LeBron James and Russell Westbrook were named the Players of the Week for the week of February 1-7.
This is James’ fifth time winning player of the week this season. Handling most of the playmaking duties for Cleveland, James averaged 35.0 points, 10.3 assists, and 7 rebounds over the week.
Westbrook won the award for the first time this season. He also averaged a near triple-double, with 19.7 points, 9.7 assists, 8.0 rebounds, and 3.3 steals.
James winning the award is no surprise, but Westbrook’s recent strong play could be a sign of something. Westbrook is only 21 years old, and is already one of the most versatile starting guards in the NBA. He’s got tremendous athleticism, great size for the position, is great at getting steals and capable of playing lock-down defense, is a great rebounder, and sees the court very well.
Like many young point guards, Westbrook has been inconsistent. He’s had lapses at the defensive end, struggles with his outside shot, is plagued by turnovers, and has had serious issues finishing at the rim. Westbrook’s True Shooting is currently at 48%, which is one of the worst marks in the league for a starting point guard.
Up to this point, Westbrook’s talent has allowed him to be a successful player despite his offensive inefficiency. If he figures his offensive game out, he could become one of the league’s best guards. On Daily Thunder, Royce Young has a great post comparing Westbrook to some all-star guards at similar stages in their development, and Westbrook doesn’t measure up that badly.
Kevin Durant has emerged as an MVP-caliber player, and is well on his way to becoming one of the best scorers the league has ever seen. However, Westbrook learning how to use his tools correctly might be the key to the Thunder making their first deep playoff run.
