Westbrook triple-doubles the Sixers, 102-85
All I could think about in the second of half this game was, “Do I really have to write about this one?”
It was not pretty. Effective, I guess. But not pretty.
Some of that should probably be excused as the Thunder adjust once again to play without Kevin Durant. Billy Donovan went with Anthony Morrow as his starter so as to maintain some rhythm and chemistry for the second unit, and Morrow responded well with 12 points in 21 minutes.
The 76ers can be a bit pesky. Short on talent, yes. Short on try, no. They work, they hustle, they do their best to hang around long enough for the opponent to have the thought slip into their mind, “Oh crap, are we about to lose to the 76ers!?!?!” They got it to 62-61 late in the third, but that’s when Russell Westbrook clicked on full go, taking a bad shooting night to a decent one as he sparked a 9-0 run to finish the quarter, with the Thunder cruising through the fourth.
Of course, Westbrook was playing without Durant so therefore he got a triple-double. It’s his second of the second — and second straight — and this one featured 21 points, a career-high 17 rebounds and 11 assists. He didn’t shoot it great, starting 2-14, but rounded to an acceptable 8-22.
Thing is, Westbrook really should’ve had a 20-15-15 kind of game. If Serge Ibaka (and Enes Kanter) had made just a few of the open looks Westbrook set them up for, Westbrook might’ve finished with 16 or 17 assists. The thought of a 20-17-16 line for a point guard made me stare blankly at drywall for a few minutes.
“He’s a very, very rare guy, ” Donovan said, “because in my opinion, if he never took a shot, he could still dominate a game.”
Donovan talked a lot about defensive improvements for the Thunder, and sure, the Sixers shot 34.9 percent and had 13 of their shots blocked. Jahlil Okafor found out what the NBA can be like, getting obliterated inside going just 3-18, and seemingly having all 15 of his misses blocked. Ibaka swatted seven shots himself, Steven Adams got three, and while the 76ers scored 40 in the paint, it was all with plenty of attrition.
At the same time, these are the Sixers, and it’s hard to take away anything more from playing them than a win. That’s what the Thunder got, which is all they especially needed, as they bide their time without Durant once again. In the meantime, it’s Russell Westbrook Triple-Double Party Time, and you’re invited to come and watch it again on Sunday.
NOTES:
- Steven Adams is really developing as a defender. His timing is getting better and his feel for space is improving almost nightly. I think there’s a very good chance he’s an elite defensive big within the next three seasons. If not sooner.
- One quality about Adams that is fantastic and gets overlooked is his complete and total unselfish nature. He even tipped a rebound to Westbrook at one point. He’s never hounding for any kind of statistical bump, and really is completely committed to doing his thankless job, and doing it well.
- Donovan didn’t entirely trust the bench with the lead it seemed. The Thunder led by 19 with three minutes left and he didn’t mass sub until there was 90 seconds left.
- Westbrook’s first post-up on T.J. McConnell was sad to watch. I fully expected Westbrook to just abuse him over and over, but the Sixers wisely started sending a second defender, and then Westbrook couldn’t make anything.
- Donovan: “I thought Nick’s minutes tonight were invaluable.” Billy Donovan, doing a good job of making me like him.
- Oh, Nick Collison: six points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes.
- Dion Waiters didn’t shoot it well at all. Got carried away with a couple unseemly looks, but still mostly stayed within the plan and attacked the paint regularly.
- Enes Kanter had 13 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes, but I really expected something more like 20 and 15 in 25 minutes from him tonight.
- Garbage Time Dion is the best Dion. It’s like when a quarterback gets a defensive end to jump offside and he knows he has a free play to do whatever.
- Kyle Singler played 15 minutes. And scene.
- Enes Kanter’s coast-to-coast was something. I guess the most notable part of it was that it started from a Singler block.
- I can’t get over that one block attempt Waiters had where he tried to hack Isaiah Canaan’s head off.
- I’ve said this before but Brett Brown is maybe my favorite opposing coach to listen to. First, his accent is amazing, and second, he’s just so thoughtful. He really deserves a better roster to coach.
- Pregame, Brown was asked about the Thunder’s defense. And he answered with this: “Listen, I’ve known Sam Presti for a long time. I knew Billy Donovan years ago, I mean I coached him at five-star basketball camp, we’d drive up the road and watch him play when he played for my old coach when he played at Providence. So you take Sam Presti’s meticulous design of this whole program, when you walk through the door you feel there is an elite side of things, it’s pristine, it’s clean, people are courteous, there’s a sign of respect that I think is a direct result of Sam Presti. And then I look at Billy Donovan and what he did in college and I think it can translate to the NBA. And then I look at the roster. They’re built to kill. They want to go win a championship. And I think that they have really been aggressive forming this roster and coaching staff and I think that all of that adds for a deep team, a defensive team, an offensive team. I just think they aren’t missing many pieces. It’s just a program that early days, I give them a very, very good chance to play in June.”
- Another good Brown quote was some insight into what an impact defender Ibaka is: “I know that in my old life when I was in San Antonio with the Spurs, it was hard dealing Serge in pick-and-rolls. Because like with Ben Wallace when we played the Detroit Pistons, you didn’t want him anywhere around the pick-and-roll. [Ibaka] could sit down and guard Manu and Tony. He could switch comfortably and the game would not move, he could keep the game in front of him.”
- Nothing sweeter than capping a win with a Steve Novak 3.
Next up: Home against the Celtics on Sunday
