The trio of Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and James Harden gets a lot of attention for the Los Angeles Clippers, but Russell Westbrook has been a key member of the team. One area that Russell Westbrook has made a big difference is on the defensive end, and he made sure people knew that when talking to the media recently.

“Whenever my opportunity presents itself, I do it to the best of my ability, play to the best of my ability, play hard as I can like I've always done,” Westbrook said, via Law Murray of The Athletic. “Lead like I've always done as well. Defend, like I've always done. … Ain't too many people defending better than me at this point, if we're keeping it honest. But I'll let the numbers speak for that and let y'all talk about it. But if we just keeping it a buck, ain't too many people defending better than me at this position all around the league honestly.”

The Clippers are arguably the hottest team in the NBA as things stand. They are on a nine-game winning streak, and it is clear that things are coming together with James Harden in the fold. He is getting acclimated to playing with Kawhi Leonard and Paul George.

In the midst of all of this, Westbrook is proving to be a valuable depth piece for the Clippers this season. They will try to extend their winning streak to 10 games against a good Oklahoma City Thunder team on Thursday.