In the wake of news reporting that Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook underwent arthroscopic knee surgery and will miss the first four to six weeks of the regular season, the Thunder is trying to figure out how it can move forward without one of their star players.
What Westbrook means to the Thunder is already clear. This tweet from ESPN Stats & Info showcases how important he is to Oklahoma City when evaluating his Win Shares.
Shehan Peiris from Bleacher Report also argues Westbrook's importance especially as a facilitator for the offense.
Now, all of that will be gone for at least a month and perhaps more. In the best-case scenario, Westbrook misses 13 games if he is out for the minimum. At most, assuming the estimates are correct, he could miss roughly 21.
If the latter is the case, the Thunder will be without Westbrook for one quarter of the season. That puts a lot of pressure on teammates such as Kevin Durant. Durant can likely carry a sizable portion of the load, but will it be enough now that opponents will look to cover him even ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Peter Panacy
Why Russell Westbrook’s Injury Spells Doom for Oklahoma City Thunder
October 1st, 2013 by Peter Panacy Leave a reply »
Advertisement