The 2016-2017 NBA basketball thread

[warfelg]

In a league going small with teams playing 6'7 guys at power forward and daring you to post up. The pelicans have arguably the two best big men in the game who can both really hurt smaller players. It's a great idea sometimes to zig when others are zagging.

 

They gave up very little for a guy of his stature so it was a no brainer. They don't have pics but the goal now will be to get free agents who want to play with these behemoths. Especially shooters

 

This is a pretty terrible deal for the kings. Could be a mid first round pick and buddy hield essentially who we don't even know is that good yet. Though it does help them tank and keep their own pick

 

Unless their pick is better than the Sixers who would swap asap.

 

I may be wrong but I think Sacramento's pick is top 10 protected. So if they tank they should be able to keep it

 

Top 10 protected from the Bulls. If it's in the top 10 and better than the Sixer, the Sixers can still swap.

[MtlJeff]

Ahhh, ok cool man thanks for the info. Though I guess with embiid out they might still end up with a decent pick if that happens.

[warfelg]

Ahhh, ok cool man thanks for the info. Though I guess with embiid out they might still end up with a decent pick if that happens.

 

Yea we're sitting pretty. The swap, our pick, LAL pick (Top 3 protected). But if the Kings really sink, and we swap and it causes the LAL to fall out of the top 3, Sixer fans are gonna party hardcore.

[MtlJeff]

So some thoughts on this since i'm at home and can do one of my trademark longer posts (i hate writing on my android!). Again i think this is a great deal for New Orleans. People seem to have really soured on Boogie, Zach Lowe addressed this today by saying and i quote "26 teams could have beaten this trade offer" to basically say that teams just weren't that into trading for him and paying him close to 200M. Brian Windhorst thought the Lakers would have gotten him if they controlled their own pick, but they don't...and refused to give up Ingram.

 

Lowe thought Boston would rather use any assets they have on Jimmy Butler. So some of the thinking is that Boogie just scares a lot of people as he has clashed with teammates and coaches. Though some former teammates also praise him

 

Anyway, my personal thoughts are that the Kings organization is an ongoing joke, they have done things like fire Mike Malone without telling Boogie until it was done (and interrupting a charity event he was doing to tell him) and made incredibly bizarre personnel decisions. Boogie has had some great stretches and i have a hard time thinking someone who does that much charity work is a really bad guy.

 

If you're the Pelicans, you give up very little. Boogie is 26 yrs old (!!!), still very young. And is completely unguardable when he has it going. He is the closest thing to Shaq we have seen since Shaq. He sabotages some possessions by pouting, but the hope would be that Anthony Davis next to him keeps him in line and an organization with a well liked PG (Holiday) and a fellow star would be a good situation. To me this is a must-do because in a league where few are equipped to defend the post, you have the two best big guys in the league without sacrificing defensive mobility. There's a lot of teams who are going to feel just as helpless defending this as they are defending the shooting of the Warriors.

 

I mean if they add another guy in free agency on a decent deal (JJ Redick a UFA for example and at 32 might not cost ridiculous) couldn't this team be a top team in the west?

[Peanut191]

As i watch Clippers/Wolves....i gotta say i'm also tired of guys saying DeanDre Jordan isn't a good offensive player. Hassan Whiteside jabbed him earlier in the year too and called him a dunker

 

Maybe he is a dunker, but the ability to finish a pick and roll basically any time a ball is thrown up in the air IS A SKILL. That still counts as 2 points!

 

Jordan has been the best pick and roll finisher for what, 2-3 years now? His ability to finish has a genuine impact on how teams cover that play

 

I'm a little late to the party, but it helps a lot having Chris Paul tossing the alley-oops for Deandre. He's able to place the ball in excellent places to finish.

[Peanut191]

In a league going small with teams playing 6'7 guys at power forward and daring you to post up. The pelicans have arguably the two best big men in the game who can both really hurt smaller players. It's a great idea sometimes to zig when others are zagging.

