Michael Malone on Russell Westbrook: 'I think defensively he's been a rockstar'

The comeback was propelled by a stretch of 15 consecutive points either scored or assisted by Westbrook. "I think defensively he's been a rockstar," Malone said. "And what I love about Russell Westbrook: 17-year vet, leopards don't change their spots, but he is trying so hard to be disciplined. He's trying to do the things we're asking him to do, and I appreciate that so much. Because a lot of times at 17 years in, you are who you are. But he cares, man. He is so invested in this team and what he's bringing to this team, and he's so hard on himself. I can coach a guy like Russell Westbrook any day."

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Kurt Helin basketballtalk Jokic's triple-double, 29 from Westbrook, Watson's game-saving block help Nuggets hand Thunder first loss nbcsports.com/nba/news/jokic... – 2:13 AM Vinny Benedetto VBenedetto Russell Westbrook gets called for an offensive foul and follows it up with a technical. Shai Gilgeious-Alexander hits the free throw to put OKC up 17-9 in the first five minutes. Nikola Jokic also has had a conversation or three with the officials. – 9:22 PM Rylan Stiles Rylan_Stiles Perfect pick and roll defense for a OKC there. Chet gets over with a body on Jokic, Dort able to leave Westbrook on the perimeter and get the steal to set up a Jalen Williams 3. – 9:14 PM StatMuse statmuse NBA leaders during the Trump administration: PTS — Harden REB — Drummond AST — Westbrook STL — Harden BLK — Gobert FGM — Giannis 3PM — Harden FTM — Harden pic.x.com/9JcTGOnO8C – 6:45 PM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn Going live on Pickaxe and Roll in 5 minutes to chat about last night! Let's talk about Michael Malone trusting the young guys. youtube.com/live/or1fR1amf... pic.x.com/W9PynaD56M – 11:54 AM Vinny Benedetto VBenedetto Michael Malone on RJ Barrett's near game-winner: "That shot at the end, from my vantage point, I still don't know how it didn't go down, but I'm very thankful on Grateful Dead night that it didn't." Vintage Malone. – 1:23 AM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn Also asked Russell Westbrook about resiliency in an 82-game season and being able to survive games like tonight: "It's very important, man. It shapes you as a team. It shows-we've been in this situations a couple times this year, and obviously, you don't want to be in a lot of – 1:18 AM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn I asked Michael Malone about trusting young guys. "I'm saying to myself, holy shit, we're out here with— I never envisioned this lineup being out there to close the game." pic.x.com/6qOFNDejy2 – 1:03 AM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn I asked Russell Westbrook today about Denver making clutch threes and how the three-point shooting was a storyline early this season. He gently pushed back. Appreciated the defense of his team and talking things through. pic.x.com/hmc7JZz61F – 12:56 AM Vinny Benedetto VBenedetto Michael Malone says he was surprised Aaron Gordon played Saturday's game. He doesn't believe the injury is anything significant, but he's checking with trainers. – 12:36 AM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn Very good Russell Westbrook game to this point. – 11:56 PM Ryan Blackburn NBABlackburn Alright, Denver survived that stint. I'm not sure how. Mostly defense and hustle. Hunter Tyson and Russell Westbrook standing out there. Strawther also had some nice contests. – 10:40 PM

More on this storyline

THE ONLY OPINION that truly matters is Jokic's, and Booth said he seeks it often. "[He] has earned the respect of check-ins and seeing, 'What do you think about it?'" Booth said. "There's a fine line — if there's somebody that he's played with for a long time, I wouldn't put that responsibility on him. ... But we try to involve him as much as we can." He said, for example, Jokic was a big proponent of signing Russell Westbrook to be the team's backup point guard. "I think more than anything, [Jokic] loves [Westbrook's] passion for the game," Booth said . But on bigger-picture issues, such as the best way to construct the team around him under the new collective bargaining rules, whether to entrust younger players with bigger roles or sacrifice flexibility and depth to retain veteran free agents, Jokic demurs. "I'm just here to play basketball," he said. "I don't understand contracts, this and that, years and CBA. ... That's not my job." -via ESPN / November 1, 2024 That bench unit is now anchored by Russell Westbrook, who, even after scoring 22 points Tuesday, is shooting 10-for-37 overall and 3-for-12 from 3. "Their second unit is now at Russ' mercy," an opposing scout told ESPN . -via ESPN / November 1, 2024 Ryan Blackburn: Final Rotations for the Nuggets as they survive ANOTHER game in OT, winning 144-139 vs Brooklyn. Nikola Jokic: 29-18-16, ho hum, Aaron Gordon: 24 points, 8/11 FG, 7/7 FT, Jamal Murray: 24-3-3. Russell Westbrook: 22 and 5, 5/12 FG, 2/2 3P, 10/10 FT, flipped this game 2-2! pic.x.com/0kOHbZE8Ir -via Twitter / October 29, 2024