I remembered that one from an article last year that mentioned Russell Westbrook, the PG who is supposed to be guarding other PGs, had contested fewer 3-point shots than DeAndre Jordan, the 7-foot center/rim protector. Why wasn't Westbrook contesting 3-point shots? Because he was dropping off his man to chase rebounds. Here you go: "Westbrook has contested a grand total of 160 FG’s on the ENTIRE SEASON. That number is staggeringly low and to be frank, flat out embarrassing. … Westbrook ranks dead last in the NBA in contested shots among players averaging 30 or more MPG by a considerable margin. Hilariously, the only two players who have contested less 3P FGA’s are Rudy Gobert and Whiteside, who have contested 53 and 64 respectively. Russell Westbrook is at 69 while having playing [sic] close to the same amount of minutes…Yes, DeAndre Jordan has contested more 3P FGA’s this season than Russell Westbrook." BNM
People wonder why that team isn't that good. Basically, the talent around doesn't matter. He'll get you a 6-10 seed no matter what.
More on Westbrook's "defense": "Westbrook is contesting approximately 3.4 of his PG matchup’s 13.1 FGA while on the floor. The player he’s supposed to be defending is attempting 74% of their shots without a contest from Westbrook. Ignoring the fact that he [is] leaving his man with regularity to chase rebounds, even when Westbrook contests shots he’s the worst guard in the league in expected FG% against. His opp. +6.9% over expected FG% is dead last in the NBA among guards. The only other players over 4.5% are Sean Kilpatrick, Kyle Korver, and Emmanuel Mudiay." And to think people here used to bitch about Dame's defense. At least he was trying (and is MUCH better this year). Can you imagine how this place would explode if Dame wasn't even trying to guard his man 74% of the time and his opponents were shooting almost 7% higher from the field against him than they were against the rest of the league? But, but, but... TRIPLE DOUBLES!!!! BNM
OK, so if you DON’T think the league MVP is not the best PG in the league, where does he rank? What PGs do you have ahead of him. Now remember, when you got all excited and posted how he and one of the greatest players to ever play the game,Oscar Robinson didn’t win the championship, you hinted it was BECAUSE they averaged triple doubles...... so I am interested in what PGs are better than him.
Last year's MVP. He won't win it this year. Not even close. Oscar did win an NBA championship, near the end of his career when he was second fiddle to Kareem in MIL. And no, I didn't hint that they failed in the playoffs BECAUSE they averaged triple doubles. My point was that triple doubles are over rated, because no matter how many triple doubles someone has during the regular season, it doesn't guarantee team success in the playoffs. Think about that for a minute. Basketball is still a team sport. A team that relies too much on one player doesn't usually fair well in the playoffs. It's much easier to game plan for one player than an entire team. My current rank: Tier 1: Curry Lillard Irving Westbrook I consider Lillard and Irving a virtual tie. Their individual stats are about as close at they can be. Some will give Irving the nod based on team record, but he also has better teammates than Lillard. So, I call that one a tie. Tier 2: Chris Paul John Wall Kyle Lowry Kemba Walker That's based on their current level of play. Right now, today, I think Steph Curry is the only PG in the world that is better than Damian Lillard. Kyrie Irving is on the same level, but given Dame's leadership and his loyalty to the team and the city of Portland, I'd take him over Irving 100 out of 100 times. BNM
Mine would've been a tl;dr not nearly as succinct. This way I can save the time I would've wasted and instead write serious posts, like describing what ESPN thinks of WW reporters and my hope that we don't have to use the term "finger-banging an octogenarian Supreme Court justice" anytime soon.
Seems like it goes back a bit to a question not a lot of folks would answer in the LMA days.... If he averaged 40ppg on 40 shot attempts, would you say he's one of the greatest scorers ever? Better than MJ? Or would you look at the stats and say, "Sure, if you chuck enough and play poor team basketball you can ramp up individual stats, but your team isn't winning anything with half their shots coming at a 1 pt/shot clip.""?
He definitelly has some traits that one can value. Competitiveness and edge are something I respect about him. Triple doubles are just extremely overrated. What if 12 was our first two-digit number? What if it was 15? A stat that's subjected to the structure of our number system isn't likely a stat to put much weight in.
With the Westbrook vs. Dame argument.. it comes down to winning. Is Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, Steven Adams, and others a better supporting cast than C.J. McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Shabazz Napier, Ed Davis and company? I'd say they're probably even. So why is Portland winning more and 3-0 against OKC? Because Dame's been better. That's the only explanation. Whether it's a better leader or some other intangible, he's still better.
Since Aldridge/Matthews/Batum/Rolo left. Portland is a 8-3 against OKC. Westbrick puts up numbers I'm not sure many guards could match. But all too often those numbers don't equate to wins. It's not hating on Westbrick to say that. It's not, not giving him the respect he deserves. There are maybe three other players in the league who could average a triple double in the NBA. But is averaging a triple double whats best for the team?
