THE "OFFICIAL" AROUND THE NBA 2012-13 THREAD...........

He's supposedly a point guard. Do you really want your point guard taking more shots than your superstar?

 

There's a solution to that though - get a point guard that can guard the shooting guards on defense. It's been done before, and OKC still has time to make that happen. I'm just not sure why they're reluctant to pull that trigger.

 

Instead they got Kevin Martin lol

 

If you don't think Westbrook is a superstar, you're out of your mind. I'd go as far as to say RW is actually the tougher of the two to contain, which isn't quite the same thing as being the superior player. If RW is relegated to being a pass first point guard, the Thunder become a very one-dimensional team.

Nate, your view on the matter is the same as a coach who ruins a player by forcing them to fit the system, rather than adapting the system to take advantage of the players present.

 

Russell Westbrook isn't even the second or even third best point guard in the NBA. He's far from a superstar. All-Star? Yes, but definitely not a superstar. And if you think RW is harder to contain than Durant, you're nuts. Kevin Durant is a top-five player in the league because he's a freak. He's a natural scorer and an insane athlete.

My view on the matter is that the thunder should have traded Westbrook instead of harden because at least Harden is a natural two and not a combo scoring guard like Westbrook.

 

You just described RW to a tee and didn't realize it, which illustrates how jaded you are on the matter.

Both are athletic freaks, but Durant is nowhere near the blur that RW is. It's easy to put a body on Durant, albeit difficult to affect his shot. RW, you just can't contain. That's largely what makes Durant so effective.

I agree 100%, but that's a totally different topic.

 

Who cares if you can't contain Westbrook if he bricks the shot? Who cares if it's easy to put a body on Durant if it doesn't affect his shot. The fact is, Durant is a MUCH more efficient scorer who shoots a superior percentage. There is a reason he's the 3-time reining scoring champion. Harden was also a far more efficient scorer than Westbrook. For Westbrook, the least efficient of the three, by far, to be taking more shots than Durant or Harden is just insane and keeps OKC from reaching their potential - which is exactly what happened in the play-offs last year. The ONLY person who can keep Kevin Durant from winning a 4th straight scoring title is Russell Westbrook.

And a stat line of 6-21 with 5 AST and 6 TOV is just hideous for a PG. That's 4.2 FGA per AST (anything more than about 2.2 is ballhog territory for a PG) an a AST:TO ratio of 0.833.

Westbrook is Stephon Marbury to Durant's Kevin Garnett.

OKC definitely traded the wrong guy.

BNM

 

He wins beer pong championships.

 

What does this even mean? In particular what do you mean by "contain?" If you mean it's harder to keep RW from driving, I guess that might be true, but given the disparity in the two players' free throw rates and shooting percentages how does it even really matter?

http://www.basketball-reference.com...m=1&p1=westbru01&y1=2013&p2=duranke01&y2=2013

 

You don't think PA would offer this guy a contract, do you? They did go after Hibbert after all...

http://www.examiner.com/article/and...ee-agent-at-end-of-season-according-to-report

 

How does a plodder like Jefferson fit into Stotts scheme?

 

I've been playing a whole season with the Thunder on 2K12. We're in the WCF now. Westbrook is my top scorer.

 

This is the same flawed logic that has many people here convinced that Allen Iverson was never a good player. To statisticians such as yourself, efficiency is pretty much everything. In real game situations, though, the pressure you put on the defense is just as important. It gets defenders out of position, opening up scoring opportunities for teammates, easy rebounds, and an energy edge late in games. And it's not like Westbrook is poor at making shots. When he's on, few in the league are better.

 

Westbrook has defenses constantly on their heels. Durant doesn't. Pretty simple, isn't it?

 

Totally and completely disagree.

 

Maynor/Durant/Harden >>>> Westbrook/Durant/Martin

 

They should have tried to trade Westbrook for Lillard + cap space, which we probably would have done. If they did that, they'd still have Harden and we'd be talking dynasty.

Not. Kidding.

 

Okay then, look at it this way. With Westbrook, there's no way you can game plan for him. He's going to get his shot whenever he wants. All you can do is hope he misses. With Durant, he's really not that tough to guard and move him off his preferred spots. Of course, he's good enough that he's still going to hit a lot of tough shots, but at least the defense has a fighting chance to make it tougher on him. And if it weren't for Westbrook being a terror all over the court, it would be a lot easier to slow Durant down with constant doubles.

An attacking point guard is the toughest position to defend in today's NBA, and Westbrook is as good as any at that.

 

Bullshit. In Westbrook's case, it creates low percentage shots, turnovers and freezes out his better shooting teammates.

That's a ridiculous comment. You can say the EXACT same thing about Durant and Harden. And, in Durant's case, when he's "on" none are better. That's why he's led the league in scoring 3 years in a row. The difference is Durant and Harden are "on" much more often that Westbrook. Trading Harden was stupid. Like Westbrook, he can beat his man off the dribble and draws tons of fouls. The difference is both Durant and Harden shoot better than Westbrook from 2-point range, from 3-point range and from the FT line. But hey, I LOVE it when Westbrook tries to take over in the 4th quarter, because that means the Thunder are more likely to lose.

BNM