The Evolution of that ninja, Russell the Creator (Grantland)

[Killakobe81]

Great article about my fellow Bruin alumnus, Russ. Dudes have been hating on him for years here calling him a chucker, monkey baller etc. But check this out:

Even though Westbrook won the scoring crown and missed 15 games due to injury, only six NBA players created more shots for teammates in 2014-15 than Westbrook did. And of all the league’s “volume shot creators,” only Stephen Curry turned passes into field goals as reliably as Westbrook did. In short, great things happen on the business end of Westbrook passes.

Last season, 12 players created at least 1,000 shots for teammates. Of these 12, Westbrook ranked second in field goal percentage after the pass.

Thunder players converted 55 percent of the 1,053 shots they attempted within two seconds of receiving a Westbrook pass last season. For context, Dirk Nowitzki attempted 1,062 shots in 77 games last season; he made 46 percent of them. In other words, aside from winning the scoring title himself, Westbrook used his passing skills to turn his teammates into a composite of a player who’s more efficient than Dirk Nowitzki.

Keep in mind that NBA players on average convert just 45 percent of their shots, and “potentially assisted” scorers convert 51 percent of their shots leaguewide. At 55 percent, scorers immediately downstream from Westbrook’s passes significantly outperform expectations.

To read article click here (http://grantland.com/features/russell-the-creator-westbrook-nba-oklahoma-city-thunder-western-conference-kevin-durant-serge-ibaka-kevin-love/)

Funny how outside of Rose (and now Fat Tony) ...the PG's many on here have crapped on Russ & curry are now the best at getting good looks for team-mates. Just two years ago not many would take Russ and Steph over Paul and Rose.
Now, it's not really a question ... numbers clearly show that Curry and Russ are scoring AND passing beasts.

[spurraider21]

so the thunder have better finishers than other teams who will actually convert passes into assists

[Killakobe81]

so the thunder have better finishers than other teams who will actually convert passes into assists

You could say that, and you do see that the two players who do it best also have great shooters to finish those assists. But that doesnt explain the dropoff (for example) when Reggie Jackson entered the game for OKc last year. When you compare splits of Reggie passing to same primary shooters: Durant/Ibaka/Morrow the %'s are significantly higher when Russ makes the pass vs. Reggie Jackson.

Like with any stat you need context but when you look at the top 5 players in the league at the stat they are all elite play-makers: Curry, Wall, Rondo, Paul and of course Russ. The spurs have some really good shooters but I dont see Parker on this list, for example ...

[Killakobe81]

Also how do you explain Russ's success with the metric when both Ibaka and durant were down?

[spurraider21]

his usage rate was at something like 40%... i'm sure he created plenty of shots man

[Killakobe81]

his usage rate was at something like 40%... i'm sure he created plenty of shots man

true. But the FG%'s listed in the article would not solely be be impacted by the number of shots he created they factor how many were converted. So even with his high usage rate the difference he has on converted FG% is the key metric.

[spurraider21]

good point. the guy's a great player, still think he takes a lot of horrible shots, which is where the chucker label comes from

when kobe went into "facilitator mode" he was one of the best passers in the league, too

[Killakobe81]

good point. the guy's a great player, still think he takes a lot of horrible shots, which is where the chucker label comes from

when kobe went into "facilitator mode" he was one of the best passers in the league, too

I think he does take some wild and bad shots no argument here. But for guys like Russ or even Steph because they are so great at scoring even if they are PG's ...it makes no sense for them to play the position traditional like Stockton or Magic. Russ at the rim or Steph at the 3 are not only exciting for fans but easy points for them both ... which also helps free up open looks for their team-mates ...which was the point of the article.

[spurraider21]

the difference is curry tends to shoot in the high 40's while westbrook shoots in the low 40's... and thats FG%. curry's eFT and TS% given his 3pt shooting are significantly better

[Killakobe81]

the difference is curry tends to shoot in the high 40's while westbrook shoots in the low 40's... and thats FG%. curry's eFT and TS% given his 3pt shooting are significantly better

Not a surprise that Curry is a better shooter than Russ or at playing PG ... but remember Russ was never a PG in HS or college. at least Steph switched to the role his SR year at Davidson. I watch UCLa games If you would have told me Russ had improved as a play-maker this much I would have been shocked.

[Koolaid_Man]

For as much as I love Curry... (no pun) :lol.....Gotta go with Russ over Curry...reason is because Russ will foul you out whereas there are good Curry containment methods...he doesn't play defense....Attacking the rim like Russ does opens up the game and fouls out your bigs..Curry can do it but not like Russ....tbh

[Koolaid_Man]

Watch tonight as Russ stomps a mudhole in Spur fans dark anal cavity

[spurraider21]

Watch tonight as Russ stomps a mudhole in Spur fans dark anal cavity
http://giant.gfycat.com/SecondhandUnhealthyDegus.gif

[spurraider21]

Not a surprise that Curry is a better shooter than Russ or at playing PG ... but remember Russ was never a PG in HS or college. at least Steph switched to the role his SR year at Davidson. I watch UCLa games If you would have told me Russ had improved as a play-maker this much I would have been shocked.
westbrook got to start his career with a great scorer... an easy guy to practice passing too. curry started his career next to a ballhog manta ellis