Russell Westbrook

[Cardsstink]

Pretty incredible to see posters claiming someone is a selfish player when they averaged 10 assists per game.

I agree he shoots alot. He has to. But he's also distributing the ball.

People say he's giving up open shots to pass, but if he took those shots they'd say he didnt pass it to the open man, lol. He can't win. I totally get it if people don't like him beause of his "me against the world" attitude, but I love it. I watch every Pelican and OKC game I can lately and am having a ball doing so.

 

[mj2k10]

IMO, he would be pushing 50+ triple-double games if his supporting cast was not so horrid....no telling how many assists have been 'left on the court' because his teammates can't consistently make open shots!

His terrible supporting cast shoots better than he does. Pretty much all of them. They're obviously benefiting from his presence, but it's still hard to justify him taking way over 1/4th of his teams shots while missing a higher percentage of those than almost any player in the league, and every other important player on his team.

And it would be easier to buy the "he's only doing what he has to do" argument if he hadn't been playing with and taking almost as many shots as Kevin Durant, one of the greatest shooters in league history, just last year. And not hitting that much higher of a percentage than he is now.

It's just hard to completely accept the "he has to be so ridiculously inefficient because everyone else on his team sucks" argument. No question Westbrook is an amazing player, no question he's doing amazing things, but does he really understand that basketball is a team game, about more than an individual accumulating stats? Would he be happy if you told him that his team would win 60 games, if, and only if, he took only 15 shots per game? I think LeBron would accept that, I think Steph would accept it, I think Kevin Durant would accept it, I know Kawhi Leonard would. Even James Harden might. Not so sure about Westbrook.

 

[UKSlim]

He is an excellent player, but would be a chemistry killer for most top tier teams.

 

[drbubba]

How does he not make players better?

The dude is carrying a team to the playoffs.

Not just the playoffs either, comfortably in the playoffs.

I'd love to hear about Oscar Robertson's post-season success...

Overhyped? The guys at Moron Mountain want him bad.

 

[lakercat]

I think ESPN posted a stat that guy were 2-9 on wide open shots coming from Westbrook passes. I think that the triple-double no longer has the value that it once did. Harden is gobbling up triple doubles as well. Regarding the shooting percentage, I wonder how many shots Curry, Harden, Westbrook take in the final two seconds of a shot-clock. Kobe used to take about 10 shots a game at the end of the shot-clock, with a double team or a defender draped all over him. Curry usually shoots in the first 15 seconds of the shot-clock. I think Kobe was an elite shooter who took terrible shots. Not even Curry, who is the GOAT at shooting would hit a high percentage when shooting terrible shots (an open 35 footer is easier than a heavily contested 20 footer). Westbrook sometimes takes bad shots at the end of the shot-clock which will lower his percentage.

 

[mj2k10]

I think ESPN posted a stat that guy were 2-9 on wide open shots coming from Westbrook passes. I think that the triple-double no longer has the value that it once did. Harden is gobbling up triple doubles as well. Regarding the shooting percentage, I wonder how many shots Curry, Harden, Westbrook take in the final two seconds of a shot-clock. Kobe used to take about 10 shots a game at the end of the shot-clock, with a double team or a defender draped all over him. Curry usually shoots in the first 15 seconds of the shot-clock. I think Kobe was an elite shooter who took terrible shots. Not even Curry, who is the GOAT at shooting would hit a high percentage when shooting terrible shots (an open 35 footer is easier than a heavily contested 20 footer). Westbrook sometimes takes bad shots at the end of the shot-clock which will lower his percentage.

Just no.

With modern technology, they track when, where, from what distance, and against what type of defense pretty much every shot every player in every game takes. And EVERY piece of evidence indicates that Westbrook has an absolute shit jumpshot. He's bad from deep, he's bad from mid-range, he's bad when he's covered, he's bad when he's wide-open, he's bad early in the shot-clock, and he's bad late.

