Westbrook is overrated

21,102 Views | 212 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by Original_NoOlives
Deputy Travis Junior
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2 of 11 from the 3pt line. Damn. Brooks should tell Westbroook he's never to shoot another 3 pointer again.
Gigem Trevas
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5-20 for 18 points tonight. 1-11 after quarter 1. 10 points from the field on 20 shots.
Deputy Travis Junior
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He's a pint-sized, much less talented Wilt Chamberlain. Huge ball hog that will shoot whether it's good for the team or not.
Deputy Travis Junior
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To be fair, the dude's been carrying the offense for two months. He's running on fumes, so it isn't surprising that his efficiency numbers are tanking.

Look at these numbers. In March, Westbrook averaged per game:
23.2FGA
12.1FTA
6TOs
10.1 assists

I know it's not exactly correct, but let's just say that every 2 FTA=1 possession. That gives us 23.2+6.05+6+10.1=45.35 OKC possessions on which he was the last or 2nd to last guy to touch the ball. February's numbers were almost that high. That's pretty freaking nuts.
Pahdz
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He and the team are running on fumes. His last few weeks are equally as bad as his first 30 days after the ASG were good
Ulrich
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His efficiency has been poor throughout. This is going from bad to really bad.
Pahdz
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quote:
His efficiency has been poor throughout. This is going from bad to really bad.


You can have your advanced metrics but to call his play bad for that stretch after the ASG is stupid. His play of late though is definitely stupid. Makes life hard on his defenders like me.
Ulrich
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Ulrich
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His play was an outstanding exhibition of skill and effort. His efficiency was still bad and his contribution to the team was therefore somewhere between a slight positive and a slight negative.

I'm getting bored with having to include a tribute to the things he does well in every post. That's not the interesting thing about Westbrook. I thought we were past this.
lil99chris
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AG
Good job by Westbrook.
Dan Scott
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Westbrooks not driving around in a KIA
Pahdz
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Not that I expect it to change anyone's opinion of him (nor do I think it should, anyone can write articles to make someone sound like someone they aren't), but the article on Russell in Si is really good. Doesn't make any excuses for the type of player he is or anything, just a look at the what makes him who he is.
Guitarsoup
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AG


Russell Westbrook won a car for being the All-Star MVP. He gave it to a single mom in OKC that had been in a car wreck with liability only and had no car. Shot by my friend Layne Murdock, not me.
Gigem Trevas
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I don't think this thread was ever about criticizing him as a person, but more criticizing his highly inefficient play on the basketball court.
Guitarsoup
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Doesn't mean we can't celebrate him when he does something outstandingly nice for someone else.
redline248
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According to Hollinger, Westbrook is 2nd in efficiency.
Guitarsoup
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Hollinger's PER is more or less how well someone fills up the stat sheet. And Westbrook has gotten lots of numbers this year, especially in February and March.

His shooting percentages are .419/.292/.839 and with the exception of the free throws, that is pretty poor. His True Shooting percentage is .531 which is 8th on the Thunder. It would be 13th on the Spurs. His 4.4 turnovers per game is dead last in the NBA. That's why people say he is an inefficient player. He takes a lot of bad shots and he turns the ball over more than anyone in the NBA. When you aren't even shooting 30% from three point land, you probably shouldn't be jacking up more than 6 threes per game.
Ulrich
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Westbrook is second in a specific metric called Player Efficiency Rating, but that is not the same as being the second most efficient player. PER is a rating of stats compiled per minute. Negative events like missed shots and turnovers do count against you, but Westbrook's usage is so insanely high that it skews PER (not that PER is perfect to begin with).

Try this on:
Take the 20 most common lineups for the Thunder this season and control for Durant by removing the five lineups that include Durant. Now do the weighted average of +/- per 100 possessions for lineups that include Westbrook (8) vs those that don't (7).

Westbrook lineups are a cumulative -1.9 points per 100 possessions. Non-Westbrook lineups are a cumulative +3.2 points per 100 possessions. This implies that Westbrook is worth -5.1 points per 100 possessions. If you're wondering which teams most closely match those +/- figures, it's the Rockets at +3.3 and the Hornets at -2.1.

That's far from perfect as well. You have to consider that Westbrook will typically be in against the other team's starters while the "bench" lineups will primarily play against the opposing team's bench. Still, perform this same analysis for most top level players and I doubt you'll see this pattern very often.

