Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has proven to be a tough matchup for opposing players during his time in the league. As a result, some believe it’s not entirely possible to stop him.
Several players around the NBA have also become tough to complete stop. In most cases, defenders can only hope to slow them down and make life as hard as possible during games.
Memphis Grizzlies guard Avery Bradley is in the camp that views Westbrook as a player that is tough to completely stop, despite his struggles shooting the ball this season.
Russ is a very aggressive offensive player. You can never shut Russ down all you can do is try to make plays hard on him and that’s what I tried to do tonight. Not only him but [Dennis] Schroder, everybody I tried to guard tonight.
Westbrook recorded 22 points on 7-of-20 shooting from the field while he also added six rebounds and five assists. Westbrook came up big for the Thunder down the stretch, though.
He scored 12 of his 22 total points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer to tie the game up at 93 apiece with just 1:04 left. On the ensuing possession, Westbrook drained a 19-footer to give OKC its first lead since the 3:16 mark of the second quarter.
The Thunder held on to win 99-95 against the Grizzlies.
While Westbrook came up with a couple of clutch shots late, Bradley did a good job of defending him. Westbrook recorded seven points on just 2-of-9 shooting when Bradley was his primary defender, according to NBA stats. So, it appears as though Bradley did make life tough on him as he said.
Westbrook has earned a great deal of respect from his peers. He has been among the fastest players in the league and has come up with plenty of clutch shots over the years for the Thunder.
