"Washed up" Chris Paul is the best clutch player in the NBA and will be in All-Star Game this year

Lowe Post podcast today is on the Western Conference All star selections.

Zach Lowe and Howard Beck

Beck ACTUALLY picked Westbrook as his final pick.

Zach Lowe died a little bit by the pick.

But hop to the 48-49 minute mark where they start the Westbrook discussion.

http://www.espn.com/espnradio/play?id=28447880

Here are some snippets after he said Westbrook’s name

“just barely” “Westbrook is continuing to show signs of decline” “he is not having a positive impact on the Rockets, they are just as good as they were with Paul, in fact Chris Paul is having a clearly better season than him” “he’s shooting even ghastlier from 3, his effective field goal percentage is one of his worst ever”

BUT “this is about entertainment and fans love watching Russel Westbrook”

Zach Lowe than goes on to say how there just isn’t a serious case for Westbrook. “The reason the Rockets are good is James Harden....They are playing better when Westbrook is off the floor....Imagine what a more competent player could do if his man was constantly leaving him to go double Harden....including CP3 who was too good for teams to even think about doubling off of him”

 

I thought there was a certain percentage chance Westbrook would come here and change his wild ways, cut out all the bonehead shot attempts and stick to what can make him great.

I was wrong.

 

You were right, you're just impatient and ready to tear him down the moment he has a bad game against a good interior defense that explicitly planned to not give him lanes to the hoop.

 

ALMOST half of his 20+ shots in the restricted area over the last month?

So thats still OVER half his shots that are boneheaded in that month. And on the season it’s WELL over half.

And 54% TS is still below league average.

 

Didn't you just say "I hoped he would change..." this marks change, you expected it to be an overnight thing?

Let's also realize the actual reality of the situation, the actual human reality here that Westbrook is a guard and there is no such thing as a guard getting all of their points in the paint on layups and dunks, it's just not possible to have this play style for a career without tearing your body apart like Rose.

What you ask just isn't possible, on paper it is, in theory it sounds great, but it's just now how basketball works...besides the point I am sure your boy Harden probably knows a bit more about Basketball than Lowe, not sure why his opinion on Basketball is worth anyone else's, he's not even an authority on it like someone like Pop would be...he's just an ESPN talking head that can argue his opinion and thoughts just like anyone else on the forum.

 

This generally makes sound sense. However, correct me if my memory is hazy, but didn't Harden see some double team action last year? Maybe not to the extent it's been used by opponents this year, but in CP3's presence weren't some teams still doubling Harden?

 

Harden saw the double last year with CP3, but I remember CP3 being really hesitant to just take easy open shots when Harden passed to him.

CP3 would probe, and probe, and probe, with no one moving, and Harden taking his man out of the play by standing at half court. CP3 would pass up shots to find an even better shot than the one he passed up.

 

I am being curious, Jay. Who is he to you?
I mean others have defended him but not to this extent. Maybe a distant cousin?

I am positive he will be up for trade in the next 2 years once it's clear that this team won't win it all, the discussions would be worth nothing. Dun get too attached, just a friendly advice.

That 40 million per year deal looks too good not to trade.

If he defies the low probability of winning, all power to him.
He really cracked the Silver code.

 

Westbrook’s most important and elite skill is driving to the basket and finishing at a high rate or dishing it to a teammate. He unlike most players does have that exact capability to stick to paint shots and a couple 3s the opponents dare him to shoot. No one respects his jumper at all anyway. They play off him already. He is just too stubborn.

Royce Young who was assigned to cover OKC as his job even said in a podcast interview that coaches have gone over this with him in OKC. Shown him his inefficient and poor shot selection. And that the response Westbrook gives to the coach was “ I just felt like I would make that one” That’s just pure selfish, stubbornness to ignore that and just keep chucking.

Right. Zach Lowe who puts out insightful articles with video breakdown of game film regularly, who watches and studies more game film than you or I 1000 times over, the guy who talks to countless scouts, coaches, GMs, agents, insiders. The guy whose opinion is respected as extremely knowledgeable in just about every circle. THAT guys opinion is no better than any Joe Schmo on clutchfans.

Delusional, stubborn denial of reality. I kinda see why you like Russ so much. Both have that in common.

