This is the online version of our daily newsletter, The Morning Win. Subscribe to get irreverent and incisive sports stories, delivered to your mailbox every morning. Here’s Mike Sykes.
There are lots of criticisms that you could throw down on Russell Westbrook in critiquing the way he has played throughout his entire NBA career, but Westbrook lacking confidence has never been one of them.
After all, this is the same dude who, once upon a time, said that Steph Curry is “nothing I haven’t seen” while the Warriors point guard was in the midst of putting together an MVP season we literally had never seen before. He’s always played with conviction and confidence.
Until now.
There’s something wrong with Westbrook and I didn’t actually realize it until Draymond Green was playing 20 feet off of him in the Clippers’ Thursday night game against the Warriors.
If Westbrook had the ball, Green was back in the paint and at the rim. If he didn’t, then Green would just step out a bit past the free throw line — and that’s only because he wanted to avoid the 3-second violation, with all due respect to Jarett Allen and the Cavaliers.
This isn’t a defense Westbrook hasn’t seen before. Folks have guarded him like this in the past because, obviously, he’s not a shooter. Never has been. Never will be.
But what he could do is eat up that space. He could attack. Instead of any of that, he didn’t really do…anything.
And, look. Maybe that’s the right play, considering that he finished the night 0-8 on jump shots. But, man. That’s not the Westbrook play. Former point guard Isaiah Thomas put it perfectly in this tweet.
“OKC Russ is firing that even if he 1/10. Mindset and confidence is everything.”
Mindset and confidence are everything. Thomas is right. And that confidence is something Westbrook doesn’t seem to have right now.
He’s broken. Being with the Lakers actually seems to have broken him. And, you know what? Who could blame him? Anyone would lose confidence after being demoted and benched in big moments. You’re kicked out the door and called out of your name shortly afterward. All the while, you place high expectations on yourself that you just can’t seem to meet.
Yeah, it’s OK to be a little shaken after all of that. Getting back over that hurdle mentally is going to be tougher than anything Westbrook has had to do physically.
What’s more, time is actually running out to do it. There are only a few weeks left in the NBA season and the Clippers are going the wrong way in the standings after losing 4 straight — all with Westbrook starting at point guard.
It’s sad to see. It sucks to watch. But it’s sink or swim time, and the Clippers would prefer to do the latter.
Russell Westbrook can’t be the weight that holds LA down.
Quick Hits: NHL trade deadline deals…the fastest strikeout ever…and more
— Here’s our Mary Clark breaking down all of the latest news as it comes from the NHL Trade Deadline. She’s a beast.
— Wandy Peralta threw a strikeout in about 20 seconds and I’m pretty sure that’s an MLB record. It has to be. Right? RIGHT??
— Our Christian D’Andrea and Robert Zeglinski are all over the NFL combine, including the latest on the extremely fast DTs in the draft.
— Is it over for Trey Lance in San Francisco? A Seinfeld body language test from our guy, Charles Curtis, might just indicate that.
Enjoy the weekend, folks.
