Why can’t Westbrook always play like he did from Jan-Mar?

[Mad Balla 15]

I know the answer is Westbrook himself but if he really wants to prove he is a winner and not a detriment to the teams he’s on then this year all he has to do is replicate his play from Jan-March.

In that period of time he averaged:
52% FG
30.6 PPG
7.2 APG
8 RPG
1.8 SPG

Most importantly only 2.4 3s attempted per game. These are numbers of a top 10 player in the league.

During this time the Rockets went 17-11 (65% Win %) including 9-2 in February.

If Westbrook can just channel his inner stupidity snd play smart like he did from Jan-Mar he could finally prove some of his naysayers wrong. I like Westbrook so I hope he has learned from the past and can play like this all season.

[Roy The Natural]

That's just not really how it works, that's why. I mean, if Lillard could just channel his January play from last year he'd have a GOAT level offensive season.

[Amare_1_Knicks]

He was outstanding during that stretch; I would say he was definitely a top 10 player. I think the uniqueness of that Houston lineup allowed him to play closer to the basket and opened the lane up far more for him. Thing is, the average lineup doesn’t have that kind of versatility/spacing. He was out there at all times with 4 pretty high level shooters (Harden, House, Gordon, Mclemore, RoCo and Tucker from the corner) so he had more spacing to work with.

So if he’s playing on a team that doesn’t have the personnel or the strategy implemented that allows him that style of play, then he’ll end up mixing up his offensive game much more than we saw from him in that stretch.

[dodongo]

Hopefully it clicked in his mind. He's back with Scotty Brooks who let him run wild, but he saw what he could do focused on getting to the rim. He's gonna play with his best shooting lineup ever too

[Dr Aki]

because team defensive schemes screw him in the playoffs

[Pelly24]

Houston had a one of a kind lineup that made it so russ had all the space in the world and you couldn't actually play off him. He's done, and I love russ.

[Up-And-Coming]

Westbrook will bounce back in Washington for the regular season and help them get home court advantage or close to it. It’s in the playoffs where teams will clog the paint and dare him to shoot

[Baski]

Same reason every player can't just put their best 3-month stretch on repeat. Stop overrating him. His level of play is what you saw for the whole season, not just those months

[BallerTalk]

Very few teams, especially competitive ones, are going to go to the extreme lengths Houston did to augment Westbrook.

Houston's coach and GM were in a unique situation where they had Westbrook foisted upon them so they were forced to mitigate their style of play and compromise their roster to maximize his contributions.

[Ballerhogger]

Because the playoffs are different ball game

[zimpy27]

He can in the RS but in playoffs driving is tougher for a guard

[Prospect Dong]

Hopefully it clicked in his mind. He's back with Scotty Brooks who let him run wild, but he saw what he could do focused on getting to the rim. He's gonna play with his best shooting lineup ever too

Houston led the league in made three pointers for the last three seasons. They traded their starting C for another wing who can shoot. I feel like we've seen what Westbrook can do when surrounded by shooters - and it's pretty good - but I wouldn't expect another jump from moving to the Wiz.

[Harry Garris]

Physically it's really hard to sustain that for an entire season + playoff run.

He also needs pretty much the perfect supporting cast to play at that level, which he had with the 4 out offense in Houston. The one thing the Wizards do have is good shooters to surround Westbrook with so I'm sure he'll have a good offensive season this year.

[Young_Fashioned]

The key was his 3 point attempts and his mid-range shooting. As you mentioned he only attempted 2.4 3s per game and that went up to 4.1 in the playoffs. During that stretch he shot 48% from mid-range, there was and is no way he was going to keep up anywhere near that pace as that would make him one of the best mid-range shooters in the league which he has never been at any point in his career throughout an entire season.

What he can do is lower his 3 point attempts and also get back to being a good free throw shooter. He had shot 84% from the line throughout his playoff career until this past post season where he shot.. 53% from the line. His first 9 seasons, he shot 82% from the line and the last 3 seasons he has shot a shade under 72%.

[Ryoga Hibiki]

He can, people forget that WB had Covid and a quad injury, and rhen rished the return in the bubble.
If fully recovered there's a good chance he'll perform, Houston is selling at the lowest, now.

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[Mr Puddles]

Why can't Curry just hit half court three pointers all night long like he did here against the clippers?

That way he doesn't have to dribble all the way to the other side of the court first so it's less work, and the three pointer is worth more than the two point shot due to the NBA applying traditional mathematical principles.

For whatever reason, Curry chooses to apply a strategy where he mixes in a few misses between the makes, and while I acknowledge that it has bore fruits for him, I still believe that a "no miss half court shot strategy" would ultimately lead to more victories.

Food for thought.

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[The_Hater]

Westbrook was in an optimal situation at that point. He had a teammate that drew more defensive attention than he does which helped creat space. He had a team that got rid of its non-shooting Centre in early February and put 4 shooters on the floor around him creating even more space, this was something that rarely happened in OKC where Presti focused on having athletes and size/length instead of shooting. The Rockets had a brilliant offensive coach in charge who put him in the optimal position to succeed while at the same time convincing him to stop taking so many outside shots which helped his efficiency.

Now Washington also has a ton of shooting, so this could be a good spot for him too if he sticks to taking less jumpers. But age isn’t on his side.

[Ring Damage]

He's a great video game player, because of his athleticism.
But in real life his judgement gets in the way of him properly using that athleticism, as he cannot resist the bad shots (eventually).

[Baski]

Why can't Curry just hit half court three pointers all night long like he did here against the clippers?

That way he doesn't have to dribble all the way to the other side of the court first so it's less work, and the three pointer is worth more than the two point shot due to the NBA applying traditional mathematical principles.

For whatever reason, Curry chooses to apply a strategy where he mixes in a few misses between the makes, and while I acknowledge that it has bore fruits for him, I still believe that a "no miss half court shot strategy" would ultimately lead to more victories.

Food for thought.

It was a silly question. Well done

[Lukeem]

Why cant Terrence Ross average 51ppg?