Can Russell Westbrook Average Triple Double Again
Marc Stein on Basketball
Russell Westbrook Makes Triple-Doubles Look Piece of cake. They're Not.
Westbrook, the Washington Wizards guard, is on track to average a triple-double for the fourth time in five seasons, making information technology seem nigh routine. So why doesn't everyone practise it?
Russell Westbrook and Scott Brooks huddled by phone tardily Sunday. After the Washington Wizards' eighth consecutive victory, and with the 2nd half of a back-to-back looming Mon dark against San Antonio, Westbrook wanted to do some extra strategizing with his coach.
It was but a few months before that six consecutive Washington games were postponed considering the Wizards had been ravaged by a coronavirus outbreak. Their U-plow has been so dramatic, with Westbrook's play reminiscent of his Oklahoma City best, that Brooks couldn't resist interrupting the serious tone by needling his star guard.
"I told him: 'You've got to start rebounding the ball — simply 5 this evening?'" Brooks said. "Just busting his chops."
Those five rebounds Westbrook managed in Sunday's victory over Cleveland, to go with 14 points and 11 assists in 36 minutes, were indeed an anomaly. In nine of his previous 10 games, thirteen of the previous 15 and 16 of the previous xx, Westbrook reached double figures in points, assists and rebounds.
In his beginning flavour every bit a Wizard, at historic period 32, Westbrook is averaging 21.8 points, xi rebounds and eleven assists per game — with a league-leading 29 triple-doubles to hike his career total to 175. Denver's Nikola Jokic, with fifteen triple-doubles, is his closest pursuer this season. With seven more triple-doubles, Westbrook volition pass Oscar Robertson as the N.B.A.'s career leader.
This is where information technology'due south important to note that Westbrook, who is on a course to average more than than x rebounds per game for the fourth time in five seasons, stands 6-foot-three.
The official stance of this newsletter is that Westbrook's forthcoming achievement should be celebrated heartily, at the very to the lowest degree for his relentless rebounding at that size, but it'southward hard to say how much fanfare awaits him when he eclipses the Large O. This isn't even a record that Robertson knew he set at the time, since the term "triple-double" didn't come up into vogue until the 1980s.
Another tricky variable: In my 28 seasons of total-time N.B.A. reporting, Westbrook is right there with Allen Iverson when it comes to the nigh polarizing players I have covered. Because of Westbrook's ball-dominant fashion, fickle leap shot, loftier turnover rate, occasionally brusque demeanor and, almost of all, zero championships, it is often easier to find his critics than his admirers.
Paradigm
Every bit Westbrook closes in on Robertson, there is also a ascent tendency to dismiss triple-doubles equally empty calories because they happen so frequently in the broad-open up modern game. (Case: On March 17, Westbrook was one of vi players to record a triple-double that day.) Westbrook'south triple-doubles in detail tend to be discounted in a way that others aren't, which he brought up in a video session with reporters after Monday's overtime loss to the Spurs.
"I think it's very interesting that it's not useful now that I'm doing it," Westbrook said.
Equally covered in a contempo piece by my colleague Tim Reynolds of The Associated Printing, there were simply xviii triple-doubles leaguewide as recently as the 2011-12 regular flavour. This season'due south total has already topped 100, for the fifth flavor in a row, pointing to the various offensive advantages enjoyed in today'southward Northward.B.A. The faster footstep of play creates more possessions, and thus more statistical opportunities, and restrictions on defenders have been designed to promote more freedom of motion on offense. Players are likewise encouraged to shoot 3-pointers at tape rates, boosting scoring numbers and leading to more than long rebounds. Old schoolers resistant to the 3-point revolution, in response, are prone to scoff at some of the gaudy stuff nosotros see in box scores these days.
Even so this is where I feel compelled to repeat that part almost Westbrook standing just six-3. He is the only player in league history at that size or smaller to average at to the lowest degree 10 rebounds a game over a full flavour.
"It'south a lot harder at vi-3," said Lafayette Lever, who went by the nickname Fat and amassed 43 triple-doubles from 1982-83 through 1993-94.
Lever understands Westbrook'southward challenge as well as anyone. He was a 6-3, 170-pound guard who rang upwards a league-leading xvi triple-doubles in 1986-87, alee of both Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, and he didn't have Westbrook'southward explosion.
"Russell is so much more athletic than I was at any point in time," Lever said in a phone interview, "probably from the day he was born."
Lever, though, had an exceptional knack for rebounding, which he credited to playing on a high school team with no one taller than 6-3. He still ranks 10th in career triple-doubles. Information technology wasn't until Johnson joined the Lakers, five seasons afterwards Robertson'southward retirement, that triple-doubles were seriously tracked and discussed, merely amongst my Due north.B.A.-obsessed loftier school friends in the 1980s, we associated triple-doubles with Lever as much as with Magic or Bird, since he seemed similar such an unlikely source for them.
Lever accrued all 43 of his triple-doubles in a 6-season bridge with the Denver Nuggets from 1984-85 to 1989-90 as 1 of the driving forces on a team that, similar Westbrook, wasn't always appreciated. Detractors at the time took issue with the freewheeling fashion those Nuggets played under Coach Doug Moe — and the wild scores and stats their games produced.
