In the game between the Nuggets and the Clippers, although Leonard was absent, Jokic's absence undoubtedly had a greater impact on the Nuggets. However, in this mismatched battle, the Nuggets defeated the Clippers completely, with Westbrook becoming an important contributor to the Nuggets' victory. So, what kind of performance has Westbrook shown after gaining the trust of the Nuggets? This issue will take you through an in-depth data analysis to understand.
In this game, Westbrook played for 29 minutes, contributing 19 points and 8 assists to help the Nuggets defeat the Clippers. Looking at the basic statistics, it doesn't seem particularly outstanding, but after this battle, Westbrook's performance on the court this season contrasts sharply with his playing time: In October, Westbrook averaged 19.7 minutes, contributing 9.8 points and 3.8 assists, with shooting percentages of 27% and 25%; In November, Westbrook averaged 26.2 minutes, contributing 12.9 points and 6.6 assists, with shooting percentages of 42.3% and 40.4%; In December, Westbrook averaged 28.5 minutes, contributing 12 points and 7.1 assists, with shooting percentages of 51.8% and 22.2%; In January, Westbrook averaged 31.2 minutes, contributing 15.8 points and 7.8 assists, with shooting percentages of 51.7% and 36.4%. Judging from the basic performance, the more playing time he gets, the greater his contribution, and this improvement is reflected in various aspects.
Looking at the impact of Westbrook's presence on the court, it becomes even more obvious. From October to January, his net efficiency for each month was -21.3, -5.3, 4.5, and 14.3, respectively. This means that when Westbrook is on the court, the Nuggets have steadily improved from a net loss of 21.3 points per 100 possessions at the beginning of the season to a net win of 14.3 points per 100 possessions in January. The more playing time he gets, the higher his net efficiency on the court, which indicates that Westbrook is a player worthy of the Nuggets' trust. His role on the court now can be said to have made a qualitative leap compared to the beginning of the season.
In particular, in the last ten games, when Westbrook is not on the court, the Nuggets' net efficiency is -2.5, while when Westbrook is on the court, the Nuggets' net efficiency is 13. Westbrook can improve the team's net efficiency by 15.5, which is second only to Jokic and Porter Jr. among the Nuggets' starters. Looking at the entire season for the Nuggets, when Westbrook, Porter Jr., and Jokic are on the court together, the Nuggets' net efficiency reaches 16.7, which is the highest among the top 10 three-man groups with the most shared playing time. This means that when these three are on the court together, the Nuggets have the highest net win points per 100 possessions.
So why do the Nuggets reach their strongest state when these three are on the court together? Firstly, there is no obvious conflict in their playing styles when these three are on the court. Westbrook excels at breaking through, Porter Jr. is good at playing without the ball, and Jokic is proficient in all aspects of the offensive end. They have clear divisions of labor and perform their respective roles, making them the highest-scoring trio within the Nuggets, reaching an offensive efficiency of 127.1. Secondly, although their defense does not reach the level of Brian, there are no obvious weaknesses. For example, the trio of Westbrook, Brian, and Jokic has the highest defensive efficiency of 107.8, but their offensive efficiency also drops to 123.2.
If we further investigate the net efficiency of the Nuggets' five-man groups on the court, among the five-man groups with the most playing time, the top four with the highest net efficiency all include Westbrook's name, but the two five-man groups with negative net efficiency also include Westbrook's name. These indicate that Westbrook is still a double-edged sword for the Nuggets: with the right lineup, he can reach higher limits, but putting him in an unsuitable lineup can also have exaggerated negative effects. It can be seen that although Westbrook's basic statistics are average at present, his role for the Nuggets on the court is not to be underestimated, and now the Nuggets have probably found the proper use of Westbrook.