Barring some unforeseen circumstance, Russell Westbrook will take home the first scoring title of his NBA career Wednesday night.
Russell Westbrook is likely to win the NBA scoring title tonight (http://t.co/cSbHvWZd3u). And it'll be a rare one: pic.twitter.com/ccaIlMavcV
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) April 15, 2015
Westbrook (28 ppg) holds a slim lead over James Harden (27.5 ppg) heading into the final day of the regular season, and in all likelihood, this will be the fifth time in the past six seasons a Thunder player has led the league in scoring (fellow All-Star Kevin Durant has won four of the last five.)
With the ,OKC Thunder fighting for their Playoff lives, Russ says he’s a lot more concerned about qualifying for the postseason than the scoring race.
Per ESPN:
“I never really thought I’d be winning anything close to a scoring title,” Westbrook said. “But I’d rather be in the playoffs than win the scoring title, to tell you the truth.”
In order for Harden to surpass Westbrook, it would take a monumental gap in scoring. For example, if Westbrook went scoreless on Wednesday, the Houston Rockets guard would still need 35 points to pass him. If Westbrook scores 15, Harden would need 53.
The Thunder enter Wednesday tied in the standings with the Pelicans for the Western Conference’s final playoff spot, but are at a disadvantage with New Orleans holding the tiebreaker. The Thunder need to beat the Timberwolves and hope the Pelicans lose to the Spurs to qualify for their sixth consecutive postseason trip. […] “We have no choice. It’s win or go home,” Westbrook said. “We’ve got to go out and take care of our business. That’s all we can do is handle what we do.”
