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Russell Westbrook claims his post-up game is ‘not always used to score’

Russell Westbrook, Rockets

Houston Rockets star Russell Westbrook is one of the few point guards in the NBA who has the luxury of posting up other guards because of his height and upper body strength.

Westbrook is able to use his stature to post-up little guards and either score, draw a foul or collapse the paint and kick it out to shooters for wide-open looks.

The new Rockets superstar says he has talked with head coach Mike D’Antoni about utilizing his post-up game this season and is excited to showcase those skills to the fans in Houston.

“Posting up is a big part of my game,” Westbrook said, via Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic. “Me and Coach talked about it, using it to my advantage with smaller guys on me, which is pretty much every night, and I’m going to use it to my advantage.

“It’s not always used to score, I use it to facilitate, use it to get in the paint. For scoring, if it’s one-on-one then definitely. Just reading the defense.”

Westbrook has averaged a triple-double three seasons in a row. The former MVP put up 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds and 10.7 assists in 2018-19 while shooting 42.8 percent from the field, 29.0 percent from beyond the arc and 65.6 percent from the free-throw line.

The Rockets expect Westbrook to shoot the ball better with them since he’ll have more space to shoot playing alongside James Harden, Eric Gordon and Austin Rivers.

The shooters in Houston are going to benefit from Westbrook’s post-ups. Russ will likely see double-teams in the post or command heavy attention, which will free up the Rockets’ snipers from deep.

The post Russell Westbrook claims his post-up game is ‘not always used to score’ appeared first on ClutchPoints.

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