Kansas Crimson

Russ is a bit of an enigma. I like to joke about the fact that he isnt even good at basketball. You could make a serious argument for him being the most athletic player in the NBA. hes starting to age but over the past decade there hasnt been a more explosive athlete than russell, hell maybe ever. His work ethic is great. he's a great competitor. BUT. He's made a career out of poor shooting, poor shot selection, and bad turnovers

Russell Westbrook is a HOF basketball player and an MVP and has made us rethink how good Big O really was.

That said, he could have maybe been the greatest goalkeeper of all time.

It just shows how little statistics can mean sometimes. Russell has a hell of a resume. his statistics will make his name stand out for decades. But he can be a very dumb frustrating player sometimes. I'm not sure how this will work for lebron. its a gamble. the lakers made an aggressive move to dump some contracts and mix things up. smells like a desperate move to make a push at a title. gotta risk it to get the biscuit

russ HAS to play on the ball to be effective. if lebron turns him into a spot up shooter theyre fucked

I'll never forgive Russell for the way he played alongside kevin durant. Durant in my opinion might be the most gifted scorer to ever play the game. His scoring talent is unreal. Russ was supposedly a point guard, who had maybe the most gifted scoring talent in the league on his team, and Russ for real went out there and took 20 shots a game. And a lot of those shots were bricked pull up midrange jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face

randylahey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:18 pm I'll never forgive Russell for the way he played alongside kevin durant. Durant in my opinion might be the most gifted scorer to ever play the game. His scoring talent is unreal. Russ was supposedly a point guard, who had maybe the most gifted scoring talent in the league on his team, and Russ for real went out there and took 30 shots a game. And a lot of those shots were bricked pull up midrange jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face

Westbrook and Durant played 8 seasons together in OKC. Westbrook had multiple games of 30+ field goal attempts in just ONE of them and it was when Durant played just 27 games due to injury.

Whatever issue you have with Westbrook has resulted in you creating an alternate reality that didn't actually happen.

twocoach wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:54 pm

randylahey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:18 pm I'll never forgive Russell for the way he played alongside kevin durant. Durant in my opinion might be the most gifted scorer to ever play the game. His scoring talent is unreal. Russ was supposedly a point guard, who had maybe the most gifted scoring talent in the league on his team, and Russ for real went out there and took 30 shots a game. And a lot of those shots were bricked pull up midrange jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face

Westbrook and Durant played 8 seasons together in OKC. Westbrook had multiple games of 30+ field goal attempts in just ONE of them and it was when Durant played just 27 games due to injury.

Whatever issue you have with Westbrook has resulted in you creating an alternate reality that didn't actually happen.

*20. hes a very athletic guy who busts his ass and has an incredible work ethic and competitive nature. but he is also a very inefficient player. thats reality

That’s a pretty good take.

The whole thing about having his big man back off the boreds so he can stuff stats is stoopid too.

randylahey wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:50 am

twocoach wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:54 pm

randylahey wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 5:18 pm I'll never forgive Russell for the way he played alongside kevin durant. Durant in my opinion might be the most gifted scorer to ever play the game. His scoring talent is unreal. Russ was supposedly a point guard, who had maybe the most gifted scoring talent in the league on his team, and Russ for real went out there and took 30 shots a game. And a lot of those shots were bricked pull up midrange jumpers early in the shot clock with a hand in his face

Westbrook and Durant played 8 seasons together in OKC. Westbrook had multiple games of 30+ field goal attempts in just ONE of them and it was when Durant played just 27 games due to injury.

Whatever issue you have with Westbrook has resulted in you creating an alternate reality that didn't actually happen.

*20. hes a very athletic guy who busts his ass and has an incredible work ethic and competitive nature. but he is also a very inefficient player. thats reality

He's definitely inefficient scoring wise. There's no debating that. And i am a huge Russ fan for many of the reasons you listed. He's also a good dude off the court and that matters to me.

I honestly have always liked Russ. That's why he frustrates me. I'm not necessarily an OKC fan, but they are somewhat of a hometown team to the Kansas area, so lowkey support them. I thought he was right to hate KD when he left. Not for leaving but for going to golden state (the team they were up on 3-1 in the conference finals). I'd love to see him sign his final contract with OKC and finish his career there, maybe after this stint in LA. who knows he could win a title and then come help establish a culture for the future of the Thunder franchise with his work ethic and competitive nature. There is a lot to like about Russ. BUT

He's always had the athletic ability to get a shot off at any point, but he hasn't used his gifts very intelligently. poor shooting numbers and turnovers plague his legacy. High basketball IQ is an important quality for a point guard. Russell doesn't have that. Being a ball dominant athletic scoring guard with inflated assist numbers and poor shot selection doesn't win playoff series, and often doesn't fit in with other good players. That's why he keeps bouncing around to different teams

