That's true but he's (Russ) is that guy you need in the trenches with you. He plays with that fire that all the greats have, but he never honed his skills (or brain) to match his athleticism.
How can OKC get better?
- Thread starter BigTyme Records
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That's true but he's (Russ) is that guy you need in the trenches with you. He plays with that fire that all the greats have, but he never honed his skills (or brain) to match his athleticism.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
I disagree with that too. He plays a very selfish brand of ball.
Why are people saying they need a PG or russ needs to tweak his game? He’s ten years deep now he’s not changing shyt. And he’s not going offball. He can’t shoot and stands in the perimeter when he’s not the handler. Just find bellinelli/Joe Harris type shooters for cheap and move one of the expendable bigs
KillerB88
Superstar
Those types aren't cheap anymore
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
Dude has a 30 usage rate and takes nearly 50% of their assists. He dominates the ball.
He is selfish.
KillerB88
Superstar
Players Passing
The first link showed that in the playoffs Russ was 1st (by a wide margin) in potential assists. The link I just posted highlights that he was 1st in passes RECEIVED.
Russ shares the ball plenty. His teammates either brick wide open shots or pass the ball back to him late in the clock forcing him to generate points.
There's also another statistic I can post (if you're interested) which highlights that Russ' teammates have more open shot opportunities than almost any other team.
The thunder have been in the bottom 3rd for 3pt shooting the past three seasons in a league where elite 3p shooting is paramount.
It's okay to say you just don't like Russ. But I challenge you to point out all the other elite PGs in the current era who have led their teams to the finals. Just curious where you're placing the bar.
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nikkaz are 23rd in the league in assists....shyt is
You the top man in assists, but your squad is at the bottom. Clear ball dominance stat inflation.
mastermind
Rest In Power Kobe
That’s part of the point.
You can’t win with a point guard as your top guy unless it’s Curry.
The other point is that Westbrook’s game is chasing stats to the point that dominating the call and leading the nba in assists is a stats grab. He has like 50% of their assists. That’s not him being charitable, it’s Russ being ball dominant.
Im not denying dude needs shooters around him, but I’m not about building a team around a non-shooting point guard.
KillerB88
Superstar
Do you not realize how tight NBA passing lanes are? You sound silly saying you can force assists. You either have elite court vision or you don't. Dude has avg 10+ assists for 4 seasons. That's not something you can BS. And so what if he has the majority of their assists? Why isn't the team passing the ball more when he sits? He doesn't play 48 minutes last I checked.
And the only time Curry led a team to the Finals is when every one of his opponents were suffering significant injuries (and he didn't even get Finals MVP). An act of god got him back to the finals in the 2k16 season and he lost. Then he ran to KD to deliver him another two rings.
Also, Russ wasn't their "top" guy this season. He was perfectly happy setting the table for PG13 and winning games. But then PG injured his shoulders. That's Russ fault somehow? Who else is supposed to step up? Schroeder? Grant? Ferguson
The coaching and team structure needs an offseason overhaul. Russ is fine.
Nikka don't put Iverson in the same breath as Melo and Westbrook. Iverson has taken a team to the finals. If a guy can get in the HOF based off his NBA numbers alone, calling him an NBA loser is false
I see ppl say a lot “Adams was 5/6” or “6/7” like that means he should get more touches. If you see how he scores you see why he doesn’t get more shots. His “touches” are put backs and lobs. Usually when he gets traditional post touches, they don’t end well
YES HE DID.
HARDEN RAN THE OFFENSE
AND HANDLED THE PLAYMAKING DUTIES
WHEN THEY WERE ON THE FLOOR TOGETHER.
HARDEN WASNT EVEN BALL DOMINANT ISO PLAYER YET.
This is why I knew Harden was built to be a superstar, and why I don’t get how ppl try to shortchange his Thunder yrs. What he did in his smaller role was superstar trajectory. He was the PG in the clutch.