Russell Westbrook : Film Study :: Allen Iverson : Practice

Russell Westbrook on why he doesn't watch film: "My job is to worry about what I'm able to do. Hopefully, they can stop that." pic.twitter.com/569JWUr1S3

— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) November 16, 2016

Let's just get this out of the way right quick, no one should be endorsing this behavior. Russell Westbrook is a professional athlete that gets paid an absurd amount of money to play basketball. That's his full time job and he should treat it as such. That means doing things off the court that can increase his efficiency on the court. Like it or not, he's a leader that should be setting good example in the locker room. Sitting there fucking around on his phone during film study like he's a teenager taking advantage of a substitute teacher is unquestionably a surefire sign that he takes his job for granted.

That said, you're a goddamn liar if you say you're not glad he does. This right here? This complete dismissal of the importance of knowing his opponent's tendencies? This is why we were excited to watch Russell Westbrook this year. The flat out cockiness? The braggadocio? If anything, basketball fans encouraged this attitude. We wanted to see him average a triple double while jacking up 35 shots a game. We wanted to him bolt down the court in 1.2 seconds and try to throw down over the entirety of a starting 5. We wanted him to treat every single possession like it was a metaphorical middle finger to Kevin Durant. We wanted him to act as if NBA arenas were his own personal playground. Russell Westbrook simply wouldn't be Russell Westbrook if he was making the "right" or "fundamental" basketball play. That probably makes him an absolute nightmare to coach, but it makes him a goddamn treat to watch. The day that he stops treating professional basketball like a pickup game is the day when the Thunder no longer have a spot on the DVR.

I'll admit, he's definitely taken that "now I do what I want" mantra just a littttttle too literally. However, I doubt the game tape on the Rockets showed that they were susceptible to point guards dunking over their big men with their off hand when the game is on the line so I can't really say I'm not happy that he choose to play spades instead of watching it...

Russell Westbrook explodes to the rim for the NASTY LEFTY SLAM to secure the @OKCThunder victory! #ThunderUp pic.twitter.com/YX0cHJexHJ

— NBA (@NBA) November 17, 2016