With Kevin Durant sidelines for most of last season with a broken foot, we were able to see what Russell Westbrook was fully capable of. But there may be more to come and he is adding a new dimension to his game.
Look forward to seeing him posting up on the block more this year.
Three plays, three Westbrook post-ups, six Thunder points. A 10-point lead spurted to 16. An opposing timeout was called to stem momentum and scheme an adjustment. […] “It’s another dilemma you can present to different teams,” Donovan said.
Westbrook has always had rare explosion for the point guard position. But three summers ago, he started strength training harder in the offseason with his father. Then he began studying how to best channel that core power into on-court post production, emulating a couple of the craftiest low-block guards. […] “Watching some of the older guys, Chauncey Billups, Andre Miller,” Westbrook said.
That 2012 summer also came with a trip to the Olympics. While competing for Team USA, Westbrook spent a ton of time with Kobe Bryant. Kobe has long said he loves Westbrook’s attack mentality and sees a lot of himself in the Thunder guard. That summer, he clearly imparted some of his post-up wisdom. […] “I learned a lot (from Kobe),” Westbrook said.
Last year, he had 107 post-up possessions in his 67 games, per NBA.com/Stats. The Thunder scored on 46.7 percent of those, the 20th highest success rate in the league among those who posted at least 100 times, ahead of guys like Zach Randolph and Pau Gasol.“A lot of times post players will tell you I like it on the left block or the right block,” Donovan said. “What gives me flexibility, he doesn’t mind what side he gets it on.”
H/T: the oklahoman
