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The Denver Nuggets battled their way through a seven-game slugfest with the Los Angeles Clippers, one of Russell Westbrook's former teams, in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Their reward is a second-round matchup with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, another old Westbrook outfit and his initial NBA stomping grounds, where he undeniably played the best basketball of his career.
Westbrook has always played with a bulldog-like physicality and ferocity, which matches his off-court persona. But even dogs have their soft spots, and Westbrook stopped baring his teeth for a couple moments following Denver's Game-7 victory to send a strong message to his former organization before they go to battle.
"That's like home for me," Westbrook said. "I always got love for everybody there."
Thunder general manager Sam Presti selected Westbrook out of UCLA with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft.
Westbrook played 11 years for the Thunder, earning his way to eight All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA selections and one MVP award over that stretch.
He became just the second player in league history to average a triple-double (31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists) during his MVP campaign in 2016-17. The only other person who had done so before that was Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. Just one player has accomplished the feat since -- Westbrook's current Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic, who did so this season.
After leaving Oklahoma City, Westbrook became something of a journeyman. He's had stops with the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, the aforementioned Clippers and now the Nuggets.
Westbrook was periodically a starter in Denver this season, appearing in 75 games and starting nearly half of those (36). He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds for the Nuggets during the regular season and put up 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 25.5 minutes per night for the franchise during its seven-game bout with the Clippers.
Denver will undoubtedly need Westbrook to be a spark off the bench again if they hope to advance beyond the younger, deeper and better-rested Thunder in the second round.
Continue reading...
Their reward is a second-round matchup with the No. 1 seed Oklahoma City Thunder, another old Westbrook outfit and his initial NBA stomping grounds, where he undeniably played the best basketball of his career.
Westbrook has always played with a bulldog-like physicality and ferocity, which matches his off-court persona. But even dogs have their soft spots, and Westbrook stopped baring his teeth for a couple moments following Denver's Game-7 victory to send a strong message to his former organization before they go to battle.
"That's like home for me," Westbrook said. "I always got love for everybody there."
Thunder general manager Sam Presti selected Westbrook out of UCLA with the No. 4 overall pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA draft.
Westbrook played 11 years for the Thunder, earning his way to eight All-Star appearances, eight All-NBA selections and one MVP award over that stretch.
He became just the second player in league history to average a triple-double (31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists) during his MVP campaign in 2016-17. The only other person who had done so before that was Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. Just one player has accomplished the feat since -- Westbrook's current Nuggets teammate Nikola Jokic, who did so this season.
After leaving Oklahoma City, Westbrook became something of a journeyman. He's had stops with the Houston Rockets, Washington Wizards, Los Angeles Lakers, the aforementioned Clippers and now the Nuggets.
Westbrook was periodically a starter in Denver this season, appearing in 75 games and starting nearly half of those (36). He averaged 13.3 points, 6.1 assists and 4.9 rebounds for the Nuggets during the regular season and put up 13.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists on 25.5 minutes per night for the franchise during its seven-game bout with the Clippers.
Denver will undoubtedly need Westbrook to be a spark off the bench again if they hope to advance beyond the younger, deeper and better-rested Thunder in the second round.
Continue reading...
