To begin the 2017-18 NBA season, the Oklahoma City Thunder have gotten off to an 8-9 start. While it will take time for Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony to build chemistry, they earned an impressive 108-91 win over Kevin Durant and the defending champion Golden State Warriors.
With the biggest win of the young season, there is optimism the Thunder can use it to start building momentum. However, Westbrook has a different approach according to Royce Young of ESPN:
Westbrook on if beating the Warriors, especially with how well OKC played, gives them some momentum. “That’s what we’re supposed to do.” (Note: bad word ahead.) pic.twitter.com/x7K1KZ0Sle
— Royce Young (@royceyoung) November 24, 2017
After losing Durant, the Thunder have reloaded with George and Anthony one season later. As all three players have been their team's first option, Westbrook has especially gone out of his way to ensure his new teammates are comfortable. However, in the win over the Warriors, Westbrook being the team's first option provided a potential winning blueprint.
As the Thunder host the Detroit Pistons, it will be interesting to see if Westbrook becomes more aggressive offensively. After averaging 31.6 points (24.0 field goal attempts) during the 2016-17 season en route to his first Most Valuable Player award, he is currently averaging 10.7 points and 5.7 field goal attempts less through 17 games.
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