MrWHYNOT wrote:did it ever occur to you Slick Watts.. that maybe Scott Brooks wants Russell Westbrook roaming around defensively and helping the thunder big men defend and rebound in the paint because OKC is a vastly under sized team?? or do you just have a vendetta against Westbrook.. I dont go by stats cause i under stand these simple facts.. You think the other night when Derrick Fisher scored 20 points its cause Westbrook thought it was a good idea to leave him open?? You cant be that naive.. obviously Russell had to roam and help on Pau and Bynum... stats shmats..
I'm not talking about Russell Westbrook's hedge defense, which is a big problem with the entire team (and, you're correct, might be a scheme issue). He allows penetration to opposing guards very easily, and has a tendency to allow penetration to the middle. That's a defensive no-no that every YMCA basketball player knows to avoid. Russell Westbrook has the agility and quickness to keep the likes of Derek Fisher and Chauncey Billups in front of him, but he's often lazy on defense, over zealous, or some combination of those. He also is often lazy in transition where he will give up open three pointers.
On the topic of rebounding, again, I'm not talking about defensive rebounding which also might be a scheme issue. Westbrook often tries to rebound his misses (or his teammate's misses), leaving his assignment to do so. Or he will gamble for a steal in the backcourt. Or he will try a difficult layup, fall down, and the opposing team will have 5 on 4 in transition. It's little things like this that add up and contribute to the team's poor performance defensively. Brooks might want Westbrook and his guards crashing the defensive boards, but I don't believe it's in the gameplan for Russ to aggressively crash the offensive boards at every opportunity.
I love Westbrook, he's made terrific strides as an offensive player. But I think a lot of the time fans might interpret his activity level as good play, when it's often detrimental.
