05-10-2021, 09:37 PM
(05-10-2021, 09:01 PM)dynamicalVoid Wrote: Im watching post-game on NBA TV about Westbrooks historic night...
Nothing against Isiah Thomas...but he is defending Westbrook and his reputation around the league as being a non-winning bball player(at lease thats how I took it)....he is saying that its all coaches and teams faults that they cant succeed with him. His stance is that Russ is a superstar...he brings the athleticism and intensity every single game...and that its on the coaches to bring the ingredients to win the game.
Pretty hot take.
Well, for me there is no argument that Russ is a winning player tbh. Always felt the claim that he is anything otherwise is weird tbh.
For me winning player is someone you simply are winning more than you are losing with him, and Russ is pretty much that. Never understood the claim for championship or bust that people had obsession with. I remember back in the day when Dirk was same age and people were claiming the same thing.
Guy made NBA finals as 2nd best player when he was just 23, was again the 2nd best player in the team that get to game 7 with 73 win teams.
He got blamed for the failings of the teams, while you can put same blame for KD and management being cheap.
As for the coaching argument, he was never been coached by someone who will make it as HOF, except maybe last season under MDA, which was weird season in general, and for the Rockets especially. Seemed everyone wasn't on same page from owner, to GM & Coach who wanted out, same with Harden etc.
Lebron had Spoelstra, Dirk had RC, Kobe had Phil, Shaq had Phil & Pat, KD and Curry had Kerr.