Russell Westbrook Can ‘Take Control’ Of Oklahoma City Thunder With Kevin Durant Out

With forward Kevin Durant out 6-8 weeks with a Jones fracture, point guard Russell Westbrook can “take control” of the Oklahoma City Thunder

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On Monday, it was announced that Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant would miss 6-8 weeks with a Jones fracture.

The Thunder haven’t panicked because they still have an excellent big man in Serge Ibaka and a star point guard in Russell Westbrook. They are perfectly capable of handing the load.

Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders believes Russell Westbrook can “take control” of the team and even improve on his production.

"Regarding Westbrook, I think he has the talent and attitude to take control of the team and improve on his already impressive nightly production. But if I am Scott Brooks, I don’t want Westbrook to take on the mindset that he has to now fill in for Durant’s lost production all by himself. No one on the Thunder can replace Durant by himself (no one in the league aside from LeBron James really can).I would rather see Westbrook take this opportunity to get more out of his teammates by getting them involved in the offense more."

Russell Westbrook is often criticized for his play but if you examine his numbers, he is one of the league’s best players and looks perfectly capable of keeping the team afloat while they wait for Kevin Durant to return.

Russell Westbrook averaged 21.8 points, 6.9 assists, 5.7 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game while shooting 43.7% from the field, 31.8% from beyond the arc and 82.6% from the free throw line last season. In his six-year NBA career, the fourth-overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft has put up 20.1 points, 6.9 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game while shooting 43.3% from the floor, 30.5% from three and 81.5% from the charity stripe.

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