Russell Westbrook's energetic and sometimes chaotic playing style has surprisingly become a key factor in the Denver Nuggets' success against the Los Angeles Clippers in their playoff series. His contributions extend beyond statistics, impacting the team's energy and disrupting the Clippers.
While Nikola Jokic is the Nuggets' MVP, Westbrook's intensity and experience, particularly against his former LA teams, have proven invaluable. His clutch plays in earlier games, including a crucial 3-pointer and forced turnovers, significantly contributed to the Nuggets' wins. His presence in Game 5 was particularly important given the limited bench minutes in Game 4.
In Game 5, Westbrook's energetic performance off the bench proved crucial. His scoring, combined with his interactions and perceived intimidation of the Clippers, boosted the Nuggets' morale and momentum. His contributions highlight the importance of intangible factors in playoff basketball.
Westbrook's performance underscores the importance of depth in playoff series and the need for a broader contribution beyond the starting five. His return to his home state in California for the next game adds an interesting layer to the ongoing series. If he can continue his strong performance, the Nuggets will have a great chance at securing the series.
Russ never sleeps. For 17 NBA seasons and every minute of more than 1,300 pro games, Russell Westbrook has embodied the same philosophy:
Better to burn out than fade away.
Westbrook plays basketball with such an intense passion it feels personal. Never more so than now, hellbent on proving he isn’t washed up.
“I live for (these) moments, live to talk a little mess and compete,” Westbrook said Tuesday, after the Nuggets crushed the Los Angeles Clippers 131-115 to take a 3-2 lead in this best-of-seven playoff series.
As Westbrook would gladly tell you, his job is to mess things up on the court.
So trust me when I say: He’s having big fun messing with the minds of Clippers owner Steve Ballmer and former L.A. teammates
But as Westbrook also admits: “My fun may look a little different than everybody else’s. It may not be with a smile.”
Yes, Nikola Jokic is the most valuable player, not only in Denver, but in the entire basketball universe.
Westbrook, however, has become the X factor in this series.
Who would’ve thunk it?
“The special thing about Russ is how stubborn he is.That’s how he plays,”
Nuggets interim coach David Adelman said. “When it rolls and has it going, it can be so impactful, energy-wise.”
On a spring night in Colorado when Jokic was not superhuman, he didn’t have to be for the Nuggets to rout the Clippers. The stars of this show were Jamal Murray, harkening back to his NBA Bubble days with 43 points, and Westbrook, who was here, there and messing with everyone at once.
It’s also not a stretch to wonder if the Nuggets might already be on summer vacation without Westbrook. The series-opener could’ve easily been an L instead of a W if not for his clutch corner 3-pointer near the end of regulation or the turnover he forced against James Harden with quick hands on an inbounds pass late in overtime.
The Nuggets definitely missed him in Game 4, which Westbrook sat out with a foot injury. But maybe Westbrook missed playing against his old friends from Los Angeles even more.
After two seasons living in the shadow of LeBron James on Lakers teams that bombed and two more where his primary role was to serve as a scapegoat for the Clippers, Westbrook showed up in Denver on veteran minimum contract at a salary of $3.4 million, in large part because there was nowhere else in the league to go for a point guard approaching his 36th birthday.
Born in Long Beach, an alum of UCLA and more quintessential L.A. than a purse dog sitting at a restaurant table during brunch, Westbrook has been welcomed with open arms in the Mile High City.
With the Nuggets,he has been Captain Chaos. His energy is always turned up to 11 on a 10-point scale. And the quality of his decision-making? On any given possession, it can be less than zero.
During the first half of Game 5, however, he came off the Denver bench stronger than a can of Red Bull. And the only things more memorable than Westbrook draining 3-point shots or rumbling to the rim for a lay-up plus a foul, were his exchanges with the L.A. bench.
He flexed. He preened. He barked.
It was the full Westbrook experience.
Although the Nuggets stole Game 4 on a Aaron Gordon’s dunk at the buzzer, Adelman nearly had to run his starting five into the ground to get the victory. He played members of the bench a grand total of only 26 minutes, and Denver reserves contributed a meager four points.
In the long and winding road of a seven-game playoff series, wthat’s the word for that? Unsustainable.
“We all know we need more people to step up to win a fourth game,” Adelman said. “Bottom line.”
That’s why the 21 points and 25 minutes Westbrook gave the Nuggets in Game 5 were more essential than what a cursory glance at the boxscore could reveal.
“Something that can will your team to victory,” said Westbrook, citing energy so powerful it’s contagious as “a huge part of the game that the average eye may not see, or the boxscore might not show.”
When Westbrook drilled a 25-foot jumper to put Denver ahead 96-82 with 30 seconds remaining in the third quarter, all 20,005 witnesses in Ball Arena, including those sitting on the Clippers bench, knew it was a dagger.
Now one victory away from advancing in the playoffs to the second round, the Nuggets take this show back on the road.
Westbrook, however, is returning home to California.
And if Captain Chaos can somehow take a wrecking ball to the Clippers first season in their new $2 billion arena on his home turf?
My, my. Hey, hey.
L.A. might never hear the end of it.
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