I have grown to HATE Russell Westcrook

The results say the team is doing just fine, We've already discussed this over and over again, especially anything based on +/- isn't fair to compare a superstar player to role players because it rates the role players higher because they don't have to do as much as Westbrook.

Do you really think seriously that if you give Mclemore all of Russ's minutes that the team would be better? Seriously ask yourself this question, seriously answer this question. Do you think just giving Mclemore all of Russ minutes makes the team better? That's what the stat says.

I'm guessing if you polled any number of coaches they'd laugh at that idea.

Sure, if Russ played MVP level russ we'd be #1 seed, but that's if's. If Gordon played that stretch I also think we'd be #1 seed. If we weren't so hurt and shuffling players in and out of the lineup, if the refs didn't have a clear bias against Harden...

The reality is what I said it was though. The Rockets right now are one of the best teams in the NBA and have stood toe-toe with all of the other contenders and have beat them. They've dropped silly games now and then but to put that all on Russ is silly when there are also games where it looks like Harden DGAF and Capela DGAF and MDA is running his 7 man rotation small ball strategy...

There are tons of reasons we lose games than just 'Westbrook'.

 

They are on this ‘50-Year-list’ twice in back to back months bc these 2 MVPs on our team are really really good at basketball.
Lol at the detractors and haters.

 

No, they are on the list because Harden is a basketball god and WB takes 25 shots a night.

 

Blame Harden, Russ isn't here if it isn't for Harden. If Harden tells the owner "I don't want to play with Westbrook." then Westbrook isn't here.

Fact is, stars get to play where they want to play. Harden wanted Russ here and Russ wanted to be here and the Ownership (I feel rightly) understood we had reached our ceiling with CP3 and this is after no one else wanted to come here.

You guys act like we have other options. Russ is the only star player that wanted to be here.

 

And not entirely, MVP Russ has been good but his team did not just turn into a No 1 team.

Adams and others were giftwrapping rebounds for him. It just looks good on paper. I am adamant it won't happen in Houston.

One thing is for sure, his synergy with JH has been very good.

Stats will be good but not inflated. And you cannot share Top 2 usage rates. (How he got MVP to begin with)

 

Well if efficiency is the end all be all, please tell me why other more ‘efficient’ duos are not on the list in the current-era NBA? If Westbrook and Harden continue averaging 60+ points a month —I don’t care if he takes 7 shots or 21 shots.

and no, Hargod is not an appropriate response.

 

They gifted him rebounds but he legitimately out rebounds most bigs in a night. He legit goes after boards and one thing with Russ is you hardly ever see a guard (like Beverly) sneak in to get a board because Russ is either blocking his man out or getting the board himself.

He has been grabbing rebounds in Houston, in fact, we've instantly turned into a top rebounding team with his addition, this isn't by coincidence. He does the work for his rebounds, he's a hustlemaniac and I don't think anyone should take that away from him.

 

No thanks, I am going to blame the least efficient player in the league who chooses, for no reason other than stupidity, to take 25 shots a game.

 

don't forget "massive ego."

 

All I am saying it does not necessarily reflect on the team being No 1.

It was a lower seed, he had Oladipo, but the latter never developed. 1st round exit.

He is never going to average that many points or rebounds here, that was clear from the beginning.

If Capela is averaging close to 22-14 a night, then that would be more dangerous.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2016–17_Oklahoma_City_Thunder_season

 

Yep, this is the thing with Russ.

Every player has their faults, Russ is that he is TOO confident. People literally think the guy is taking shots to brick them. No, he's taking shots because he believes he can hit them. Nobody takes a shot thinking they are going to miss lol. This is Russ's fault in his game, his overconfidence, we saw it in OKC where he would tone out KD completely and just try to take over games because he saw his team needed him. If you watch Rocket games, watch what happens in 2nd halfs when the team is struggling, watch what Russ does. He goes into attack mode because his mentality is "Well, my team needs me, time to get aggressive."

