Padding stats is not a team game. Triple-double is not an easy achievement, but the way Westbrook does it is simply playing a 1 man team. Game 2 is one of the worst display of a team game in the final quarter. Whenever Westbrook got the ball, it all ended with him shooting the ball. Harden in the playoffs changed his game, he went to the basket a lot (20 FTs) and playing a team game. Michael Jordan, past legends didn't comment on Russell's out of the mind achievements, it is incredible just like Barry Bonds HR record.
Yes, Kenny Shaq and Charles got onto Westbrook for that night, but Kenny defended him by saying he hasn't seem him play like a ballhog in years. Thought that was over. LOL
Look, this is ridiculous - Westbrook almost single-handedly won this game for them. His legs were tired. But if two more of those shots go in, he single handedly wins this game which would have been impressive. He's a deserving of MVP consideration - he's just that good. I don't know if he would thrive if he had better teammates. The stats of his teammates didn't go down from last year, they didn't go up either. He might be lacking the right role players, or he might not be making them better. Maybe a bit of both. But the guy is amazing. That was fun to watch, and he played fantastically until that 4th qtr. He's the story of the night when they lose or when they win.It's remarkable. I don't think people who get too bent out of shape with it when we won. Just enjoy it.
I'm really getting sick of the media covering for Westbrook by saying Harden has a better team. No, the Rockets PLAY BETTER AS A TEAM! How did they make their 4th quarter comeback last night? Remember that Westbrook came back in to start the 4th when he usually rests for a few minutes and the Thunder immediately bumped the lead from 3 back up to 8. After that, the Rockets(sans Harden BTW who got his usual 5 minutes of rest) clamped down defensively and started attacking the paint. Bev got a couple of floaters. Gordon hit a floater and a 3-pointer. Gordon set up Lou for a 3-pointer. The Rockets played team basketball at both ends of the floor and that's what finally regained them the lead. Ironically they actually got worse offensively for a few minutes when Harden came back in and temporarily reverted to ISO-ball. It wasn't until Gordon returned from a brief rest that the ball movement picked up again. Meanwhile on the other end, Westbrook was jacking up shots every chance he got. Sure, he was tired and the defense by the Rockets did tighten up, but he tried to win the game single-handedly and instead stifled any chance of a comeback. D'Antoni stuck to his guns when we fell behind by 8 in the 4th and trusted Bev, Lou, and Gordon who were all having solid games to chip away at that deficit. He never called Harden's number early and told him to go in there and play heroball. That's why we're 2-0 in this series and finished 8 games better than the Thunder in the standings.
only thing i'll say is they act like they never seen westbrook play like this in the 4th! lol kenny said its the first time in 4yrs hes seen him play like that. what?!? its been a common theme for him. maybe if they watched him play more instead of reading boxscores, Russ wouldn't be the anointed MVP already.
Agree 100%. These guys just see what they want to see. Charles, at least, calls it like he sees it which is refreshing given his strong history of Rockets hate.
Wow I can't believe TNT leaked the first playoff installment of Shaqtin A Fool...someone's head gonna roll!
Westbrook is indeed amazing. No one denies that. No NBA player can play his style of basketball at this level. He has an unbelievable capacity to make tough shots. He is an evolutionary Iverson. The concern is that he should not be taking some of those shots in the first place. This style of basketball does not contribute to winning. He gets you some additional points by making those tough shots, but he also takes some away by not sharing the ball. I mean, Adams is averaging less fga than Capela. No player with a 59 TS% should have a 16% usage rate. Especially when Westbrook is barely over Ricky Rubio's scoring efficiency level. Oladipo was an efficient 18pt scorer in his second year. Where is his growth? Westbrook is actively hurting his teammates. Extreme ballhoggery will do that (his 43% usage rate blew Kobe's previous record out of the water). Teammates know that Russell will take the shot, so they just stand around watching him pound the ball to death. MVPs are all about winning. Westbrook has not figured the right balance, he may never will. This OKC team has enough talent to get to 47 wins without Westbrook having to do heroics every night. With a pass-first PG the Adams-Oladipo-Kanter trio should be averaging an efficient 50 points a game. And, yes, there are at least 4-5 guys in the league who could average a triple-double if their usage rate was 43% and their team was set-up to inflate their stats.
