Russell Westbrook shot 1-for-8 in the last 4:58 of the Oklahoma City Thunder's loss to the New Orleans Pelicans on Sunday, and didn't pass the ball in that span, per the Oklahoman's Berry Tramel. After the game, he said that his job was to attack late in games, and he's "going to live and die by that every time, every night, regardless of what happens." He also didn't appreciate the questions about his lack of passing.
Westbrook: "When we won eight in a row nobody said nothing about not passing so I don't want to hear it now."
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) December 22, 2014More Westbrook: "It's one game, so I'm not 'bout to keep answering questions about me not passing now when we lose."
— Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) December 22, 2014If you go back and watch the tape, you see Westbrook being his typically aggressive self. He attacked the basket despite the presence of Anthony Davis and Omer Asik on the inside, and there were a couple of instances where he missed shots we've all seen him make. You could call a couple of his 3-point attempts questionable, but we've seen him make those kind of shots in clutch situations, too. If they dropped, he'd be the hero who knew when it was time to take over the game. They didn't, so he'll take heat for forcing the issue.
The reality is, without Kevin Durant on the floor, Westbrook is going to shoulder a lot of the load for Oklahoma City. He's good enough to do that, but it didn't work down the stretch against New Orleans. We saw Reggie Jackson have similar results a couple of times when both Westbrook and Durant were out earlier this year. It happens. Until the Thunder start running a more movement-based offense, it's hard to blame Westbrook for losses like this. His style is to put as much pressure on the defense as possible, and he knows he's capable of putting his team on his back. Oklahoma City has always seemed fine with that.
Westbrook finished with 29 points on 10-for-27 shooting against the Pelicans, plus eight assists, five rebounds, three steals and six turnovers. He missed all six of his 3-point attempts and he shot 9-for-11 from the free throw line.
