He's grown from being a surprising 4th pick of the draft who was nothing but athletic to a PG that regularly dominates opponents and wreaks havoc on both ends of the floor. That's why he was 2nd team all-NBA last year. That's why some people here (prematurely) said early last season he was a better player than Durant. Last year, he was 8th in the NBA in PER. Every part of WB's has improved each season he's been in the NBA, most notably his shooting ability and percentage (though he needs to stop taking 3s). As far as being wary of players who depend on athleticism: Since when? Whether MJ, Hakeem, Kobe, Drexler, etc, how many of them didn't rely upon athleticism? Very few. This is the NBA, right? I don't understand your point at all.
the 4 players you listed are all-time greats and were able to produce later in their career because as they matured they cultivated their game. they improved upon other facets of their game and didn't rely so heavily upon their otherwordly athleticism. then you have players such as Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury who broke out early on in their careers, but never expanded their game to be successful as they matured. what has Westbrook done to make me include him with the 4 players you mentioned, as opposed to the 2 I mentioned? people forget about Marburys run with KG early in his career, and how bright their future seemed to be.. but he just never took the next step...
I mentioned those players in response to your "wary of athleticism" comment, which made no sense. Athleticism is a key component of 90% of NBA players and not just Westbrook. If Hakeem wasn't quick as a cat and have great hops during his career, he wouldn't have been 1/2 the player he was. Same for MJ & Kobe. Is that hard to understand? WB is already better than SF or Marbury ever were. Even if he doesn't improve much on the present, he'll be just fine.
Detroit sucks, if you didn't know. Greg Monroe is the same guy who went off for 4 points against us. I'm 100% positive OKC expected more than 7.7 rebounds per 36min out of their starting center. All his advanced stats are down since coming to OKC. Of course that coincides with him returning from a knee injury.
I think they are fine with Perkins. Personal stats don't tell the story of what he does on the floor. I was also very skeptical of his value but watching him every game gives a clearer picture. In addition to his post defense, his presence has changed the whole mentality and fortitude of their team. Perk is not the same player as last year. He's lost a lot of weight and can stay in front of nearly anyone. Watching him hobble around last year was painful at times.
the quote was "you always have to be weary of players who rely completely upon athleticism." seems pretty straight forward to me
