Westbrook is better than Francis, Marbury, and Davis ever were. I can't say for sure he's better than Iverson and KJ though. Put Iverson and KJ in the current NBA in both of their athletic primes, and they'd be killing the league. When Johnson was prime, the league was ALLLL about big men. The rules and style of the game is all PG oriented now. KJ would be a MVP candidate.
I don't see how Penny is more athletic than WB. Not at all. Penny had better size than WB, and FAARRRR better court vision. He also had better handles than WB. But athletically speaking, WB is more of a freak. He has more speed and hops than Penny had, and he's extremely strong. The closest guy to Penny in the current league is Wall. Wall is a VERY poor man's Penny. Wall's quicker than Penny was, but that's about it. Penny was better at everything else.
A.I. Played 2-Guard for the Sixers...Westbrook Plays PG for OKC...LeBron James ALSO has "Better Passing and PG Ability" than Westbrook, but Bron Damn Sure AIN'T a PG... REED:kidcool:
Throwing Lobs/Fancy Passes is Only 1 Facet of Passing... A.I. was NEVER a True Facilitator...Neither is Westbrook, but he's PROVEN to Be MORE of One than A.I. Ever Was...Case in Point, Westbrook Averages MORE than 1 Full Assist than A.I., for their Careers, While Averaging .1 More TO's...Meaning, Westbrook Takes BETTER CARE of the Rock than A.I. Did... Beyond that, Westrbook is Averaging 9.9 Assists this Season and Has 3 OTHER Years where he was @ 8 Dimes or BETTER...By Comparison, Iverson's Highest Assist Amount was 7.9, Which he Only Did 1nce... Westbrook's the Better PG, a Position A.I. DIDN'T Even Play Substantially... REED:kidcool:
Westbrook Averaged 8.6 Dimes Last Season, w/Durant on the SHELF for the Vast Majority of It...Still HIGHER than Any Assist Season A.I. EVER Had... REED:kidcool:
neither are real PGs in my book, but i just think Iverson was a better ball handler and passer than westbrook in his prime. Iverson really had nothing around him offensively.
Sad part is how AI is disparaged by younger fans as he wasn't efficient FG% wise. 2K and NBA Live have raised a generation of stat whores.
Saw the timberwolfs beat the clippers last night at staples. The gawd andre miller (8th most assists in the history of the league) had 7 dimes in 15 minutes. Towns had zero points first half and 17 in the second. He is the truth
I've been watching nearly all the Thunder's games since about mid December on and trust me Westbrook is a pure point guard now who knows how to effectively run the point, set up teammates and run good pick and rolls. I agree he isn't the ball handler Iverson was but he is a better more consistent passer. Also he isn't just giving the ball to Durant and padding assits, WB is running that point and out playing guys like Wall at the same time. Also factor in all his triple doubles, how well he rebounds and the heart he plays with and you got a guy pushing Durant for best player on the team status.
Wanted to do a breakdown on the Thunder's players too. The Starters Durant - Once considered 2nd best in the league he seems to be still working out a bit of rust. Durant's problem is he seems to want to be Dirk Novitzki too much and going by the eye test he just seems more streak 3 point shooter than consistent one. I'd be shocked if he makes the 50/40/90 club this season. Here's a small sample of his three point shots from January : 2/6, 2/9, 4/8, 1/5, 3/8, 3/9, 1/5, 2/8, 2/10. Whereas Westbrook used to drive me crazy by coming down in transition and firing up 3 pointers off the dribble it's actually Durant who's driving me crazy with that move. He's a much better mid range shooter and seems to be getting his three pointer back lately though. Westbrook - Has proven he's more than capable running the point as he knows not only how to set up his teammates for passes but also how to make the defense react appropriately first. The problem is he seems to decide before a game whether he's going to play team ball as "triple-double-Westbrook" or iso ball, as "iso-Westbrook" and seems to stay "iso-Westbrook" the whole game. His shot seems to have fallen off somewhat and betrayed him but that's okay as he actually and finally seems to prefer attacking the basket and is a much improved finisher. So we're getting a whole lot less pull up 3's off the dribble. He's a capable but too often lazy defender who will often watch an opponent dribble right by him without ever slapping at the ball just because it's not his man. One awesome thing about Westbrook is at least once almost every game he gets a steal that ends in one of his ferocious dunks. How can you not love the guy? Roberson - Still can't stand his limited game. Other than maybe being a slightly better 3 point shooter, he's no different from his rookie season and makes you wonder does he work on his skills at all. He's a good defensive player but he's not going to shut anybody down. One of the most maddening things he often does is passing up open threes to pass off to better players forcing them into contested ones. He won't kill you but he definitely helps keep up the OKC tradition of playing 3 on 5. Not only should he not be starting but he should be dead last in the rotation or preferably coming off the bench in the D-league. Ibaka - Isn't the shot blocking force he once was due to him focusing more on jump shooting, which he is very good at, especially from midrange. He's not strong in bball IQ, but he isn't mistake prone either. He's a very good offensive option both inside and out and still occasionally comes up with those highlight blocks. He seems to disappear offensively in crunch time but at the same time may just save the day defensively. Adams - Seems to have plateaued and hit his ceiling already. He is what he is, a big strong athletic guy who likes to bang down low and gets you rebounds and the occasional block. He's good at put backs, pick and roll finishing and even the occasional iso score. He's the best center defender on the team which is part of the reason he starts. The other reason is his offensive limitations would hurt the 2nd unit. A cool thing about Adams is every now and then he'll piss someone off enough to commit a flagrant or shooting foul against him. The Reserves: Kanter - Don't get why some thought his contract was a mistake. Yes he is a weak defender but he does almost everything else above average which includes scoring and rebounding in traffic amongst the trees. One positive thing Kanter rarely gets props for are how good