LOS ANGELES — The length of Russell Westbrook’s honeymoon with the Clippers might hinge on a couple of mitigating factors.
First, he has more good players around him. His new team has two superstars, the same as his old team. But the complementary players, including those the Clippers picked up at the trading deadline, are far more skilled than those the Lakers had around him. (And there is no small irony in the idea that the Lakers assembled a better supporting cast by trading Westbrook).
Second? It’s early, and this could change, but I suspect Clippers fans won’t have breakdowns every time Westbrook takes a chance that doesn’t work, which is bound to happen frequently. That’s just the type of player he is.
Plus, now that his gargantuan contract has been bought out and he’s basically playing for the veteran’s minimum with the Clippers, the “are you getting what you’re paying for” question no longer applies.
The Full Russ was on display Friday night, in the course of an historic and occasionally hysterical game between the Clippers and the Sacramento Kings, a 176-175 double-overtime Kings victory – no, that’s no typo – that was the second highest-scoring game in NBA history. It was basically what an All-Star Game might look like if players actually cared. They tried defending, honestly, but were just overmatched.
And while Westbrook’s stats weren’t eye-popping on such a crazy night, they were impressive given that he’d had just two days of practice with this group. He scored 17 points and, more significantly, had 14 assists, a sign that he’d already developed on-court compatibility with Kawhi Leonard – for instance, zipping a pass from the corner to Leonard for a wide-open 3-pointer out front – while picking up where he’d left off with Paul George from when the two were both in Oklahoma City. Given that Leonard finished the night with 44 points and George with 34, this was a good sign.
“He knew enough” of the…
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