PORTLAND, Ore. — Russell Westbrook will never admit to changing. That outward stubbornness is what's made him so successful, and so polarizing, over the first 11 years of his career.
Bring up his recent shooting struggles and changing offense, and he bristles. Ask him about his recent, noticeable improvements on the defensive end, and he'll insist it's nothing new.
"I've been able to switch and guard up through 4, sometimes 5s, since I've been in the league," Westbrook said Friday, ahead of the Oklahoma City Thunder's 111-109 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers.
Never before, though, has Westbrook defended like this.