 

They gave up very little for a guy of his stature so it was a no brainer. They don't have pics but the goal now will be to get free agents who want to play with these behemoths. Especially shooters

 

This is a pretty terrible deal for the kings. Could be a mid first round pick and buddy hield essentially who we don't even know is that good yet. Though it does help them tank and keep their own pick

 

The bolded part brings to mind when Isaiah was running the Knicks. That didn't work out to well. Although it will be fun to see how it works with Davis and Boogie in the same frontcourt. Will be awesome if they figure out how to play together and not siphon off each others shots.

[MtlJeff]

Well it didn't work out with Isaiah because he zigged with Tyson Chandler before he was good and the immortal Eddy Curry!

[Peanut191]

Well it didn't work out with Isaiah because he zigged with Tyson Chandler before he was good and the immortal Eddy Curry!

 

You're right. Chandler and Curry are not comparable to Davis and Boogie. And Isaiah, the GM, is not comparable to many other GM's.(Well, except those GM's that were able to completely destroy franchises during their tenure and the years to come)

[MtlJeff]

Well it didn't work out with Isaiah because he zigged with Tyson Chandler before he was good and the immortal Eddy Curry!

 

You're right. Chandler and Curry are not comparable to Davis and Boogie. And Isaiah, the GM, is not comparable to many other GM's.(Well, except those GM's that were able to completely destroy franchises during their tenure and the years to come)

 

Hey he's got nothing on Vivek! (who is not a GM but kind of is)

 

Fire your star players favorite coach and re-direct him from a charity event to tell him----yes!

Hire a coach known for clashing with players when your star player is well known to be moody---yes!

Go through roughly 15 point guards in 3 years , not using the stretch provision and sending contracts and assets to Philly to use on Bellinelli and one of the most well known overrated players in the league in Rajon Rondo---why not?

See entire 2017 draft and shake head--they already had Koufos, Boogie and Cauley Stein!!!!

 

This is on top of the fact that reporters with real inside knowledge (the well known guys like Lowe, Woj, Windhorst, Stein etc) have all reported that their front office is so dysfunctional no one from other teams even knows who can approve trades or who to deal with on things, that their front office is unaware of rules that exist (like the stretch provision, or that you have to have a conference call with the league to get trades signed off)

 

There's 100 other things i'm sure. That's why i'm giving Boogie the benefit of the doubt

 

All hail the Pelicans!!!!

[Peanut191]

Well it didn't work out with Isaiah because he zigged with Tyson Chandler before he was good and the immortal Eddy Curry!

 

You're right. Chandler and Curry are not comparable to Davis and Boogie. And Isaiah, the GM, is not comparable to many other GM's.(Well, except those GM's that were able to completely destroy franchises during their tenure and the years to come)

 

Hey he's got nothing on Vivek! (who is not a GM but kind of is)

 

Fire your star players favorite coach and re-direct him from a charity event to tell him----yes!

Hire a coach known for clashing with players when your star player is well known to be moody---yes!

Go through roughly 15 point guards in 3 years , not using the stretch provision and sending contracts and assets to Philly to use on Bellinelli and one of the most well known overrated players in the league in Rajon Rondo---why not?

See entire 2017 draft and shake head--they already had Koufos, Boogie and Cauley Stein!!!!

 

This is on top of the fact that reporters with real inside knowledge (the well known guys like Lowe, Woj, Windhorst, Stein etc) have all reported that their front office is so dysfunctional no one from other teams even knows who can approve trades or who to deal with on things, that their front office is unaware of rules that exist (like the stretch provision, or that you have to have a conference call with the league to get trades signed off)

 

There's 100 other things i'm sure. That's why i'm giving Boogie the benefit of the doubt

 

All hail the Pelicans!!!!

 

Maybe he just wants to pull a Hinkie, but first he needs to make so many mind bogglingly irrational moves to throw everyone off his scent.

