Russell Westbrook Already Creating Noise In Washington, Likes What He Sees

KEY POINTS

Russell Westbrook interrupted Scott Brooks during practice to say his plays were pretty familiar
Westbrook is expected to blend in easily with the Wizards
He prefers to move forward rather than discuss his past with the Houston Rockets

Washington Wizards head coach Scott Brooks' basketball strategy has hardly changed in the eyes of pundits. Russell Westbrook finally caught a glimpse of the plays he will need to get used to during a recent practice session. And from the looks of it, he will not have a hard time adapting.

The 2017 NBA MVP interrupted Brooks during practice on Saturday just to tell him that he was running a lot of plays that are familiar to him. It only shows how quickly he can blend in with the Wizards, which can hopefully help the club come up with a credible performance this coming NBA season, Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington reported.

Westbrook has shown in the past that he has what it takes to lead a team. This clearly showed in 2017 when he was tasked to take over following the departure of Kevin Durant. This was the time when Durant opted to move to the Golden State Warriors.

Scott Brooks says Russell Westbrook interrupted him at practice today to say 'Hey, you're running a lot of the same stuff [we used to in OKC].' Says it shows how quickly he's going to be acclimated to the system.
— Chase Hughes (@ChaseHughesNBCS) December 5, 2020

Since then, Westbrook has been on another level. Even when he was traded to the Houston Rockets, the nine-time All-Star guard showed he could adjust and deliver the same numbers.

In 57 games with the Rockets last season, the California native normed 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists. Except for assists, these were improved numbers for Westbrook.

During his MVP year, he maintained a triple-double all season long. He ended that term by averaging 31.6 points, 10.7 rebounds and 10.4 assists. He had a total of 42 triple-doubles during the 2016-17 MVP season, breaking the previous record of 41 held by NBA legend Oscar Robertson.

With Bradley Beal around, Westbrook does not have to push himself in the same way he did with the Thunder that season. However, his familiarity with Brooks makes the Wizards a team to watch.

It is all eyes forward for Westbrook, who is opting not to discuss anything about the trade request out of Houston, the Associated Press reported. Rather than delve into that, he prefers to focus on his stint with the Wizards and where he is right now.

“Happy about where I’m at and understanding that this is a new journey for me and understanding how important it is to focus on where I’m at, focus on the team, focus on the organization, the community, the people here,” Westbrook said.