Just imagine the idea that he may not be fit to play come playoff time. Would we be allowed to say we got unlucky???
It'll be more interesting to see how many picks the Wizards will have to attach to get rid of Westbrook next season in order to try and convince Beal to stay.
Westbrook did not want to be here anymore! Westbrook's game was not going to help us win. The fire and energy were great, but the better teams figured out, just back off him and pack the paint and he is a negative. His playmaking was not helping when he could not get all the way to the rim and score. Those are the facts. I know some keep saying we should have waited to deal him, but wait for what? None of us were in conversations with GMs and owners to know what offers were and were not made. Anything we say is just conjecture at this point (this happens every off season during free agency). It was time to move on with the new roster and coach we have. Yes Wall and Cousins are unknowns right now, but we had to take the chance. We saw how far small ball got us. Wall is not the straight line scorer Russ is, but what he probably is, is a better playmaker. More of a real PG and will move the ball and get it to guys in good spots to score. With Wood and Cousins on board now, I think that is what we need more of, not Russ' straight line scoring. We are a different team now and therefore need players with different skills. So we wont really know if Wall is bad or not until he gets here and we see him on the court in the new system with the new guys we have. So lets hold that judgement on the trade until at least the first 15 games of the season. Russ may put up better numbers, but Wall could be a better fit for us.
Perhaps. Personally, I never underestimate Westbrooks ability to pad his stats and he will probably help the wizards to the playoffs this upcoming season and restoring his value. Perhaps Wall will be great, and healthy again. But I wouldn't bet on it. Imo Wall even when healthy was just a slightly different and lesser version of WB. Both are not what I'd want on my team. Can't shoot, lazy defenders, ball dominant, and personality conflicts issues and terrible contracts. It's like replacing a flat tire with a warped one... That unicycle is still going suck.
Wall is the greatest 3 point shooter in the history of the world compared to Westbrook. It's like replacing a missing tire with a tire that is improperly inflated....you might get where you want to get now, but it's not ideal. If you don't make that move, you have no chance of getting anywhere.
32% vs 31% that's their career 3 point %. The difference is 1%. Don't know why people suddenly think wall is a good 3 point shooter. He has been 1% better than the atrocious and worst shooter of all time in westbrook. They are both flat, deform, warped, burnt tires. You ain't going anywhere far with either.
Yeah, that's the overall numbers, but now look at the catch and shoot numbers, Wall had several seasons over 35% on catch and shoot 3's, Westbrook just came off a season shooting 29% on them. Add to that, shooting the 3 has been Wall's primary focus for a bit over a year now and I think it's fair to say he'll be a LOT better at it than Westbrook ever dreamed of. Defenders won't be laughing at him every time he decides to shoot the ball like they do Westbrook.
Russell Westbrook Believes He Became 'Scapegoat' For Rockets Playoff Exit Russell Westbrook's camp believes he was "made out to be a scapegoat of sorts for Houston's playoff meltdown," sources tell The Athletic. A similar situation occurred in 2019 when the Rockets were eliminated by the Warriors on their home floor in Game 6 despite Kevin Durant being injured. The Rockets were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Lakers in five games, which "sources believe is the real reason Harden and Westbrook wanted to leave." With a championship as the main goal, there was an acknowledgement "Harden and Westbrook simply couldn't co-exist on the floor. This isn’t a knock on their personal relationship, an aspect that has been misconstrued in recent weeks. Harden and Westbrook have a deep-rooted friendship that spans over decades."
Isolating catch and shoot or certain % from other isolated areas aren't evidence of what has happened or is likely to happen. If he only took this or IF he only did that. If if if that ish is all conjectures. Reminds me of the same arguments about melos fit with the rockets. The fact is he is 1% better than the worst 3 point shooter of all time is "not great bob". Sure if he suddenly shot like Steph curry cuz he said he was working on it. Great! Hey Westbrook said he was working on his three last year too! How'd that turn out?
So the guy with the worst playoff WS/48 among those on the team that stepped foot on the court in the playoffs thinks that he was a "scapegoat"? That's interesting.
The reason I isolate it is to take out the really bad shots that can skew percentages. Wall played a lot like Westbrook does before his injury, so there were a lot of really dumb shots mixed in. Catch and shoot should be his role with the Rockets, so those are the shots that are relevant.
lol is he under the belief that he shouldn’t be blamed? That was the worst playoff run I may have ever seen or ever see in the future.
I feel like Wall wont be asked to shoot a whole lot of spot up 3s. Our team has changed, our style will change too. We have two bigs that can be productive in PnR and that will open up a lot of options. We can also dump it down to Boogie to suck in the D. Russ was never good in PnR because of his passing, Wall has always been a much better playmaker. So, Walls, 3% does not worry me. I just want him to have some speed back so he can make plays.
You understand that's like saying, I know Westbrook was a terrible fit with the rockets but if you take out his playoff performance and the first couple months, westbrook was Great! If he only played like he did in Jan to March, rockets would be the best! You don't get to pick the details u want and ignore the whole and pretend those small details are what's important.
John Wall is not a spot up shooter, he's a primary ball handler/playmaker. Westbrook also had a few seasons with OKC where his catch and shoot 3pt% were 34% and up. Melo's catch and shoot #s were in the 40%s with the Knicks. Every star players catch and shoot numbers are high when they're the primary option. When you take the ball out of their hand, take the rhyme out of their hand, their percentage falls off a cliff.
Look, he can blame it on his injury or on COVID, fine. But he should own the fact he was awful in the playoffs. If he wants to be praised for having a good regular season, he can’t ignore that he was just bad in the playoffs. The Rockets probably would have lost to the Lakers anyway, but Westbrook’s awfulness (and House’s issue) made it a certainty. “Couldn’t coexist on the floor” is a funny euphemism. Harden couldn’t “coexist” with a high volume inefficient ball-dominant guard who shot airballs and threw the ball out of bounds repeatedly in critical crunch time possessions? Well, no ****. Harden also couldn’t coexist with a stone-hands center who thought he was Hakeem Olajuwon.
