Russell Westbrook brings purpose to Clippers

LOS ANGELES (News4usonline) – What the Los Angeles Clippers are getting is an explosive playmaker, a double-double machine with instantaneous capabilities to take over a game at any given moment. He’s a sure-fire Hall of Famer, one of the more electric players the NBA has ever seen.   

There’s been a lot of buzz about guard Russell Westbrook signing with the Clippers. There’s a lot to look forward to and Clippers Nation should be excited. Making his team debut as a Clipper against the Sacramento Kings, Westbrook was immediately tapped by head coach Tyronn Lue as a starter. 

Westbrook scored 17 points and put out 14 assists in his first game with the Clippers. The Clippers didn’t win the game, losing to the Kings in a wild 176-175 double-overtime defeat at Crypto.com Arena. 

“I thought it was a great game, especially for the fans,” Lue said after the game. “A crazy game. A lot of momentum shifts, but we did some good things. Defensively, I thought we had a lot of breakdowns. The pace they play at, they put you in some tough positions. 

“With Fox being the head of the snake and getting the ball early, attacking the basket, getting to the free-throw line, making plays, it puts a lot of pressure on your defense. But I was intrigued in a lot of things I saw tonight, offensively, so just continue to build off that. But defensively, just gotta do better.”

Lue’s intrigue no doubt centers around how Westbrook would fit and what the team’s chemistry looks like in live action with the regular season winding down. After the Clippers traded away Luke Kennard and Reggie Jackson, two staples in the Clippers’ success the last few years, Westbrook adds a different dynamic to the team’s offense. 

That difference was on display against the Kings. The final outcome of the game is beside the point. Yes, it would have been a warm and feel-good story to talk and write about if the Clippers had managed to come up victorious. The Clippers are in a somewhat fallout process as the postseason approaches. 

The Clippers are currently the No. 5 team in the Western Conference. The move to sign Westbrook was seen as a potential boost to the team’s playoff chances. One game in, Lue liked what he saw from Westbrook. 

“I thought he was great,” Lue said. “Still learning the offense, still learning where guys like the basketball and where to get the ball. Running the plays and things like that. I thought he did a really good job.” 

Lue was not the only one impressed with Westbrook. Paul George, who scored 34 points and 10 rebounds in the Clippers’ loss, was not surprised at the way his former OKC teammate played. 

“It’s about what I had imagined,” George said. “This is the reason why I was high on Russ [Russell Westbrook] being a part of this team because of what he can bring and you saw the flashes of it tonight.”  

With less than a month to go in the NBA’s regular season, Westbrook and the Clippers came to a deal that would bring the heralded veteran to join forces with George and Kawhi Leonard. 

The Clippers now have their version of the Big Three with Westbrook, George and Leonard. A Los Angeles native, it was a natural lateral move for Westbrook, who was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Utah Jazz. 

Westbrook and the Jazz came to an agreement for the nine-time All-Star to buy out his contract which would allow him to go to whatever team he wanted. Westbrook chose the Clippers, a team that did its own housing cleaning before the NBA’s trade deadline. 

In his shortened stint with the Lakers, it was clear from the beginning, Westbrook and LeBron James, two ball-dominant playmakers, didn’t seem to be a natural fit together. With the Clippers, Westbrook may have found the right landing spot at the right time. 

First, Westbrook gets an opportunity to reunite and play with George, whom he co-starred with for the Oklahoma City Thunder. On a team level, Westbrook has a golden opportunity to help the Clippers make a move to an appearance in the Western Conference Finals or even better, the NBA Finals. 

Let’s start with his performance in game one. With only a couple of practices under his belt, Westbrook thought he played okay. 

“Just trying to find ways to be effective while I’m on the floor, and whatever’s asked of me,” Westbrook said. “Screening whatever role and handling whatever that may be. Cutting, just trying to do different things to impact the game. Using my IQ to be able to make plays for others.”

For Westbrook, making plays include feeding Leonard, who finished the game with a team-high 44 points.  

“He did a good job pushing the pace and getting to his spots,” Leonard said of Westbrook. “He guarded well and had a great overall game.”

It’s only one game. A complete riddle can’t be solved in one game. However, what it does do is act as a possible precursor of what is to come. What it looks like is that offensively, the Clippers appear to move with rhythmic fluidity with Westbrook out on the floor. 

As far as the biggest takeaway he took from his first game, Westbrook sounded very gracious in having the chance to play. Period.   

“Just the ability to be able to guard and compete,” Westbrook remarked. “That’s something I don’t take for granted, being somewhere and given the opportunity to go play. Not just that, but the support. The organization, my teammates, the fans. Overall, it was a great debut but just didn’t get the win. That’s the sad part about it. But taking out of it, just being able to go out and compete and the support system was at an all-time high, so I’m very appreciative of that.”