How come Westbrook gets bashed so much

nbafan38 · Post #1 » by **nbafan38** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:25 pm

He is the anti-Durant, the anti-Lebron, the true old school loyal passionate machine that everyone claims they long for a player who is willing to put a team on his back the way MJ or Kobe would and yet his roster is much worse than either of their rosters ever were. And yet he gets so much criticism on realgm. I don't get it, it's like you can't have your cake and eat it too, superstars get bashed for forming superteams but then if the team around the star is trash they are expected to defer to teammates much weaker than them?

Patches Perry · Post #2 » by **Patches Perry** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:28 pm

In before make teammmates betterr

Post #3 » by **Quotatious** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:28 pm

His style of play is tough to swallow for some people in the era of analytics, but I seriously don't know why old school guys who hate analytics like Barkley would call him out...Probably just jealousy. For one, I'm glad Oscar Robertson did that ceremony with Russ a week ago.

The_Hater · Post #4 » by **The_Hater** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:29 pm

His style of play is definitely polarizing even if I don't think he has much of a choice with his current roster.

Chinook · Post #5 » by **Chinook** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:30 pm

Because he makes so many horrible decisions. The best we can do to defend him is by saying his teammates are horrible. But I don't think he could win a title as the best player, even with a really good supporting cast. Just does too many inefficient things.

Post #6 » by **Nolan** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:32 pm

His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

Chinook · Post #7 » by **Chinook** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:34 pm

Nolan wrote:His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

Honestly, it just seems like he's a lot younger than he is. If a guy like Murray ran through games like a bull in a china shop while flashing brilliant play-making and tremendous athleticism, it would be really exciting. But Russ has been in the league for like a decade. He's too old to still have so many "rough patches" to his game.

nbafan38 · Post #8 » by **nbafan38** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:37 pm

Chinook wrote:
Nolan wrote:His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

Honestly, it just seems like he's a lot younger than he is. If a guy like Murray ran through games like a bull in a china shop while flashing brilliant play-making and tremendous athleticism, it would be really exciting. But Russ has been in the league for like a decade. He's too old to still have so many "rough patches" to his game.

If he played with a capable team I think he'd play different. Anyone watching the games can see how the Rockets bench just completely outclasses the Thunder.

shawn_hemp · Post #9 » by **shawn_hemp** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:38 pm

nbafan38 wrote:He is the anti-Durant, the anti-Lebron, the true old school loyal passionate machine that everyone claims they long for a player who is willing to put a team on his back the way MJ or Kobe would and yet his roster is much worse than either of their rosters ever were. And yet he gets so much criticism on realgm. I don't get it, it's like you can't have your cake and eat it too, superstars get bashed for forming superteams but then if the team around the star is trash they are expected to defer to teammates much weaker than them?

the NBA doesnt really work like that anymore. I would imagine most people that dislike Westbrook dont necessarily see superteams as a problem

the league is all about ball movement and being unselfish anymore, which is the anti-Westbrook style

the argument is: does he refuse to play like that because his team sucks?

or is he just a selfish player?

Well, his team didnt suck last year, and he played pretty much the same way

therefore, the only conclusion I can draw, is that he is just a selfish player

who happens to be on a team that isnt very good

The-Power · Post #10 » by **The-Power** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:39 pm

Why is Westbrook supposed to be a particular example of an old-school type of player?

ImSlower · Post #11 » by **ImSlower** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:41 pm

I love that he is all heart and determination, but boy could he have passed about 15 times that game instead of shooting, and his team probably would have won. His teammates are not the best, but there were so many open looks that are high percentage shots, and instead he would bowl into traffic or take a contested long J. I just love the guy, but there's some valid criticism to be made of his huge stat game last night.

Chinook · Post #12 » by **Chinook** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:41 pm

nbafan38 wrote:
Chinook wrote:
Nolan wrote:His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

Honestly, it just seems like he's a lot younger than he is. If a guy like Murray ran through games like a bull in a china shop while flashing brilliant play-making and tremendous athleticism, it would be really exciting. But Russ has been in the league for like a decade. He's too old to still have so many "rough patches" to his game.

If he played with a capable team I think he'd play different. Anyone watching the games can see how the Rockets bench just completely outclasses the Thunder.

Dude has had a decade of this, and he's played with plenty of talent. That's not an excuse for it, and neither is him not having a good coach anymore. It's just him, and you have to accept the good and bad that comes with that, I think.

