One of the biggest things to watch for in the preseason was Russell Westbrook and how he was used by the Nuggets. My hope was that he would be a sparkplug and veteran leader off the bench, that he would come in and provide a jolt of energy. In terms of play, I wanted to see him attacking, getting to the rim, setting up his teammates, and locking in on the defensive end.
What I didn’t want was to see him settling, or forcing jump shots. Historically, he has been one of the worst volume three-point shooters in NBA history and the more he cuts that out of his game, the better.
Needless to say, I was less than thrilled when Westbrook entered the game to make his Denver Nuggets debut on Friday and jacked up a three merely 42 seconds in. Granted, the shot went in and it was an exciting moment to begin his career in Denver, but it’s fool's gold.
The track record is long enough to know what we are getting if Westbrook three-point attempts are a main part of the Nuggets’ shot diet this season. And it’s not good. The Nuggets ended up losing the preseason opener to the Celtics, 107-103.
But the starters played limited minutes and this game was ultimately decided by deep bench players, so the final outcome isn’t very important. But some of what we saw on the court may be instructive and that relates to Westbrook.
All in all, Russ played 18 minutes and finished with 12 points, 8 assists, and 4 rebounds. He got to the free throw line for four attempts, turned the ball over just twice, and the team won his minutes by four points; Nuggets fans will take that.
Westbrook already shooting way too much
But the issue, as it often is with Russ, was the shot selection. He attempted six 3-pointers, which was two more than any other Nugget. That simply cannot happen. I know he made three, but again, this is not sustainable.
I don’t believe at this point in his career he can suddenly transform from a horrendous three-point shooter to, even, an average one. If he falls in love with the shot, he is going to shoot the Nuggets out of a lot of games and may even become unplayable for the team eventually.
The Nuggets do need to attempt more threes this season, but they absolutely should not be coming from Westbrook. A preseason game is one thing, but the Nuggets and Westbrook need to get on the same page and stamp this out immediately before it becomes a massive problem.