He is incredibly good around the rim.

Yet he persists in jacking up jumpshots.

 

[BlueManToo]

His terrible supporting cast shoots better than he does. Pretty much all of them. They're obviously benefiting from his presence, but it's still hard to justify him taking way over 1/4th of his teams shots while missing a higher percentage of those than almost any player in the league, and every other important player on his team.

And it would be easier to buy the "he's only doing what he has to do" argument if he hadn't been playing with and taking almost as many shots as Kevin Durant, one of the greatest shooters in league history, just last year. And not hitting that much higher of a percentage than he is now.

It's just hard to completely accept the "he has to be so ridiculously inefficient because everyone else on his team sucks" argument. No question Westbrook is an amazing player, no question he's doing amazing things, but does he really understand that basketball is a team game, about more than an individual accumulating stats? Would he be happy if you told him that his team would win 60 games, if, and only if, he took only 15 shots per game? I think LeBron would accept that, I think Steph would accept it, I think Kevin Durant would accept it, I know Kawhi Leonard would. Even James Harden might. Not so sure about Westbrook.

Good points....I've watched tons of OKC games this season, and the stats are secondary to the eye test for me. His supporting cast misses tons of wide open shots Westbrook creates for them, whether it be 3-pointers or point-blank range. If I'm not mistaken, OKC is the worst 3-point shooting team in the league.

Basically, the MVP race is down to Russ and Harden. Harden is having a historic year as well, but here's what separates the two, IMO: Houston would still be respectable w/o Harden, but OKC would challenge the Nets for worst record in the league without Russ; Likewise, if Westbrook and Harden switched teams, Houston would still win 50-55 games, but I think OKC would miss the playoffs with Harden....obviously, that's just my humble opinion.

 

[kev69]

I wouldn't recognize Westbrook if he knocked on my door.

I don't care about the NBA in any way shape or form.

 

[JohnnyGentle]

I wouldn't recognize Westbrook if he knocked on my door.

I don't care about the NBA in any way shape or form.

shocking

 

[kev69]

shocking

Not really. I've never liked the NBA.

I'll watch just about any college basketball game, I just find the pro game boring.

I do keep up with the UK players stats that play and hope they're doing well.

 

[JDSlam04]

Westbrook is undeniably a top 5 NBA player. He plays the way he does because that's the only way they can win. OKC doesn't have another top 75 player on their roster. When he has a bad game they usually lose because no other player on the team can carry them. Harden and thw Rockets are the same way. D'Antoni knew it as soon as he inherited that team so that's why he immediately made Harden the PG, so he would always have ball in his hands

 

[MakinMusic]

Westbrook is top 5 and a competitor like no other.

 

[YourPublicEnemy]

Pretty amazing that the Thunder once had Durant, Westbrook, Harden and even Ibaka and still didn't win it all and then broke the team up and got nothing in return.

 

[Stonewall12]

Wish they would get a legit scorer on the wing and a serviceable back up PG just to give him a break. I don't want to see him get burned out later on in his career, marred with injuries. Good for Kanter too the better the players are all around them so they can get back towards the top in the Western Conference. Westbrook is one of the most explosive athletes and as exciting as anyone I've ever seen.

They had a decent scorer in the wing

 

[BigKari]

42% from the field and 34% from 3 are about average stats for an NBA PG. Those arent terrible shooting numbers like some people think. They arent good numbers at all either tho, given the volume of shots he's taken. Russ is an incredible athlete and Im impressed by what he's done this season, but he is not the league MVP imo. For me its James Harden

 

[kywildcatsfannumber1]

They had a decent scorer in the wing

They had 2. Westbrook & Harden. Now have neither. Oladipo is solid but you're not winning a title if he's your 2nd best offensive option.

 

[Stonewall12]

I was talking about Durant.

