Washington Wizards: How Russell Westbrook can save the Wizards’ season

<span class="call_to_action">Related Story:</span> MVP Race Rankings: It's Dame Time for the Blazers </a> </div> </div> <h2>Russell Westbrook is key to the Washington Wizards’ season, for better or worse</h2> <p>Outside of a trade to bring in defensive reinforcements the Wizards’ defense will continue to be near the bottom of the league, but Westbrook regaining his form could be the internal catalyst that saves their season. The Wizards need the best version of Westbrook but the question remains does that player even still exist?</p> <p>Just last season, Westbrook stormed his way to the rim to 27.2 points per game and an All-NBA selection. This season he has lost his scoring touch, down to 19.3 points per game, and while he leads the NBA in triple-doubles his box-score statistics are hiding a player in serious decline.</p> <p>At his best, Westbrook was an all-encompassing force that could lead a dismal roster to the playoffs. The Wizards need to figure out what is wrong with Westbrook and whether or not the player he once was is lying dormant.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> The Westbrook of old  </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_423443" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img class="wp-image-423443 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2461,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1056131686.jpeg" alt="Washington Wizards" width="3200" height="2461" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1056131686.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1056131686-768x591.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>Russell Westbrook at his best was a force</h2> <p>From 2010-11 to 2019-20 Westbrook racked up nine All-Star appearances, nine All-NBA selections, three seasons averaging a triple-double, and one MVP award. That run covered Westbrook’s age 22 season to age 31 season and represents most players’ prime.</p> <p>What made Westbrook such a dominant force over that stretch was his ability to get to the rim and finish, draw fouls, and rebound at an elite level for a guard. However, Westbrook was not a player without flaws.</p> <p>Over his most productive stretch, Westbrook still averaged 4.3 turnovers a game and only converted 30.9-percent of his 3-point attempts. The overall package, for many years, made Westbrook out to be an elite player, even if he had a few warts.</p> <p>Westbrook was able to offset his deficiencies by getting to the rim, where he took 34.8-percent of his shots and drawing shooting fouls, and then hitting his free throws. Lay-ups and free throws are two of the three most valuable shots, which made Westbrook’s overall offensive profile a plus.</p> <p>Rampaging to the rim was the basis of Westbrook’s game but he was also one of the league’s best assist artists. Over the aforementioned ten-season span, Westbrook posted an assist percentage of 44.3-percent and three times led the league in the metric.</p> <p>The final key to Westbrook’s prime was that he became an elite rebounder for a guard. Earlier in this run, Westbrook was simply an average rebounder, snagging 5.0 rebounds per game from 2010-11 to 2013-14.</p> <p>However, in 2014-15 something clicked for Westbrook and he began rebounding at a rate that made him look more like a power forward and less like a point guard. From 2014-15 to 2019-20 Westbrook averaged 9.2 rebounds a game, a mark that would rank in the top-20 this season.</p> <p>For a decade Westbrook’s combination of scoring, passing, and rebounding made him an elite do it all player that was able to single-handedly carry a team. This is the Westbrook that the Wizards were hoping they were acquiring but as this season has shown, they might have been three seasons too late.</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> What’s wrong with Westbrook?  </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_423445" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img class="wp-image-423445 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2130,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1300061624.jpeg" alt="Washington Wizards" width="3200" height="2130" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1300061624.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1300061624-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>What went wrong for Russell Westbrook this season with the Washington Wizards</h2> <p>Russell Westbrook’s strengths and weaknesses are well documented. When he was at his peak his strengths were so overpowering that his glaring weaknesses as a player simply did not matter.</p> <p>However, some of the traits that made Westbrook elite in the past have disappeared and he hasn’t been able to reel in his weaknesses to off-set them. Last season, Westbrook took 41.5-percent of his attempts around the rim, the second-highest rate of his career and the most since he was a rookie back in 2008-09.</p> <p>Through 20 games with the Wizards, Westbrook has seen his rate of shots at the rim plummet to a career-low of 15.7-percent. His unwillingness or inability to attack the rim has had the knock-on effect of dropping his free throw attempt to a career-low of 29.1-percent.</p> <p>Remember, what made Westbrook an effective scorer was his ability to get to the rim and then the free throw line and that has been largely absent this season. Declines in these areas, as a player ages, are completely normal and largely expected but the players who have productive careers late into their 30s are able to adjust their game to accommodate.</p> <p>The two areas that have plagued Westbrook throughout his career have been his lack of a 3-point shot and turnovers. Unfortunately, both of those areas remain serious weaknesses.</p> <p>On the season, Westbrook leads the league in turnovers per game by a wide margin at 5.1. The difference between Westbrook at one and Trae Young at two is the same as the gap between Young and Devin Booker in eighth place.</p> <p>The most obvious bugaboo throughout Westbrook’s career has been his horrendous 3-point shooting. He is a career 30.4-percent 3-point shooter and this season he has posted a 29.1-percent mark.