Paul to Westbrook is a pretty big loss for the Rox

[mademan]

Now WB played 15 more games than him last year, so that should obviously be taken into account, but Paul was still much better. The only thing that WB does better than paul is rebound and score more with significantly less efficiency. And defensively, Paul is still one of the best poing guards in the league on that end whereas WB is a liability.

Putting a high volume shot taker who cant really space the floor or defend beside Harden never made sense to me and i have no idea how the analytically inclined guys in Houston thought it was a good idea.

[Woody Allen]

Paul wasn't a good fit for Harden-D'Antoni ball. Westbrook is even worse. I agree.

[BballIntellect]

They thought it was a good idea because :

1) They think Westbrook is a better player than Chris Paul.
2) Westbrook plays significantly more games than Chris Paul each year. It should in theory help Harden not having to carry as much of the load as he did last year.

Houston's front office belief (in particular Daryl Morey) is talent and stars above chemistry and fit.

So trading for the better, younger and more healthy superstar actually makes all the sense in the world if you consider how they operate.

[Forte IV]

Lets give them 20 or so games before we overreact. The pairing is obviously... uh curious? Sometimes I think it'll work really well, other times i'm not sure. But we gotta at least give them some time to work through the troubles.

[The_Hater]

Paul wasn't a good fit for Harden-D'Antoni ball. .

Why do some people keep saying this? What evidence are you using to make the claim he was a poor fit?

Paul was an excellent fit for the Rockets. His numbers when Harden sat were excellent, even last season, and they almost won the title after winning 65 games 2 seasons ago.They were the only team the past 2 season that gave a healthy Warriors juggernaut any sort of trouble in the playoffs. His numbers when he shared the floor with Harden weren't as good but that's because Harden had the ball in his hands most of the time, but CP3 was still an excellent shooter off-ball and an excellent defender.

The reason they traded him had nothing to do with fit, it had to do with CP3 getting older and probably fading as a player and not being able to stay healthy. That last part may have cost them an NBA title in 2018.

[mademan]

They thought it was a good idea because :

1) They think Westbrook is a better player than Chris Paul.
2) Westbrook plays significantly more games than Chris Paul each year. It should in theory help Harden not having to carry as much of the load as he did last year.

Houston's front office belief (in particular Daryl Morey) is talent and stars above chemistry and fit.

So trading for the better, younger and more healthy superstar actually makes all the sense in the world if you consider how they operate.

Younger and healthier, sure. Better? Not by vast majority of metrics

[Woody Allen]

Lets give them 20 or so games before we overreact.

Who's overreacting? We're barely reacting, the thread is super mellow. Did you want us to say nothing at all?

[Johnny Fontane]

I'm pessimistic about the fit initially

But I think once Westbrook fully realizes it's Harden's team & takes the necessary backseat, Rockets will find their footing

[ThunderBolt]

The fact that russ took 11 threes in a preseason game proves he isn’t changing. In fact he’s getting worse. He had a quote last night about needing time to figure it out. He has been saying the same quote the last two years with his slow starts to the season. He’s had like 7 knee procedures. He’s falling fast. It’s kind of sad.

[ThunderBolt]

I'm pessimistic about the fit initially

But I think once Westbrook realizes it's Harden's team & takes the necessary backseat, Rockets will find their footing

George was clearly the better player between he and russ last year. Although russ deferred at times last year, it didn’t change who russ was at his core. It didn’t stop him from taking defensive possessions off, I’ll advised threes and not playing off the ball.

[BballIntellect]

The fact that russ took 11 threes in a preseason game proves he isn’t changing. In fact he’s getting worse. He had a quote last night about needing time to figure it out. He has been saying the same quote the last two years with his slow starts to the season. He’s had like 7 knee procedures. He’s falling fast. It’s kind of sad.

Actually he is changing. Westbrook didn't take 11 threes per game in OKC. The Rockets philosophy is either shoot the three or the layup. He's just not very good at hitting shots efficiently from any part of the floor. That's it.

[Forte IV]

Lets give them 20 or so games before we overreact.

Who's overreacting? We're barely reacting, the thread is super mellow. Did you want us to say nothing at all?

Creating a thread because of a pre-season game(s) is by default, overreacting

[ThunderBolt]

The fact that russ took 11 threes in a preseason game proves he isn’t changing. In fact he’s getting worse. He had a quote last night about needing time to figure it out. He has been saying the same quote the last two years with his slow starts to the season. He’s had like 7 knee procedures. He’s falling fast. It’s kind of sad.

Actually he is changing. Westbrook didn't take 11 threes per game in OKC. The Rockets philosophy is either shoot the three or the layup. He's just not very good at hitting shots efficiently from any part of the floor. That's it.

He’s shot 21 of them through 3 games which is a little above his average in okc. The 19% he’s hit so far is bad even for russ.

[Johnny Fontane]

I'm pessimistic about the fit initially

But I think once Westbrook realizes it's Harden's team & takes the necessary backseat, Rockets will find their footing

George was clearly the better player between he and russ last year. Although russ deferred at times last year, it didn’t change who russ was at his core. It didn’t stop him from taking defensive possessions off, I’ll advised threes and not playing off the ball.

Nah even more of a backseat than he took last year to PG

20 shots per game is way out of the question for Westy if Rockets are going to succeed. CP3 was essentially 12 shots a game last year with Houston. WB will need to learn to defer like never before IMO

[BballIntellect]

I'm pessimistic about the fit initially

But I think once Westbrook realizes it's Harden's team & takes the necessary backseat, Rockets will find their footing

George was clearly the better player between he and russ last year. Although russ deferred at times last year, it didn’t change who russ was at his core. It didn’t stop him from taking defensive possessions off, I’ll advised threes and not playing off the ball.

Nah even more of a backseat than he took last year to PG

20 shots per game is way out of the question for Westy if Rockets are going to succeed. CP3 was essentially 12 shots a game last year with Houston WB will need to learn to defer like never before

I think Houston can live with Westbrook taking 16 shots a game because Harden was taking too many shots last year. Wesbrook just can't shoot more than 16 a game. If he shoots 20 shots per game again, the Rockets are screwed.

[ShotCreator]

People are looking at offense. He is way further away from Paul defensively than offensively. There was a large gap on that end in their primes but it’s only bigger now.

[Johnny Fontane]

George was clearly the better player between he and russ last year. Although russ deferred at times last year, it didn’t change who russ was at his core. It didn’t stop him from taking defensive possessions off, I’ll advised threes and not playing off the ball.

Nah even more of a backseat than he took last year to PG

20 shots per game is way out of the question for Westy if Rockets are going to succeed. CP3 was essentially 12 shots a game last year with Houston WB will need to learn to defer like never before

I think Houston can live with Westbrook taking 16 shots a game because Harden was taking too many shots last year. Wesbrook just can't shoot more than 16 a game. If he shoots 20 shots per game again, the Rockets are screwed.

It will be a lesser offensive load on Harden for sure but WB is not a guy you can always rely upon at all times. 16 shots sounds about right

[Liminy]

Neither one is a great fit with Harden but Westbrook is a tough fit with almost anyone.

[BballIntellect]

I don't get how people keep pretending like Chris Paul was a good defender last year. He looked extremely slow and declined in every single way last year.

If Steph Curry is considered a defensive liability, then Chris Paul should be considered one too. Not to mention Chris Paul is barely 6 foot tall and teams used to get advantage all the time of the size and strenght taller guards and forwards had on him by bullying him in the post.

[BVB24]

I’ll reserve judgement for when they actually play some games together.