He's right in a way. The triple-double is the most arbitrary stat in basketball... where a 18-11-12 counts but a 40-18-9 doesn't. You're counting whether three different box score stats jump over an imaginary barrier that means nothing, and once you pass that barrier, getting extra don't matter at all. If Westbrook averages 27-10.0-10.0 this year, he's "historic", but if he averages 32-12-9.9 or 32-9.9-12, then he's just "close". Getting g a triple-double gives you a vague idea of a player's effort, usage, and skill, but to treat it like a real line that matters is silly.
Gil-Scott Heroin was pointing out earlier that Westbrook chases assists early in the game and then changes his behavior once he hits 10, and he's a big Westbrook fan. And I think he's right. Westbrook's assists drop WAY off from the first half to the second... Except in games where he hasn't hit the number yet. Yet his shots are more in the second half than the first. He also makes a lot more assists when the game is out of hand, but takes more shots when it's close.
.
