KD will get plenty of votes from Bay Area media members, but the idea of him being the actual MVP is utterly laughable.
lol.....I've gotta give Kellerman props....he made Stephen A seem like the sane one in that relationship....
And I do believe, after watching 7-8 OKC games this year, that their crew besides Westbrook is not being very productive because of Russ' unwillingness to share the ball. Russ' USG% is a record-setting 42.4%, which means that he took almost half of the team's shots when he is on floor. And we all know that shooter's need more attempts to find their rhythm and touch, and a low post monster like Kanter needs more touches in the paint for him to operate as well. They just can't get it because Russ is so eager to take bad shots and just doesn't trust his teammates, especially in clutch time. I hope Russ will be his normal self in the game tonight against us. If he trust his teammates and share the ball, it'll be really hard for us to stop their offense. Adams has been playing great offensively recently, and we have nobody to stop Kanter when he posts up.
Stopped the video when Shaq said Westbrook was basically less selfish this year and made great passes. In the last two games, Westbrook was 19-59 from the field (32%) with 14 asts. In the last five games, he was 42-111 (37.8%) with 39 asts. I mean, come on, Shaq.
Here's another one...Kellerman or whatever his name is entertaining as always ''Westbrook & Harden played on the same team and Harden came off the bench...there's a reason for that''
Great article by Pelton on the analytics of Harden and Westbrook. http://www.espn.com/nba/insider/sto...s-harden-more-unstoppable-force-right-now-nba Is Russell Westbrook or James Harden the more unstoppable force right now? - NBA by Kevin Pelton on 2017-01-20 04:05:00 UTC Former Oklahoma City Thunder teammates James Harden and Russell Westbrook are threatening the record books this season in similar ways. Westbrook is bidding to become the second player in NBA history to average a triple-double, while Harden has an outside chance to join Nate "Tiny" Archibald as the second player to lead the league in both scoring and assists should Westbrook's points per game slip. Looking at their value to their teams, who is having the stronger offensive season? A case can be made for both superstar guards. The case for Westbrook: Unprecedented shot creation A few years ago, Milwaukee Bucks director of basketball research Seth Partnow developed the concept of "true usage" on Nylon Calculus, crediting players for their playmaking as well as the plays they finish with a shot, trip to the free throw line or turnover. Partnow's measure relied on potential assists as tracked by SportVU, meaning it can't be calculated before the advent of camera tracking. So let's instead consider what we might call "combined usage" -- a player's usage rate added to his actual assists per 100 team plays. This can be calculated back to 1977-78, the first season the NBA recorded individual turnovers. In that four-decade span, nobody has ever accounted for more than half their team's offense while on the court ... until Westbrook this season. Combined usage leaders Player Season Usage Assist% Combined Usage Russell Westbrook 2016-17 .424 .132 .556 Russell Westbrook 2014-15 .386 .108 .494 James Harden 2016-17 .339 .140 .479 Dwyane Wade 2008-09 .364 .091 .456 Russell Westbrook 2015-16 .318 .130 .447 Russell Westbrook 2013-14 .346 .101 .446 Dwyane Wade 2006-07 .350 .095 .445 Kobe Bryant 2005-06 .390 .050 .440 LeBron James 2009-10 .337 .103 .440 Allen Iverson 2001-02 .381 .058 .440 Since 1977-78 On its own, Westbrook's 42.4 percent usage rate is already the highest in recorded NBA history, smashing the 39.0 percent of the Lakers' plays Kobe Bryant used during 2005-06. But Bryant's assist rate was far lower as a shooting guard, so Westbrook already held the combined usage record with his 2014-15 campaign. Now Westbrook is blowing that mark out of the water by either finishing or assisting on 55.6 percent of the Thunder's plays. Even though Harden's combined usage this season is the third-highest on record, Westbrook's edge is still larger than the gap between Harden and the player ranked sixth in the category this season, LeBron James. 