[MtlJeff]

NBA is in an interesting spot. I feel like tomorrow could be nuts, we've already seen Ibaka move , and Boogie.....And there are legit sources confirming that George could move, Drummond could move, and no one can agree on Butler but some say it's possible.

 

The cap spiked so fast but now it's flat for 2 years they are projecting. Also the Warriors/Lebron factor has teams with stars in the 27-28 range who aren't quite contenders thinking they might aswell just start over. It's not necessarily wrong. While the new cap gives teams huge advantages to re-signing players, teams might also not want to pay quasi-superstars like Paul George 200+ million to finish 4th in their conference.

 

It makes sense to try and load up on guys on rookie deals because you can usually keep these guys for 5-7 years without having to make major financial decisions, or at the very least not lose them for nothing since they become restricted instead of UFAs. And you are not winning a title anyway

 

The teams that seem to resist this are usually teams on their last legs (Clippers) or teams with owners that care about making money first and foremost with championships more of a pipedream (Toronto for example)

 

I feel like if there's 6-7 teams that want to be buyers, they could get some great deals tomorrow because it's not a sellers market

[MtlJeff]

Thoughts on tomorrow:

 

-Pacers are probably the most interesting team, if Drummond is truly on the market i would bet they try and acquire him though picks alone may not do it. They also will need to decide if Okafor is enough of a get to make Paul George happy. ....If not George might get traded and they just start over. They could go either way many are reporting

 

-I could probably see Toronto and/or Houston making second deals. I think Houston wants a team with like 10 guys that can just drill 3's because i think they feel they are truly the biggest threat to GSW, since they can score with them. I could see them go after a Gallinari type player, or Ben Mclemore. With the idea that they will just jack 70 threes a game. I think with Ibaka , Toronto might even sniff out a market on JV or their other 1st if a team is willing to pay a Carroll tax. They need to free up salary to re-sign Serge. They have also been linked numerous times to PJ Tucker

 

-Two teams that you have heard nothing about that would seem to at least want to make some calls....How about OKC and San Antonio? The Thunder could use a guy to tag with Russell. The market is soft, is a 1st rounder, Enes Kanter and Sabonis that terrible? That's as good as the Kings got for Boogie. Could that get them Paul George ? Isn't it worth a call? Wouldn't it be a crazy Spurs thing to do to just snag George out of nowhere? They could offer a first, second and maybe Dejounte Murray who some are high on plus Kyle Anderson....that seems weak but again, who knows. How motivated are people to sell? Imagine George and Leonard on the floor together?

 

-Derrick Favors is not a great fit with Gobert ....it seems the Jazz know this, this could be a sneaky guy who moves

 

I'm excited!

[Dwhy]

As a kings fan, I just want to throw it out there that I'm praying we have something extraordinary planned tomorrow. Though I know if anything, it'll just be another let down.

[MtlJeff]

As a kings fan, I just want to throw it out there that I'm praying we have something extraordinary planned tomorrow. Though I know if anything, it'll just be another let down.

 

Who knows, you guys will have 2 first round picks that will be top 20 in a very deep draft, plus Buddy Hield may end up being OK. I've always liked Willie Cauley Stein.

 

Maybe you get lucky and get a steal in the draft

[warfelg]

Last night Sixers traded Ersan Ilyasova for Tiago Splitter, 2017 Knicks 2nd (31-39 protected) and the right to swap the GSW 2nd for the Atlanta 2nd.

[Peanut191]

Jeff, I don't think that Butler is going to end up moving, but if you were the Celtics, who would you rather have, Butler or George?

[Peanut191]

Aldridge is reporting that Crowder is the holdup in a deal between Celtics and Bulls for Butler. If I'm the Celtics, I definitely wouldn't give in and give up Crowder. He's a really good player that can do a lot of things that are important in the direction the league is moving and at a good contract. How much better is Butler than Crowder, especially by contract to production comparison? Is it really worth it? I would think not.

