We knew the time would eventually come.
Even as Russell Westbrook has cemented himself as an offseason steal for the Denver Nuggets, even as he has made himself an important member of Denver’s rotation, even as he’s been the best version of himself this season since his Washington Wizards days, we knew a moment like Tuesday night would eventually rear its ugly head.
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The moment where Russell Westbrook does something inexplicable.
A wild shot.
A terrible turnover at an important time.
A reckless play with a critical game on the line.
Something.
For all of Westbrook’s brilliance — for the triple-doubles and the generational playmaking and athleticism — these are the moments that have put a ceiling on his overall game. He deserves credit for being so important to Denver’s fortunes that he is in a position to sink the team when he screws up.
But as he has gone from an NBA MVP and superstar to an All-Star, from an All-Star to a starter and now a starter to a sixth man with the Nuggets, the moment, when it came, was bound to stick out like a sore thumb.
AN INSTANT CLASSIC DESERVES A WILD FINISH 🚨
Timberwolves get the rebound, push it down court, and draw the foul on the 3PA!
Nickeil Alexander-Walker drills two CLUTCH free throws to secure the win for the Timberwolves 🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/CSkEnU1rj9
— NBA (@NBA) April 2, 2025
Westbrook’s sequence to end Denver’s double-overtime loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves at Ball Arena Tuesday night was about as Westbrook-like a moment that he could have. There was the missed layup — a wide-open missed layup — with the Nuggets up a point and poised to win what was probably the best game of this NBA regular season. But, then there was the reckless closeout of Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s last-second 3-point attempt, which resulted in a foul and led to the winning free throws.
It was a terrible turn of events for Westbrook, who had been instrumental in the Nuggets having a chance to win in the first place. And that, in itself, is the conundrum. Even with Nikola Jokić having a game for the ages, a 61-point triple-double, the Nuggets lose on Tuesday night by a larger margin if not for Westbrook’s defense, his intensity, his secondary playmaking and his energy, which, in real time, galvanized the rest of the roster.
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It’s one of the big reasons that his head coach Michael Malone and his teammates were adamant about having his back in the moments following Denver’s loss.
“Knowing Russ the way that I do, he’s probably going to put a lot of this on him,” Malone said. “But we lost, the Denver Nuggets.”
When asked, Jokić said Westbrook did the right thing, going for the layup on Denver’s last possession. I agree with Jokić for a few reasons. There were nine or so seconds left when Westbrook had that wide-open layup. If he pulls the ball out, maybe that shaves three seconds at most, but Minnesota would have had plenty of time to tie the game if Westbrook hits two free throws.
The thing is, Westbrook is shooting 63 percent from the free-throw line this season. The layup was a sure thing … until it wasn’t. Two free throws in the clutch, on a night where Westbrook missed three, wasn’t a sure thing.
Where Westbrook had his moment was the foul on Alexander-Walker. He’s too much of a veteran, too smart, too savvy, too experienced, to make that foul. From grade school basketball to high school to college, coaches teach one thing: Never foul a jump shooter. And especially never foul one with the game on the line, the clock dwindling. Everyone misses layups. It happens to the best of us, so it’s tough to criticize Westbrook for that.
The foul? He deserves all the criticism in the world for that reckless closeout and there is no excusing that.
As the playoffs approach, the Nuggets are hitched to the Westbrook wagon for better or for worse. At this point, he’s too important to Denver’s playoff ceiling and chances to win. So, if you are a Nuggets fan, you have to hope the good of Westbrook cancels out any potential moment of him losing his mind on the court, even if it’s a temporary lapse. He’s Denver’s best guard as a point-of-attack defender. He’s Denver’s best guard in terms of pushing the ball in transition. He’s Denver’s best hope at rim pressure from a guard in half-court situations. He’s Denver’s second-best passer … by a mile. He’s also proven to be Denver’s best player in terms of cutting to the basket when Jokić finds himself double-teamed. And he’s the one Nugget who shows a little bit of nasty on the floor, which will certainly come in handy come playoff time.
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This isn’t the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers didn’t need Westbrook. He didn’t possess a skill unique to the rest of that roster. This isn’t the LA Clippers, who didn’t need Westbrook.
But the Nuggets do. Westbrook does multiple things that nobody else on the roster, including Jokić or Jamal Murray, can duplicate. So, the Nuggets are tied to the Russell Westbrook experience no matter where that experience takes them.
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For most of the season, that experience has brought about wins and good vibes. His energy, on and off the floor, has been infectious. He’s developed a terrific relationship with the Nuggets’ fanbase. He’s kept the ship afloat through Murray’s many ailments, and he’s meshed surprisingly well with Murray when the dynamic guard has been in the lineup.
Most importantly, he’s reduced stress on Jokić with his ability to find the superstar center for easy baskets out of the pick-and-roll. Sure, there have been quirks, like some ill-timed turnovers and some games where he’s shot the ball a little too much from the perimeter. But for the most part, Westbrook has been a real find for the Nuggets, particularly with the Denver front office having limited financial resources this past offseason.
Wednesday night’s 113-106 loss to the San Antonio Spurs, scarcely 24 hours after the loss to Minnesota, serves as the perfect example of the conundrum of Westbrook. His missing another open layup, which could have tied the game late, proved to be costly. But, with the Nuggets sitting their entire starting five, plus Peyton Watson, Westbrook was terrific overall. The game isn’t close without his 30 points, a season-high, 11 rebounds and six assists. On a night when the Nuggets had every reason to not be competitive, Westbrook made the Nuggets competitive.
Still, we all wondered when the Westbrook moment would arrive, when the moment he negatively impacts a game would pop up. Tuesday night proved to be the first such moment for Westbrook in a Denver uniform. And even in a moment where this wasn’t all on Westbrook, it was a moment, regardless.
The good news? Tuesday night was a regular season game. So, we are all able to move on with the schedule.
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But, when the playoffs do start, the Nuggets are going to need Westbrook to be at his best physically, and most importantly, mentally. The Nuggets cannot win a championship with a lesser version. Tuesday night is proof of that. The last time a team needed Westbrook to that degree, he was an MVP in Oklahoma City.
And that’s the sobering reality for the Denver Nuggets. It’s a team with an MVP. It’s a team that features Murray’s surgical offense and the synergy of one of the best starting units in the NBA. It’s a team with the very definition of a puncher’s chance at a championship. And now, it’s a team that relies on Westbrook’s volatility to win that championship.
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(Photo of Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Russell Westbrook: Dustin Bradford / Getty Images)
