Boston Celtics Legend Makes Strong Russell Westbrook Statement

The Denver Nuggets watched two of their best role players, Bruce Brown and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, leave in consecutive offseason, which led many to believe that Denver no longer had the pieces to make another title run after their NBA Finals victory in 2023. However, with promising players like Julian Strawther and Christian Braun in position to take on bigger roles, the absence of Brown and Caldwell-Pope hasn't been noticeable.

On top of the production from Strawther and Braun, Denver has benefited tremendously from the play of offseason acquisition Russell Westbrook. The former MVP is no longer the 30-point triple-double threat he was in Oklahoma City, but his new role is just as productive with Denver. NBA legends Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce recently brought it up on their podcast and had praise for the veteran guard.

Is Russell Westbrook the key to unlocking the Nuggets’ true potential?

Russ is averaging 14.7/7.6/6.3 in 21 games as a starter this season, and is drawing comps to Jason Kidd during his second stint in Dallas from Ticket and Truth. pic.twitter.com/s6EkIPHsHG
— All the Smoke Productions (@allthesmokeprod) January 22, 2025

"I like Jamal at the two now, with Westbrook at the one," Pierce said. "Westbrook is going to be better, because Westbrook can get the ball to Joker and be a cutter, slasher, and all of that. Where, when you get into the pick-and-roll with Joker, you just think about scoring, dog."

Pierce compared Westbrook's tenure with the Nuggets similar to Jason Kidd's time with the Dallas Mavericks.

"I referenced J-Kidd in Dallas," Pierce said. "Like you know, J-Kidd was older, now imma just be more like a facilitator. I don't need to be running the pick-and-rolls too much. So and the difference between Westbrook and J-Kidd, J-Kidd started developing being a shooter at the end. A spot up shooter."

Some key stats from last night's win:

📈Our last 12 wins have been by double digits
🪣The 35-point win vs. PHI is the largest of the year
🔢Tied our season-high of 144 points
👏11th time scoring 130 points or more this season
🤝Tied with Memphis for the most 130+ point wins… pic.twitter.com/U0wLOqqxDH
— Denver Nuggets (@nuggets) January 22, 2025

The Nuggets currently hold a 17-5 record with Westbrook in the starting lineup and look to improve upon that this evening when they host the Sacramento Kings.

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