Comments on: Russell Westbrook Giveth, and Russell Westbrook Taketh Away

By: Matt H

Matt H — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 12:50:49 +0000

My mates and I can’t help but notice the shades of Stevie Franchise that are present in Westbrook’s game.

By: Brian Spencer

Brian Spencer — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:40:01 +0000

Thanks Brendan; I’ll check it out.

By: Brendan K.

Brendan K. — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 17:56:07 +0000

Oh, and I just posted a thing about Boris Diaw you might like at 2RR. Just a heads-up.

By: Brendan K.

Brendan K. — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:40:30 +0000

Westbrook is a personal favorite of mine, though not for fantasy purposes. That he shoots so poorly from the field in large volume is one thing, but the real problem is he’s not a long distance shooter. You can absorb a FG% hit if the player nets you a lot of threes, but Westbrook is barely averaging .5 treys per on just 29% from deep.

Part of this is his playing out of position, as most folks think he’s really an off-guard anyway, but he’s not likely to improve his shooting when Durant and Green return, as they both spend enough time near the rim that Westbrook finds himself open on the arc too often to pass up the shot. The volume of shots will lower again soon (to around 16 attempts per game or so), but Russell needs to show some big improvements in his mechanics and range to become as important in fantasy as he is to the Thunder.

By: Dmanlian

Dmanlian — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 14:58:11 +0000

I drafted westbrook at the beginning of the year and have stuck with him throughout the entire season. I’m 3 games out of the last playoff seat in an extremely competitive league, and lost last week by 3 TOs…I think I’m going to have to start benching this guy.