Westbrook > Rondo

[milkshakeballa]

Westbrook starting next year is going to be head and shoulders better than Rondo....

Durant dropped 35/11.


I love my Thunder.

Cashing on the over 34 wins I got in Vegas for a bill!!! Just gotta find my ticket!

Hope they don't hit a wall and compete for that 8 spot.

[Darthkiller]

id already take westbrook over rondo. he can take over games with his scoring plus he is clutch.

[iggypop123]

the guy is a freak of a on the ball defender. rondo has long arms and can steal but thats it. he faces the same problem as rondo. cant hit a shot to save his life

[mogrovejo]

As a player, who knows? He's not at Rondo's level this season, but sure he can play and will get better. As a point-guard, I don't see how is it possible. Westbrook needs to play with wings that provide playmaking.

[milkshakeballa]

Westbrook needs to play with wings that provide playmaking.


explain this....not sure what you mean....that westy cant create?

[milkshakeballa]

the guy is a freak of a on the ball defender. rondo has long arms and can steal but thats it. he faces the same problem as rondo. cant hit a shot to save his life

yep...he is shootin under 40% from the field and like 26% iirc from 3 pt land...but he is also only 21. his d is ridiculous. incredibly athletic. he is the BEST...the BEST offensive rebounding guard in the league...the BEST..and it aint close.

he needs to work day n nite on that jumper this summer...

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Westbrook's ceiling is way higher than Rondo's. Absolute FREAK athlete, stud defender, and unlike Rondo he has potential to develop a J. Rondo's hands are too big to ever consistently shoot well. If Harden and Ibaka can develop well that will be a nasty starting five in 3-4 years.

[ffadicted]

Right now, idk

Down the road, for sure if he keeps developing. Like most people said, freak of nature, high IQ, good D

[mogrovejo]

explain this....not sure what you mean....that westy cant create?

He can create the same way that, say, Monta Ellis or Mike Bibby can create. He's a willing passer even if not a very good one and his athleticism+handling allows him to see the floor well. But he doesn't have those PG skills of controlling the tempo, knowing when to go to the post or when it's time to look for cutters, to look for the easiest solution first, to make the simple play... has a bit of tunnel vision. Simply lacks the decision making of a PG like Rondo and gets in trouble too much.

And "not even close" as a rebounder my ass.

[mogrovejo]

Westbrook's ceiling is way higher than Rondo's. Absolute FREAK athlete, stud defender, and unlike Rondo he has potential to develop a J. Rondo's hands are too big to ever consistently shoot well. If Harden and Ibaka can develop well that will be a nasty starting five in 3-4 years.

This "hands are too big to be a good shooter" is a myth. Ask any reputed shooting coach. Or just check the insane amount of guys with big hands that are good shooters.

(although it's a more difficult process)

[Venti Quattro]

Not right now. But in the future, maybe

[HarlemHeat37]

+1 on mogrovejo, as usual..

Westbrook is in the tough position of being a combo guard..generally, you have to stand out A LOT to have any team success being the leading combo guard on a team..it's a tough position to build around..

Rondo is a pure PG that also has room to grow..it's much easier to build a title team with Rondo as a #2 than it would be with Westbrook as a #2..Rondo's actually an amazing passer..he's putting up better numbers than Westbrook with a usage % that is a ridiculous 7% lower..

both guys can do everything other than shoot consistently, but Rondo's ability to play as a pure PG is going to get him more team success IMO..

OKC is in a tough spot despite having so much talent..2 of their top 3 players are tweeners..

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

This "hands are too big to be a good shooter" is a myth. Ask any reputed shooting coach. Or just check the insane amount of guys with big hands that are good shooters.


If you can find me someone who's hands were as disproportionately big as Rondo's are who still shot well be my guest. He's 6'1" and has hands as big as the hands of most 7 footers.

[lil_penny]

doesnt vince carter have some huge ass hands? but yea rondo has some giant ones

[Darthkiller]

+1 on mogrovejo, as usual..

