NBA Rumors: Warriors Believe Defending Russell Westbrook Is ‘Like Cake’ To Them
Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder is the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player. Westbrook is one of the best players in the game today and his explosive offense is hard to guard. However, the latest rumors suggest that the Golden State Warriors believe that defending Westbrook is easy and it’s like cake to them.
In the recent episode of The Lowe Post podcast (h/t Sporting News), Zach Lowe of ESPN revealed the conversation he had with Ryen Russillo regarding Jack McCallum’s new book titled Golden Days: West’s Lakers, Steph’s Warriors, and the California Dreamers Who Reinvented Basketball. In the book, McCallum interviewed several Warriors players who believe that Russell Westbrook is easy to guard.
“Jack McCallum’s new book about the Warriors has a bunch of anonymous Warriors talking about Russ and how they don’t fear Russ. How Kevin Durant left partly cause of Russ. How Russ’s style of play is so easy for them to defend, it’s like cake to them,” Lowe said.
Sam Esfandiari of Warriors World noted on Twitter that the Warriors really have Westbrook’s number. In the last 17 games against Golden State, Westbrook has only shot more than 40 percent from the field three times and he is just averaging 27 percent from the field.
GSW has played Russ 17 times in last 3 seasons (KD played for OKC in 13 of them). Russ has shot over 40% three of those times.
— sam esfandiari (@samesfandiari) October 10, 2017
Lowe seemed to confirm what the Warriors said in the book about Russell Westbrook. The ESPN analyst noted that he has talked to some members of the Warriors and they really believe that Westbrook is easy to guard when asked the question.
“I’ve talked to the Warriors about his kind of stuff. What’s in Jack’s book is 100 percent what they say when you ask them about Russ,” Lowe said.
Russell Westbrook is known for his explosive offense and he really likes to attack the defense head-on. The Warriors just bait Westbrook into taking difficult shots and Draymond Green’s pick-and-roll defense on the reigning MVP is excellent.
However, Russell Westbrook might have to change how he plays this season with the arrival of Carmelo Anthony and Paul George. According to Sports Illustrated, Westbrook can work well together with Anthony and George but it will take time to build their chemistry. Westbrook used to play with Kevin Durant, a player like George, and they went to the playoffs six times.
On the other hand, Anthony can focus on scoring in bunches just like when he was in the Olympics because he is surrounded by some good defenders like George, Steven Adams, and Andre Roberson. The Thunder bench is also loaded with players such as Patrick Patterson, Raymond Felton, Alex Abrines, Jerami Grant, and Kyle Singler.
As for the Warriors, they are still the favorites to win the 2018 NBA Championships. The Warriors have several chances to prove that Russell Westbrook is easy to guard this season. Golden State and Oklahoma City will face off four times this season, and they could meet again in the playoffs.
[Featured Image by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images]