Lineup analysis, per possession, per minute, and efficiency can each tell a different story. PER tries to consider the last two, but an outlier performance in one dimension can distort the metric (and as I alluded to earlier, PER has plenty of detractors in normal cases). Advanced stats are as much art as science, but still more effective than simply counting points/assists/rebounds.
Pahdz
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Ulrich must be a blast at parties
Brian Earl Spilner
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But who paid the taxes on the car?
Hello there.
tbirdspur2010
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Very good bull about the car!
TheDino
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Seeing this quote today from Pop reminded me of this thread.

Pop on Kawhi

"He stole it from Curry the other night, just took it from him and went down and dunked it, and his expression did not change. He didn't raise his fist or look cool to the crowd or do any of this stupid-ass stuff. He didn't do a thing. He just goes the other direction, like he's bored to death. I love that about him."

I said something very similar to this and was met with "you must be fun at parties", "lame ass Spur fan", etc.

Maybe this is why so many Spur fans feel this way. We really identify with the team and Pop.

I'm not saying all emotion needs to be removed from the game. It's just refreshing to see players take it the opposite direction of Russ.

tbirdspur2010
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quote:
"He stole it from Curry the other night, just took it from him and went down and dunked it, and his expression did not change. He didn't raise his fist or look cool to the crowd or do any of this stupid-ass stuff. He didn't do a thing. He just goes the other direction, like he's bored to death. I love that about him."
That is such an awesome quote.
Natasha Romanoff
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quote:
Seeing this quote today from Pop reminded me of this thread.

Pop on Kawhi

"He stole it from Curry the other night, just took it from him and went down and dunked it, and his expression did not change. He didn't raise his fist or look cool to the crowd or do any of this stupid-ass stuff. He didn't do a thing. He just goes the other direction, like he's bored to death. I love that about him."

I said something very familiar to this and was met with "you must be fun at parties", "lame ass Spur fan", etc.

Maybe this is why so many Spur fans feel this way. We really identify with the team and Pop.

I'm not saying all emotion needs to be removed from the game. It's just refreshing to see players take it the opposite direction of Russ.
Yup. I'm all for a solid fist pump after a big, momentum-swinging/door-shutting play during a close game, or whatever celebration a player feels is appropriate at the time. But acting like you just scored a basket worth 30 points after every good play just gets old. Manu, Tim, Parker, Danny, etc. all celebrate at some point, they just tend to do it a lot less than guys like Westbrook and at more appropriate times.

Kawhi's stoic face during games is pretty amazing/funny though.
Brian Earl Spilner
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This is precisely why I can't stand Westbrook, and one of the many reasons I love Kawhi.
Brian Earl Spilner
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quote:
Kawhi's stoic face during games is pretty amazing/funny though.

That's what made this moment so great.
Ulrich
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I don't know what makes you say that, my personality is almost nonexistent.
Guitarsoup
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After James Harden choked against the Spurs with 5-19 shooting, Russell Westbrook is now again leading the NBA in scoring.

I look forward to a David Thompson/George Gervin -esque finish to the season.
knoxtom
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Today was yet another perfect example of why Westbrook is so overrated.

He goes for one of the biggest stat lines in years with 54 points, a bunch of rebounds, and a bunch of assists but finishes -4 on the plus minus, his team loses, and he takes 43!!!! shots.

Meanwhile his main defensive assignment, the great CJ Miles, goes for a 30 point triple double on 14 shots!!!!! CJ MIles is a marginal NBA player, yet Westbrook turns him into a 1st ballot hall of fame guy.

What makes him even worse is that with this run of stats, Westbrook is forever done as a player. He will never be part of a team again he will just jack em up like Kobe.
TajMaballer
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LOL

Pahdz
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I used to hate Kobe but his IDGAF attitude is hilarious
Mr.Bond
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NickNaylor
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I can't believe that Kobe has no problem with a player getting big numbers by dominating the ball and jacking up dozens of shots.
Mr.Bond
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What does Michael Jordan have in common with Westbrook? Nothing
Houston Summit
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Dion Waiters has shot the ball 20 times (20 times!) and made 4 of them.

Never thought I would see a bigger ball hog than Russ, but turns out he is on the same team
 
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