Shock Defeat · Post #13 » by **Shock Defeat** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:44 pm

If you played basketball you know how depressing it is to play with a guy who takes over half of your team's shots, even if you know that guy is way better than you. Every player when they are on the court has confidence that they can make a play, or that if they are open they are going to make that shot. It is demoralizing when they don't get the ball and have to watch one guy take on the other team by himself.

Patches Perry · Post #14 » by **Patches Perry** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:48 pm

shawn_hemp wrote:Well, his team didnt suck last year, and he played pretty much the same way

He did? 18 shots per game last year (to Durant's 19 shots) and 6th in usage (behind Curry, Harden, etc). That is far different than this year.

shawn_hemp · Post #15 » by **shawn_hemp** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:51 pm

Patches Perry wrote:
shawn_hemp wrote:Well, his team didnt suck last year, and he played pretty much the same way

He did? 18 shots per game last year (to Durant's 19 shots) and 6th in usage (behind Curry, Harden, etc). That is far different than this year.

well it wasnt as egregious since KD commanded his own shots but the forced attempts at buckets and poor decisions caused as a result of hero ball were still there

theyve always been there

RaptorRed · Post #16 » by **RaptorRed** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:51 pm

Shock Defeat wrote:If you played basketball you know how depressing it is to play with a guy who takes over half of your team's shots, even if you know that guy is way better than you. Every player when they are on the court has confidence that they can make a play, or that if they are open they are going to make that shot. It is demoralizing when they don't get the ball and have to watch one guy take on the other team by himself.

What ? That's not true. I mean if you are a conceited player that only cares about your own shots then you would be upset , but if you actually care about winning and westbrook is your best chance at scoring then you would love giving him the ball while you play defense , rebound and set screens.

nbafan38 · Post #17 » by **nbafan38** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:52 pm

RaptorRed wrote:
Shock Defeat wrote:If you played basketball you know how depressing it is to play with a guy who takes over half of your team's shots, even if you know that guy is way better than you. Every player when they are on the court has confidence that they can make a play, or that if they are open they are going to make that shot. It is demoralizing when they don't get the ball and have to watch one guy take on the other team by himself.

What ? That's not true. I mean if you are a conceited player that only cares about your own shots then you would be upset , but if you actually care about winning and westbrook is your best chance at scoring then you would love giving him the ball while you play defense , rebound and set screens.

And his teammates at least from the perception of it seem to love playing with him.

The Box Office · Post #18 » by **The Box Office** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:53 pm

Nolan wrote:His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Iverson, and all the greats get criticized. Except for Tim Duncan because he's boring haha. Anyways, we're armchair quarterbacks who do not play basketball anymore. In the heat of the moment, it's different.

The people who criticize are the ones who are jealous. It's playoff time. The things Russ does are 3 times harder to come by during this time. He's doing the best he can. His teammates are really bad.

nbafan38 · Post #19 » by **nbafan38** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:55 pm

The Box Office wrote:
Nolan wrote:His shot selection and decision making are big part of it.

MJ, Kobe, LeBron, Wade, Iverson, and all the greats get criticized. Except for Tim Duncan because he's boring haha. Anyways, we're armchair quarterbacks who do not play basketball anymore. In the heat of the moment, it's different.

The people who criticize are the ones who are jealous. It's playoff time. The things Russ does are 3 times harder to come by during this time. He's doing the best he can. His teammates are really bad.

Yea it's like people are blaming him for losing to a team thats just simply better than his. I guess that's what it comes down to, I don't get it. The rockets are supposed to handle the Thunder.

Shock Defeat · Post #20 » by **Shock Defeat** » Thu Apr 20, 2017 2:58 pm

RaptorRed wrote:
Shock Defeat wrote:If you played basketball you know how depressing it is to play with a guy who takes over half of your team's shots, even if you know that guy is way better than you. Every player when they are on the court has confidence that they can make a play, or that if they are open they are going to make that shot. It is demoralizing when they don't get the ball and have to watch one guy take on the other team by himself.

What ? That's not true. I mean if you are a conceited player that only cares about your own shots then you would be upset , but if you actually care about winning and westbrook is your best chance at scoring then you would love giving him the ball while you play defense , rebound and set screens.

If Westbrook was on fire that's one thing, but Westbrook was ice cold and missing everything. You need to get your teammates the ball to see if they can do something with it. You don't shoot 18 times in a quarter when you are missing everything.