[MtlJeff]

Jeff, I don't think that Butler is going to end up moving, but if you were the Celtics, who would you rather have, Butler or George?

 

Butler is better this season so he seems like the obvious choice. I don't know though it's hard. George is streaky, he's had stretches where he's played insane. He's had halves of the season where he has essentially done what kawhi is doing in SA.

 

I think George has a higher ceiling for superstar play than butler to be honest

[Peanut191]

Jeff, I don't think that Butler is going to end up moving, but if you were the Celtics, who would you rather have, Butler or George?

 

Butler is better this season so he seems like the obvious choice. I don't know though it's hard. George is streaky, he's had stretches where he's played insane. He's had halves of the season where he has essentially done what kawhi is doing in SA.

 

I think George has a higher ceiling for superstar play than butler to be honest

 

Yeah, it just seems to me that George would be slightly more valuable to them than Butler. George is a better 3 point shooter, which helps with the amount of 3's the Celtics jack up. He would probably also work out really well in small ball lineups at the 4, with Harford at the 5. I can't help but think that the asking price for George must be a good bit higher than Butler being the reason for the Celtics going hard after Butler instead of George.

[MtlJeff]

I love the moves my two teams made. Raptors will end up with Ibaka and PJ tucker, both of whom immediately improve their defence. Lowry/DeRozan /tucker/patterson/Ibaka is gonna slay people

 

OKC Getting McDermott and Gibson for lauverne and Cam payne is a great deal

[MtlJeff]

Lowry is out tonight but the Raptors are slugging it out with Boston. Their new lineups show a lot of potential. Right now they are playing Powell/Carroll/Tucker and Ibaka together and they have a 24 second violation and a few steals.

 

I'm really excited to see this team play out the season. There's so many lineups they can play. They are legitimately one of the deepest teams in the league...If they keep the usual starting lineup with Ibaka at the 4. Than their bench is Powell, Joseph, Tucker, Patterson and Nogueira. Any of those guys can give real minutes.

 

On nights when Carroll is shooting well they can go Carroll/Tucker/Ibaka frontcourts that will be very solid defensively and can switch like crazy. They can play JV in matchups where there's a small guy to exploit. They can play big or small

 

They may end up with the 4-5 seed just due to time in the season left.. but on paper this is the best Raptors team ever by a wide margin. In their first game together they are playing Boston really tough without Kyle

[MtlJeff]

Crazy to think that with the Cousins trade , and the talk of Buddy Hield's debated potential . Andrew Wiggins is 3 months younger than Hield. For what it's worth Wiggins now has 17 consecutive games with 20pts, and averaged 29ppg in February. He had 30 yesterday after earlier becoming one of the only 22yr olds to put up back to back 40pt games

 

I understand that the Wolves still aren't winning, but teams with 21-22yr olds rarely win a lot. The Bucks had fallen off a bit even before Parker's injury too. Nothing against them, it's just hard to win games when you are that young and don't do all the little things. A lot of these teams are also missing solid two-way veterans to do these things which doesn't help. I mean sub a guy like Taj Gibson for Bjelica, Patty Mills for Tyus Jones etc etc....And maybe they've won 5-6 more games. The little things matter

 

I've written it before but Wiggins is a good on the ball defender. He doesn't move quickly away from the ball, or attempt to be as destructive as guys like MKG, Leonard, George, PJ Tucker, Draymond, Andre Roberson etc...Its like when he's away from the play he loafs a bit. Zach Lowe has written 100x how devastating Kawhi is by sneaking up on guys and just grabbing the ball. Wiggins needs that killer instinct. He gets screened and just moves away from the play....i'd love to see him try and be a force on that end, rather than just try to stay in front of his man and call it a day

 

But regardless, dude is averaging 23.5 ppg , plays solid defense, is running pick and rolls for them at a rudimentary level. For all the talk of these other young guys, there is still no defined ceiling for Andrew Wiggins.