It would be interesting if he is willing to be more of a role (starter and a big role) player in LA for the sake of the team. He should have earned a lot more all NBA defense selections throughout with career with his athleticism in my opinion. He could reinvent himself and take on more of a Jrue Holiday type role. commit himself to being disruptive defensively and guarding the other teams best guard always. on offense be the guy that initiates but doesn't dominate the ball. ball handling duties and being intelligently selective on when to use his athleticism to get to the rim or create for others. Rebounding but not obsessing with chasing triple doubles

BasketballJayhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:58 am

randylahey wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:50 am

twocoach wrote: ↑Fri Jul 30, 2021 10:54 pm
Westbrook and Durant played 8 seasons together in OKC. Westbrook had multiple games of 30+ field goal attempts in just ONE of them and it was when Durant played just 27 games due to injury.

Whatever issue you have with Westbrook has resulted in you creating an alternate reality that didn't actually happen.

*20. hes a very athletic guy who busts his ass and has an incredible work ethic and competitive nature. but he is also a very inefficient player. thats reality

He's definitely inefficient scoring wise. There's no debating that. And i am a huge Russ fan for many of the reasons you listed. He's also a good dude off the court and that matters to me.

Serious question. Do either of you have a fucking clue about the NBA and Russell Westbrook?

"very inefficient? Ummm..... The guy may be one of the most efficient players to have ever played the game.
"He's definitely inefficient scoring wise". Ummm........ The guy led the league in scoring twice.

If Russ changes his style and focuses on defense and distribution rather than any sort of jumper whatsoever at any range unless wide open, and manages to keep his pride in check, then I think he's a major asset and upgrade from the pieces they traded for him.

I think that's a big IF -- but I selfishly want LeBron to win a 5th and 6th title too -- so i'm torn here.

NotGutterGutter wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:21 pm

BasketballJayhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:58 am

randylahey wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 9:50 am

*20. hes a very athletic guy who busts his ass and has an incredible work ethic and competitive nature. but he is also a very inefficient player. thats reality

He's definitely inefficient scoring wise. There's no debating that. And i am a huge Russ fan for many of the reasons you listed. He's also a good dude off the court and that matters to me.

Serious question. Do either of you have a fucking clue about the NBA and Russell Westbrook?

"very inefficient? Ummm..... The guy may be one of the most efficient players to have ever played the game.
"He's definitely inefficient scoring wise". Ummm........ The guy led the league in scoring twice.

Well you just proved you don't. Why do you think Russ has struggled to play with other stars and keeps getting traded? Its why Durant wanted out. Its why Paul George didn't work. Its why Houston didn't work with James Harden, Its why he just got traded again from Washington and Bradley Beal. He takes a lot of bad shots, has poor shot selection. I've seen him over the course of his career take a lot of guarded pull up midrange jumpshots early in the shot clock, its just not good basketball I don't care how athletic you are. His shooting percentages are not good. especially from range, his 3 pt shooting has been terrible at times and bad overall.

Saying Westbrook is one of the most efficient players to ever play the game is one of the funniest basketball statements I've ever heard. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt and assume you are referring to PER which is inflated because his usage rate is so high and he gets a good amount of points and assists, which is inflated because of his play style. But his teams are usually predictable and easy to defend because of his play style. And the only success he has ever really had were the OKC teams that had Durant Ibaka etc. Durant was on his way to becoming the best player in the league. OKC had that 3-1 lead over the warriors dynasty that they blew in large part because of Westbrooks turnovers, bad shot selection, and inefficient play down the stretch of those games

pdub wrote: ↑Sat Jul 31, 2021 2:22 pm If Russ changes his style and focuses on defense and distribution rather than any sort of jumper whatsoever at any range unless wide open, and manages to keep his pride in check, then I think he's a major asset and upgrade from the pieces they traded for him.

I think that's a big IF -- but I selfishly want LeBron to win a 5th and 6th title too -- so i'm torn here.

If he does all that he could be one of the most valuable players in the league. Even now. I think Lebron needs to tweak his play style a little for him and Westbrook to be able to work together. Lebron has turned himself into a pretty good shooter over the years. Westbrook has not. Lebron has to be willing to be more of a spot up guy and ball mover which he could excel at. If Westbrook gets turned into a spot up shooter they are fucked

If Westbrook can’t defer, to two better players ( I’d say quite a bit better in the Lakers case ) like he hasn’t been able to with PG13 or Harden, and still takes shitty shots, then it’ll go as it has his entire career.

The Lakers have two of the top ten players in the league. I think if they were healthy they’d have won again this season.

Kyle Lowry to the heat.

Lo Ball to the Bools. Super Bowl!