Westbrook: 'I will be better. We will be better'

After a seemingly discouraging loss on the road to the Sacramento Kings, who entered the game with a 1-8 record, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook managed to spin the defeat into a positive.

“It does nothing but bring you closer, as a unit, as brothers,” Westbrook said, according to Brett Dawson of NewsOK. “I’m encouraged by the group of guys we have in that (locker) room, and I will be better. I take ownership of how we’re playing, and I will be better. We will be better, so I’m not worried.”

Paul George viewed it differently, concerned with early-season losses and how they may alter the team's playoff seeding.

“When we look back down the road in March and April and we look at these losses and we’ll be pretty sick about it," he said. "But this is not when we want to be playing our best basketball."

One big problem the team is experiencing early is their inability to close, with losses by seven points or less coming against the Boston Celtics, Portland Trail Blazers, and Minnesota Timberwolves. Though it's a small sample size, through 29 fourth-quarter minutes together, Westbrook, George, and Carmelo Anthony have posted a horrendous defensive rating of 140 points allowed per 100 possessions.