2016-17 Combined Usage Leaders Player Team Usage Assist% Combined Usage Russell Westbrook OKC .424 .132 .556 James Harden HOU .339 .140 .479 John Wall WAS .314 .123 .437 DeMarcus Cousins SAC .375 .048 .423 Isaiah Thomas BOS .337 .082 .419 LeBron James CLE .303 .101 .404 When we account for potential assists as Partnow originally did, Westbrook's true usage is more than two-thirds of Oklahoma City's plays (66.9 percent, to be exact). There's no such thing as a one-man offense in basketball, and of course somebody has to be on the receiving end of those passes, but Westbrook is coming as close as we've seen in modern NBA history. It's no surprise, then, that the Thunder offense has collapsed without Westbrook. When he plays, Oklahoma City has averaged 107.4 points per 100 possessions, which would rank eighth in the NBA this season. When Westbrook sits, the Thunder's offensive rating drops to 97.1, which would be last in the league -- 1.5 points per 100 possessions fewer than the Philadelphia 76ers manage. The case for Harden: Rare efficiency given role There are two primary components of offensive value, and while Westbrook has Harden beat on shot creation, Harden has a big edge in the other: efficiency. Viewed in that context, Harden's season has been nearly as remarkable. While there have been players like Westbrook who have posted higher usage rates, and those who have posted better true shooting percentages (which measures points scored per shot or trip to the free throw line), nobody in recorded NBA history has surpassed Harden in both categories. Among players who have used at least a third of their team's plays while on the court, Harden's .614 true shooting in 2016-17 ranks number one ahead of prime seasons from Michael Jordan and James ... and Isaiah Thomas this year. High-Usage True Shooting Leaders Player Season Usage TS% James Harden 2016-17 .339 .614 Isaiah Thomas 2016-17 .337 .606 Michael Jordan 1989-90 .337 .606 LeBron James 2009-10 .337 .604 Michael Jordan 1987-88 .341 .603 Since 1977-78; minimum 1,000 minutes Westbrook ranks last in true shooting among the five players who qualify this season (DeMarcus Cousins and DeMar DeRozan round out the list), and would rank 33rd out of 56 players since 1977-78 -- good but not close to Harden. Because Harden has been so efficient in such a large role, the Houston Rockets' offense sees similar benefit with him on the court. While Houston's offensive rating is a respectable 103.0 per 100 possessions when Harden sits (which would be good for 21st in the league), it surges to 115.3 with him -- better than any team has managed over the course of the full season. Overall, the Rockets have the league's third-best offense on a per-possession basis. The verdict Whose case is stronger? It's close enough that I could offer a diplomatic answer: Harden's efficiency is better for a team (like Houston) with more offensive weapons, while Westbrook's sheer ability to create offense by himself is better for a team (like Oklahoma City) with defensive-minded role players. But that's not a very compelling conclusion. The one key factor we haven't yet discussed is turnovers, where both players are on pace to surpass Charles Barkley's NBA record of 4.7 per game according to Basketball-Reference.com. Given everything they do for their teams, those turnovers rates are understandable, but that's more true in Westbrook's case. He's committing turnovers on 15.8 percent of the plays he uses (barely more than the average of 15.0 percent for point guards), as compared to 19.5 percent for Harden. The difference in turnover rates helps mitigate Harden's efficiency advantage. In terms of a simple offensive rating of points scored per play used, Harden still has the edge (98.6 points per 100 plays to Westbrook's 91.4), but it's no longer as impressive as his true shooting advantage. A good rule of thumb, derived by Houston Rockets VP of basketball operations Eli Witus, is that each extra percent of a team's plays an individual uses is worth about 1.25 points per 100 possessions in efficiency. In that case, Westbrook's usage advantage (8.5 percent) is worth more (about 10.7 points per 100 possessions) than Harden's superior efficiency (7.2). So by a narrow decision, I'd say Westbrook has been more valuable offensively this season.
harden led that 14-15 team to a 2nd place record in the west,3rd best best record in the league with Dwight Howard missing 41 games and pat Beverly missing time as well. Russell Westbrook individual stats are outstanding, but hardens 14-15 season is still above what Westbrook has done so far on team level.
Lebron has FG% at 6% higher than Harden, and he took his team to 2nd round of playoffs or higher each season. I do not think it is fair to compare them.
So basically, Westbrook on this Thunder team is like Iverson on those 76ers teams in the early 2000's.
Does it really matter what any of these guys think who the MVP is 36 games into the season? There's FORTY-SIX more games to play in the season.
I wouldn't agree that Capela is a better rebounder than Adams. Actually Adams has a This is so hilarious, I literally lmaoed.
Not a whiteside fan sure he blocks a lot of shots but overall I would not call him a great defender. Horford is a PF playing out of position.
How much more valuable is LeBron to his team than Harden is to the Rockets? The Cavs are only ONE GAME better than the Rockets in the East, and that's with him playing with two all-stars.
I am so tired of the "mess-around and get a triple double" nonsense. It was kind of funny 7 or so years ago but now it's just annoying.
