Russell Westbrook Is Proving To Be A Key Addition To The Denver Nuggets Starting Lineup

The Denver Nuggets got off to a rocky start to the 2024-25 NBA season. Nikola Jokić has been playing like an MVP candidate since Game 1, but the team only managed to win 11 of their first 21 games. On December 7th, they were in 9th place in the Western Conference, and needed some kind of change to provide a spark.

The Denver Nuggets Are 10-3 With Westbrook In The Starting Lineup

Russell Westbrook has been inserted into the starting lineup in more than a handful of games since, and the Nuggets have seen a positive uptick.

He started three games earlier in the season, but spent nearly a full month coming off of the bench in November and early December. Since December 7th, however, Westbrook has started in 10 of the past 14 contests. Denver is 7-3 in those games and 9-5 overall, and have surged up the standings, currently sitting in 4th place in the competitive West.

The Nuggets were 3-0 in the three games that Westbrook had previously started.

Russell Westbrook as a starter this season:

10-3 record 77% win rate
31mpg
13ppg
8.4apg
6.2rpg
2.3spg
3.1tpg
2.73 ast/to ratio
60% TS%
44% DFG%
38% 4th quarter DFG%
8.0 NetRtg

1st Team All Defense! pic.twitter.com/cJwKzzxrAn

— JDJackson (@TheWestWolfPod) January 5, 2025

As a member of the starting lineup, Westbrook has had to focus less on being a main scoring option. His numbers are up across the board thanks to an increase in minutes, including his overall field goal percentage and an additional 3+ assists per game. Last week against Utah, he was able to notch his second triple-double of the season and first as a starter.

The Nuggets will need to keep up the solid play if they hope to remain in the upper part of the standings. Their next game will come against the championship favored Boston Celtics, and a back-to-back the next day against the Clippers. Next week, they’ll take on the Mavericks twice and then the Rockets, giving them four games that they are within 2.5 games of in the standings.

Over this past weekend, the Nuggets took on the upstart Spurs twice. They split the series 1-1, and Westbrook had a similar production in both. He scored 9 points in each contest, both of which featured him in the starting lineup/