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NBA Oklahoma City Thunder

Russell Westbrook’s Return Immediately Changes Thunder’s Fortunes

By @TheSizzle20

Russell Westbrook

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As you might expect, the Oklahoma City Thunder really didn’t stand much of a chance for the first month of the 2014-15 NBA season. Not only were they playing without the services of the league’s reigning MVP in Kevin Durant, but they also lost point guard Russell Westbrook only two games into the season. Unsurprisingly, the Thunder won only three of the 14 games that they played without Westbrook and Durant.

Things immediately changed on Friday night, though, when Westbrook was cleared to play and took the floor for Oklahoma City against the New York Knicks. Though he played only 24 minutes (which is really all he needed to play), Westbrook put up 32 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and one steal while shooting 12-17 from the field as OKC rolled to a 105-78 win.

The first thing that you obviously need to realize is that the Knicks are an absolutely atrocious defense. The Knicks rank 28th in the league in defensive rating at this point in the season as they’ve been allowing 107.9 points per 100 possessions. However, that doesn’t change the impact that Westbrook immediately has on the fortunes of the Thunder.

Westbrook dramatically changes everything that the Thunder do. OKC is 14.2 points per 100 possessions better when they’ve had Westbrook on the floor this season while also being 4.3 points per 100 possessions better defensively when he’s on the floor. The biggest part of that is how Westbrook controls the pace of the game from his position.

One of the thing that makes Westbrook such a valuable asset in the NBA and to the Thunder is his explosiveness as a playmaker and how he can make things happen in the open floor. It’s no surprise that the Thunder average 7.5 more possessions per 48 minutes when Westbrook is on the floor this season and why that has translated to success in that small sample-size.

Obviously the Thunder won’t be at their peak performance until Durant gets back on the floor and back to 100 percent, but having Westbrook back just at the end of the first month of the season is huge for the Thunder and their title hopes. They won’t be at their best, but having Westbrook back will give them the chance to not dig themselves into a hole that they can’t feasibly get out of in terms of playoff positioning.

Cody Williams is a Senior Writer with Rant Sports. Follow Cody on Twitter @TheSizzle20, add him on Google and like his Facebook page.

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