In the Washington Wizards’ locker room, coach Scott Brooks stood in front of the room and praised players for their influence on a big win in Portland.
He started with Isaac Bonga, who played just five minutes but was a plus-5 in the goal kick.
“Those five minutes were great,” Brooks said. He leaves for Rui Hachimura and has been calling himself a ‘difference-maker’ for the past two weeks with his defensive versatility.
He brought it in for a mess, and there was a standard joyous commotion, but then a short pause. There was an understanding that someone else had the word, as he does after every game whenever he wants it.
“Hey, get caught up in what we’re doing,” Russell Westbrook said. “Do not get tired of doing the same s. Do not get tired of it, do not get bored, do not get tired of doing the same s. This is what we do.”
They broke the ‘family’ turmoil at three, and with that the Wizards walked out of the Moda Center with a fourth consecutive win, beating the Portland Trail Blazers 118-111, showing signs of their shaky start to the season. .
Westbrook played perhaps his best game of the season, scoring an effective 27 points and adding 11 rebounds and 13 assists for his eighth triple-double of the season. Which puts him second overall in the triple-doubles in Wizards franchise history – all – past John Wall and West Unseld, and just behind Darrell Walker (15). Bradley Beal scored 37 points, Hachimura added 17, Davis Bertans hit a few tries and the Wizards looked like a good team.
It was a turbulent season for the Wizards, with the league’s health and safety protocols disrupting them for weeks as the team dealt with a COVID-19 outbreak and contact detection. There were injuries, big and small. There were heavy losses. There were considerable embarrassments.
“We kept saying we needed games, we needed games,” Brooks said. ‘Well, February gave us games. That’s what we need. ‘
After John Wall was traded for Westbrook before the season, there was optimism that the former MVP’s leadership and intensity could transform the young Wizards and elevate them to a solid playoff team from the Eastern Conference. And Brooks, despite the frustrating lows, maintained for weeks that the Wizards were on the verge of breaking through.
What was unsaid, however, was that the Wizards needed Westbrook to rediscover its elite level to do so. An injury injury sidelined him for a few minutes in early January and the losing games and practices the team had to deal with kept the rust in his game. Westbrook is a well-known rhythm player who needs games to work out problems. The more he plays, the sharper things get. Its handle is stiffer. His jumper is softer. His decision making is better. Its finish is stronger.
“He’s getting into a rhythm. He’s going to have more games like that,” Brooks said. “The man is a champion player. How he prepares. How he talks to our guys. He forces the team to be ready. ‘
But at age 32, Westbrook had to take a different approach to his recovery. It was a slow process, something that required adjustment.
“To start the year, I debated, and it was honestly a difficult place for me, because I do not like to let my teammates down. I want to make sure I’m available for it, even if I’m not 100 percent, “he said.” And that’s just something I’ve always done. This is probably not the best thing to do, but as I got older, I had to quit. I had to stop because I could not explode. and move as I should. ‘
There were moments when the questions were asked about him, the long-awaited questions. There were worrying signs of haze. He seems a step slower, and the electricity does not turn on. The ferocity was not the same. But Westbrook said it was only because he tried to play once more.
“Now I feel much better,” he continues. “I’m able to move around and explode and reach out to people and make an impact on the game on both sides of the floor, and as the season goes on, I’ll keep getting better.”
Westbrook played extraordinarily hard 12 seasons and did so with the kind of night-to-night consistency few players are equipped to handle. There are many miles on him, and knee procedures should go along with it. His style is to disregard personal safety within the limits of 48 minutes and never quarrel for a moment about the future, but only concentrate on the here and now. His approach is what made him an NBA legend. But this is also what he is going to spend the twilight of his career against.
After the Wizards beat the Nets in the last five seconds in the wild return a few weeks ago, Brooks was blunt about the various process Westbrook went through this season. Westbrook’s immediate trampoline ability was always something that Brooks – and his successor, Billy Donovan – marveled at how the point guard could apparently roll out of bed, lower his energy to 10 and blow off to the roofs. In the same way, he approached the recovery from the injury, playing through almost every little thing and tackling the bigger things with a cruelty that brought him back early from knee surgery, playing with a dent in his face and ligament tears in his hand. had.
“He did not do it this time,” Brooks said a few weeks ago after the Wizards shocked the Nets on Westbrook’s wild 3. “What I’m glad about is that he’s an old man now.
What Westbrook wanted in a trade out of Houston was to return to his now-I-do-what-wants ways to lead a team on and off the floor. He wanted to bring his tremendous gravity to a new locker room and for a team to adopt his intense identity. He wanted to play his own way and not worry about analytical comparisons. The Wizards also desperately needed it to get a culture refreshment.
“He set the tone. Our guys are much more focused on how to prepare to win a game,” Brooks said. “He has led us in so many ways I do not even want to go in. Our players know it. Ask any player in this team. They know he means business. It is not a hobby for him. Many times in this league , people consider it a hobby. It’s fun, we have to do something we love. I understand it. But it’s still your job, your existence, how your organization, your city, your family, your coaches and Russell does it at the highest level I’ve seen.
‘He gave us a way to be a champion [team], “Brooks added.” Our young guys need it. Sometimes they do not understand how hard he is with them, but they will realize in the coming year that this is how you start your career in the right way, by being good players. ‘
Beal plans to start the All-Star Game and gives recognition to Westbrook for helping him get better. Westbrook has a long history of playing with high level talent and raising it. He helped Kevin Durant win four titles and an MVP. Paul George played the best season of his career with Westbrook. And along with Beal, Westbrook recognizes his place as a complementary star and steps aside to get his teammate to cook, but also gives his will where needed.
“My job is to make sure he keeps pushing him and getting 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 who is willing to take on the burden of failure. But what he needs is for his car to turn at top speed, even if the oil needs to change a little more frequently.
‘I do not see the ups and downs you mention. I see his shot going up and down, ‘Brooks said,’ but his game is not based on making and missing shots. It’s based on our guidance. ‘