Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook wasn't concerned about his woeful shooting night in a Game 4 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, nor by his shot selection throughout the game — one that included a heavy dose of mid-range jump shots, which mostly clanked off the rim.
Blazers point man Damian Lillard has been largely praised for his defense on Westbrook, taking away the easy shots at the rim and limiting him to contested looks from the perimeter.
However, Westbrook didn't think of it as a problem.
“It wasn't taken away,” Westbrook said of getting to the rim, according to ESPN's Royce Young. “I get deep paint any time I want, but I always make the right play. So when I'm in deep paint I find guys on the perimeter. Hit [Steven Adams]. My job is to make sure guys get the basketball. I don't need to shoot a layup every single time. But I'm in the paint all game, and that's how it goes sometimes. Shot attempts is not the only thing that I can do to make sure I'm in it for the defense, and kick it out to make open shots.”
Lillard seems to think otherwise.
“Mid-range jumpers, that's his shot,” said Lillard. “Sometimes he takes pull-up 3 pointers and just having a presence — and those are the shots we're making available, I guess. And that's what we're living with.”
Westbrook shot a baffling 5-of-21 from the floor on Sunday night, his worst shooting night of the series next to the 5-of-20 he shot in Game 2.
The OKC guard has put near-triple-double numbers this postseason, but proven largely inefficient scoring the ball, shooting a mere 36.5% from the field and 28% from beyond the arc, all while racking up nearly five turnovers per game.
By the numbers, these are performances Lillard and the Blazers could live with during Game 5 at the Moda Center on Tuesday.
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