It seems like the only thing that can stop James Harden from being named the MVP of the league this year is Westbrook triple-double per game, but if you watch Thunder games the fact is that he's cheating for his stats, especially with his defensive rebounding. He's averaging 8.5 UNCONTESTED DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS PER GAME over the season and no other OKC player is in Top 50 and the average rebounding range of his is 6.2 feet (bigmen range) http://stats.nba.com/players/rebounding/#!?sort=REB_UNCONTEST&dir=1 And this videoproof has only 643 views? I mean, why don't we push it over the web? That happens every game, he just comes to key for possible free-throw miss rebounding, he's always out of position defensively to grab a board etc I can guarantee you that there could be a ton of vids just like that
I'm glad someone finally did some digging into that. However I don't think anything is going to change the minds of people who love Westbrook for MVP. The core of their argument is always "you love the passion that he plays with", and any stats/evidence used is just a smokescreen for that argument.
The only egregious example of a teammate giving Westbrook a rebound occurs at the 0:11 second mark. The rest of the clips show Westbrook making his way to the basket when a shot is taken and using his athleticism to get the rebound faster than his teammates.
C'mon.. you know media members don't actually watch games or highlights unless it's on Shaqtin a Fool. This is why Westbrook is rated so highly for MVP - he grabs attention with his meaningless Triple-Double stats which have his team currently at #6, and only leads Harden by less than 3pts/3rebs game.
You're not gonna change the mind of a Westbrook supporter at this point. Even if they do see this stuff, their mind is made up. If u say that the Rockets have the 3rd best record in the NBA, they'll say that OKC is only a few games behind the 1st seed in the East. If u say that Harden is more efficient, they'll say that Westbrook's inefficiency is due to his teammates and if u put Westbrook on the Rockets his percentages would look better. This is the type of stuff that is gonna happen.
I enjoy the "please don't murder me" hand gesture that all his teammates throw up every time they make contact with him on a rebound. That said, big whoop. They're the #2 rebounding team in the league, so it's not like his teammates ceding him rebounds is actively hurting the team - although his cheating on his man to crash the boards might, from time to time.
The rest of the video shows Westbrook not guarding his man so he can get a rebound. Not that it matters, Westbrook is going to win the MVP.
This won't gain any views because Westbrook is the People's Champ. That Harden vid caught fire like nothing I have ever seen in sports; It rivals the Ray Rice vid.
Thanks for proliferating my stat. But I've already been hashing this point out since December and it hasn't gotten me very far
Yeah, he is really freaking good at skying to grab rebounds that his teammates were gonna grab anyway. I wouldn't care, but those fake impressive rebound numbers very may well win him the MVP. Him and Harden both have very fake rebounding numbers. They are great because they score and set up, the rebounds don't mean s**t.
just shoot a tweet to amin el hassan and itll be on the jump then mike and mike and before you know it all over the air
I have been having the argument with some OKC folks lately. They don't pause much but when I asked this it made them think briefly. If Harden and Westbrook were each averaging 1 less rebound a game, who would be MVP? They paused for a second then continued their triple double narrative.
great video, too bad it's already downvoted alot. It didn't catch fire like that Haren defense video because Westbrook is beloved by many while Harden is not. Haters will always be more vocal and dedicated to putting down others success.
Stat padder extraordinaire. He's the designated rebounder on their team. All the bigs with the hands up like they have a gun pointed at them as they "defer" to Westbrick is laughable.
At the surface it may seem innocent; Westbrook using his quick athleticism to grab the rebound, but in reality it negates the purpose of having teammates. Too often Westbrook takes the rebound and storms the length of the court for a thunderous putdown. It looks great on the highlight reel, but neutering his big men takes away from their game.The bigs are already not a focal part of the offense. Now, take away their role on defensive rebounding and their purpose is greatly diminished. This is why Westbrook will never lead a team deep in the playoffs. His one-man circus show doesn't work over a 7 game stretch against a locked-in defense.