[Peanut191]

Crazy to think that with the Cousins trade , and the talk of Buddy Hield's debated potential . Andrew Wiggins is 3 months younger than Hield. For what it's worth Wiggins now has 17 consecutive games with 20pts, and averaged 29ppg in February. He had 30 yesterday after earlier becoming one of the only 22yr olds to put up back to back 40pt games

 

I understand that the Wolves still aren't winning, but teams with 21-22yr olds rarely win a lot. The Bucks had fallen off a bit even before Parker's injury too. Nothing against them, it's just hard to win games when you are that young and don't do all the little things. A lot of these teams are also missing solid two-way veterans to do these things which doesn't help. I mean sub a guy like Taj Gibson for Bjelica, Patty Mills for Tyus Jones etc etc....And maybe they've won 5-6 more games. The little things matter

 

I've written it before but Wiggins is a good on the ball defender. He doesn't move quickly away from the ball, or attempt to be as destructive as guys like MKG, Leonard, George, PJ Tucker, Draymond, Andre Roberson etc...Its like when he's away from the play he loafs a bit. Zach Lowe has written 100x how devastating Kawhi is by sneaking up on guys and just grabbing the ball. Wiggins needs that killer instinct. He gets screened and just moves away from the play....i'd love to see him try and be a force on that end, rather than just try to stay in front of his man and call it a day

 

But regardless, dude is averaging 23.5 ppg , plays solid defense, is running pick and rolls for them at a rudimentary level. For all the talk of these other young guys, there is still no defined ceiling for Andrew Wiggins.

 

His ceiling is probably in line with a poor man's Scottie Pippen

[MtlJeff]

Who knows it's so hard to say. People go gaga for young players and there's always a flavor of the month. Not to say that these flavor of the months won't be great....but my point was that people are tired of Wiggins because he was hyped so much in high school.

 

But take a guy like Nikola Jokic. He's displaying tremendous offensive talent right now, but very little defense. So guys love the 17-20-12 stat lines or whatever, but 2 yrs from now people may realize you just can't build a defense around him. Or maybe like Marc Gasol, he'll figure out how to be a great positional defender and he'll be an MVP candidate. We just don't know yet. Same for Devin Booker, another great offensive player who shows comfort with the ball beyond his years, but whether he can ever stop anyone will make the difference between superstar or borderline all-star. Even Karl Towns for his ridiculous numbers, doesn't defend the pick and roll well which is death for a big man

 

We never really know until we know. Wiggins has the makings of a complete player. I think he'll be really good, that switch may never fully go on defensively like it does for MKG, who wants to live inside your jersey for 48 minutes. But it might. A lot of people talk like it's a foregone conclusion that Towns will be the best player on the Wolves, it's not a sure thing by any means. These guys might be Durant / Westbrook more than Star/sidekick

[MtlJeff]

I think you gotta give Russ the MVP. I love how Harden has played and i'm a huge Leonard fan.....just crazy that after Durant left, and they had zero spacing and a makeshift team that had lost 2/3 of their foundational stars that could've easily imploded and been broken up to tank

 

Westbrook kept them relevant to the point that they are 11 games over .500 and a legit franchise that can chase someone in free agency. He just willed them every night to be really competitive, is going to break Oscar's triple double record, average a triple double, and lead the league in scoring. This year he has a perfect shooting triple double and a 57pt triple double.

 

I love how Harden has played. The difference to me is Harden has played on a team built for him, from the hiring of Dantoni to the signings of Gordon and Anderson, to the release of Howard to replace him with a dedicated roller.

 

Westbrook inherited a team in somewhat of a disarray, not build for the modern NBA, and he just annihilated guys

 

Give him the MVP

[F171615]

I think you gotta give Russ the MVP. I love how Harden has played and i'm a huge Leonard fan.....just crazy that after Durant left, and they had zero spacing and a makeshift team that had lost 2/3 of their foundational stars that could've easily imploded and been broken up to tank

 

Westbrook kept them relevant to the point that they are 11 games over .500 and a legit franchise that can chase someone in free agency. He just willed them every night to be really competitive, is going to break Oscar's triple double record, average a triple double, and lead the league in scoring. This year he has a perfect shooting triple double and a 57pt triple double.

