Talking trash after you win is a pretty easy thing to do. Had Russell Westbrook gone off for 25 points and 12 assists to lead the Thunder to a victory over the Blazers Wednesday night, Raymond Felton probably would not have taken the time to critique his game. However, Portland beat the Thunder 103-93, which inspired Felton to talk about how Westbrook is not a team player.
“That’s the type of guy he is, that’s his mindset, that’s how he plays,” Felton told The Oregonian. “He’s always in a one-on-one battle with all the point guards. I’m not really into that. I’m into winning. If you win, everybody gets the praises. We are not wearing ‘Felton’ on the front of our jerseys; it says Blazers. I care about the Blazers winning.”
Based on the altercations Westbrook has had with Kevin Durant, it was kind of obvious that he isn’t the greatest team player in the league. Still, I don’t think he is as concerned about statistics as he is about winning. When things are going well for the Thunder everyone wants to praise Westbrook. When things are going poorly it’s because he’s selfish.
Whether Felton’s assessment was accurate or not, I think his emotions probably got the best of him after getting the best of Westbrook. At the end of the day having a Russell Westbrook that can get carried away in one-on-one situations is better than having 90% of the other point guards in the league.
H/T to Eye on Basketball for the story
