[UNCbasketballbumParticipant]

Here we go again.  Magic Johnson said Westbrook had the worst game from a PG in the finals ever.  Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless said that Westbrook’s selfishness last night was alarming.  Westbrook had 27 points last night…..on 26 shots.  10-26 from the field…..OUCH!!!!  Let the debate begin.

[bloodshyParticipant]

Westbrook did not do as well as he should have last night, but statistically he had a decent game.  In addition to his 27 points, he had 8 boards, 7 assists, 1 steal and just 2 turnovers.  Still, he did consume 33% of his team’s shooting opportunities and scored 28% of his team’s points.  That means, on average, he was less effective scoring per possession than the average player on his team last night.  33% of possessions is way too much for a pg that has KD, Harden, Ibaka, etc. on his team.

Last night I was disappointed with Westbrook’s game because I can see what he’s capable of, not because he played poorly compared to the field.  His game was not historically bad.  It was actually pretty good besides his fg%.  But he did take too many shots.  It was disappointing because he could have facilitated a dominant win, but instead played like a volume shooter with a ton of athleticism.

[B-ball fanParticipant]

I don’t like Bill Simmons actual basketball analysis often (he is entertaining and I love to read him, but not really a great analyst), he brought up a great point about Westbrook in his latest article on Grantland, saying (I’m paraphrasing) that Westbrook brings more to the table and takes more off it then just about any other player in the league, with the possible except Rondo.  It is completely true: Westbrook does so much good with his slashing and dynamic offensive play, but can hurt his team with his sloppy play and mediocre shot selection.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

he gets WAYYYYYYY to much blame. Yes he does take bad shots sometimes but any sane person can see that OKC needs his scoring and slashing ability to win. And Magic Johnson’s commit about his first half being the wrost by a pg ever is nonsense. Someone should tell him he is the worst talking head in the history of broadcasters because sometimes he makes no sense and jumps from one topic to something totally different and abuses words half the time

[IndianaBasketballParticipant]

27 points (10-24 FG), 8 rebounds and 11 assists the first game… Only 2 turnovers.

27 points (10-26 FG), 8 rebounds and 7 assists the second game… Only 2 turnovers.

I mean, I get it… He’s taken some questionable shots and he’s been inefficient. He’s played out of control at times (he’s done this all season), but there’s a lot to like here about this kid. This is his first Finals appearance and he’s played without fear.

I don’t know… I think they’re beating this kid down too bad considering his youth.

[Malik-UniversalParticipant]

 i just dont like when he takes more shots than KD…. 

westbrook is a great player no doubt…. hes still learning 

and some shots he took were not good 

[NickWayne87Participant]

 i hate when the statline reads westbrook took more shots than kevin but has less points and a lower percentage…..happened last night and happens FAR too often.

[NickWayne87Participant]

 i hate when the statline reads westbrook took more shots than kevin but has less points and a lower percentage…..happened last night and happens FAR too often.

[aamir543Participant]

Westbrook is not selfish, he is not an egotistical player, he is not jelous of Durant.

He wants to be great, plain and simple, he wants to be a scorer, and somtimes he gets reckless. Ease off this kid, he is a top 15 player in the league, will be top 8 or 7 within a couple years, he’s only gonna get better, he showed up in the clutch, with big buckets when they needed him to, he is the 2nd most important player for the Thunder along with Harden. This man is a killer, he will be fine. When he gets to the rim, he’s unstopable, he just needs to realize one thing:When the defense collapses on you, someone is open, find the open man, your team will win, the Thunder will win this series, but the damn 2-3-2 format screws everything up.

[220Participant]

Well you have to respect Magic Johnson’s comments since he was one of the best point guards and players in league history. I think his point may be getting confused though. I think Magic was referring to Westbrook not making smart point guard plays quite often during the game. It doesn’t have much to do with his numbers which were strong, but his decision making from the point guard position. As Magic mentioned a point guard should be getting the number one guy the ball as much as possible in position to score which he didn’t do as much as Magic would have liked to see during the game.

When Westbrook did it was during the fourth quarter where Kevin Durant exploded because he was getting the ball every possession and really creating havoc,

[NickWayne87Participant]

 one of the ones calling for westbrooks head for him to be traded……you got westbrook and durant on the same team this side of their prime is an ideal situation that need not be effed up.  Still westbrook takes too many bad shots as of right now.  He also needs to know his place, if kevin has a good look at the rim give him the ball…..if him and kevin are both open for a three, give the ball to kevin.  Durant is just plain a better shooter than him and he needs to realize it.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

then you’re issue is with Durant. He doesn’t always command the ball, some times he just goes with the flow instead of demanding the ball like he should when thats the case what is Westbook supposed to do just sit around and do nothing, interesting stats talked about on ESPN. When westbrook scores more than Durant they are 25-5.  For those bashing Westbrook about his game …..well his game has helped them get to the NBA title round so for those saying he should change is game it kind of makes no sense. He’s young and he’s ging to take bad shots sometimes, Harden takes a good amount of bad shots as well but no one says much when he does it. And when Westbrook is on its over for anyone else.

