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They're basically the same player. Rose has more hype b/c he doesn't have a KD next to him, and thus the general fans think he has to do everything for the Bulls, which isn't the case at all. I have WB higher than Rose this year b/c Rose has been injured, and his team hasn't missed him much at all. WB took his game to the next level this season. Rose hasn't improved from last season much at all, maybe due to injuries. Next season, we will see a separation between the two, depending on who improves over the offseason. That miracle is Kobe understanding the offense goes through Bynum, and him playing off of the big men and finishing plays. 7-25 tonight. Dude is going to end up shooting 40-41% this year.
Westbrook is the mini Lebron. He can get to the rim better than anyone else. He can create space better than anyone else. He still misses a lotta open passes but you can't stop him.
Do you really think this game showed that OKC will dominate the Lakers? Color me unconvinced still. Was there even one attempt by the Lakers in the second half to change up their D and shut down Westbrook? I didn't see it. One half of one game does not a series make. Westbrook..........he is still the Achilles heal of the Thunder and will be until he proves he will not blow under pressure. When Barnes and RonRon are dogging him all night long under the intense pressure of win or go home, we will (again) see what Westbrook is made of. Lakers or Spurs are coming out of the West.
One game doesn't prove anything and this one didn't show us anything we didn't already know. Why you still believe the Lakers will suddenly rise up and play inspired ball in the playoffs is beyond me. I won't even bother listing the reasons why it's unlikely again. Lakers won't get out of the 2nd round IF they advance that far. They are worse than last year. Spurs have a legit chance at the Finals if they TD/TP/Manu stay healthy.
Thunder have come a long way as a team. KD 0-0 from the freethrow line. If you were to tell me that was going to happen, I (and just about everyone) would have predicted an easy Laker victory. Fun game. And good to see jopatmc is still 'all in' on the Lakers this year.
Thunder are more scared of the Spurs and Memphis than the Lakers IMO. I dunno how jomatmc can hate on Westbrook after he was the reason the Thunder won yesterday. He makes the Thunder elite.
I don't hate on anyone. Westbrook has the talent to be great. It's unfortunate he doesn't have the mentaility. Westbrook is an enigma. Possibly the biggest enigma in the NBA. He can look sensational in a run-n-gun full court slugfest where guys are just cutting loose. But when the playoffs get here, and the games all slow down, and he's in a half-court grinder series, he blows up. He can't take the pressure. I will only change my opinion on him when he proves he can take the pressure. Until then, I will count on him to be what he has been up until now, a great talent that can be hassled and jostled into being totally stupid and blowing up his whole team.
He got a triple double in a game 7 against Memphis and their awesome defense. Those offensive rebounds that he got as the PG were the difference in that series.
At this point, forget logic and reason. Some people won't forgive WB no matter what. Last year was the first time he's been in that position and he made some mistakes. This year he's obviously made more strides and there is every likelihood WB will be fine in the playoffs. But the proof is in the pudding (the playoffs themselves). IMO, the biggest question mark in the playoffs for OKC is Scott Brooks. But the real issue is the Lakers ain't going anywhere. I'm beginning to think they might fall to pieces and start pointing fingers when the going gets rough in the playoffs. Of Kobe, Bynum, Pau and Mike Brown, none of these guys can stand each other. Kobe and Bynum are concerned about getting their own and nobody seems to have any respect for the coach.
You are aware KD had a terrible experience in his first playoff run too right? He struggled mightily. WB took his playoff struggles and took his game to another level this season. That's what you want your stars to do. He'll have some struggles still b/c he's so young, who doesn't. WB is now a superstar.
Yes, KD struggled. But entirely different mindset from Westbrook. Westbrook isn't stable. Durant and the Thunder are doing an awesome job covering it. But playoff pressure will expose it again. Westbrook is a superstar......kinda like McGrady and VC were superstars, except he isn't as good as McGrady was and isn't as stable as McGrady was. He will fold under pressure.
No, they were their team's main superstar. WB isn't here. The pressure he faces won't be anywhere near that high b/c he's not the #1 guy, plain and simple. The same way the pressure isn't as high on a Chris Bosh in Miami. The pressure is ALWAYS on the main guy. But it's funny how you think WB "mindset" will hurt the Thunder, and yet you still peg the Lakers to go all the way when Kobe's mindset is very similar. His unwillingness to play team ball, or ATTEMPT to just facilitate is hurting the team NOW. Imagine when the pressure is higher, and Kobe wants to take over even more.