</p> <p>So how is it that a player who is averaging 19.3 points, 9.7 assists, and 9.5 rebounds per game such an abject disappointment? Every single advanced metric paint Westbrook as a complete and utter negative when he’s on the court.</p> <p>His per 100 possessions offensive rating is 96 when the league average is 111.8 and his defensive rating is 114 which means his net-rating this season is at -18 points per 100 possessions. Adding fuel to the fire, Westbrook’s win shares, a metric designed to determine how many wins a player has added to his team, is -0.3.</p> <p><a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/nba-player-ratings/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fivethrityeight’s</a> wins above replacement metric, similar to win shares, has Westbrook at -1.5 wins and sees him, on a rate basis, as the second-worst player in the league for players who have played at least 435 minutes. The numbers don’t lie, Westbrook has been one of the worst players in the league.</p> <p>It wasn’t long ago that Westbrook was one of the greatest players in the league. Now, he is a shell of his former self, but can he right the ship and get closer to the player he once was?</p> <div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> Can Westbrook be fixed? </a> </div><!—pageview_candidate—><hr id="pagebreak"><div id="attachment_423446" class="wp-caption alignnone"> <img class="wp-image-423446 size-full" src=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/fetch/c_fill,g_auto,f_auto,h_2130,w_3200/http%3A%2F%2Fhoopshabit.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fgetty-images%2F2018%2F08%2F1302734123.jpeg" alt="Washington Wizards" width="3200" height="2130" srcset="https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1302734123.jpeg 3200w, https://hoopshabit.com/wp-content/uploads/getty-images/2018/08/1302734123-768x511.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 3200px) 100vw, 3200px"><p class="wp-caption-text">Washington Wizards (Photo by Will Newton/Getty Images)</p> </div> <h2>How Russell Westbrook can save his season</h2> <p>Russell Westbrook has a large hole to dig himself out of but as he has shown he has the ability to be a special player. There are three ways that Westbrook can get his season back on track and in turn, help the Wizards make a playoff push.</p> <h2>Stop taking threes</h2> <p>The easiest thing Russell Westbrook can do to help himself and his team is to stop taking 3-pointers. Every team gives him six-feet of space when he’s behind the arc for good reason, even when he’s wide open he still can’t hit them.</p> <p>On the season, Westbrook has nine games where he hasn’t hit a single 3-pointer compared to the five where he has hit 40-percent or higher. Just because a shot is open doesn’t make it a good shot.</p> <h2>Attack the rim</h2> <p>One of the most confusing developments this season has been Westbrook’s inability to get shots near the rim. Just last season he was an absolute menace at getting to the rim and it was a large part of his second-half surge with the Rockets.</p> <p>As Westbrook has dropped his attempts at the rim he is posting the best efficiency of his career when shooting around the rim at 67.9-percent. The ability to finish and get to the rim is still there for Westbrook he just needs to lean into it more.</p> <p>Not only will more lay-ups help his scoring efficiency from the field it will lead to more free throws. Westbrook is getting to the line the fewest times per game since his second season in the league and that was on almost four fewer shot attempts a game.</p> <p>A secondary concern has been Westbrook’s continued decline for the free-throw line. His free throw shooting has declined from perennially being over 80-percent to now being sub-70-percent. Just getting to the line is valuable, even if it doesn’t go in, and Westbrook has the history and the tools to start racking up the free throws.</p> <h2>Give up playmaking duties</h2> <p>The lone bright spot for Westbrook, on offense, has been his playmaking. His 9.7 assists per game rank second in the league as does his assist percentage of 45.9-percent. Unfortunately, all of those assists have come with an incredible amount of turnovers.</p> <p>As mentioned before, his 5.1 turnovers per game lead the league and his turnover percentage of 20-percent is ninth in the league. Westbrook needs to find the happy medium where he is creating offense through passing without coughing the ball up at a league-leading rate.</p> <p>Fortunately for Westbrook and the Wizards, <a href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/bealbr01.html?utm_campaign=Linker&amp;utm_source=direct&amp;utm_medium=linker-%22 target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener" ref="nofollow">Bradley Beal</a>, along with being an amazing scorer, is also a savvy playmaker. Allowing Beal to shoulder more of the playmaking will help Westbrook reel in the turnovers without totally stripping him of his elite playmaking.</p> <h2>Westbrook is the key to the Washington Wizards’ season</h2> <p>Russell Westbrook and the Wizards have gotten off to a rocky start but there is still time and the ability to turn it around. Westbrook needs to realize the player he is and not the player he was.</p> <p>The Wizards are close enough to make a playoff push but they’ll need Westbrook to step it up. Filling up the box-score is only cool when your team is winning. Westbrook needs to give up some shots and some passes to help his team win games. If he doesn’t, the Wizards will be watching the playoffs from home and Bradley Beal could be in another uniform.</p> <div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="NBA Power Rankings Week 9: The slide of the Lakers" data-url="https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/21/nba-power-rankings-week-9-the-slide-of-the-los-angeles-lakers/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background:#222423" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/22/washington-wizards-russell-westbrook-2/"https://hoopshabit.com/2021/02/21/nba-power-rankings-week-9-the-slide-of-the-los-angeles-lakers/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> NBA Power Rankings Week 9: The slide of the Lakers </a> </div> </div><!—pageview_candidate—>">