Russell Westbrook‘s debut with the Nuggets — a 15-point home loss to the Thunder on Thursday — wasn’t ideal. The former league MVP recorded six points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal and two blocks in 21 minutes, but he shot just 2-of-10 from the floor (1-of-6 from three-point range) and 1-of-4 from the foul line, and Denver was outscored by 24 points when he was on the court.
As Law Murray of The Athletic writes, Saturday’s five-point home loss to the Clippers was a reminder of why L.A. wanted to move on from Westbrook over the offseason. Although he made some impressive defensive plays, including two steals and one block, he went 0-of-8 from the floor, only scoring two points on a pair of free throws, with one rebound and two assists. The Nuggets were minus-13 in his 19 minutes.
Kris Dunn, whom the Clips acquired for Westbrook in a sign-and-trade with Utah (Westbrook was subsequently waived by the Jazz; that’s how he signed with the Nuggets), finished with 11 points (on 4-of-6 shooting) and six rebounds in 19 minutes. Denver’s bench unit — Westbrook, Julian Strawther, Peyton Watson and Dario Saric only scored 11 points (on 3-of-18 shooting) and had five rebounds in 58 combined minutes.
That’s not to say the Clippers didn’t appreciate Westbrook’s time with the team. According to Murray, the nine-time All-Star is “beloved by many” members of the organization, and he had some great games in the 2023 postseason. But after trading for James Harden last fall, Westbrook’s on-court fit became awkward at times, and he struggled mightily in the 2024 playoffs vs. Dallas. Paul George — Westbrook’s strongest internal supporter — leaving for Philadelphia in free agency also played a factor in the Clippers trading Westbrook, Murray notes.
Here’s more on the Nuggets:
- Three-time MVP Nikola Jokic raised concerns about Denver’s outside shooting following the loss to Oklahoma City. On Saturday, he nearly single-handedly got the Nuggets back into the game by converting a career-high seven three-pointers and scoring a game-high 41 points, according to Bennett Durando of The Denver Post. However, the Nuggets failed to hold a slim lead down the stretch, and were torched by Clippers guard Norman Powell, who scored 22 of his 37 points in the fourth quarter.
- Head coach Michael Malone took responsibility for Powell’s fourth-quarter explosion, Durando adds. “Norman Powell kicked our (butts) in the fourth. … We continued to foul jump-shooters. Lack of discipline there,” Malone said. “That’s concerning because the same guys are making the same mistakes over and over. And if a guy is considered a run-off, we can’t let him keep shooting 3s. … But as I told our team, when a guy has a fourth quarter like that, it’s on me to make sure that we’re doing something to get the ball out of his hands. And I didn’t do that. So I take ownership for that, and I have to do a better job.”
- Will the Nuggets benefit if NBA referees continue calling fewer fouls like they did at the end of last season? Durando explores that topic in a subscriber-only story for The Denver Post.
2023 NBA Champ
Nuggets are a play in team
Its called the new CBA causality. No money for a bench because they paid too much to the starters. Why they resigned Gordon when they were already top loaded with starters. They need to do a trade and get rid of Michael Porter even if it means adding a 1st rounder and taking back expiring contracts.
That’s a good idea. They have no bench. Jimmy Butler for Porter? Jimmy has a player option next year. MP is under contract for 3 years.
No, they’ll be a playoff team. Lakers are a playin team.
New year, same issues with Westbrook. He should be benched the moment he takes a shot outside 5 feet. It’s okay to be a bad 3 point shooter – it’s not okay to keep shooting them anyway.
Wow Westbrook played the same way he has been playing for years now, what a surprise! I am sure the past 3 or so years were a fluke tho!
Westbrook taking six 3s in a game should result in an immediate benching. He’s a career 30.2% shooter. He’s been even worse recently. He shouldn’t be taking any three pointers. Maybe if he’s wide open but even then, he shouldn’t.
Same problem for his entire career. He’s an elite slasher but a horrible shooter who takes way too many outside shots. His shot has never improved, either. If you’re the Nuggets you need to get it through his head that he cannot under any circumstances take a contested jumpshot. Odds are he won’t get it but the first time he takes one, you call a timeout and bench him for the rest of the game. If he still doesn’t get it, you release him and eat the contract, player option included.
He has a great skillset for certain things. But if you can’t get him to play in a way that fits his skills (and his track record shows you can’t), he’s a total detriment.
RW is 2 for 20 from the field and 1 for 9 from three. Stevie Wonder could do better.
It’s time for RW to retire. He can’t shoot in a game that is called Basketball. He should have played LaCross or soccer.