Russell Westbrook, the hedgehog we wanted to turn into a fox • Basket USA

NBA – Since arriving at the Lakers, Russell Westbrook has been nothing but a shadow of the player he used to be. Maybe it’s because he’s one-dimensional and the Lakers are stubborn in wanting to trade him.

In 1953, the philosopher Isaiah Berlin published an essay on Russian literature The Hedgehog and the Fox. Essay on Tolstoy’s vision of history.

The title metaphor comes from a quote by the Greek poet Archilochus: “The fox knows many things, the hedgehog only one, but a big one.” Starting from this image, Isaiah Berlin distinguishes two types of thinkers, writers or human beings: “those who (…) connect everything with one central vision, with one more or less expressed and coherent system, thanks to which they understand, think, and feel – organizational principle, unique and universal, according to which everything are, everything they say has a meaning – and (…) those who strive for multiple goals, often without any relationship between them, in contradictory, connected paths (when they are) only de facto, for some psychological or physiological reason.” The former are similar to the hedgehog that curls up in any situation, the latter to the fox whose cunning shows a keen sense of observation.

I have often kept this metaphor in mind as I look at careers Russell Westbrookespecially in recent years. The 2017 MVP seems to connect everything to one central vision, a unique system by which he understands, thinks and feels the game: namely the intensity and physical pressure he can apply as soon as he has the ball in hand.

Live and die by physical intensity

Since his arrival in the NBA, it seems that all of his efforts have been focused on optimizing this scheme. Russell Westbrook just seems able to exist in this system where he can catch the ball, push the ball and put pressure on opposing defenses. It is his alpha and his omega. That made him become the MVP and the tireless driving force of his teams in a series of triple-double seasons. It also forced him to commit a series of defensive lapses, causing him to lose effectiveness every time the game slowed down or he had to share the role with another ball carrier.

His last statement, on his injury was sustained while Darwin Hamm was testing him as a sixth manis in my eyes the ultimate proof that Russell Westbrook will remain a hedgehog until the end.

“Absolutely”he answered a question about whether his hamstring injury was related to coming off the bench. “I had the same routine for 14 years straight. Honestly, I didn’t even know what to do before the match. To be honest, I was trying to figure out how to stay warm and prepared. Especially considering the way I play, because I go fast, push, restart. Turns out, when I got into the game, I felt something. I thought it was… I didn’t know what it was, but I didn’t want to take any chances in the preseason. But it was definitely not something I was used to. I wasn’t warm enough. »

As he says: For 14 years, Russell Westbrook has been building himself to shine in his system. For this purpose, he developed his physical and technical routine. This organizing principle, unique and universal, dictated his career, took him very high, only to now fall suddenly. That explains why he balked when Frank Vogel wanted everyone to be able to pick up the ball last year with the Lakers. This explains why it is lost when placed in 6th place. That explains why Charles Barkley or Paul George feel so uncomfortable on this Los Angeles team.

“Honestly, this team wasn’t built for him, with this roster.” explained his former teammate to the Thunder after the derby. “It has to work both ways.” He was a guy who could easily go 30-10-10 when he had the keys to the team. We must not forget that. I just want him to find that joy, that excitement, that satisfaction. That’s what makes him special, the fact that he can do it every night. I hate that that doesn’t seem to be the case for him. But I hope he succeeds in the end. »

“Let a Russian be a Russian…or die trying”

“Let a Russian be a Russian.” Let a Russian be a Russian. That was and still is the watchword for MVP fans in 2017. That means handing the rebounds and the ball to Russell Westbrook so he can bring the intensity and physical pressure he’s shown since joining the league. It is probably forgotten that at almost 34 years old, the leader has lost his explosiveness and effectiveness, especially near the circle.

Last year, with 58% success from less than 1m20 from the hoop, he was only in the 52nd percentile in efficiency in this zone. He has never been this ineffective since his sophomore season. But this is also an advantage when you base your game on one and very simple principle, nuances are much harder to apply.

However, what deserves to be nuanced is the extent to which Russell Westbrook is responsible for his struggles since arriving in Los Angeles. Of course, we’ve rarely seen an NBA urchin so dogged by his principles (while the vast majority of players rely on a few core strengths to build a career) and so resistant to change. But the desire of LeBron James and the Lakers to transform the hedgehog Westbrook into a fox, to now make him the “3&D” opposite of what he has been for more than a decade, must also raise questions.

While I wait to see how the situation plays out, even if I’ve never personally been a fan of his game, there’s a painful sense of unease when you see a player fighting against so many external elements. It’s like seeing a badly injured hedgehog.