his hands are. He's very good at catching tough fast passes be it standing still or while cutting to the rim. He's also a very good spot up shooter and even has three point range. Waiters - He's finally learned the definition of pass and has embraced team basketball. He'll still call his own number every now and then but him being on the 2nd unit never has you feeling it was an unwarranted action. He'll drive you crazy with the amount of layups he blows as he seems to miss if a defender so much as breaths on him while immediately complaining to the refs about a no call; but you still admire how he fearlessly and successfully gets to the rim with ease. His fading high arching jumper is starting to become a reliable weapon and he's become a good spot up shooter and defender. I not only like him now but think he's a keeper. Singler - I used to wonder why we kept him and now I'm starting to see. He's becoming a very reliable 3 point shooter and even makes the occasional score at the rim along with a decent eye for passing. Lately I've been singing his praises a lot more then cursing his existence. He does seem to be a little weak physically and I'm not sure how good of a defender he is but he's definitely out there fighting and giving his all. Payne - The rookie earned his backup point guard spot by playing much better than DJ Agustin. The kid runs the point like a 3-4 year vet. He's a good 3 & mid range shooter and good passer as well as a decent defender and rebounder. He has a reliable floater too and he looks like a another good draft find by the Thunder. I doubt he'll be an allstar but he's a very good backup to have. Collison - Is long in the tooth now and was never much of a factor to begin with. Has very little offense and can't shoot. His main strength is getting putbacks and like Roberson he should be much further back in the rotation, especially at this point in his career. Rarely Plays: Morrow - Could be such an effective weapon if the team used him right. Great spot up shooter with a super quick release but occasionally tries to do too much. He could be a smaller less effective Steph Curry if the team used him right but he is being wasted on the bench behind Singler even though he isn't a bad defender. Agustin - Completely average point guard whose best attribute is strong ball handling. He doesn't run the offense or assist others very well, he doesn't defend, rebound or shoot very well either so it's no surprise he lost his spot to a rookie who is playing worlds better then him. On top of all that he's very short. McGary - Has only played garbage minutes which is a shame because going off last season he's a much better option than Collison. He's a hulking power forward energizer who runs the floor like a mad man. I thought he was a great change of pace guy who brought energy out of his teammates but the new coach has buried him and stunted any progress or growth. Team Offense - You can see the new system in place and working as the ball moves much better with less straight up iso plays and guys playing less selfishly. Team Defense - It has seriously regressed in part due to a new system as you'll often see guys get confused during switches or straight losing track of their man. The other part of the regression is effort as they don't seem to try very hard on defense. The result is that even the worst teams are shooting amazing percentages against us and seem to make tons of uncontested jumpers. We will not win a championship this year and don't stand a chance against the Spurs or Golden State. I would pick the Cavs over us too but I give us a slight chance against them.
I swear Curry just chucks it up there and it goes in. His release is is so quick. No way to defend that.
It's almost comical. He's not just one of the most efficient shooters in history, but he often does it from ridiculous parts of the floor.
Just saw it. Golden State was out of blocks quickly and seemed to be destroying Rockets. Curry looked like Kobe Bryant with Larry Bird's shooting in there. Somehow they got sloppy however and Houston crawled back into game, even leading for a while. Harding was fabulous and Howard did good job on boards. In the 4th GS was able to step it up again and at last pulled out a clear win. Barnes took role in the last quarter as Thompson had a quiet night. This was a second game in row by GS that I have seen where they nearly blew it after seemingly dominating their opponent. I wonder if it is just about concentration and they can step it up when the stakes are high (in which case nobody will stop them) or is it that their energetic style of playing and shooting from distance works best when the players are fresh
Biggest plus I see with Golden State is depth. Not a lot of weak leaks in their line-up. Their stars also don't have a problem deferring to their team-mates if they're off a little bit with their game. If Harden has an off-night the Rockets are pretty much fucked.
A couple of months ago I thought GS breaking the 96 Bulls record was unlikely. But at this point, barring serious injuries, they WILL break the record. They're on pace to finish 74-8, and I think that's what they will finish at. At worst, 73-9. Either way, I have a feeling they're gonna do it.
At this point, it really does look like wear and tear/injuries are the only thing that can stop the Warriors from becoming champions. They're in a zone. They'll have the odd off night here and there but with the way they're playing, it's gonna be damn near impossible to beat them.
The NBA Allstar game. All I ever watch is the Rookie/Sophomore game, dunk & three point contest and main allstar game. Does anyone watch any of the other crap like skills challenge or celebrity game? Why don't they get rid of that crap?
Really? I think I prefer it the other way. At any rate I predicted Zach Lavine was going to get the MVP just based off of how hard I hear he works on his game, and from watching him play against the Thunder a couple weeks ago where he came off looking like Steph Curry. That kid has a chance to be a superstar on his own and it got me thinking how LA is wide open right now and if a young unknown with potential like him or Oladipo for example went there it could catapult them to superstardom.
minnesota needs to keep lavine, wiggins and towns together. they will get another lottery pick as well. plus they have young talented kids like dieng, muhammad, rubio, etc. if they win another lottery and get simmons that team is going to be a powerhouse.