 

I love how Harden has played. The difference to me is Harden has played on a team built for him, from the hiring of Dantoni to the signings of Gordon and Anderson, to the release of Howard to replace him with a dedicated roller.

 

Westbrook inherited a team in somewhat of a disarray, not build for the modern NBA, and he just annihilated guys

 

Give him the MVP

 

I think your description of OKC is off. You state OKC entered this season in disarray - but that's as far from the truth as possible. The last several seasons were in disarray when the two best players could never figure a way to play with each other and the coaching change. OKC entered this season with the most clarity of how things were going to work as ever.

 

As for stating how Westbrook kept them relevant, the truth is the team under performed. When looking at all the analytical preseason projections, they won less games than their talent level should have yielded (ie. 538 and other analytical projectors pegged them for 50 wins with their talent). Why did OKC under perform to their expectations, especially when they were exceptionally healthy, and even added talent mid season? The answer is simple: the team turned into the Westbrook show. What does this mean: he was the same selfish player he has always been, and now he was able to get his way. He has put up incredible numbers at the expense of the development of his teammates, and the team as a whole.

 

Just to note, I must admit my bias: I have historically been a Westbrook hater ever since he's become OKC's primary ball handler. When he was used off the ball, I loved his game.

 

However, I would still vote Westbrook as my MVP. I don't think he's been the most valuable or best player, not even in the top 3 for either of those categories. But his season will be the most memorable season for any individual, so I would still give him the MVP.

[Peanut191]

I like watching the way Westbrook attacks on the offensive end with reckless abandon. Really a fun player to watch. I don't think his teammates are as bad as people are making them out to be, though. Unfortunately, he is just not very good at making the players around him better, which I would count as a highly important aspect of a point guard's game. Like F171615 said, it became apparent during the year that it was going to be the Westbrook show, and to the detriment of the team. Not that he is a bad player, but he just doesn't seem to have the ability to get his guys the ball in the right spots(an innate ability that most good PG's posses).

 

Mike Conley once said that it was like a clock in his head that he had a feel for when and whom he needed to get involved in the game offensively. Russ just doesn't seem to have this at all.

 

The triple doubles are nice and all, but I've seen too many games where it devolved into "get Russ the stats he needs," instead of, "hey, let's get so and so going, or work on getting another guys confidence up." I haven't noticed the rebounding part being a terrible detriment to the team, and Russ is very good at rebounding for a PG. But a lot of those rebounds do come from everyone on his team clearing out for him to get the board. The assist part does get pretty ridiculous sometimes though. It becomes a Chinese fire drill of Russ just slinging the ball around and his guys just throwing up a shot to try to get him the assist.

 

I can't help but think that the team would be in a better position without all of the Russ show stat stockpiling.

[MtlJeff]

F171615, There was definitely clarity in that Russ was going to have to generate a great deal of offense, i agree with you there. But what i mean is they lost Ibaka and Durant which were two mainstays, and entered the season with no spacing and their second best player being new. There was a bit of rushing to put together any kind of secondary offense beyond Russ generating it or picks involving him. They ended up being something like -12 per 100 possessions when he sat. Yes from the beginning they knew he'd have to do almost everything but that's still a tremendous burden (not that Harden was different though)

 

I don't even really disagree with the projections, people knew Russ was awesome and knew he'd go crazy with stats. I told a friend he might average a triple double before the season started and he actually did LOL. So i guess you're right in that sense. People KNEW what was coming, and it happened. They performed to about what people thought they could but that's not a knock on Russ , people knew Russ was great. Houston outperformed expectations largely because 3 out of their 5 best players have serious injury problems, and happened to be healthy all year.

