Russell Westbrook
- Thread starter justin_uk_5
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I do. Westbrook will not win unanimously. Harden will get votes. Leonard may get votes. Lebron will likely get votes.
If you take 43 shots in a game it better be because you are a Malik Monk UNC game type of on fire. If not you are just being a ball hog and not trusting in your teammates.
Westbrook thought Durant was. Which illustrates the problem with his attitude. It clearly stuck in his craw that he was the 2nd best player on his team, much like Kobe eventually couldn't handle being 2nd fiddle to Shaq. So his evolution runs counter to Jordan's.
Jordan, BTW, started toning things down as early as his 4th year, which was when Doug Collins was still the coach and Scottie Pippen was a 21 mpg, 8 ppg rookie. That was also a year in which Jordan shot 53.5%, the first of what would become 5 straight seasons over 50%, the worst being 51.9%.
Can someone tell me how Johnny has 614 likes in 1494 post? Honestly I have only noticed his posts in this thread but he has done nothing but call people names and tell them how stupid they are. Maybe he makes astute observations in post not related to Russell Westbrook but if this is the norm for him I just don't see why he would have 1 like.
Westbrook has only taken 17 shots this game, and has involved all of his teammates in the game. Everyone is playing confident and aggressive and the thunder look good. Westbrook is tremendously better for his team when he plays this way.
harden is a better shooter and better pick and roll player, but i'd like to see westbrook in d'antoni's system or something similar
also think oladipo & roberson--a worse shooter than briscoe--are terrible complements offensively
also think oladipo & roberson--a worse shooter than briscoe--are terrible complements offensively
I've been watching the NBA for over 25 years, and I feel pretty confident in saying that it's harder to be a top 5 player in the league right now than it's been in that time span. Here's a list of six guys any of whom (based on his play right now) would have been a top 5 player at any moment in that time span with three more at the end who would have been top 5 at many moments in that time span. That's pretty incredible to me, and their is no question in my mind that Westbrook is on that list. It can be painful watching him try to carry a bad team on his back when he struggles, but when he is playing well (which is almost every game), he's truly amazing.
-When Lebron plays hard, he might be the most complete player to ever play. Enough said.
-Curry is the best shooter I've ever seen and among the best ball handlers. He shoots a very high percentage despite taking extremely tough shots. His defense isn't great, but it's MUCH improved from his first few NBA seasons.
-Westbrook just came off a season in which he carried an otherwise bottom 3 NBA team to the playoffs by doing everything for them on almost every possession. It's actually similar to what Lebron did in his first stint with the Cavs (except Lebron eventually got to the NBA finals albeit in a much weaker conference).
-Durant, despite his injury troubles this year, can still put up 30 a night completely effortlessly and very efficiently, and he's become a much better passer, rebounder, and defender with the Warriors than he was with OKC.
-Nearly everything that was said about Westbrook can be said about Harden except he lacks a little of Russ's explosive athleticism. The main difference is that Houston had the chance to build a better team that was well-suited to play around Harden while OKC got left in a lurch with the Durant departure. Clearly Houston is a much better team, but it's not clear that Harden is the better player.
-Kawhi Leonard is a guy the advanced metrics love. He's off the charts on offensive and defensive efficiency. He's the perfect player in the Spurs system.
-Honorable mention: Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Paul George
-When Lebron plays hard, he might be the most complete player to ever play. Enough said.
-Curry is the best shooter I've ever seen and among the best ball handlers. He shoots a very high percentage despite taking extremely tough shots. His defense isn't great, but it's MUCH improved from his first few NBA seasons.
-Westbrook just came off a season in which he carried an otherwise bottom 3 NBA team to the playoffs by doing everything for them on almost every possession. It's actually similar to what Lebron did in his first stint with the Cavs (except Lebron eventually got to the NBA finals albeit in a much weaker conference).
-Durant, despite his injury troubles this year, can still put up 30 a night completely effortlessly and very efficiently, and he's become a much better passer, rebounder, and defender with the Warriors than he was with OKC.
-Nearly everything that was said about Westbrook can be said about Harden except he lacks a little of Russ's explosive athleticism. The main difference is that Houston had the chance to build a better team that was well-suited to play around Harden while OKC got left in a lurch with the Durant departure. Clearly Houston is a much better team, but it's not clear that Harden is the better player.
-Kawhi Leonard is a guy the advanced metrics love. He's off the charts on offensive and defensive efficiency. He's the perfect player in the Spurs system.
-Honorable mention: Chris Paul, Anthony Davis, Paul George
He's one of the best individual players in the league. Top 5 guard definitely, but I don't see a Westbrook led team winning a championship. His game is suited for great individual performances, championships not so much. JMO
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