Missed the last 7 games before last night I see huh guys (and a good portion of this season it appears).

He had a terrible shooting night, I'm sorry I didn't know that NBA players never had those.

He's putting up numbers currently that only some of the greatest of the greatest of the game have posted.

It's no secret I'm the biggest (only) Thunder fan on this board and one of Westbrook's biggest fans. I just laugh at the OP who admittedly does not watch OKC much at all, and decides he's "overrated" after watching one game where he doesn't have his best game.

He's much better when Durant is in there to keep him from going full on hero ball. I think he'd put up huge numbers if he was the #1 on a team but they wouldn't win much.

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He's much better when Durant is in there to keep him from going full on hero ball. I think he'd put up huge numbers if he was the #1 on a team but they wouldn't win much.

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He would be Melo 2.0

Last night was the first time Hero Westbrook showed his ugly head in a long time, but I don't expect you guys to acknowledge or know that. He still had 14 assists, but he took way too many forced 3's last night. It was just a sloppy game all around for OKC.

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Last night was the first time Hero Westbrook showed his ugly head in a long time, but I don't expect you guys to acknowledge or know that. He still had 14 assists, but he took way too many forced 3's last night. It was just a sloppy game all around for OKC.

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did you not see the all star game? the guy is who he is. A selfish ball hog basketball player

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No, I don't watch exhibitions. It's the damned All Star Game, who gives a crap?

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Last night was the first time Hero Westbrook showed his ugly head in a long time, but I don't expect you guys to acknowledge or know that. He still had 14 assists, but he took way too many forced 3's last night. It was just a sloppy game all around for OKC.

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did you not see the all star game? the guy is who he is. A selfish ball hog basketball player

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Because one's performance in an NBA All-Star game is the appropriate barometer for player value.

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He's much better when Durant is in there to keep him from going full on hero ball. I think he'd put up huge numbers if he was the #1 on a team but they wouldn't win much.

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He would be Melo 2.0

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They couldn't be any different.

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Last night was the first time Hero Westbrook showed his ugly head in a long time, but I don't expect you guys to acknowledge or know that. He still had 14 assists, but he took way too many forced 3's last night. It was just a sloppy game all around for OKC.

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did you not see the all star game? the guy is who he is. A selfish ball hog basketball player

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Because one's performance in an NBA All-Star game is the appropriate barometer for player value.

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no, but i was just giving an example. i've watched him a lot, and he's a very ball hog type player. Reminds me of Kobe how he is now. Shoot shoot shoot shoot shoot

Westbrook might be the best player in the Western Conference right now.

I'm not sure he will stay healthy the rest of the season because that guy plays harder than about anyone in the league. To really appreciate him, you have to watch in games when your team isn't playing the Thunder.

I still stand by my point. He may be playing at a top 5 player right now, but there are at least 15 players I would rather have on my team. He's detrimental to the team, and one of the main reasons the Thunder will never win a championship.

Note: I didn't really think about the rankings, so don't derail the thread with " #8 is better than #6"

1. L. James
2. K. Durant
3. A. Davis
4. J. Harden
5. C. Paul
6. S. Curry
7. B. Griffin
8. K. Love
9. D. Howard
10. L. Aldridge
11. J. Noah
12. D. Lillard
13. J. Wall
14. C. Anthony
15. D. Cousins

I think Westbrook as a player slots in about number 7 or so..... but I don't want him anywhere near my team.

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I still stand by my point. He may be playing at a top 5 player right now, but there are at least 15 players I would rather have on my team. He's detrimental to the team, and one of the main reasons the Thunder will never win a championship.

Note: I didn't really think about the rankings, so don't derail the thread with " #8 is better than #6"

1. L. James
2. K. Durant
3. A. Davis
4. J. Harden
5. C. Paul
6. S. Curry
7. B. Griffin
8. K. Love
9. D. Howard
10. L. Aldridge
11. J. Noah
12. D. Lillard
13. J. Wall
14. C. Anthony
15. D. Cousins

I think Westbrook as a player slots in about number 7 or so..... but I don't want him anywhere near my team.

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You'd rather have Carmelo or Demarcus than Westbrook?????

That's insane.

^Seriously. That list is just slander at this point.

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He's much better when Durant is in there to keep him from going full on hero ball. I think he'd put up huge numbers if he was the #1 on a team but they wouldn't win much.

