OAKLAND, Calif. — He is big, quick, athletic, smart, relentless, powerful, determined and a whole lot more.
Aside from that, Russell Westbrook has been a real joy to handle for the Warriors in the playoffs.
Yes, Kevin Durant’s brilliance will also be a guiding light for the Thunder, who have found contributions up and down their roster in grabbing a 3-1 lead in the Western Conference Finals over the defending champs. But Westbrook has been the drink-stirring straw, the train-dragging engine.
“He’s just explosive,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Wednesday.
There’s another good word: explosive.
“And he’s relentless in transition so he’s constantly attacking,” Kerr said of Westbrook, who compiled his fifth career playoff triple-double (36 points, 11 rebounds, 11 assists) while registering his second straight 30-point game Tuesday when OKC belted Golden State, 118-94. “You have to be diligent about getting multiple guys back and building a wall in front of him. Last couple games on his home floor he really got through our defense in transition a lot. Those were killers. He’s always attacking the rim, so he’s going to get to the line a lot. We’ve got to do a better job of not fouling. But he’s a great player.”
Yep, great and explosive and aggressive and all those other goodies.
Westbrook has drawn Klay Thompson as his primary defensive adversary in the series, but the natural numbers comparison lies with Warriors two-time MVP Steph Curry. Westbrook has gotten the better, by far, through four games. He is averaging 27.3 points, 11.8 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 3.75 steals. And he has shot 38 free throws. By comparison, Curry is averaging 24.5 points, 5.5 assists, 5.4 rebounds, 1.63 steals. Curry holds the shooting edge, 45.3 percent to 42.0.
But the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Westbrook leads in wins, 3-1. And he leads in one other category, an area he said is his primary goal.
Havoc.
“I just try to read the game,” Westbrook said after the rousing Game 4 victory. “I know my energy and my aggression can kind of impact the game, and that’s what I try to do.
“Try to attack the basket and use my size and my ability to get to the basket and create some havoc.”
He’s pretty much created panic among Warriors fans, too, by using that attacking, take-no-prisoners style.
“I play every game like it’s my last, regardless of who’s in front of me,” said Westbrook, who led the NBA in regular season triple-doubles with 18. “That’s my job. My job is to worry about my team, guard and run my team. That’s all I do.”
Well, he has done a lot. In the two victories in Oklahoma City, Westbrook was at or very near the forefront of every decisive streak. His constant dashes to the rim on the break tired out those who were simply watching him and vaporized the lungs of the Warriors defending him — or trying to. He has been near reckless of his personal health, dashing in among the redwoods if necessary to finish.
“Russell just plays with incredible passion. He’s got such great force and great will, and he’s also really a high-basketball-IQ player,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “He sees a lot of things going on out there. Just his effort and his energy throughout the course of the entire game, even with our team, is terrific.”
Among other things.