Bleacher Report or SportsCenter or one of those big sports news companies posted a picture on Instagram after the Thunder’s lose to the Warriors. I was curious as to what people had to say about it, so I looked in the comments section. Turns out that people think just because Russell Westbrook had 10 assists meant he was a better team player than Durant. I am one of the biggest OKC fans out there, but even I knew how absurd that statement was.
Courtesy: scoopnest.com
A player can have all the assists that he wants and still not be considered a leader. Magic Johnson learned how to handle big number and manage a team extremely well. The difference between between Magic and Russ is that Russ can’t make the players around him better. It takes more than triple doubles every night to inspire a team to do great things.
The years of Durant and Russ being the greatest duo in the past five years is over. In that time, there was no one true leader. Both sort of combined and made one great leader. But now, we are finally seeing what Westbrook is capable of by himself.
Russ can’t do anything. He can not take the Thunder to the Finals by himself. He can not take the Thunder deep into the playoffs simply because he does what is best for him. After KD left for the Warriors, Russell Westbrook’s mindset should’ve been “okay team, we can do this”. Instead the response that he has shown in “okay, I can do this”.
I’ve had many conversations with friends and we argue about that exact statement: “I can do this”. Westbrook is afraid to let his teammates
Courtesy: espn.com
help him. It could be a mix of not trusting them enough or just thinking that they can’t do much. Either the way, if Russell Westbrook doesn’t change, the Thunder are doomed.
Stay Tuned for Part 2 as the season progresses.
You are doing a great job.