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He would be Melo 2.0

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They couldn't be any different.

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Westbrook can't carry a team. Neither can Melo. That was the comparison

If Westbrook could just dial it back even 5%, and take that 5% and do more PG related duties, he would be the best in the league. At this point in his career, I don't think he will ever do it though. Great player though, just not sure if you can win it all with someone like that. There's going to be at least a game in every series that you lose because he will hog the ball for too long at the wrong moment.

The best thing you can hope for when you play Durant and Westbrook, is that they make 3's early in the game, and stop attacking the basket.

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You'd rather have Carmelo or Demarcus than Westbrook?????

That's insane.

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That's just a list from some website where I pulled the top players according to their list. I think Westbrook was 8. It wasn't my opinion.

I would rather have Duncan than either of those two guys (if we're talking about just this year and not future)

There are lots of "ifs" and "buts", but either way, I wouldn't want Westbrook as a max deal on my team. I don't think he'll ever win a championship the way he currently plays. He cost his team the game last night.

Last night, probably

But the 7 previous probably won them himself

You watching tonight? If you are Russ is making you look like a dip****

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You watching tonight? If you are Russ is making you look like a dip****

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How? The OP wrote:

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He is an absolute world class athlete. Maybe the best in the NBA pound for pound...

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and

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He's a good player, top 10 in the league

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Nobody think Westbrook is bad at basketball. The question is whether his flaws hamstring a team, especially in the context of a 7 game series.

The OP wrote "Westbrook is overrated" and then called him top 10 in the league. That's dipshht logic.

And tonight he is playing within himself like he should. Still a dogfight and we might lose but he is playing incredible basketball. Like a few other have stated here, there is some clear bias against him on this board, and yourself, the OP and a few others refuse to acknowledge his amazing play right now.

@ScottyBarby: OKC record when Westbrook attempts 30+ shots: 2-6

Can't Westbrook just be rated?

Sorry, I didn't watch it

14-32 looks slightly better than 12-38 on paper.

Looks like he took way too many shots and his team lost.

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@ScottyBarby: OKC record when Westbrook attempts 30+ shots: 2-6

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Which teams are the 6 to whom they lost? Probably top teams in the league.

Also, they are 7-2 in February, which has coincided with Westbrook's run of amazing play.

Not a fan of his at all, but the homie is putting up some serious points for me on my fantasy team. I'll give credit where it's due

I fell asleep at start of 4th what happened. Di Westbrook go stupid in the 4th

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And tonight he is playing within himself like he should. Still a dogfight and we might lose but he is playing incredible basketball. Like a few other have stated here, there is some clear bias against him on this board, and yourself, the OP and a few others refuse to acknowledge his amazing play right now.

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I think I feel like people felt watching Wilt Chamberlain. They knew they were watching a fantastic player (Wilt was even more transcendent than Westbrook is, but same idea), but there was also a sense that the guy would rather put up big stats than win the game. For Westbrook, I'd modify that to: the guy thinks that dominating the team's offense gives the team best chance of winning, so he genuinely believes he needs to put up huge state and take a ridiculous number of shots for the team to win (not completely, though. Westbrook has a huge chip on his shoulder and he's out to prove something individually). Still, while the motivations are somewhat different, the results are the same.

I know Westbrook is an amazing athlete and a great basketball player, but I don't think that his current style is what's best for the team. You say that he's singlehandedly dragging the team to Ws. I don't agree with that. Ibaka, Kanter, and Adams is a damn good frontcourt, and Augustin and even Waiters (along with Westbrook) give the team some shooting punch. Granted, that assumes that OKC has a competent coaching staff and I've made my thoughts on that fairly clear, but the idea that Westbrook needs to take 30+ shots/game for OKC to win, even with Durant out, is laughable; I don't think you appreciate how good that roster is.

Westbrook has amazing talent, and has the potential to be the best PG in the game. But he still continues to want to be a selfish, volume-shooter type of player. That's okay if he just wants to put up great numbers and be in the MVP talk, but he won't win a championship if he doesn't learn to make his teammates better.

I don't like the guy on the court. I've made that plenty clear often enough. But I can acknowledge that he's a tremendous talent. Bottom line - he doesn't make the rest of his team better, and that's what the truly great players can do.

He probably is one of the 2-3 best basketball players in the league, but he's not one of the 2-3 players who have the most positive impact on their teams.