Westbrook is in the tough position of being a combo guard..generally, you have to stand out A LOT to have any team success being the leading combo guard on a team..it's a tough position to build around..

Rondo is a pure PG that also has room to grow..it's much easier to build a title team with Rondo as a #2 than it would be with Westbrook as a #2..Rondo's actually an amazing passer..he's putting up better numbers than Westbrook with a usage % that is a ridiculous 7% lower..

both guys can do everything other than shoot consistently, but Rondo's ability to play as a pure PG is going to get him more team success IMO..

OKC is in a tough spot despite having so much talent..2 of their top 3 players are tweeners..

i am guesing you havent watch a lot of OKC games this season. westbrook is a pass first point guard, he is currently like top5 in the league in assists per game. he improved a lot on his assist-TO ratio this year.

[Venti Quattro]

doesnt vince carter have some huge ass hands? but yea rondo has some giant ones

http://www.photodump.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/obama_big_hands.jpg

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

doesnt vince carter have some huge ass hands?


And he's never had a good jumper.

[milkshakeballa]

He can create the same way that, say, Monta Ellis or Mike Bibby can create. He's a willing passer even if not a very good one and his athleticism+handling allows him to see the floor well. But he doesn't have those PG skills of controlling the tempo, knowing when to go to the post or when it's time to look for cutters, to look for the easiest solution first, to make the simple play... has a bit of tunnel vision. Simply lacks the decision making of a PG like Rondo and gets in trouble too much.

And "not even close" as a rebounder my ass.


Ok...yes I agree with this. I think this is because he NEVER really played PG in his career up to his rookie season. He didn't play it at UCLA that much and didn't play it at Leuzinger HS. But I think over time he will improve his PG skills.

And I said offensive rebounder from the guard position. Nobody really comes close... you have someone in mind I'm not thinking off?

[JamStone]

If you can find me someone who's hands were as disproportionately big as Rondo's are who still shot well be my guest. He's 6'1" and has hands as big as the hands of most 7 footers.

What does disproportionately big hands have to do with shooting? Moreover, what does having hands the size of most 7 footers have to do with shooting? If that were the case, then all 7-footers would be bad free throw shooters. The size of the basketball doesn't change.

Michael Jordan had humungous hands for his size. Chris Webber had enormous hands even for his size and height. Both very good shooters. It's not about the size of Rondo's hands or whether they are disproportionate to the his body. It's about the mechanics on the form of his shot.

[milkshakeballa]

i am guesing you havent watch a lot of OKC games this season. westbrook is a pass first point guard, he is currently like top5 in the league in assists per game. he improved a lot on his assist-TO ratio this year.


ye he had a ton of bad to's last year. he cleaned it up this year and i think will continue too in the future. he stills gets a lil wild at times and still needs to tighten his handle a touch bout man...his ceiling...

[mogrovejo]

If you can find me someone who's hands were as disproportionately big as Rondo's are who still shot well be my guest. He's 6'1" and has hands as big as the hands of most 7 footers.

Why does the body/hands proportion matter? The ball is always the same size, no matter how tall you are. Jordan and Drexler had very big hands, for example.

[HarlemHeat37]

i am guesing you havent watch a lot of OKC games this season. westbrook is a pass first point guard, he is currently like top5 in the league in assists per game. he improved a lot on his assist-TO ratio this year.

Westbrook's assist totals compared to his turnovers and usage looks the same as guys like Parker and Arenas..guys like them need to have a special team built around them..

[lil_penny]

for the amount of shots vince chucks up hes actually not that bad..

