Houston Rockets: Russell Westbrook picking up the slack on both ends

Through the first week of the NBA season, Russell Westbrook is picking up the slack on both ends of the floor for the Houston Rockets

If one thing can be said of the Houston Rockets‘ win over the Oklahoma City Thunder, let it be this; a win is a win, but it was hardly easy on the eyes. While James Harden may have dropped 40, P.J. Tucker, and even more so, Russell Westbrook had the most important performances of the night.

The Rockets failed to get off to a strong start, leading eight minutes into the first 14-12, and trailing the Thunder until four minutes into the third. It was anything but pretty, as the Rockets struggled to compete for the majority of the night, and were on their heels for nearly every defensive possession of the first half.

Where the Rockets normally rely on their 3-point shooting, shots simply did not fall, and Houston shot the deep ball to the tune of 23 percent on the night. Besides, the Rockets were far from dedicated on both the offensive and defensive boards, being out-rebounded 56-40, and allowing an offensive rebound on 34 percent of the Thunder’s offensive possessions.

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Much of this problem had to do with D’Antoni’s decision to play extremely small lineups, with P.J. Tucker holding down the 5. Long rebounds were another issue for Houston, as they lacked the hustle on tracking down misses, and boxing out their man.

Of course, James Harden’s scoring helped get the win for Houston, but it was hardly a pretty 40. Harden put up 21 shots, a statistic matched by his made free throws. Shooting 3-14 from beyond the arc, Harden’s offense was stagnant, capitalizing far more consistently when driving to the basket as opposed to shooting the 3.

Again, 40 points is 40 points, but Harden finished the game as the only starter with a negative plus/minus.

The Rockets’ saving grace was their newly acquired point-guard, Russell Westbrook. As has been true for the first two games of the season, the eight-time All-Star pushes the Rockets’ offense to be far quicker than before, boasting the 4th fastest pace in the league this season. Westbrook, though prone to more than a few turnovers per game, made excellent passes throughout the night, tallying nine assists, pushing him to 20th in assists in league history.

Some of his best passes were caught by Houston’s other bright spot of the night, P.J. Tucker, who shot 5-7 from deep, and grabbed nine rebounds, playing well above his 6-foot-5 frame. Westbrook also did his part to help weather Houston’s rebounding issue, pulling down 12 rebounds, five of which were offensive boards.

At the end of the day, the Rockets owed this win to Russell Westbrook. He ran the offense with resolve and created points for the Rockets where their possessions seemed to fall flat. Westbrook opted more often to drive to the basket, both scoring and drawing fouls, and when not looking to score, made smart passes to wide-open shooters.

On the defensive end, specifically in the third quarter, Russell Westbrook made significant strides in fighting over the high pick-and-roll and encouraging his teammates to do the same, preventing easy and wide-open looks for the Thunder’s offense.

As D’Antoni stated earlier in October, similar to how he played the Harden-Chris Paul combo, he wanted to stagger the two MVPs. This strategy helped to allow for one to pick up the slack on what the other guard was failing to do efficiently. Early in the season, Russell Westbrook is playing well above expectations, shooting an impressive 50/36/76, and helping support the Houston offense when Harden is struggling.

Coming off his 59-point game against the Wizards, Harden, Westbrook and the Rockets will now face off against the Brooklyn Nets Friday.