Post#28 » by famoose » Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:47 am
Westbrook's athleticism and motor was so overpowered pre 2018 that it made up for a lot of fundamental flaws in his game. He was just relentless at going to the basket which gave him a lot of 'driving gravity' ala young Dwyane Wade. Defenses needed to converge towards the paint to seal of any easy gaps towards the rim and that opened up a lot of lay off and kick out opportunities for Westbrook and his team. So even if he wasn't really a cerebral player in terms of reading the defense and available passing options like a Nash or a Paul, his playmaking level was still high just by the sheer amount of simple, easy-to-read passing opportunities he'd generate with his explosiveness, which made the game very simple for him, it made up his lack of bball IQ in a significant way.
That being said, i'd probably lean towards Butler slightly in this comparison. Butler's ability to oscillate between a low volume/usage team player that just brings whatevers needed to the team at any given time, and a guy that can takeover games by dropping 30/10 on offense and do it efficiently is just more valuable to me. And i can always count on him defensively regardless. Westbrook is just too predictable, rigid and fixated in his approach. Even moreso than someone like Giannis. At least Giannis is efficient, once he gets into the paint, it's basically an automatic bucket most of the time. Westbrook not really. Giannis is also an effective screen and roll man, elite in the dunker spot or as a lob threat and can post up. So a team will have some options even if Giannis drive gave is walled off. Granted, it really was harder to wall off a player like Westbrook because he was just quicker and more explosive from a standing position, but still, his lack of 'malleability' makes me hesitant to be confident in a player like him regardless of the scenario, while this isn't really true for Butler, despite his jump shot performing dissapearing acts frequently.