 

[Mash 2.4]

Westbrook plays very hard. I don't agree with the notion that he has no talent around him. He has more talent around him than Harden does. Oladipo, Enes, Adams, Sabonis etc are all solid guys. It does seem though that OKC essentially gutted its team so Westbrook could play this way as its the only thing that would make him happy. I do think he cares about his own numbers more than wins. He is an incredible talent that will never win a championship because other great players simply don't want to play with him. One player having the ball in their hands for 90% of the game is not conducive to winning a lot of games.

 

[mj2k10]

42% from the field and 34% from 3 are about average stats for an NBA PG. Those arent terrible shooting numbers like some people think. They arent good numbers at all either tho, given the volume of shots he's taken. Russ is an incredible athlete and Im impressed by what he's done this season, but he is not the league MVP imo. For me its James Harden

Not average.

Harden- 44/34.5
Thomas- 46.4/38.3
Paul- 47.7/40.5
Curry- 46.8/40.8
Lillard-44.4/37
Wall- 45.1/32.7
Conley- 45.7/40.7
Irving- 47.1/39.4
Lowry- 46.3/41.4
Walker- 44.4/39.9
Bledsoe- 43.4/33.5
Dragic- 47.6/40.4
Teague- 43.9/35.9

And Westbrook takes 4.5 shots per game more than any guy on that list.

 

[dvillecatfan]

https://theundefeated.com/features/westbrook-triple-double/

 

[bigblue7609]

"Lonzo will average a quadruple double next year"

Douchbag Daddy Ball

 

[d2atTech]

Davis and Cousins on the floor together is the first time I can honestly say I get excited to watch an NBA game. I've watched just about every game since they started playing together and Cousins is honestly the most fun player I've seen in a long time. The other night, they were down 3 with one possession left and they called a time out, set up a play to get Boogie open for a 3 and he drained it. LOL!

they will trade for knight and draft briscoe. team kentucky.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

the team is engineering the triple doubles. Oscar didn't to it that way.

From teammates letting rebounds drop so Russ can get them to him passing up wide open fast break lay ups to pass backwards to a trailer so he can get the assist. Has happened over & over this season.

Oscars triple double season is so overrated. It was during a time when teams didn't play defense and just ran all game so there were 30-40 more possessions than games today

 

[Brooklyn to BBN]

"Steals rebounds from his bigs"...smh at that statement

 

[3rex]

Oscars triple double season is so overrated. It was during a time when teams didn't play defense and just ran all game so there were 30-40 more possessions than games today

The idea that teams didn't play defense is ridiculous. The thing about Oscars was he did them just playing, in the flow of the game, and not focusing on it, and obsessing on that 1 stat, as they do today.

 

[Brooklyn to BBN]

Russ is playing with no perimeter threat and bigs who cant get their own shot. Comfortably in The playoffs with a team who shouldnt be. Okc roster is suspect.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

The idea that teams didn't play defense is ridiculous. The thing about Oscars was he did them just playing, in the flow of the game, and not focusing on it, and obsessing on that 1 stat, as they do today.

Oscar cared about his triple double as much as anybody and yes defense is much better today

 

[3rex]

Oscar cared about his triple double as much as anybody and yes defense is much better today

The triple double was not a celebrated stat, or even one that was paid attention to.

And you didn't say "defense is much better today." You said they "didn't play defense & just ran all game," which is untrue.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

The triple double was not a celebrated stat, or even one that was paid attention to.

And you didn't say "defense is much better today." You said they "didn't play defense & just ran all game," which is untrue.

They did though. Games were in the 120s consistently because there were many many more possessions

 

[mj2k10]

Oscar cared about his triple double as much as anybody and yes defense is much better today

He also played in a game where teams took an average of 109 shots per game, compared to the current 85.4.

Comparisons over long stretches of time become pointless.Things change too much, and numbers become meaningless.

