That is still the case, yet when you evaluate the positive stories of this season, Westbrook’s play has been one of the leading topics.
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Russell Westbrook recorded his 33rd triple-double of the season on Wednesday (NZT).
On the road as the Thunder took on the Toronto Raptors, Westbrook threaded the needle with an insane nutmeg bounce pass between the legs of Cory Joseph from halfway across the court.
Lately, things are working that way for Westbrook and Oladipo.
Over the past three games, he has not posted less than 23 points, 11 rebounds or 13 assists and the Thunder have won each of them.
Another day, another Westbrook triple-double. Clearly 2016/17 has been Adams’ most productive offensive season to date and the Thunder win nearly 70% of those games in which the big Funake contributes 10 or more to the cause.
Through seven games this month, he has averaged 37.3 points, 9.9 rebounds and 10.4 assists per contest.
And when coach Dwane Casey finally emerged, his first words were an apology. The issue with making too many rotation changes to send a message is that the Raptors don’t have a lot of talent, but their second unit has at least been playing with more urgency than the starters.
In order to join Robertson, Westbrook must do the following, at the bare-minimum. It would also bring him even with Wilt Chamberlain for fourth on the all-time list. Triple-doubles do, in this case, matter.
“I want to apologize to our fans, to everybody, the way we played tonight”, Casey continued.
With the win, Oklahoma City extended their winning streak to four games and improved to 39-29 for the season. They’re nearing the No. 5 seeded L.A. Clippers. But no amount of lip-service is going to make anyone feel better until they bounce back and back it up. Wing stopper Andre Roberson mostly stuck with All-Star DeMar DeRozan, though DeRozan still sank his usual mid-rangers. They spread the wealth. Cleveland’s Kyrie Irving scored 21 points, but he did not play in the fourth quarter because of left knee tightness. We’ve done it, and we do it at times. I think I’ve officially run out of ways to describe just how unbelievable Russell played. Adams and Oladipo contributed 33 points to the Thunder’s 123 point effort. His final line: 24 points (on 8-of-17 shooting, including 4-of-8 from three), plus 16 assists, 10 rebounds, and a steal.
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“I work at it”. I’ve always said this but whenever his time is done, he is never going to have any regrets. “I looked down and the ball was just in my hands”. It can’t be, not with what’s going on with No. 0. But Westbrook is approaching history. After his ten point effort against the Raptors, he has now reached or surpassed the decade bar in 41 contests this season and is on pace to finish the season at 52. As a team, the Thunder shot 53.4 percent from the floor.
