versus the Raptors, forward Serge Ibaka who has really stepped up his play as of late had 21 points on 10 for 16 shooting to go along with seven boards and five blocks. Kanter also had 21 points and 12 rebounds.

With Westbrook on the shelf at the Lakers last week, the Thunder got contributions in many places in the victory. Ibaka had 18 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks. Augustin starting in place of Westbrook also had 18 points, nine boards and five assists. Kanter had 16 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Waiters contributed 14 points off the bench and Nick Collison had 12 points to go along with two blocks.

The Thunder with the injuries to Durant and Westbrook this season have had to scratch and claw their way into the playoffs this season. Currently they hold a ½ a game lead on the surging New Orleans Pelicans (36-29), who have won three consecutive games and are 8-2 in their last 10 games.

It is one thing to score 30 points or more in an NBA game. It is even more difficult to do that and garner a triple-double in consecutive games.

Since the All-Star break, Russell Westbrook has averaged 34.3 points, 10.2 rebounds and 11.4 assists since the All-Star break. In winning Western Conference Player of the Week in the first week of March, Westbrook averaged 40.7 points, 11.3 boards and 11.3 assists in leading the Thunder to a 2-1 record.

The question now is when Durant returns likely in a couple of weeks, can Westbrook continue to play at this level, while still getting the rest of his teammates involved?

If the Thunder have any hopes on holding onto that No. 8 and final playoff spot in the West, that is going to have to happen.

With that being said, seeing the role Westbrook is on is something to marvel at. A player who can score at the rate he has and still having the energy to do everything else has been a remarkable site to see. Being able to be in the same sentence as the great Oscar Robertson, who averaged a triple-double for a season in his Hall of Fame career and Michael Jordan means that you are playing at a high level.

Information, quotes and statistics are courtesy of 3/5/15 news crawl on ESPN; 3/5/15 3 a.m. NBATV’s “Gametime” with Vince Cellini, Dennis Scott and Shaquille O’Neal; 3/5/15 8 p.m. “NBA Tip-Off” presented by Autotrader.com with Ernie Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley; www.espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/russell-westbrook; www.espn.go.com/nba/standings; ww.nba.com/games/20150308/TOROKC/gameinfo.html; 3/9/15 6 p.m. NBATV’s “The Beat” with Vince Cellini, Sekou Smith and David Aldridge.