Westbrook hate: Do people actually watch games at ESPN?

Yes if Steve under went surgery to get his arms and legs lengthened. Francis is a much shorter limbed person.

 

Chuckers that shoot 50% are not called chuckers, they are called stars...

 

Amen...

 

Martin - 12 (28 years old)
Scola - 8.5 (31 years old)

Ibaka - 1.8 (21 years old)
Harden - 4.6 (21 years old)

There is a reason you want those 2 players instead of Scola and Martin. It is the same reason Presti says no to Morey before Morey even gets done asking.

 

?

If you aren't the guy bringing up the ball....you need someone to pass you the ball. Pretty simple.

 

I don't care whether he forces up bad shots at times. He is still very young and has a lot of growing to do. But he is playing out of his mind right now and OKC needs Westbrook just as badly as they need KD.

They can complain about Westbrook all they want, OKC isn't going to get a better PG in return. Westbrook is a naturally SG so him trying to adjust his game into a Chris Paul type will be difficult. His strength is driving to the hole and scoring. Even though he make some bad decisions, he is indeed very valuable to his team just like KD is.

 

If you can get Paul or Williams for him I think you have to pull the trigger otherwise you can't move him.

 

I saw it before anyone started talking about it.
Durant should be called out.. for letting this francis 2.0 hand him the ball with 5 secs on the clock for so many times that it almost made me scream at TV.

Westbrook is good, but he is also irrational and fits to what we call here "doesn't make teammates better".

 

At year three, his career definitely parallels Stevie a bit.

 

Yes except Westbrook has more potential, has already surpassed Francis's prime at the age of 22, bigger, and simply better all around. Westbrook is still very young so he will make some mistakes here and there. He is very competitive so sometimes he will try to do way too much for his team to win. Once he learns to slow his game down a bit theres no telling how great he will be.

Westbrook is up there with Rose, Paul, D-Will etc. People will hate on him but he is top 5 PG in the NBA right now. I even put him over D-Will this year because of his performance during the Reg season while D-Will struggled with injuries. Even though he doesn't possess the great court vision like Paul or Rondo, he is an elite scorer and has the potential to be like another Rose.

Westbrook is capable to putting up the same numbers like Rose but he is a better rebounder. Other than Rose, Westbrook is probably one of the biggest and most explosive PG in the NBA right now. 9/10 times Westbrook will have a size advantage over other teams PG, quicker and more athletic. Just like Rose, he needs to develop his jump shot and once he do that, he'll be almost unstoppable. Westbrook is also a capable defender. A guy like Westbrook is rare to find.

If OKC traded Westbrook, they will never be nearly as good. KD and Westbrook are both still very young but they are growing together with lots of potential. OKC is not going to find a better PG than Westbrook. If they trade him, he will make them regret it.

 

People are obviously knee jerk about Westbrook. People called him a ball hog for taking a shot with 3 seconds left on the clock when he was inbouded the ball in the corner.

In one of those OT games Durant had two bad turnovers nobody said anything about it on this board. If Westbrook gets 1 turnover people start saying uh oh Westbrook ego is getting out of hand.

Durant is given a pass for some reason. Durant has failed to get open at times down the stretch against Memphis but nobody will criticize him for that. If it was Dirk failing to get open down the stretch people will call him soft. Durant fails to get open and it's all Westbrook fault.

 

Hollinger hit a dead-on bullseye. WB has grown so much the last couple of years it's amazing. As a rookie, you could see what he was capable of. Last season, he didn't really snap to it until OKC got Maynor. When KD had his consecutive 25 pts/game scoring streak, people don't realize that for the final 10+ games of that, WB was the best player on their team. He took it to a level few PGs see in their career. Then he played pretty well against the Lakers in the playoffs.

This season, WB carried the team early because KD had a hangover from being overused at the World Games. As the year went on, he went back to his usual role of 2nd fiddle. He's actually quite good at setting other players up and dishing assists, but sometimes he chooses not to. This is especially true when the other team is locking down on defense. WB (usually correctly) figures he has the best matchup on the court.

OKC needs WB to be aggressive so he can punish teams for focusing on KD. The problem is starting with game 4 in Denver, he's gone too far with the aggression to the detriment of the team. But also, a big part of the problem is the passiveness and lack of movement of the other players (maybe because they know WB isn't looking to pass).

Bottom line: KD, WB, Ibaka, Hardin are still in growth stages and are still figuring things out. Nothing is settled and they are still evolving. This is why I don't consider OKC a championship contender this season. You see their growing pains against the Nuggets and Grizzlies and those issues would certainly be fatal against the Mavs in the WCFs if they make it that far. Dirk, Kidd, Jet, Chandler, Marion all know what their limitations and where they fit. They also have an experienced coach who's forgot more than Scott Brooks knows. Keep in mind you are watching very young players. I've seen this kind of stuff all season from them and the over-analysis by people who are watching OKC for the first time is laughable. The playoff microscope is unduly harsh.

What the Thunder lack is a veteran mentor or leader who's been in the trenches before. Perkins has been a huge boost in that regards, but he's still new. Scott Brooks is also still wet-behind-the-ears and is learning on the fly. I could tell you story after story on him. He is the main problem IMO.

Bottom line: KD is at fault for not getting open more. WB is at fault for going "Superman" too often. Scott Brooks is at fault the most for pathetic play-calling and the NBA's most predictable offense.

 

A buddy of mine is a die hard Thunder fan, from OKC, went to OU. I consider him to be a fairly knowledgable fan, definitely keeps up with his team and knows the in and outs.

I floated the idea of trading westbrook and he was very against it.

However, I tossed the idea of a Westbrook for Kevin love deal, he jumped all over the idea.

Maynor/N. Robinson
Harden/Thabo
Durant
Ibaka/Collison/Love
Perkins/Love

 

Interesting, but Minnesota has like 40000 PG's...

Westbrook takes a lot of shots, and definitely some bad ones, but that is because he almost always has a matchup advantage. Durant usually has an advantage too, but not as much when he is guarded by Tony Allen. Westbrook should be taking 25 shots a game when the man defending him is 2-3 inches shorter, about 20 lbs lighter, and slower. However, he should stop settling for outside jumpers, he can drive into the paint for a layup attempt or a 10 foot jump shot almost any time he wants. If he took 25 shots from inside the paint, I don't think anyone would be complaining...

 

maybe it has something to do with Durant not touching the ball during the last 9 minutes of the gama.

 

what about a westbrook for cp3 deal? (assuming cp3 wants out of NO)

 

You realize WB is 6'3, 190 lbs. How many players in the NBA fit that description?

 

Because he's not a guard

And their PGs suck

Durant struggling to get free is definitely an issue.
Westbrook not trying to get others involved is just as alarming. Especially when he's jacking up 25 shots a game with 40% shooting.

Who was that calling Durant a chucker?