westbrook-getty-8.png
Getty Images

If it's true that we tend to build our sports heroes up so we can then tear them down, then perhaps, if only for one night, we owe Russell Westbrook the reverse. We've torn the guy down to the studs; in the media, on Twitter, in the stands. From a basketball perspective, it's been mostly warranted. But after what he did for the Clippers in their Game 1 win over the Suns on Sunday night, it's time to do some building back up. 

This was not a performance captured in the box score, which, for the record, will show Westbrook, in all-too-familiar fashion, bricking his way to a 3-for-19 showing. Indeed, these were some classic Westbrook bricks. An airball masquerading as an assist. Front-rim scuds. Backboard bullets. Blown bunnies. Russ's shooting remains a major issue, and it might ultimately prove too much for the Clippers to overcome over the course of this series if he doesn't up the efficiency or cut the volume.

But for one night, at least, Westbrook was so impactful in the non-glamour areas that we can definitely say there is no way the Clippers win this game without him. He was everywhere. He pressured and pursued on the defensive end. He crashed the offensive glass relentlessly. He forced tempo. 

Apologists tend to speak of Westbrook's energy in euphemistic terms, like when your friends ask if your date on Friday night was attractive and you try to run the old misdirection play with a nod to their "great personality." 

Did Russ play good last night?

Uh, well, he played hard.

Also, if we're being honest, Westbrook's motor, while commendable, isn't always a good thing. He barrels into bad situations too often. He tends to be a turnover machine. He takes shots he shouldn't. His playing hard is usually only partially true, as well. His offensive energy is relentless, yes. Defensively, not so much. 

In some ways, Westbrook looks like he's playing hard in the way that some super-smooth player, say a Stephen Curry or Devin Booker, might look like he isn't. A lot of it is optics. Get down in the details, and Russ dies on screens and jogs around defensively like so many maligned others. 

But that was not the case on Sunday night. This wasn't just frantic or situational Westbrook energy. This was disruptive, game-altering aggression nearly every minute he was on the floor: 10 rebounds, including five offensive, eight assists, three blocks and two steals. And don't start with the stat-hunting stuff. There are nights to have that take. This was not one of them. 

Check the defense on Kevin Durant:

In a one-point game with under three minutes to play, Westbrook climbed the ladder and cradled a huge offensive board that led to the first of Kawhi Leonard's consecutive 3-pointers. 

Inside the final minute, with Phoenix desperate to regain possession, Westbrook corralled another offensive board and disrupted a second sequence enough to knock the ball off a Phoenix player and out of bounds. It shows up in the box score as a team rebound for the Clippers. It wasn't. It was all Westbrook. The guy was all out all night, never once letting his shooting woes bleed into the blue-collar columns. 

Finally, with the Clippers holding a three-point lead, courtesy of two clutch, all-net Westbrook free throws, and the clock ticking down toward 10 seconds remaining in the game, Devin Booker tried to go one on one with Westbrook and got stuffed. Literally. Westbrook stayed connected to Booker on his drive, blocked his shot, then capped the sequence by redirecting the ball off Booker and out of bounds to give possession to the Clippers, who promptly sealed the win with a pair of Eric Gordon free throws. 

"I told him during the game, 'Your scoring is not that important. Don't get frustrated with missing shots. You bring us way more than just scoring the basketball. Don't let that affect your game,'" Clippers coach Ty Lue told reporters after the game. And he couldn't have said it better. Westbrook couldn't make a shot to save his life on Sunday, and yet, in the end, he wound up saving the Clippers.