There aren’t many players who have been more criticized for their shot selection than the OKC Thunder’s starting point guard Russell Westbrook. He is the most explosive player in the league and nobody can keep up with him in the full court. Many people view him as a shoot first point guard despite having one of the best players in the world — Kevin Durant — on his team. Still, he can’t go a game without shooting a shot that will have you saying “What in the world was that?”
He explained his shot selection on Friday after the Thunder defeated the Lakers via CBS Sports.
“If somebody goes under, I’ll shoot it. Gotta make ’em honest,” Westbrook said. “Obviously they’d rather me do that than drive to the basket, but if they keep doing that, they’re gonna learn.”
Westbrook also pointed out that this season he is making a conscious effort to shoot less long 2-pointers this season 15-19 feet away from the basket. He averaged 3.8 per game last season and is down to 3.1 this season.
“There’s no need to take long 2s,” Westbrook told CBSSports.com before Sunday’s game against the Magic. “If you’re going to take a [long] 2, you might as well take a step back and shoot a 3.”
Westbrook is only shooting 30.2 percent from the 3 this season and 38.1 percent from the long 2-point range. But as long as he keeps getting three points for a 3 and two points for a long 2, it is a positive change in terms of efficiency.