That's his fault. Harden's fault is that he has waaaaaaay too many moments where it looks like he DGAF and either has silly late game TOs or just jacks up three after three as if no one else is on the team...and he's contributed to losses with this kind of play.

Lebron even has his faults, he hides them better than most...but the point is every player you have to live with their faults. Even role players. Like we have to live with Capela looking soft some nights, not wanting to dunk and getting punked by lesser players. We have to live with any shooting depending player having cold nights and thus being mostly useless.

With Russ, it's just something you deal with that sometimes he's out of control...but thankfully, he has Harden to pass the ball to and unlike Durant (whose fault is just becoming passive and would just watch Russ shoot his team out of games) Harden is more than happy to chill things down after Russ has his wild moments.

 

Oh yeah, he was never going to be that here.

I think his role here has always been as a complimentary star player. I think he's filled that role nicely? When Harden isn't godly Russ is usually the one leading the team, honestly that's all I want from him and I think he's done that. He's had huge games for us when we needed them.

Personally I don't care if he's shooting like crap, when it comes to game 5 or something in the WCSF I want him to have those games he had for OKC where he was just unstoppable force for a game, a quarter, whatever it was, because that would be more help than Harden has ever had other than CP3 first year and that ... well that odd moment when Josh Smith and Corey Brewer took over and led us to the conference finals.

 

He is never going to be a complimentary piece like PG13 for example. Leading with efficiency and surpassing it.

But he can still be effective, by not crossing the fine line, doing what it takes.

Again, if he were not a childhood friend of Harden, I doubt he even makes it here.

Destiny is all, it has a way of coming true.

 

Westbrook was never about efficiency, I think that's what people need to remember.

He is pure chaos. As they said during the game, he scares both coaches because MDA knows he can shoot them out of the game (but to be fair, if he's being wild...just sit his ass down for a few minutes) but he can also be an unstoppable force that just creates a 10-0 run for your team in a minute or two. That's russ, it's never about efficiency. He doesn't care about efficiency, he's always made that clear.

I think him being a childhood friend, true, but so are a lot of guys that played in LA. They all knew each other. I think it's just the circumstances that put him here but people should remember this is still a HOF player and he's still playing at an all-star level.

 

Now we know it is possible to win a ship. Not a cake walk.

Morey still needs one elite defender.

But the way for him to fit in is to orchestrate the Offense with his passing while still being aggressive to go to the hole, get others going and Overall Defense.

I am not too keen on his off the board long 2s tbh.

 

I think he's a player that has to be coached like...constantly on a leash.

He gets emotional and that is good when the team needs the energy but sometimes...you can tell he can get off his game. Dame did it last year to him, he was an emotional wreck that whole series trying to prove he was better than Lillard instead of just win games. Hopefully, Harden can kind of tell him in these moments to chill out, I think he has tbh because the last time he was brought up shooting too much he followed it with drastically shooting less 3s and long shots and he had this amazing stretch of games...and now he's slowly reverting back into chucking and whatever was done/said to him needs to be said again.

But yeah, when he's focused on driving and passing he really is pretty amazing. He screws up some fastbreaks because he goes so fast that he often gets to the others side of the court and realizes no one is there with him but you live with that because he creates so man fast breaks.

I think he took a lot tonight because they were kind of camping the paint and they do have good long defenders. The 6ers defend the paint as well as any team so he probably chucked up a few shots he normally wouldn't but yeah, I think everyone would prefer if he just took less long twos, less 3s, and drove more.

 

I think he should learn from PJ, to be a less stats oriented allstar instead of being a stat chasing allstar.

Doing the little things that do not show up on the stat sheet more.

 

Russell Westcock can’t stop ****ing the Rockets.

 

no matter westcrook or westbrick, as long as a sidekick who could taken over the games, while harden worn out once in a while in post-season games, that would be the right one. and thats THE change harden were considering of right after defeating by warriors last post-season.

 

As the kids would say these days.... BIG FACTZ