[ad_1]
Russell Westbrook is past one of his best seasons with a career record in rebounds and assists, enough to lead the NBA. double digits in points, rebounds and assists. Before Westbrook, it seemed nearly impossible to average triple-double once, much less multiple times.
But those numbers weren’t good enough for the 32-year-old to make the All-Star team last season, the first time he’s been selected since 2014. This was partly because the Washington Wizards weren’t very good. But the Wizards barely making it to the playoffs was the perfect microcosm of the general debate about Westbrook’s legacy: It’s not clear that Westbrook’s style of play helped win basketball despite his flashy numbers.
And now Westbrook is with the Los Angeles Lakers, traded for the third time in three years. Former Most Valuable Player Award winners, such as Westbrook, don’t usually play for four different teams in consecutive seasons, yet still give similar numbers to when they earned the honor.
Westbrook will again have superstar teammates, this time with LeBron James and Anthony Davis undisputedly on the so-called super team. On paper, this new all-star iteration, brought together to chase a championship, could easily compete with teams like the Milwaukee Bucks, reigning champions and the Nets, both of which have their own star trio.
This will probably be Westbrook’s best chance to win the title.
That’s better than the Lakers when Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder helped make it to the finals with young Kevin Durant and James Harden in 2012. These Lakers are more talented than the 2017-18 Thunder with Carmelo Anthony and Paul George, who were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. When Westbrook reunited with Harden, now a real star, in Houston for the 2019-20 season, the James Lakers easily sent them off in the second round of the season. While Westbrook plays one of the league’s top scorers, Bradley Beal, it goes without saying that the current Lakers team is better than last season’s Wizards.
Westbrook didn’t lack star teammates, but lacked the success that would come with having them, and that could be a culprit of his playing style: high-volume points, poor shooting and elite rebounds that have been devalued in favor. pull. Some of these are also an indictment of the cast that Westbrook played. The 2017-18 Thunder team had a misfit Anthony who had trouble adjusting to a lower role. In Houston, the Rockets traded center Clint Capela and opted to play small ball with limited effectiveness. In Washington, the Wizards have dealt with injuries to key players like Rui Hachimura and Thomas Bryant and have been hampered by a coronavirus outbreak.
But it will be a blow to Westbrook’s legacy if Westbrook can’t figure out how to win alongside James and Davis, who have won championships with some of the players the Lakers traded for Westbrook.
After Durant left the Thunder in 2016, Westbrook became the focus, and the Thunder were eliminated from the playoffs three years in a row in the first round.
A big part of the problem with Westbrook was that he was an unproductive goal scorer for most of his career. Actual shooting percentage in his career, taking into account free throws and 3-pointers 52.8 percentThe league average is around 55 percent. And as a result it takes a lot of property to earn its points.
His defense is also questionable.
This is where her joining James and Davis creates a fascinating and potentially dangerous situation. Two players the Lakers traded for Westbrook – Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope – helped defensively and through gaps. This meant that they didn’t need the ball in their hands to make their presence felt on the ground. Kuzma He shot 36.1 percent from last season’s 3, duration Caldwell-Pope at 41 percent. Westbrook’s career average of 3 is 30.5 percent. A data point to help Westbrook: Kuzma scored just 31.6 percent from 3 in the Lakers’ championship year.
Alignment with Westbrook, James and Davis will be a crazy experiment. While Westbrook must have possession of the ball to be effective, James usually leads his team’s offense. James’ top teams are full of shooters who’ll throw the ball when it’s in the paint. Davis is one of the most talented bigs offensively, but like Westbrook, he’s been inconsistent at 31.2 per cent for his career. Even James is deeply making a career with an average shooting rate of 34.5 percent.
That means the Lakers will probably start three players who aren’t the most reliable shooters in today’s NBA, which is very dependent on the efficient offenses created by the gaps. The Lakers have some counters, along with their other additions: Kent Bazemore, Anthony, and Wayne Ellington—all shooting more than 40 percent from 3 last season.
Westbrook’s career utilization rate – how often he uses what he has – 32.51 percent, second only to Michael Jordan in NBA history. James is fifth with 31.55 percent. If Westbrook has more positions than James next season, something has gone terribly wrong. Westbrook will need to take a backseat for the Lakers to be at their best, and some players – according to Allen Iverson – just can’t adapt to that because their talents and egos won’t allow it.
Players have consistently praised Westbrook as a teammate. But does he know that he will have to watch the ball a lot more than before? Percentage of Westbrook’s use on the pitch with Beal based on league tracking numbers with the Wizards last season was around 26 percent, compared to 33.9 percent with Beal off. The rate for beal is approx. 29.8 percent when Westbrook is open and 38.2 percent when closed. But the Wizards did not have a third player of Davis’ caliber.
Westbrook will help if he plays to his strengths. He is a ruthless sniper and will create easier shots for James and Davis due to his gun control and penetration. It also forces the quick break. The Lakers were 21st in pace last season. making them one of the slowest teams, Westbrook’s Wizards was the fastest. Westbrook plays every position as if he’s trying to evade a vengeful lightning bolt, unless he’s the lightning bolt himself. This will help the Lakers add a new dimension to their offense: Westbrook and James are among the best fast breakers the league has ever seen.
The days when Westbrook averaged a triple-double are probably over. Davis and James are outstanding rebounders and quarterbacks, leaving Westbrook at least statistically less. But the addition of Westbrook to the Lakers alongside Dwight Howard and Anthony makes this one of the most compelling roster builds of the past decade.
But if Westbrook doesn’t get along with his latest star teammates, the Lakers could turn into an inappropriate, must-watch mess.
[ad_2]
Source link