Arent we all?,,,,
Russ is leading the nba in over 10 assits per game. Dude got 15 free throws? Yes obviously driving and creating. I don't get the horrible takes from people obviously not wacyhing the games.. don't get the hate on him.
Boston is a legit team. They have a great defense. Upsets happen when your star player misses everything he throws up, and your backups don't have it going.
Thunder are mentally weak tho. We all know this.
10 assists, 15 FTs, 20 something FG, don't know how many TO's. Too much usage for just one player. That's not winning basketball, tbh.
They were 5-3 with Durant, and weren't looking that great, tbh..
OKC is what it is..same philosophy as they had under Brooks, relying entirely on 2 guys to create everything, below average defensive team and 2 massive cancers/boom or bust players off the bench(Waiters/Kanter)..
Westbrook's style of play wouldn't fix their clear personnel limitations, although his terrible defense is part of the problem..
Is there a more overrated GM in the history of the league than Sam Presti? whether its coaching or trade related move, after all these years, OKC is still going to live and die by its two-superstars going supernova-- that is assuming they are both on court..It is incredible how inept he has turned out to be surrounding two top 5 players in league with capable vets and role players on the watch of expert coaching that would at least mitigate the absence of one KD/Russ by playing the right way..Stay cute Sam..
Revisionist history. Iverson devoted himself to winning on the court to a degree Westbrook has neve come close to displaying
Iverson wouldn't accept coming off the bench, getting a lesser role and going to practices. If that's devoting to winning, what would be what Duncan and Manu do, tbh.
Anyone who watches that interview after the Boston game and doesn't think, "Massive head-case" is beyond help. Westbrook is the definition of a cancer on a team. He holds his teammates with the same regard as Kobe did. Kobe was just fortunate enough to have a franchise that would throw $100,000,000 at problems to fix them and buy guys that could co-exist with Kobe for a few years at a time.
Now you're comparing peak Westbrook to washed up Iverson, moving the goal posts
That's not the same discussion.
This. Their defense is ed, Kanter has a target on his back and teams are killing him. Durant's defense has been bad this year, he went from average to below average, Westbrook's defense has fallen off too, having Kanter out there really amplifies their lack of defense. Even Adams is having trouble protecting the rim, players have been scoring on him at the rim with ease. It doesn't look fixable unless they make some sort of major move.
Kanter only played 22 mins in this game, however Rose took advantage of every minute he was out there, once he got by WB the basket was wide open.
How does someone as elite an athlete as Westbrook suck that bad at defense?
Iverson was overrated as a defender but he did a decent enough job on opposing point guards (granted that was before the golden pg Era)
Offense sells tickets. Defense wins games.
One theory is that Westbrook is such a high usage player-- the highest in the league-- that the other players just don't feel completely involved in the game. This translates from the offense to the defense. The whole team is infected with the idea that sharing isn't the main principle, and if their "leader" Russ wants to expend all of his energy on the offensive side while being a mediocre defender, why should they do any differently? I don't think they say this to themselves consciously, but that's the mood & environment that Russ's style promotes.
Russy has the same usage % as he did 2 seasons ago, when the Thunder ranked 6th in the NBA, defensively..he also had a really high 33% usage rate in 2013, and they finished 4th..
Westbrook haters are silly, tbh..his teammates adore him, as do his coaches, I've never heard any of them say a single negative thing about him..Durant and Ibaka rave about him in interviews
And
If his "terrible defense is part of the problem"-- your quote-- why do you <3 him so much?
Also, do you think him shooting 10 threes ia a good idea, or a bad habit that should be adjusted?
It's not "hating" to point out obvious shortcomings that a very talented player has...
There's a huge difference between pointing out a player's flaws vs. blaming him for the struggles of a team with clear personnel/coaching/strategy issues..most of the anti-Westbrook sentiment on SpursTalk isn't just criticism and discussion about a player's flaws, it's blame and implication that the team would magically solve their problems if Westbrook shoots less or takes better shots, which is false IMO..
Also, I actually wouldn't want Russy on my team, from a basketball perspective, I've said it many times
His defensive laziness is a problem, but he still plays with relentless intensity, too, which is admirable..we're only left to wonder how he would have developed in a more structured organization that didn't enable his bad habits, along with a co-superstar with a fear of being a leader..
I think you cut him too much slack. He's been in the league 8 seasons... does he really need "more structure" to tell him playing defense is important, or that taking lots of threes is unwise for a career 30% 3pt shooter? If he's not mature enough to see that, that's clearly a huge hole in his personal approach to the game.
It makes sense to me that you'd love a player that you wouldn't want on your team.
Your whole schtick around here is that of contrarian provocateur, so naturally you'd spend time defending and <3ing a guy that you don't even want.
Again that wasn't the original quoted posters point but good effort for trying "... tbhAnd
This x1000. Dude is a ing adult. He has been playing basketball most of his life.
In the grand scheme, winning games means not a ing thing. It's about making money. It's a business. I doubt any NBA hopeful thinks "I can't wait to get drafted so I can compete for a championship". They think "I fitna get PAID ES!" From the old wealthy white racist to the youngest ebonic speaking Somali, it's all about getting paid. Wins and losses are fan things.
Russ is in the mold of a Stephon Marbury, Baron Davis, Steve Francis. These type of players come around very often and they often don't win championships. Without Durant he would not be winning many games.
I don't get your point...you think I don't know that. that the world is fairy tales. lol? Clarify
The thing about practice wasn't when he was washed up, besides what does that have to do? If when he wasn't washed up he didn't accept a lesser role, imagine what he would have done during his prime.
He wanted to win but getting his first. That's not devoting yourself to winning. Devoting yourself to winning is what Manu did his entire NBA career by accepting coming off the bench in benefit of the team.
Those are mutually exclusive, tbh.There's a huge difference between pointing out a player's flaws vs. blaming him for the struggles of a team with clear personnel/coaching/strategy issues..most of the anti-Westbrook sentiment on SpursTalk isn't just criticism and discussion about a player's flaws, it's blame and implication that the team would magically solve their problems if Westbrook shoots less or takes better shots, which is false IMO..
Also, I actually wouldn't want Russy on my team, from a basketball perspective, I've said it many times
His defensive laziness is a problem, but he still plays with relentless intensity, too, which is admirable..we're only left to wonder how he would have developed in a more structured organization that didn't enable his bad habits, along with a co-superstar with a fear of being a leader..
Last edited by DAF86; 11-16-2015 at 11:07 PM.
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