Also in this episode, we wonder if fast-paced basketball is becoming the Thunder’s style?

Plus, your OKC ThunderCast hosts reveal inside information about the naming rights of the OKC Arena (the facility formerly known as the Ford Center).

Finally, we try to answer the question everyone seems to be asking after consecutive losses to the Jazz and Clippers — what’s wrong with the Thunder?

Last week, Blayne talked about the dream season the Thunder, and we fans, have enjoyed. Winning 50 games and earning the eighth seed in the playoffs, following last year’s forgettable season, is a miraculous accomplishment. Blayne pointed to a number of contributors: scoring leader Kevin Durant; Coach of the Year Scott Brooks; phenomenal rookies James Harden and Serge Ibaka; and many more. But I contend that the Thunder are still playing in late April primarily because of Westbrook’s improvement.

I have been one of Westbrook’s most ardent critics. I have maintained that Russ has lacked the most important skill of a good point guard, running an offense. Early in the season we released episode 32, Key Factors to Success, where we discussed what would make or break the Thunder’s season. Brent wanted to see a better three-point percentage, Blayne attributed wins defensive energy, and I pointed out that when Westbrook plays as a point guard, classified by his assist-to-turnover ratio, we win. Conversely, when he acts more as a shooting guard, we lose. I pointed out that assist-to-turnover ratio had the second highest correlation to the Thunder winning games, behind three-point shooting. This demonstrated the importance of having a player who can coordinate an offense and find open looks for his teammates. If Westbrook could act as a leader of the team, make more intelligent decisions with the ball, and take fewer sloppy shots, the Thunder would win far more games.

I worried that Westbrook was not retaining the lessons he was learning from previous games. It seemed that he would focus on being our point guard for the first half of games, but then revert to last season’s habits in the second half. When he would find a shooting groove, he would rush down the court with the ball and immediately attack the basket or take a quick three-point shot, rather than setting up an offense. Even after missing three or four attempts in a row, he would continue to press; either not believing his streak went cold or trying to regain the hot hand.

In the five months since that episode was recorded, I have had a complete turn-around. Russell Westbrook is the reason the Thunder have made it to the playoffs. Westbrook has embraced his role on the team and taken his responsibility as a playmaker seriously.

The primary statistic used to quantify playmaking is assists. Westbrook is an attacker by nature, and it has taken him a season and a half to subdue his instincts and develop into a pass-first leader. One criticism of Westbrook last year was his lazy, lobbing passing, but this season his passes have become sharp and accurate, many of them in tight quarters. The evidence of his improvement? Last season, Westbrook only averaged 5.3 assists per game. This season, he has made 217 more assists, to increase his per game mark to 8.0.

More importantly, the team as a whole has improved their offensive efficiency. We went from being 24th in the league in scoring to 14th. Certainly, Durant’s 30 points per game has an influence on that measure, but the staggering offensive improvement cannot be the work of one man alone. I assert that it is Westbrook’s growth and maturity as a leader that has had most significantly improved our offensive rating.

The second complaint about Westbrook was his shot selection. As I said earlier, Westbrook seemed to press himself into bad shots, including many ill-advised three-pointers. Throughout last season, and through the first two months of this season, he averaged 1.8 three-point attempts per game, making only 27% of them. New Year’s marked a turning point in his philosophy. We will never know if coach forbad him to jack threes or if he came to this understanding himself, but since New Year’s, he’s averaging only a half a three-pointer per game. He’s learned that three-point shooting is not the best way from him to contribute to the team.

Further defeating the poor shooting complaint is his development of the beautiful drive, stop, elevate, and shoot from the elbow. Mixed with his innate attacking ability and his new-found passing skills, this shot makes Westbrook a tough defensive assignment. Most point guards cannot leap as high as Westbrook, so developing a mid-range jumper was a key to his evolution.

Game Score is my favorite statistic in basketball. It is an aggregate measure of all box-score statistics into one number that is in the same scale as points. For example, a player may only score 10 points in a game, but rebounds, assists, and avoiding missed shots could make his performance equivalent to 20 points. Conversely, a player could score 30 points, but his turnovers and too many missed free throws could evaluate to the equivalent of 20 points. Game Score is a good measure of the overall contribution a player makes on the court and is further evidence of Westbrook’s development. He has improved his game score from 11.0 last season to 13.2 this season, meaning he is contributing the equivalent of an extra two points per game.

With all his improvements, there is still room for Westbrook to grow. An important measure of a point guard is his ability to maintain possession and protect the basketball. By turning the ball over, you are giving your opponent an easy stop and a chance to score. Furthermore, many turnovers result in fast-breaks, which have an above-average rate of scoring. Last season, Westbrook had more turnovers than anyone in the league. 274 times he gave the opponent an easy, extra possession. That’s 3.3 turnovers per game. I’ve heard many Westbrook supporters say that he has cut down on his turnovers this year, but that is just wrong. His turnovers per game this season? 3.3, exactly the same as his rookie campaign.

Westbrook has won the hearts of all Thunder fans, including me. His exciting and dynamic play not only shows up in box scores, but also in the hoarse voices of fans streaming from the Ford Center. During game four of the 2010 NBA Playoffs, the ESPN announcer quipped, these guys are going to be pretty good when they grow up. We should count ourselves lucky to be witnessing the evolution of what could one day be not just an elite point guard in the league, but perhaps the elite point guard.

I want to close by apologizing to Westbrook, Coach Brooks, and Sam Presti for all the negative things I have said in previous podcasts. Clearly, Presti and Brooks know a lot more about developing players than I do. Westbrook has earned my admiration as man who is willing to take on new challenges and fight through difficult times. George Patton once said, “Accept the challenges so that you may feel the exhilaration of victory.” Westbrook has accepted the gauntlet, and he has provided us all with the exhilaration of victory.

Until next time, fans. Enjoy our playoff run, BEAT LA, and let the Thunder roll!