[milkshakeballa]

Westbrook's ceiling is way higher than Rondo's. Absolute FREAK athlete, stud defender, and unlike Rondo he has potential to develop a J. Rondo's hands are too big to ever consistently shoot well. If Harden and Ibaka can develop well that will be a nasty starting five in 3-4 years.

not 100% sold on ibaka though i like him...but man i was ectastic when presti took harden at #3. he is going to fit in so nicely with that team. i watched his wholeee high school and college career. guy is going to be a special player.

presti is so underrated. harden at #3 and westbrook at #4 were both surprising picks and are going to pay off HUGE

[milkshakeballa]

Westbrook's assist totals compared to his turnovers and usage looks the same as guys like Parker and Arenas..guys like them need to have a special team built around them..

westy is 21...has improved from last year....and quite frankly..is going to have a very special team around him... so no worries! :toast

[JamStone]

Rondo has really improved his game in many areas other than shooting. I think he's a really, really good player. But I also think his teammates the last two plus seasons really avail himself to being and becoming the player he has become. I think Westbrook is a stud already and can potentially be a really great NBA player. As for being a combo guard, he's already averaging 7 assists as a second year player and a solid 2.2:1 assist to turnover ratio. I think he will prove to be a capable point guard in this league. And, he's already got the advantages of athleticism and length until he can get his point guard game improved.

I think if you put Westbrook on the Celtics, they are still as good as they are and Westbrook improves his stats. If you put Rondo on the Thunder, I think he still is a pretty good player but I think his field goal shooting suffers because defenses would collapse on him more than they do when he's playing with Pierce, KG, and Allen.

If you needed more of a true point guard, I'd go with Rondo right now. If we're just talking who is the better basketball player, it's close and I'd probably lean towards Westbrook.

[HarlemHeat37]

I'm not doubting that Westbrook is going to be a good player..I just think Rondo's better..

[DUNCANownsKOBE2]

Jamstone, I'm by no means a Rondo hater. I like both players, just think Westbrook can be and will be better.

[mogrovejo]

Ok...yes I agree with this. I think this is because he NEVER really played PG in his career up to his rookie season. He didn't play it at UCLA that much and didn't play it at Leuzinger HS. But I think over time he will improve his PG skills.

And I said offensive rebounder from the guard position. Nobody really comes close... you have someone in mind I'm not thinking off?

Rondo, of course. Westbrook gets 1.6 OR per 36 and a 5.2 ORb%. Rondo 1.1 per 36 and 4.0 ORb%. That's close enough especially if you consider that Rondo is crashing the boards less this season and in the past has averaged 1.4 and 4.8 for the season. But, more importantly, the OKC is a team that goes for the offensive rebound while the Celtics priority is to defend the transition and not allow teams to play the running game. The Thunder are probably a top5 team in OR while the Cs are certainly a bottom 5 one. When teams don't try to run so much and the Cs put more effort on the offensive glass, like in the playoffs, Rondo has a ORB > 6%.

[mogrovejo]

Rondo has really improved his game in many areas other than shooting. I think he's a really, really good player. But I also think his teammates the last two plus seasons really avail himself to being and becoming the player he has become. I think Westbrook is a stud already and can potentially be a really great NBA player. As for being a combo guard, he's already averaging 7 assists as a second year player and a solid 2.2:1 assist to turnover ratio. I think he will prove to be a capable point guard in this league. And, he's already got the advantages of athleticism and length until he can get his point guard game improved.

I think if you put Westbrook on the Celtics, they are still as good as they are and Westbrook improves his stats. If you put Rondo on the Thunder, I think he still is a pretty good player but I think his field goal shooting suffers because defenses would collapse on him more than they do when he's playing with Pierce, KG, and Allen.

If you needed more of a true point guard, I'd go with Rondo right now. If we're just talking who is the better basketball player, it's close and I'd probably lean towards Westbrook.

Rondo has played plenty of games without "Pierce, KG and Allen" and whenever one (or two) of them is out his numbers don't decrease - they increase.

I agree with the bolded part, but it's not like Westbrook is in a shitty situation himself.

[23LeBronJames23]

Its a close call but I still think Westbrook is better than Rondo.

[Chieflion]

Rondo is a better playmaker, Westbrook is a better volume scorer. Defense is about a wash. I don't know.

[HarlemHeat37]

Still?..

[TampaDude]

Still?..

^ this

[Killakobe81]

great game by Rondo ...Westbrook has better size but right now Rondo is better BEFORE this game ...

[ChrisRichards]

Nope.