[ESPN] First Take James Harden or Russell Westbrook, who has the more impressive streak?

Convenient that they don't mention how Adams gifts all his rebounds to Westbrook as planned.

 

But but but anyone could score that many points with those usage numbers!!

 

Harden is 100% capable of averaging a triple double with poor shooting efficiency if he dedicated his entire mind to it. Even while focusing on historic scoring, Harden is 3 rebounds and 2 assists away from doing what Russ is doing.

Westbrook can try as hard as he likes, he is not averaging 36.5 point on 24 shots. He is 15 points away from what Harden is doing. To put that in perspective Westbrook would have to add FIVE 3 point attempts and make ALL of them to match Harden's scoring and efficiency. It is outside of his capacity as a player.

Westbrook has a better supporting cast, so let's see him bring the Warriors to 7 games lol.

 

Max Kellerman hit it on the head on this one - if Harden had PG alongside him, we would be talking about championships, not just merely a challenger to the Warriors. I believe Rus is declining significantly due to his age and play style.

 

He didn't even play in those games. He is an excellent rounder for his size. That's why he is averaging a triple double every season. He is not even the most impactful player on his team at this point of his career.

 

Put PG on the Rockets, we'd have the best record in NBA today.

Harden might even average 35 pts, 9 rbs, 12 asts, just by having a wing player he can swing the ball to out of the double.

 

I say we should start stat padding Harden, let him get rebounds.

We can drop to 7th seed, but he can definitely average a triple dub if he wants.

 

I always chuckle when I hear this version of Rus is so good. It's like he has a choice? I wouldn't bet a dollar on Rus for being a smart PG that can set up the table for everyone else.

It's not about Rus. It's rather people don't like Harden's way of getting his points. That's all.

 

Imagine, Harden/PG/Gordon/CC/Faried on the the same team ... The Warriors all of sudden don't like scary at all.

 

Seriously. 31 pts, 8 rebounds (7D/1O), 7 assists last night. Also 5 steals. While not 100%.

Since it's the day after, let's look at Westbrook vs. Harden just last night:

Code:

                   MP     FG   FGA   FG%   3P   3PA   3P%   FT   FTA   FT%   ORB   DRB   TRB   AST   STL   BLK   TOV   PF   PTS   +/-
Russell Westbrook  36:53  5    19    .263  1     6    .167  10   13    .769  2     12    14    11    1     2     6     4    21    +1
James Harden       35:33  9    23    .391  6    17    .353   7    7   1.000  1      7     8     7    5     0     5     1    31    +8

 

The best aspect of Russ is his passing and creation, it really is near or at Harden levels of mastery. While his off-ball defense leaves something to be desired, his on-ball defense ranks amongst the best in the league. He even finishes at the rim at a better rate than Harden for the first time since Harden's rookie year (60% vs 63%). If he didn't have the worst shot selection in the NBA combined with forgetting how to shoot, he'd be great.

It is concerning that Harden is finishing at the rim at his worst rate since his rookie year, and the trend keeps declining (68% in '17, 66% in '18, 60% this year). Maybe its a fluke or maybe his athleticism is diminishing WAY quicker than anticipated.

 

I feel like a lot of this comes down to having a decent teammate on the court. They triple or double Harden in the paint like crazy, and until recently there's been no one rolling to the basket after the high screen.

So when he's driving, it's either attempting a basket, or passing to a corner/wing, which tends to be closed-off a lot of times, so can lead also to a TO.

I'd rather see him trying to finish at that point, or drawing a foul, rather than risking a TO on a bad pass. A lot of times the receiving wing/corner 3 seemed to be unable to hit the shots, it was super frustrating to watch.

 

If the Rockets are 100% healthy, I want to face the Thunder on the second round. I wanna see their stupid faces after we beat them 4-1 or 4-2.

 

They’ve been on this all day long. They mention Westbrook’s rebounding and assists and steals while ignoring that harden is right behind him while almost doubling his point total.

 

I can't believe I watched that. I blame myself.

When did Jalen become such an idiot? For someone who played the game in the NBA he sure doesn't know much about basketball.

 

He joined ESPN. Not much to say here...

 

I have not watched Russ enough this year to argue about these. Looks like you watch OKC games a lot. Just based on limited number of game I watched him play this year, his assists seem to most come from him charging towards the rim and then dish. He still is not a thinker like Harden, who constantly assess the situation and figure out how to solve it. Harden to me is more of a play maker than Russ. Coach Nick had an excellent video comparing the two a couple years back. Russ relies more on his force and instincts.

The problem with Harden tough, as Matt Bullard put it best - he sometimes makes it harder than it should be and get careless under pressure. That seems to me a mechanism he developed to counter pressure.

 

What in the f&$k is this nonsense.

 

Everything you said is right. But there's immense value in barreling to the rim so hard that passing lanes open up around you. Discounting such an ability like anyone can do it reminds me of butthurt Lakers fans whining about Harden shooting free throws.

Let's not pretend that of the top four turnovers/game seasons of the three point era, two belong to James Harden. The other two? Russell Westbrook. They both contribute immensely through their playmaking regardless, and they both attempt risky passes regardless of the opposing defense. While their playmaking may differ in form (even tho 70-90% of Harden's assists come from the P&R lob or popping it out for a 3 while driving), in function, you get the same results.