Prototype
Turbocharged statistical lines are a staple now in a league where thirteen teams out of thirty, entering Tuesday's play, were attempting at least xl pct of their shots from 3-point range. Cries of stat padding became commonplace in Westbrook's later years with the Thunder, and the hyper-sensation of triple-doubles — and a corresponding urge to chase them — is another perceived advantage for the Westbrook generation. But Lever insisted that achieving the consistency of Westbrook'southward lath piece of work is far harder than it looks.
"It's still a large deal," Lever said, "because not everyone is able to practise it."
Westbrook made like statements after the Wizards' winning streak was snapped by the 146-143 loss to the Spurs. Asked near his latest triple-double, which included 22 points, thirteen rebounds and 14 assists — albeit on nine-for-26 shooting — Westbrook said: "I honestly believe there is no thespian like myself. And if people want to take it for granted, sorry for them. Merely I'k pretty sure if everybody could practice information technology, they would do information technology."
It'southward difficult to argue with that logic, although many endeavour. In 2016-17, Westbrook became the beginning player since the six-v Robertson in 1961-62 to average a triple-double for an unabridged season. That feat helped Westbrook, starring for the 47-win Thunder, get the N.B.A.'southward kickoff Most Valuable Player Honor winner from a sub-fifty-win team since Moses Malone in 1981-82.
With a boost from his recent surge, Westbrook is on a course to average a triple-double for the fourth time in five seasons, which in theory should position him every bit an M.VP. candidate. The reality is much colder: Westbrook has seemingly normalized averaging a triple-double and has been traded twice during that run, suggesting to some that triple-doubles aren't especially valuable. Or, worse, that he is not a player to build around.
Washington acquired him from Houston on December. 2 in a swap of disgruntled backcourt stars that sent John Wall to the Rockets. In January and February, Westbrook'south play was alarmingly inefficient and turnover-laden, with noticeably fewer rushes to the rim. Since the All-Star break, Westbrook has consistently played at a top-xxx level, and Washington has a net rating of plus-iv.4 points per 100 possessions with both Westbrook and Bradley Beal on the flooring.
Concern persists over Westbrook's five turnovers per game, and his curious slippage at the free-throw line to a career-low 62.8 percent from 76.3 percent last season, but the abiding thrust Westbrook plays with has made the Wizards hard to guard. His presence has not hindered Aggravate's scoring, every bit some surmised when the trade went downwards; Aggravate is locked in an almighty battle with Golden Country's Stephen Curry for the league's scoring title.
In March and April, Westbrook became the start histrion to annals at least 300 points, 150 assists and 150 rebounds in consecutive calendar months since Wilt Chamberlain in February and March of 1968, co-ordinate to research from the statistician Justin Kubatko. Westbrook will never be for everybody, peculiarly without a band, but Brooks couldn't have lobbied harder for the Wizards to reunite them when the merchandise opportunity arose. He coached him through nearly all of Westbrook's start seven seasons in Oklahoma City,
"The rebounding is the most incredible thing," Brooks said. "He goes and gets them. He only has that knack. It doesn't matter who's in front of him; he always has 1 more than footstep on his ladder. The will, the athleticism the competitive drive — I knew what our team needed.
"Eleven rebounds a game for guy 6-3? Nosotros'll never see a player like him always over again, not in my generation or my kids' generation."
Corner Three
Prototype
You lot ask; I answer. Every calendar week in this space, I'll field iii questions posed via email at marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com . Delight include your starting time and last proper noun, too equally the city you're writing in from, and brand sure "Corner Iii" is in the subject line.
(Questions may be condensed or lightly edited for clarity.)
Q: The Knicks have overperformed this season. The front function did not make any splashes at the merchandise deadline. Jeff Van Gundy recently mentioned on television that the Knicks were "however incredibly limited" talent-wise. Their best role player is Julius Randle , merely the N.B.A. has been a perimeter-based league for some time. How will Leon Rose address this? — Wallace Leeth (Paterson, N.J.)
Stein: Apr has been a month for Knicks fans to savor. Genuine optimism and joy are tangible at Madison Foursquare Garden for the first time in years. I suppose it was inevitable that someone would inject a sober dose of pragmatism into the conversation, but information technology's also hard to quibble with the patient approach — so far.
The Knicks are ahead of schedule and well positioned to pursue signings and trades to bolster an offensively challenged roster, with considerable salary-cap space and ii first-round picks forthcoming in the off-flavor. Team officials know they still have plenty of work to practice to upgrade the overall talent, but that wasn't imperative at the trade borderline in March. It'due south non like there was a difference-maker they missed out on.
It's true that this front end office volition ultimately exist judged on its ability to sign or merchandise for at least one certifiable star to pair with Randle, which means persuading an established player to cover the challenge of playing in New York equally heartily as Randle did. Rose and his direction team as well have to caryatid for ongoing second-guessing about their kickoff draft pick if the rookie guard Tyrese Haliburton continues to bloom in Sacramento, since they could have drafted Haliburton at No. 8 rather than Obi Toppin.