When I use the word mindset about Westbrook, I'm not talking about his ball-hogging tendacies. I'm talking about the fact that when the pressure increases and he is playing against a better team that is dogging him and bumping and grinding on him and making him work for everything he gets, and beating him around and knocking him down....Westbrook comes unglued and he completely loses his head. It doesn't matter that he's not the main superstar. What matters is other teams know his mental fragility is the weak link and they will ATTACK and EXPLOIT it during the playoffs. And because he is the point guard, it can't be hidden. It's not like he can go hang out in the corner. He's gonna keep handling the rock every possession bringing it up and trying to make something happen. Only when he has lost his cool, he's either got to sit down and cool off, or he's gonna play extremely eratically. He does not have a champion's mentality. For a complete stark contrast to Westbrook.............when this stuff happens to Kobe, he ratchets up the pressure even more, he forces the calls to go his way, and he gains an extreme advantage in those high pressure situations. He flails, throws elbows, and gets his opponents upset at him instead of him getting upset at them. (Circa Shane Battier and the elbow to the head on Shane). Kobe takes all that pressure and turns it on the opponent. Westbrook lets the pressure get to him and his game goes in the dumpster. Kobe, like him or hate him (and I happen to dislike him very much), has the champions mentality. Very similar to MJ. Westbrook, like him or hate him (I happen to be neutral), reminds me of ......... Ryan Leaf............definitely not a champions mentality.
So you're not even giving WB a chance to show that he has learned from the playoffs? The fact that he has brought his game to another level this season from last season hasn't done anything for you at all I see. Secondly, you're talking about the Kobe of 3-4 years ago. The Kobe you are seeing this year is worse than the Kobe you're seeing last year. What's worse is the physical decline in Kobe is bringing down the Lakers, something you can't work on unless you completely change your game for the betterment of the team.
Um. That isn't hype. I've explained this many times. Rose is the only player on their team that can get his own shot. Without Rose, their offense isn't the same. They've had some games where they've had ball movement (the Utah Jazz offense) to win some games but their wins mainly come from defense. Boozer is the only other guy they have right now that is a threat for them offensively but as far as I've been told, he's inconsistent. On the offensive end in a half court set, he pretty much does have to do everything. Stop kidding yourself.
He'll have to show me. Sorry. These kinds of things are not a skills issue. You can talk about he's brought his game up, yack, yack, yack. Doesn't have a thing to do with it. HAS HE BROUGHT HIS MENTAL FRAGILITY TO A SOLID STATE? The evidence is screaming "NO!" and that is as late as the last time we played them and he lost his cool while Dragic was guarding him. He lost his cool and the Thunder gave up a 16 point lead with something like 5 minutes left in the game and lost the game. Just because Dragic was playing hard D on him. Dragic?!?!? Dragic wasn't out there running his mouth and playing dirty. That's so ridiculous. There's not a cleaner player in the league than Dragic. What's Westbrook gonna do when monsters like Barnes and Artest are banging around with him, talking in his ear, and intentionally trying to sabatoge his mindset?????!!???!?!?!??? Sure Kobe is in decline....ever so slightly. But he's still got the championship mentality. NO ONE will be able to knock him off his game by playing mindgames with Kobe. And the opponent would be best served not to play mind games with Kobe because he will whip them all in that department. The opponent has to flat-out beat Kobe on the floor and there hasn't been too many that have been able to do that over his career. That is why Kobe is STILL the best in the business. Not because he has the best skillset. But because he has the best mindset and his skillset is still strong.
What's your definition of superstar? I don't usually toss that word around lightly. I think the league has about 8 or 9 superstars. I don't think Westbrook is part of that group, at least not yet anyway.
Obviously not. The hype I'm referring to is people who claim last year if you take Rose off of the team, the Bulls would be a lottery team -> hence the reason for the MVP pick. Secondly, Boozer isn't inconsistent when Rose sits. Boozer/Deng/Watson have all shown they can score if given the opportunities (they score extremely well for being role players). There is NO reason for Rose shooting that poorly in the playoffs last year, or nowhere close to 47-48% this year considering how stacked this team is. This team would be so much better if Rose becomes more efficient by learning to use his teammates. He should only need to go iso when the game is close down the stretch, but too many times he goes iso period. You can do that when your team is completely dependent on you, but they're 13-5 without you, destroying even the elite teams in the NBA.