 

OKC's supporting cast was so maligned they became overrated. Adams had a career year in every category but he's very raw, it's a lot expect him to just jump to be an 18-10 guy though he could be one day. Oladipo put up his career averages, Kanter did his 25 minutes a game Kanter thing because he's a terrible defender. The rest of the team was rookies and journeymen until the deadline. I'm not sure why people thought they could build a great secondary offense around Oladipo who was never that in Orlando, or Adams who was still developing. Was Andre Roberson going to average 15ppg with the worst jumpshot in basketball?

 

I don't know why he gets a selfish rap because of the numbers. He averages more points than Harden and less assists, but they are each #1 and #3 in both categories and #1 and #2 in usage rate. Why is Harden unselfish and Westbrook a stat chaser?

 

Anyway, we're allowed to disagree. I'm a Westbrook fan and you aren't necessarily, that's OK. I also don't expect a Warriors fan to love Westbrook after his "who" comments regarding Curry and his overall treatment of Durant!

[MtlJeff]

Zach Lowe wrote his awards column today FWIW. Had Leonard #1 (nice! Though I don't think kawhi has a realistic shot) and Russell at #3

 

Lowe is the best basketball writer there is, if anyone is interested I thought his column was great

[F171615]

F171615, There was definitely clarity in that Russ was going to have to generate a great deal of offense, i agree with you there. But what i mean is they lost Ibaka and Durant which were two mainstays, and entered the season with no spacing and their second best player being new. There was a bit of rushing to put together any kind of secondary offense beyond Russ generating it or picks involving him. They ended up being something like -12 per 100 possessions when he sat. Yes from the beginning they knew he'd have to do almost everything but that's still a tremendous burden (not that Harden was different though)

 

I don't even really disagree with the projections, people knew Russ was awesome and knew he'd go crazy with stats. I told a friend he might average a triple double before the season started and he actually did LOL. So i guess you're right in that sense. People KNEW what was coming, and it happened. They performed to about what people thought they could but that's not a knock on Russ , people knew Russ was great. Houston outperformed expectations largely because 3 out of their 5 best players have serious injury problems, and happened to be healthy all year.

 

OKC's supporting cast was so maligned they became overrated. Adams had a career year in every category but he's very raw, it's a lot expect him to just jump to be an 18-10 guy though he could be one day. Oladipo put up his career averages, Kanter did his 25 minutes a game Kanter thing because he's a terrible defender. The rest of the team was rookies and journeymen until the deadline. I'm not sure why people thought they could build a great secondary offense around Oladipo who was never that in Orlando, or Adams who was still developing. Was Andre Roberson going to average 15ppg with the worst jumpshot in basketball?

 

I don't know why he gets a selfish rap because of the numbers. He averages more points than Harden and less assists, but they are each #1 and #3 in both categories and #1 and #2 in usage rate. Why is Harden unselfish and Westbrook a stat chaser?

 

Anyway, we're allowed to disagree. I'm a Westbrook fan and you aren't necessarily, that's OK. I also don't expect a Warriors fan to love Westbrook after his "who" comments regarding Curry and his overall treatment of Durant!

 

 

The selfish rap for Westbrook is not about the numbers. I would explain it more by the fact that Westbrook is having more fun this year on the worst team he's been on losing more than any other team (so it seems he's not about winning, he's about getting his own stats). I would explain his selfish play b/c he runs out at open shooters at a horrendously low percentage in the hopes of padding his rebound numbers (again, an example of making the wrong basketball play so he can get better personal stats). Westbrook is primarily an offensive player (as he uses nearly zero energy on defense), and yet the team has a mediocre offense. Westbrook is an athletic/younger Rondo.

I'm bashing Westbrook too much though, b/c he's had a great season. He just doesn't play the style that I like from him. But in playing the wrong way, it doesn't take away from the fact that he's played out of his mind.