Bad Russ is Playing for Denver
I'm extremely happy for Russ enjoying a blazing twilight with the Nuggets rather than the kind of fading, sad finish to which I thought he was doomed. But I'm also extremely happy for him to take 5.5 threes per game for the other team in a postseason series. That's the same volume that Aaron Gordon, Jamal Murray, and Michael Porter, Jr. are heaving. Yes, please. Russ took 464 three-pointers in the playoffs during his OKC career, missing 70% of them; we are due some misfires in return. And no matter how many times Mark Jones calls out "that's his spot" before another Russ miss from the corner, I will cheer the Thunder for inviting him to chuck more.
The Nuggets have been better on both ends when Westbrook sits, -23.1 points worse overall by NRTG when he plays. He's been strong as an on-ball defender, but has also fouled like crazy (he's averaging 5 per game). Thanks to Denver's short rotation, Westbrook's struggles off the bench have the Thunder benefiting like never before from Bad Russ, the phenomenon.
The boos for Russ feel weird. The hard fouls from Russ feel weird. Each of his momentum plays–good, bad, or ugly–are disorienting. But he's actually become one of the Thunder's biggest postseason rivals, however weird it feels.
