In the dressing room of the Washington Wizards, Coach Scott Brooks stood in the front of the room, recognizing players for their impact on a major Portland victory.
He started with Isaac Bonga, who only played for five minutes, but was a plus-5 in the box score.
“Those five minutes were huge,” Brooks said. He switched to Rui Hachimura, calling him a “difference maker” for the past two weeks with his defensive versatility.
He brought it in in front of a group, and there was some standard joyous commotion, but then a short pause. There was an agreement that someone else was speaking, as he does after every game when he wants to.
“Hey, stay locked in what we’re doing,” Russell Westbrook said. “Don’t get tired of doing the same things. Don’t get tired, don’t get bored, don’t get tired of doing the same things. This is what we do.”
They broke the talk with “family” on three, and with that, the Wizards walked out of the Moda Center with a fourth straight win, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 118-111, showing signs of rectifying their shaky start to the season.
Westbrook played arguably his best game of the season, scoring 27 efficient points, adding 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season. That puts him in second place of all time in triple-doubles in the history of the Wizards franchise – already – past John Wall and Wes Unseld, and only behind Darrell Walker (15). Bradley Beal scored 37 points, Hachimura added 17, Davis Bertans hit a pair 3 and the Wizards looked like a good team.
It’s been a hit and miss season for the Wizards, with the league’s health and safety protocols disrupting them for weeks when the team faced a COVID-19 outbreak and contact tracking. There have been major and minor injuries. Unbearable losses have been suffered. There have been significant embarrassments.
“We kept saying we need games, we need games,” Brooks said. “Well, February has given us games. We need that. ‘
After exchanging John Wall for Westbrook before the season, there was optimism that the former MVP’s leadership and intensity could transform the young Wizards and elevate them into a solid Eastern Conference playoff team. And Brooks insisted for weeks, despite the frustrating lows, that the Wizards were on the verge of breaking through.
What was not said, however, was that the Wizards needed Westbrook to rediscover its elite level to do this. A quad injury kept him sidelined for weeks in early January, and the lost games and practices the team had to deal with kept his game going. Westbrook is a well-known rhythm player who needs games to solve problems. The more he plays, the sharper things get. Its handle is tighter. His sweater is softer. His decision making is better. Its finish is stronger.
‘He gets into a rhythm. He’ll have more games like this, ”Brooks said. ‘He’s a champion. How he prepares. How he talks to our boys. He is forcing the team to be ready. ‘
But at the age of 32, Westbrook had to approach his recovery in a different way. It was a slow process, something that needed to be adjusted.
“To start the year, I was debating, and it was honestly a tough place for me, because I don’t like to leave my teammates. I want to make sure I’m available for them, even though I am not 100 percent, ”he said. And that’s just something I’ve always done. It’s probably not the best thing to do, but honestly, as I got older I had to stop. I had to stop because I couldn’t explode. And move as I needed to. had. “
There were times when the questions about him were asked, the ones that had long been expected. There were alarming signs of fading. It seemed a step slower, and the electricity did not turn on. The cruelty was not the same. But, Westbrook said, it was only because he tried to play a longer game once.
“Now I feel a lot better”, he continued. “I’m able to move and explode and get past people and have an impact on the game on both sides of the floor, and as the season goes on I’ll get better and better. I’m not worried about that . “
Westbrook has played exceptionally hard for 12 seasons, and it does so with the kind of night-to-night consistency few players can get along with. There are a lot of miles ahead of him and there are knee procedures that come with it. His style is to ignore personal safety within 48 minutes, never worry for a moment about the future, but only focus on the here and now. His approach has made him an NBA legend. But it is also what he will fight against in the twilight of his career.
After the Wizards beat the Nets in the wild comeback in the last five seconds a few weeks ago, Brooks was blunt about the other process Westbrook has gone through this season. Westbrook’s instant trampoline ability was always something that astonished Brooks – and his successor, Billy Donovan – at how the point guard could seemingly roll out of bed, turn the energy to 10, and blast away from dunks. It was the same way he approached injury recovery, playing almost every little thing and tackling the bigger things with a ferocity that made him come back early from knee surgery, playing with a dent in his face, and dealing with ligament tears in his hand.
“He didn’t this time,” Brooks said a few weeks ago, after the wizards shocked the Nets on Westbrook’s Wild 3. “I’m glad because he’s an old man now.”
What Westbrook wanted in a Houston exchange was to go back to his now-I-do-what-want ways, run a team on and off the floor. He wanted to bring his immense appeal to a new locker room and for a team to take on his intense identity. He wanted to play his way and not worry about analytic comparisons. The wizards desperately needed and wanted a culture refresh.
“He’s set the tone. Our guys know much better how to prepare to win a game,” Brooks said. “He’s guided us in so many ways that I don’t even want to get in. Our players know. Ask any player on this team. They know he means business. This is not a hobby for him. Often in this league. , people see it as a hobby It’s fun, we get to do something we love I get that But it’s still your job, your livelihood, how you represent your organization, your city, your family, your coaches, and Russell does that at the highest level I’ve seen.
“He has given us a way to championship level [team], “Brooks added.” Our young boys need it. Sometimes they don’t understand how hard he is on them, but they will realize over the next few years that this is how you start your career the right way, by being around good players. “
Beal is ready to start the All-Star game and gives Westbrook credit for helping him get better. Westbrook has a long history of playing with high-level talent and elevating them. He helped Kevin Durant win four scoring titles and an MVP. Paul George played the best season of his career with Westbrook. And alongside Beal, Westbrook recognizes his place as a complementary star, stepping aside to let his teammate cook, but also surrendering his will when necessary.
“My job is to make sure I keep pushing him and get the best out of him every night,” Westbrook said of Beal.
Westbrook has never been a model of consistency. His recklessness is part of his skill as a basketball dropout willing to take the burden of failure. But what he needs is for his engine to run in top gear, even if the oil needs to be changed a bit more often.
“I don’t see the ups and downs you mention. I see his shot go up and down,” Brooks said, “but his game isn’t based on taking and missing shots. It’s based on our leading.”