The Rose regime, though, has done many good things in its first yr. The Knicks appear to have hired the correct bus in Tom Thibodeau, helped usher Randle to All-Star status and can point to promising evolution from RJ Barrett and the rookie Immanuel Quickley to commencement the injuries that have derailed Mitchell Robinson's third season.
There have been whispers for weeks that the Knicks' flirtation with the East's No. 4 seed has helped restore their reputation to the betoken that star players are finally prepared to consider them a destination franchise again. If that proves true, they will have multiple pathways to address the concerns you raised, whether information technology's by trying to sign a savvy former All-Star like Kyle Lowry or DeMar DeRozan on a short-term bargain as a bridge to free-agent classes more star-laden than this summer's, or by using future draft picks (perhaps packaged with Toppin) to construct a meaningful merchandise.
Things could ever get askew if the Knicks rush into the wrong deal, as they have been known to do over the years, or if the team's owner, James L. Dolan, decides he needs to become involved after abiding by the organization's plan to let Thibodeau and on-court results do all the talking. But I would say that the Knicks have certainly earned a grace menstruation through the end of this surprising season. This is a time for Knicks fans, surely, to revel in what'due south going correct.
Q: Do they really get the Oscar itself? Kobe Bryant was very involved in co-creating his film, which is why he was given an Oscar . Executive producers frequently provide financing and aren't involved as easily-on producers. In any example, good for them. — @FromMeadows from Twitter
Stein: In my exuberance Sunday night, I tweeted that Kevin Durant, Mike Conley Jr. and Rich Kleiman, Durant's business organization director, joined Bryant as Oscar winners from the N.B.A. because they were listed equally executive producers for "Two Distant Strangers," which won the best live action short film category at Sunday'due south Academy Awards. That's incorrect.
They were part of an Oscar-winning motion picture, just did not get awards themselves. Kobe took dwelling house an Oscar trophy in 2018 for the animated short picture "Dear Basketball," which was based on a poem Bryant wrote in 2015 to announce his retirement at the end of the 2015-sixteen season.
Q: I've never seen so many tweets and stories about a team signing a guy to a ten-day contract. We've seen posts about Mike James nearly 50 times over the past week. — @MrWright1218 from Twitter
Stein: There are some good reasons for that.
It'due south partially a function of where we are on the regular-season calendar. At that place just aren't every bit many roster moves happening this close to the postseason, peculiarly involving title contenders, then the ones that practice happen generate extra coverage.
Withal information technology's also a byproduct of the circumstances. James was one of the most prominent Americans playing abroad, with a high-contour European club (CSKA Moscow), and he had a complicated contractual situation to negotiate — every bit well as six days' worth of wellness and safety protocols to complete — before he could actually join the Nets on Friday. The fluidity of James's status led to more frequent updates.
Numbers Game
Image
50
Recording 50 wins in an 82-game flavor is a traditional mark for N.B.A. excellence. Winning 50 games in a 72-game flavour is obviously harder, simply six teams withal have a chance to practice so with nineteen days remaining in the regular season: Utah (44-17), Phoenix (43-xviii), the Los Angeles Clippers (43-xx), the Nets (42-20), Philadelphia (40-21) and Denver (40-21). Of those six, only the Jazz (52) and the Suns (51) are currently on a pace to practise so.
61
Nikola Jokic'due south One thousand.V.P. case volition undoubtedly exist bolstered past his immovability in this pandemic season. Jokic has played in all 61 of Denver'south games and has led the Nuggets to a 6-ane tape since Jamal Murray'south flavour-ending knee injury on Apr 12. Philadelphia'southward Joel Embiid, widely regarded as Jokic's closest pursuer in the M.Five.P. race, has played in 42 of the 76ers' 61 games.
9
Mon's home loss to the Suns, the No. 2 seed in the Due west, brought a halt to the Knicks' nine-game winning streak. The Knicks have had only one longer unbeaten run in the 21st century, winning thirteen consecutive games late in the 2012-thirteen season, which featured the club's last playoff booth.
37.five
The Knicks' Julius Randle leads the league at 37.5 minutes per game. Charabanc Tom Thibodeau has faced criticism for years nearly overplaying his best players; Thibodeau virtually likely would counter that Randle, at 26, is young enough to handle the workload.
thirteen
This is Seattle's 13th season without an N.B.A. squad. The Due west.N.B.A.'south Seattle Tempest have won 3 championships in that time, but the wait for a new franchise to supplant the SuperSonics will soon take on a new dynamic when the Seattle Kraken join the N.H.L. next season. We're less than iii months away from the Kraken'south expansion typhoon on July 21.
Hit me upwards anytime on Twitter ( @TheSteinLine ) or Facebook ( @MarcSteinNBA ) or Instagram (@thesteinline). Send whatever other feedback to marcstein-newsletter@nytimes.com .
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/28/sports/basketball/russell-westbrook-triple-double.html
0 Response to "Can Russell Westbrook Average Triple Double Again"
Post a Comment