[ClutchFans] Podcast: Houston’s Game 1 win over Utah and a check-in on Russell Westbrook

are we about to get these on a regular basis now.... if so awesome!!!!!

 

Can we get a daily podcast on all the ways Westbrook is a bad player/person? I'd listen.

 

thanks Clutch & MK Bower, good stuff as usual!

shout out to MK on the oldie but goodie "mediocrity treadmill" reference. even though i've enjoyed it's absence ...

while I agree with Clutch, that the long shot chances of acquiring LeBron become nigh on impossible if we win it all, i also agree with MK that he'd fit in fine with CP3 & James. three smart, unselfish guys that want to play together will find ways ...

in the appropriate forum or podcast would love to hear yawl expand on Russ' inability to make teammates better.

 

Oladipo - looks like a great young talent in Orlando, looks flat and mediocre in OKC, looks like future superstar in Ind.... coincidence???

 

You're not trying to imply.....correct me if I'm wrong (everybody else does), uh......that Russell Westbrook, although being very talented and competitive, is a glorified stat-padder, has tunnel vision, and is unable to share the spotlight with other great players because he sucks away all the oxygen leaving them gasping for breath and flopping like a beached fish, parked at the three point line like a sign-post in Death Valley (hey, it's my post, let me mix my metaphors)?

Or are you saying something else?

 

You're picking up what I'm laying down.

 

Agree with DH. "I tend to think Harden would have a harder time with it. Paul George would fit better. LeBron is a far better talent but I think playing off your two point guards where LeBron can run the show as well but 3 chefs in the kitchen? That's a bit different."

 

Great pod as per the usual, Dave and MK. Thank you.

I’m worried about game 2 with Utah. They will be rested and come out with more intensity. There are times that the Rockets feel like they can just turn it on when needed, but I hate that mindset in the playoffs.

I do think Utah is still trying to figure things out with Rubio, so that is in the Rockets favor. Just something about this Utah team that worries me. Hopefully I’m wrong.

As far as LeBron goes, of course you add him if possible. For as crazy as it may seem, I do not add Capela in a possible deal. I know Harden, CP3 and LBJ are unselfish, but I’d hate to see LBJ come in here trying to completely run the show. I think he creates a lot of divide on his team and that concerns me some. This is Hardens team.

On Russ... Ha ha ha!!! Just don’t like his game. So selfish and doesn’t make others better. How much more evidence is needed to support this?

 

@Clutch was that "ESPN person" in the media area that was asking about Westbrook and Harden comparisons.....Royce Young?

 

It's reversed now, we have the Okurs, DWills, long range Boozers.

 

To be honest the Wolves scared me a lot more, and we still beat them in 5.. the Jazz just dont seem to have the offensive players. Crowder had a good game, but hes usually bad.
They do move the ball well, but also spent so much energy on Defense that they seem careless with the ball at times..

 

How is he a bad person? The harlot behavior for hateful gossip is sickening.

 

I completely agree with DH on the Westbrook vs. Harden cases in 2017 with respect to how 2018 unfolded. It's just clear that Harden is the better player at elevating his teammates. The media can keep sticking to the narrative that Harden benefits from "the system", but we all know it's Harden (and now CP3) who put in the time to develop go-to plays with Clint and less to an extent with EG, and Ariza/Tucker. He gives his teammates opportunities to touch the ball and run some action. Stuff like "just keep shooting" is what I want to hear from my team's best player.

In his recent interviews, Russ was asked questions that forced him to defend his high rebound numbers. His answer was that he just wants the ball more than anyone else on the court (in a way, implicitly throwing his teammates under the bus). Hearing that made me think that his tripdub #s are only about himself and propping up his game. All of these inflated stats are just his way of making himself more relevant / stand out after KD left.

More about the series,
Things that have surprised me the most so far: Harden's consistent level of focus on offense and defense, and Tucker's performance to end the regular season and thru these playoffs. Our team is so stacked! When Ariza, Tucker, Luc's shots are falling, we can count on EG, Ryno, and Green to start getting theirs in other games. For this reason, I'm not too concerned about the hot 3pt shooting of Game 1 - I think it'll be evenly offloaded by good play from others.

Things I'd like to see / Areas of improvement:

• CP3 tightening his handles and passes
• EG going into attack-mode as his primary role, i.e. getting at least 3 layup and-1 opportunities per game
• D'antoni finding minutes for Green

 

I think people have caught up to the WB hate because he was am MVP rival but peeps forget he is also a very good friend of Harden.

You can hate his basketball game but now they are calling him all sorts of things.

 

I'm willing to take that chance. If I can add a 6'8" multi-positional monster averaging 35/11/8/1/1 in the playoffs and shoot 55/35/82 from the floor....... I add him.

If I have the two best players in basketball and a third player that is a top dozen player......... I can win.

Hell, James could spend time at the 4/5.

 

Not at all... Russ is a highly selfish low IQ player who just happens to be gifted with transcendant athletic abilities. Some people
say hes a modern day Iverson and I see what they mean in that AI also put up absurd stats with low efficiency that rarely translated into elite level success. However AI was still far superior skill wise as he had some of the greatest handles and dribble moves of all time, and unlike Westbrook, AI was a pretty legitimate passer with some decent court vision to boot. I believe AI’s problem was his lack of dedication “we talkin bout practice” and refusal to be coached “even though he was capable of it.” Russ on the other hand wants it and is totally driven and dedicated, but unlike AI the dude doesnt get it, he has an awful attitude, is a total ball hog, and entirely uncoachable. Just look at the on court dynamic between him and his current coach. It totally looks like Billy Donnavan is scared of him which is the only explanation for why he didn’t take him out of the game when Westbrrok took it upon himself to shut down a non scorer in Rubio, picking up 3 fouls before picking up a fourth befoee the first half ended in the first round of this years playoffs. Its bad enough that Russ improved by a measly one win in both the regular season and playoffs after getting the ‘help’ he needed even though his previous teammates are looking like studs on their new teams but to AI’s defense, dude never played with an All Star caliber player when he was in his prime... at the end of the day AI still got an awful sixers squad to the finals and even managed to win a game from an all time great Lakers team that had come into that Finals undefeated. Russ’s playoff heroics is managing to shut down Rubios scoring barage at the cost of his essentially fouling out of a pivotal playoff game for the sake of some twisted sense of pride? The only other scenario I could think of, though I must admit highly unlikely, for his motivation to shut down Rubio was he was on crack. Seriously, this years shining of his former teammates and regression of his new and improved goes to show that this guy is the most overrated player quite possibly of all time and that for all his flaws and flameouts, AI who half ass at least half of his career was a far superior player...

 

can't control his emotions. like a child. yells at fans.