 

[BlueRunner11]

Davis and Cousins on the floor together is the first time I can honestly say I get excited to watch an NBA game. I've watched just about every game since they started playing together and Cousins is honestly the most fun player I've seen in a long time. The other night, they were down 3 with one possession left and they called a time out, set up a play to get Boogie open for a 3 and he drained it. LOL!

Davis and Cousins are on my ish list right now lol....Curry as well. 300 dollar lowers last night and those jokers don't even play. Thank God at least Durant came back and played.

 

[WitnessGreatness]

He also played in a game where teams took an average of 109 shots per game, compared to the current 85.4.

Comparisons over long stretches of time become pointless.Things change too much, and numbers become meaningless.

Russ's season last year was better than Oscars triple double season which makes this season way better
http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...on-oscar-robertson-triple-double-campaign-nba

 

[mj2k10]

Russ's season last year was better than Oscars triple double season which makes this season way better
http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...on-oscar-robertson-triple-double-campaign-nba

Probably was better statistically, but that's not the whole story. Oscar Robertson was a revolutionary figure, really the first big, athletically gifted perimeter player. He stood out among his peers far more than Westbrook, and he was the one setting a statistical standard, not chasing anything. OTOH, Westbrook plays in a game where the depth of talent is wildly greater than the game Robertson played in.

All of which is why comparisons made 50-55 years apart tend to have little meaning.

 

[Cardsstink]

Watch

Davis and Cousins are on my ish list right now lol....Curry as well. 300 dollar lowers last night and those jokers don't even play. Thank God at least Durant came back and played.

Yikes. Both are injured, though. I guess it's a risk to buy tickets for games towards the end of the season.

 

[JohnnyGentle]

The idea that teams didn't play defense is ridiculous. The thing about Oscars was he did them just playing, in the flow of the game, and not focusing on it, and obsessing on that 1 stat, as they do today.

no, it isn't. it's entirely accurate

oscar walked his guy down to about 12', gave the little head and shoulder fake, and shot over him

rodgers and wali jones just dribbled up the side with no ball pressure and threw it in to wilt, who waved the ball over his head as cutters traipsed through the lane unencumbered

 

[3rex]

no, it isn't. it's entirely accurate

oscar walked his guy down to about 12', gave the little head and shoulder fake, and shot over him

rodgers and wali jones just dribbled up the side with no ball pressure and threw it in to wilt, who waved the ball over his head as cutters traipsed through the lane unencumbered

I'm getting lectured on the NBA from someone who spent the past week telling us how much better Briscoe is that the Harrison twins...

sorry, can't take you seriously.

 

[JohnnyGentle]

briscoe couldn't shoot, so there's no way he was better than two guys who shot under 40% from the field as sophomores

and they played great defense in the 1960s

 

[justin_uk_5]

"Steals rebounds from his bigs"...smh at that statement

Watch the games. When no one is around and the offensive team is running back on defense, normally the bigs would get those rebounds, but Westbrook runs in and gets them (which is fine) but I don't consider it impressive that he gets several meaningless rebounds a game.. his big essentially let him have them so he gets the triple double.

 

[3rex]

Watch the games. When no one is around and the offensive team is running back on defense, normally the bigs would get those rebounds, but Westbrook runs in and gets them (which is fine) but I don't consider it impressive that he gets several meaningless rebounds a game.. his big essentially let him have them so he gets the triple double.

It's happened all year. It's really selfish, in my opinion. Those rebounds mean potential $$$ to those bigs. An unselfish "team player" would understand that & let them have theirs.

 

[justin_uk_5]

It's happened all year. It's really selfish, in my opinion. Those rebounds mean potential $$$ to those bigs. An unselfish "team player" would understand that & let them have theirs.

I always thought the argument that he doesn't have good players around him was BS.. he had harden and Durant (I know harden wasn't as good as he is now but he was still a good player back then).. couldn't win anything.. Adams Sabonis and kanter are very good bigs.. Roberson and oladipo are also good players. No he doesn't have a stacked roster but it's not terrible like some say