With the massive free agency over for awhile now, we see the entire landscape of the NBA has changed, and with that finally some freshness has returned to the league. Basically, no one is saying, "oh it's automatically Golden State in the finals" or "the Warriors are taking it again", for once that doesn't exist. Instead we have the former champion Toronto Raptors going into next season the same way they came into last, no idea where they'll place, they're a playoff team again but only because the Eastern Conference is weak. Whereas teams like the Brooklyn Nets have acquired Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, the Los Angeles Clippers getting Kawhi Leonard and Paul George, Anthony Davis and Boogie Cousins joining LeBron on the Lakers, and more. But the one move I wanted to talk about was Russell Westbrook heading to the Houston Rockets.
The one guy no one thought was moving from the Thunder but when he found out Oklahoma City was trying to move him and Paul George to Toronto for Pascal Siakam and some picks he was like, "I want out".
Why do I think they won't work well together though ?? I mean they already played together on the Thunder right ??
While they may have yes, that was when both of those guys played completely different than they do now. Back then the Thunder was Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's team. James Harden was an exceptional player and came off the bench for solid minutes and points and won 6th Man of the Year the year that the Thunder went to take on the Heat in the NBA Finals.
That was then and now James Harden is the man the Houston Rockets have been built around for years and the one Mike D'Antoni runs his offense through, which for him is a catch and shoot 3 point shooting offense. Harden has made it look easy last year he played 78 of 82 games and over that time he's averaged 36.8 minutes a game, 36.1 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, 7.5 assists per game, 2.0 steals per game, 0.7 blocks per game, with 44.2% field goal shooting percentage and 36.8% three pointing shooting percentage. Oh and I don't know if you noticed but 36 minutes a game and 36 points a game average means every minute Harden was on the court a point was scored.
Westbrook's 2018-2019 season was something along the lines of 73 of 82 games played, 36 minutes per game, 22.9 points per game with 42.8% field goal percentage and 29% three point percentage, 11.1 rebounds per game, 10.7 assists per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 0.5 blocks per game. He's averaged a triple double over the past three seasons, only Oscar Robinson has ever done that.
With two talents like that why isn't it going to work and have them as the team to beat in the West. Biggest reason is ball dominance you have two former NBA MVP's each who play heavily on the ball and really benefit more from having role players feed them the ball for scoring rather than share it themselves. Yes, Russ averages certain assists for that triple double but a lot of it is just stat padding, he's not a very "sharing" player. James Harden couldn't make it work with a good role player like Chris Paul and Russ couldn't make it work with a good role player like Paul George, each talented in their own right. Basically those two guys wanted off the Rockets and Thunder to go play elsewhere because of the toxicity Harden and Westbrook provided.
So, two guys, each with massive egos, both very ball dominant, on the court at the same time, with Mike D'Antoni being a coach that loves 3 point shooting and Russell unable to shoot the 3 ball that means the ball going to Harden more which means an upset Westbrook which is going to lead to pouting. Basically, I feel sorry for every Houston Rockets fan this upcoming season, while it looks fantastic on paper it is definitely not going to work.
The one guy no one thought was moving from the Thunder but when he found out Oklahoma City was trying to move him and Paul George to Toronto for Pascal Siakam and some picks he was like, "I want out".
Why do I think they won't work well together though ?? I mean they already played together on the Thunder right ??
While they may have yes, that was when both of those guys played completely different than they do now. Back then the Thunder was Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook's team. James Harden was an exceptional player and came off the bench for solid minutes and points and won 6th Man of the Year the year that the Thunder went to take on the Heat in the NBA Finals.
That was then and now James Harden is the man the Houston Rockets have been built around for years and the one Mike D'Antoni runs his offense through, which for him is a catch and shoot 3 point shooting offense. Harden has made it look easy last year he played 78 of 82 games and over that time he's averaged 36.8 minutes a game, 36.1 points per game, 6.6 rebounds per game, 7.5 assists per game, 2.0 steals per game, 0.7 blocks per game, with 44.2% field goal shooting percentage and 36.8% three pointing shooting percentage. Oh and I don't know if you noticed but 36 minutes a game and 36 points a game average means every minute Harden was on the court a point was scored.
Westbrook's 2018-2019 season was something along the lines of 73 of 82 games played, 36 minutes per game, 22.9 points per game with 42.8% field goal percentage and 29% three point percentage, 11.1 rebounds per game, 10.7 assists per game, 1.9 steals per game, and 0.5 blocks per game. He's averaged a triple double over the past three seasons, only Oscar Robinson has ever done that.
With two talents like that why isn't it going to work and have them as the team to beat in the West. Biggest reason is ball dominance you have two former NBA MVP's each who play heavily on the ball and really benefit more from having role players feed them the ball for scoring rather than share it themselves. Yes, Russ averages certain assists for that triple double but a lot of it is just stat padding, he's not a very "sharing" player. James Harden couldn't make it work with a good role player like Chris Paul and Russ couldn't make it work with a good role player like Paul George, each talented in their own right. Basically those two guys wanted off the Rockets and Thunder to go play elsewhere because of the toxicity Harden and Westbrook provided.
So, two guys, each with massive egos, both very ball dominant, on the court at the same time, with Mike D'Antoni being a coach that loves 3 point shooting and Russell unable to shoot the 3 ball that means the ball going to Harden more which means an upset Westbrook which is going to lead to pouting. Basically, I feel sorry for every Houston Rockets fan this upcoming season, while it looks fantastic on paper it is definitely not going to work.