ono wrote:My apologies, the reference I used was from a few months ago. I will edit that into the OP.
Even a few months ago that wasn't true. I mean go on NBA.com and look at the league leaders no one is close to 10%. That's insanely high.
So they shoot the ball 2.6% better when he sags into the paint to wait for rebounds to kick start a fast break, yet his direct opponent shoots 3.5% because of this very same strategy. How’s that an effective strategy?
Because the man he's directly guarding isn't taking every shot while he's on the floor. As you mentioned his contest percentage is low so his man is taking like 6-7 shots and making them at +3.5% and he's grabbing 8-9 rebounds and increasing the offense by 2.6% not accounting for freethrows and decreased turnover numbers. Realistically it comes out to more points gained on those fastbreaks than lost by the defensive effort.
He’s collecting 2 more uncontested rebounds per game than Harden (who we all know doesn’t play much defence either). There’s no other guards in the top 5. There’s a 5-6 rebound drop off to the next guard on the list, and that is because if a guard is playing any level of perimeter defence, he isn’t in a position to collect an uncontested rebound. Again, it’s almost 2 rebounds per game more than Lebron, but Lebron’s number is more understandable due to him playing 27% of his minutes at the 4. It’s not the uncontested rebound that bothers me, it’s the reasoning behind the uncontested rebound.
The reasoning behind it (like I said) is to get started on the break.
He doesn’t deserve it now, so I fail to see how that would be true. They don’t hurt me. I’m not an OKC fan. I couldn’t give two **** if Russ values his own rebounding numbers over playing defence.
You mad a very large post with the majority of it complaining about 2 uncontested rebounds a game. 2. I mean come on now...
I’m not interested in a true shooting metric (especially as it is influenced by free throw % - that’s not my issue at all with Russ). I know he attempts more difficult shots than his counterparts. My issue isn’t with his shooting ability or form, it’s with his decision making. Bad shot selection is every bit as damaging as bad shooting. He’s attempting 24 a game (he should be leading the leading the league in scoring) on 42.5% shooting. However you dress that up, it’s just bad. The playoffs have seen his hero ball go to a whole new level. He’s shooting 37.8% on 30 attempts per game. That’s ridiculous.
And he’s bound to have a greater efficiency rating than all of his teammates. He does everything. Everything runs through him. He controls every possession. His PER and EFF will be sky high because they take into account his general box score numbers but then ignore the smaller details that are only evident from watching the game from minute 1 through to minute 48. The box score totally revolves around him because the whole entire gameplan revolves around him.
None of this explains anything or addresses my post about how Westbrook's scoring is very similar to Kobe in 06. If its bad when Russ does it it was bad when Kobe did it and quite frankly if you think Kobe in 06 was hurting his team in any way your opinion is irrelevant.
Well that depends which usage rate calculation you use. Hollinger’s does account for assists. Are you arguing that Harden wouldn’t average more points than Russ if he took the extra 5 shots per game? Are you arguing that he wouldn’t get more than his 11 or so assists per game if he controlled more possessions?
Well actually Harden's time of possession per game is the same as Westbrook (Wall is also tied with them) so he quite literally already controls as many possessions as Westbrook. Both have the ball 8.9 mpg. So no Harden having the ball as much as Westbrook wouldn't increase his usage (because he already does).
I’m not saying he is hurting the team overall. They are clearly better with him than they are without him. That’s not even debateable. What is up for debate is whether or not OKC would be better if you replaced Westbrook with a fellow MVP candidate or another elite point guard.
He's good in the clutch. I wouldn't argue otherwise.I’m just saying I’ve watched games this season where Russ has quite clearly made a decision based on his box score - more so over the last period of the season as the record was coming closer and closer. The Suns game is a good example. He tried to justify it by explaining he was 6-25 on FG so he needed to pass rather than shoot. That's cute. Where was this mind-set when he was 4-18 the other night....you know, when he already had the triple double. I know you will try to validate this by saying the game was on the line - which ironically is a massive reason as to why Russ should have looked to pass. What good teammate plays hero ball at crunch time right in the thick of a ridiculous shooting slump?
So when he's passing it because he wants to pad his assists and when he's shooting its to pad his points? Ok...
Nowhere near as absurd as your efforts to validate and justify Russ’ weaknesses. I wouldn’t accuses you of not understanding statistics – you clearly do, but I would accuse you of using particular statistics to validate an opinion while ignoring the statistics or other intangibles which go against the opinion. The prime example would be where you have tried to justify Russ’ 24 shots per game by highlighting his True Shooting %. – ignoring his actual FG% and ignoring his poor shot selection.
Because FG% tell me nothing about how many points he's generating on his shots. His actual FG% is irrelevant. If he was 46% and took only 2s he'd be less efficient period.
The way in which Russ is playing is detrimental to the success of OKC. On the court, even if he is making the team play above their potential – I’d argue he isn’t given he doesn’t make any of his teammates better, he’s doing just enough to keep them honest enough to make the playoffs while being selfish enough to ensure no other star player will want to play with him. OKC ain’t getting a high draft pick and they sure as hell ain’t getting very far in the playoffs with him leading the way. He’s running himself into the ground for team mediocrity and personal superstardom. In a nutshell, that sums the guy up.
I wish anyone who said he doesn't make his teammates better had actual proof. I mean Enes Kanter sure seems to be better playing with Russ. Guys like Dipo and Taj didn't seem to get any worse. Adams and the rookies seem to do way better with Russ on the floor...
