Pachinko_ wrote:Licensed to Il wrote:The analytics don’t like Westbrook. Dialed in fans realize he brings a team as many problems as he solves. His salary will keep LA from adding more, useful, players.
But he is fun (in my opinion). If LA is going to be on tv every other night, they might as well be fun.
I agree that in terms of contributing to wins WB is pretty close to net neutral, especially at his age. But here's the thing, Lebron has a way of finding things for people to do, and then he tells them to do it, and then they do it, and then Lebron goes to the Finals. It's not just Lebron gives assists therefore Lebron makes his teammates better, it's moreso that you either align your game to his way of winning or you're gone.
TLDR: I'm sure they've worked out some way of making WB impactful on the Lakers.
Obviously AD is a stud defensively. Im not sure its fair to expect LeBron and Westbrook to lock down star players, at their age and mileage. Both will jump in the passing lanes and get steals, and both are physically strong for their positions. But lets talk playoff basketball. They now have a few guys that can be exploited defensively, and they lack outside shooting. So when they play the Warriors, Suns, Blazers, Nuggets, etc they will be trading 2s for 3s. And the opponent’s 3’s will come easier than their own 2’s. Its just not a great approach. I acknowledge your point, I even agree that LeBron is a great conductor. But his orchestra has one really talented musician with a unibrow, a new guy that wants to take every solo, and a bunch of really limited guys.