 

hahahah! AWESOME, you have found the way to be right by admitting you were wrong, that's some serious mind acrobatics...gotta love it!

 

to me its seems a genuine defense of the principles and or his weltanschauung not relatives or other dear persons

 

Lol.

 

Harden would defend him, that is his brother.
Weltanschauung or not, mein Freund.

 

Well, I think it is fair to ask the CP3 defenders the same question.

Right. I don't like the idea that all basketball is, is based on what happens on paper and what stats say. Because, these same stats say PJ Tucker isn't valuable to the team. No one watching the games would say that, they'd just shrug and go "Well, the stat here in this case is missing something."

I think some people put too much into stats and not enough into what matters. Winning.

 

That's just basketball man, that's over confidence which I said before. People really think guys take shots expecting to miss them? Russ gave the common sense answer, he took the shot because he believed he would make it, that's 95% of the time why someone takes a shot. The other 5% of the time is because someone feels they MUST take a shot after being goaded into it by fellow players, coaches, etc etc...see Ben Simmons.

Not sure why you call it selfish, stubbornness...find me a teammate that has EVER said that about Westbrook.

I respect Lowe, as I respect your opinion really, but remember this is a guy that thought Kawhi should win the MVP over Harden that year Russ won it. So like...his opinion is not infallible. I don't think it is worth as much as say a coach like Carlisle or Pop or a player like Kobe or Lebron. I just don't. But he knows what he's talking about...

but he's wrong about Russ being the reason Harden is double teamed too or how it is affecting the offense. Rockets get open shots out of Harden's double teams, they always have, what they have been missing is consistent shooting which isn't Russ's fault completely because he usually drives and dishes out of that double or gives it to Capela who can average 20 if he went up stronger every time to the rim.

Also, you continue to deny the reality that CP3s two post-season appearances with us did not end well. That's the reality of the situation we are in.

 

I think there is lots to romanticize about an ex player. A formerly great player, still a good one.

But in brutal honesty, I didn't expect both to win a ship.

Yeah, we came close the first year, but nobody could have foreseen it, the Warriors had interior beef, Draymond with KD and everyone.
It already started two years ago, the crumbling of a dynasty.

I think WB made his bed when he joined here, or he had no other choice, as a friend of Harden's.

The magnifying glass keeps on getting bigger, all focused on him. He is a grown ass man, he can take it.

 

nice....
btw

1 the stats may be useful but no stat says 'this player is valuable' or 'this player is not valuable' it's always the interpretation of the stat that produce the claim... even the most 'analytical' person still just follows his 'eye test'....he attaches his opinion to the numbers and then he claims 'the stats says this or that' when the stat says absolutely nothing....

2 the analytics is only in its infancy...todays most complex statistics will be regarded as a boxscore statistics in future ...perhaps in a decade or 2 ....in other words almost worthless often misleading...theres so much of the game they don't cover, and so much to the game they can only dream to cover

 

Woj did report that the Heat wanted Russ, I guess he chose to play with his friend instead of go to Miami.

That's another reason I like Russ, he wanted to be here. No one else comes to play with Harden based on either some false narrative that he doesn't pass or it being Houston and not LA or whatever the case. I thought Butler would come here and with Butler AND Cp3 I think we are easily the favorites...but alas...

 

Exactly, the stat can give you an idea of what is happening...but it can be completely wrong too.

One thing the stats do not account for are things like Russ being hurt and also being on a new team and a new role, that takes some getting used to.

 

you know where I stand but I'll just answer anyway as you're one of the better overall posters on the board. cp3 was a great fit next to harden and this team succeeded in so many areas behind those two, including nearly beating a historic team for a title. That team was the only thing to stand in their way and they're no longer around. cp3 is still damn good, and no matter what anyone else wants to tell themselves I personally would have liked another crack at it with the league being as wide open as its been for awhile. Want to minimize his injury risk, put him on load management like the league is doing with a number of guys

if someone is going to throw shade at cp3 (not saying you are) as if he wasn't great here and didn't appreciate one of the few guys that personally decided to come here and help harden take down a dynasty, then yeah I'm gonna say something. Especially with all the trash comments posted around here. it's perfectly fine to bring up injury concerns, sure but it's not like his replacement is exactly healthy either. We can go back forth with this all day but i believe you alluded to this in a previous post, time will tell down the line. To me it was a mistake.