 

No you don’t have to respt Magic because he’s one of the best pg ever, just like you didnt have to agree he would make a good coach or respect Jordan’s decision as a GM even though he’s the best basketball player ever. Great player doesn’t equal great at everything else in basketball including commentating. Actually it seems to be the greater you are as a player the worst you end up in other basketball things like coaching for instance. One reason for that is the player is so great that he tends to expect others to work as hard or have to ability to be as great as them.

[220Participant]

I do think Magic’s comments were a bit over the top considering a lot all of the Phil Jackson Bulls and Lakers championship teams didn’t have real point guards so Ron Harper certainly had worse "point guard" finals games.

It’s tough as a player because you have everyone critcizing you constantly if you’re any good. Westbrook is a good player and his game is quite similar to a lot of the top point guards in the league right now.

[GoJOSH HUESTISParticipant]

The thing i like about Westbrook is he doesn’t care what others say so it doesn’t effect his game. He can go 1-30 in a game and his confidence never wavers, he continues to go hard and continues to feel like he can’t be guarded. There are some games where he should take more shots than Durant because he is on his game. Their are others where he needs to defer. Some people are so inlove with Durant that they feel he should always take the most shots every game all the time but they don’t realize that Westbrook is a Alpha dog as well. He’s also more aggressive as far as having a scores mentality than Durant. Not saying he’s better but we all see times when Durant defers and then the next quarter he is in attack mode. I have no issue with that either because that obviously works for the Thunder since they are in the NBA finals.

 

 

As far as Rose and Westbrook, they are almost the same player. Rose is better at getting more assist and a better shooter and Westbrook is better at defense. you switch both and i still see the thunder in the same position in the finals. some won’t agree because tey will say Rose will bring better passing and shooting which is true but the trade off is a good drop off on defense. When Westbrook his hitting that mid range he is literally unstoppable, no one stops him from getting in the lane and he hits left hand layups just as easy as right hand layups. And his jumper gets better every year

[JustaFanParticipant]

Whenever they’re teams win all the praise in the world about how good they are and how instrumental they were in the all the other good things wishy washy fans and analysts say about a good game… God forbid they take a loss though. The only two players in the league that go through it publicly like this…

[mosdefParticipant]

It just seems that Westbrook doesnt know he has the NBA leading scorer on his team. Yes, sometimes Durant just goes with the flow and that makes him seem really efficient compared to Westbrook who seems to be a chucker. You have to take shots to score points. It does look bad when in two Finals game that Westbrook has taken more shots at half then Durant. As a repeat NBA leading scorer, the ball should at least be looked toward Durant except that doesnt happen. He has Durant open on the wing alot and Westbrook will bully his way to the lane and it doesnt even look like Durant is an option. If Westbrook was 10-26 cuz teams doubled Durant and he just missed shots then I could live with that more then Westbrook appearing as if he is blacklisting Durant. That is why I prefer Harden more cuz he looks more into the flow of a offense and knows Durant is his teammate

[mj23mj23besteverParticipant]

 no doubt rw is an amazing talent but imo the thunder would b even better with a pass first minded floor general too run the team like maynor did last year in the play offs 

[WizardofOzParticipant]

Magiic overreacted a little, but Westbrook really played poorly last night. He played like an AAU PG – overpentrating, making bad decisions, forcing stuff etc. The raw stats lied in this case.

[surveParticipant]

 To have Westbrook as your PG means you have to live and die with his play.   Without him, they are not a championship calibur team.  So I would rather live and die with him than without.

[GrandmamaParticipant]

He needs to play more under control, and needs to get Durant involved a lot earlier and OFTEN. There’s no reason for him ever to take more shots than Durant in an NBA Finals game.

[HaleParticipant]

Tbh I didn’t think Westbrook played that terrible at all. He did a little bit of everything and he had some clutch baskets in both games.

[surveParticipant]

 I agree with what you are saying he SHOULD do, but that is not him.  Thats why I say you have to live and die with him.  What he is has gotten them to this point.  They wouldnt be here without him.  If they lose it will be because of him being who he is….but dont think by that same token they will win without him either.  Russell Westbrook IMO is a top 10 NBA player, but he is NOT a PG.

[F_S]

 is the miami HEAT.

not the miami HEATS

[joecheck88Participant]

 If Westbrook could take like 5 less shots and get them to either Durant or Harden it would be nice. Westbrook needs to top it off at around 20 shots. The team needs him to shoot, plain and simple. But far too often does he dribble the ball for 18 seconds and take a pull up 18 footer. Is he capable of making that shot? Yes but he takes it too often. Get Durant about 4 more shots Westbrook!!

[F_S]

 oops, i just hate when people say the "heats". lol

sorry, i didnt really read anything but the title

[aamir543Participant]

^He wasn’t talking about the Miami Heat, he was talking about the bashing heating up.

[mamadouParticipant]

I would live with rondo but that’s not the debate.

Don’t blame him like crazy when he’s 27-9-8 with only 2 TO a game, that won’t last forever, that won’t last in miami and that will be costly.

[Author]

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