While Draymond Green the Golden State Warriors have seen a lot of both Russell Westbrook and the Los Angeles Clippers over the years, Thursday marked the first time the Warriors went against Westbrook as a member of the Clippers. And they unleashed an interesting defensive strategy, to say the least.
Even in his prime years, Westbrook was never known as a strong outside shooter. As such, when Westbrook has the ball on the perimeter, teams don’t swarm him like they would someone like Steph Curry. But on Thursday, the Warriors took that to an extreme.
Westbrook was dribbling the ball just outside the three-point line. Draymond Green, was Westbrook’s designated defender but wasn’t exactly guarding him tightly. In fact, Green was adhering to social distancing procedures that were common in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and leaving plenty of room to spare.
Dray guarding Russ 👀 pic.twitter.com/mpeKmmzeGl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 3, 2023
That makes the defense seen in the All-Star Game, nothing more than a glorified layup line, look intense. Heck, Westbrook has probably had tighter defense on him when he was the only person shooting in a gym. Green did everything but drop to his knees and beg Westbrook to shoot the ball. But it wasn’t happening.
NBA fans had a field day with this one.
I should not be laughing at this…. https://t.co/6QXe8dVCFl
— Newy Scruggs (@newyscruggs) March 3, 2023
The fact that Russ didn’t pull the trigger also speaks volumes. https://t.co/LfTfwh7c0g
— Toni (@TMN3218) March 3, 2023
Ex NBA player on TV: players today are way better and more skilled offensively.
An all-time top 75 player from today: https://t.co/7YTJ4nMXFi
— profloumoore (@loumoore12) March 3, 2023
This is what it’s going to look like in the playoffs. Every time. https://t.co/3yjKEjj0T7
— Sam Quinn (@SamQuinnCBS) March 3, 2023
Westbrook needs to bring back the middy. Shoot 1k mids per team practice https://t.co/PGtZf5GXIL
— Chris Smoove (@Chris_Smoove) March 3, 2023
There really is no excuse for Westbrook not shooting here.
Sure, he’s not the greatest shooter in the world and he might miss. But when the opposing team is guarding him in such a way, the rest of the Clippers are essentially playing short-handed. There’s a reason hockey teams don’t score many goals or even get many chances when they’re shorthanded. It’s hard to do. It would be immensely challengning for someone to get free, let alone free enough that he can catch a pass and shoot before one of the Warriors gets back on him.
