You hate his ego and the fact you seem to think the refs favor him. We get it. Now be objective. On another note, Nate already crying about the refs and it's only the first game of the season. FUCKING CHRIST.
I hate the fact that the refs are inconsistent in how they call fouls. That's not just Russell Westbrook. That's James Harden. That's Chris Paul. That's Kevin Martin. That's a lot of guys who flop. And you're fucking right I'm complaining about the refs. They keep saying they're going to do something about flopping. All I see is some random ass minimal fine that doesn't hurt anyone. Dame was in foul trouble tonight because of some weak ass foul calling.
His combo is speed and strength is amazing. His shooting has gotten better and all that together has made him an excellent player. But the flex in the 3rd quarter of game one of the season???? That right there is why I cant stand that guy. Even knowing and admitting (which sucks) that Westbrook is the better player compared to Lillard at this point I would still take Lillard for our team 10 out of 10 times. Also as bad as the start of Lillard's game was he is always still clutch when we need him and that is almost invaluable.
It also should be noted that point guards who involve their teammates early generally get more out of them late, and players who dominate the ball early are less likely to get contributions from teammates late, because said teammates haven't really gotten much chance to get into a rhythm. It could be argued that had Westbrook made more effort to get his teammates involved earlier in the game, he might have been less worn down, and they might have been better equipped to perform down the stretch. No question that RW is currently a superior player to Dame overall. But Dame is a better teammate.
No. He did not. Twice he took a jump shot and pushed off the defender on the way down, and got the free throws. Two other times he tried to initiate contact, failed, but still got the free throws. He was flopping like a fish and Hubie Brown was falling for it. You too, apparently. The biggest difference in the game was that he flopped three times in the second half without getting the same bullshit calls. Game over.
No one says he isn't a great player and a top talent. But that was not an 'amazing' performance. His shooting was putrid, and the only reason he scored so much in the first half, was the refs thought it was his birthday. How'd he do in the second half, btw? Or the fourth quarter. Oh, that's right. Batum, Matthews and Lillard ate his lunch.
I think that was the play where Blanky was defending on a drive to the basket, RW changed direction and plowed into him, then RW made a great shot. What was lost in all that was, IMO, it was an offensive foul -- the type that will never be called on him, ever, so it's considered a great basketball play. Wasn't there a game last year where RW was talking some shit to Lillard then Lillard shut him up? Anyone remember what I'm trying to remember?
Yeah it was on TNT and he was yelling at Stotts. That's when Matthews started defending RW and he said "Lillard can guard me!" After a few minutes Lillard did and started heating up.
It was totally an offensive foul. If you watch the replay, after the call Blake is like, "WTF?" You're thinking about the game in Portland last year. It actually wasn't a good game for Lillard. Westbrook was lighting him up, so we put Wes on him and he starting bricking everything. Westbrook said something like "you scared?" or some arrogant bullshit. We won that game too.
"He scared of me! He scared!" Then he proceeds to freeze out Durant and play one on five. Westbrook is amazingly talented, but he's the Incredible Hulk: you can get into his head. It wasn't going to work last night because he was already playing one on five. Just got to weather the storm and let him wear himself out.
That's it! The way to beat the thunder is to make RW do shit like this. Make him take it upon himself to win the game for you and he will use up all his energy and lose the game for you. This is why I think the Durant injury may prove that OKC is in serious trouble
I hope you are right but I am not so sure. I think once they get Reggie Jackson back they will be a 500 ball club until Durant gets back. Then they will get enough wins to make the playoffs. My concern is that all the experience the younger players will get while KD is out will help them in the playoffs.
