Why I Dug Into Russell Westbrook’s Plus-Minus
So last Tuesday, I was watching this Clippers game while eating cold pizza. Russ was dunking all over the place, crowd going wild. But the score kept getting worse every time he came back on the floor. Made me wonder: how’s that even possible? Guy’s flying around like a tornado but the team’s sinking. So I grabbed my laptop and started tracking his plus-minus myself.
First thing I did was pull up NBA stats from last season. Scrolled through Russ’s game logs like it was Instagram stories. Saw these wild swings: +20 against the Suns then -28 against the Kings three days later. My dog started barking when I yelled “WHAT?” at the screen. Like how’s that even real?
How I Tracked It Live
Next game night, I sat with my notebook like a nerd:
- Took notes every time Russ checked in/out
- Wrote down score changes every 2 minutes
- Used my microwave timer for subsitution alerts
- Drank three coffees to stay awake during timeouts
Kept seeing this pattern: when Russ played with starters, +/- looked decent. But with bench guys? Disaster. Ball would stick, shots got forced, defense turned to Swiss cheese. My pen almost tore through the paper when he had back-to-back turnovers against Portland.
Weird Things I Noticed
After doing this for five games, stuff got clear:
- His worst +/- always comes against teams with tall centers
- Numbers spike crazy when small-ball lineup plays
- Turnovers murder the rating worse than bricks
- Assists only help rating if shooter actually makes it
Remember when he got that triple-double against Utah? Team lost by 15. Stats page made it look amazing. My notebook showed he was -17 during his minutes. Felt like math was lying to me.
Why This Matters Personally
Back in high school, I played point guard like a mini Russ – all speed no brakes. Coach benched me for “killing team flow” during playoffs. Was mad for weeks until I saw my own plus-minus stats. Got the same look as Russ’s face after missed game-winners. That paper sat on my fridge for months as a reminder. Sometimes your energy ain’t helping nobody.
Now when I watch games, I don’t just check box scores. That +/- column tells the real story, even when it hurts. Russ could drop 50 points tomorrow. I’ll still be eyeing that plus-minus number like it owes me money.
