To the extent the criticisms are something other than unfounded, I think they would be better served characterizing his willingness to create his own shot. I say this because I believe there to be ample evidence that he *can* create his own shot.
Either way, Westbrook usually does a lot more of that creating than people realize. Plus, Denver had no one to guard him. When someone quick (read: not Al Harrington) is on him, I don't think he's strong enough to consistently create space physically; or at least, enough space for a good shot. Then again, when he's making "bad" shots, he's pretty impossible to cover. But regardless, when I say Durant is overrated I'm referring to those who say he's the league's best player/MVP just because they don't like LeBron. In general, a more accurate statement would be that Westbrook is underrated in terms of his impact on the team, which is why OKC signed him to an $80 million extension.
Even so, I think people's perception of him is distorted by the playoffs. That's probably fair, but he played more like a pure point guard during the season and is an excellent athlete. I think they get a ring or two.
I really don't. For example, Durant scores 51, Westbrook scores 40, and Ibaka has a triple double and they barely beat the Nuggets at home. Westbrook dominates the ball far too much.
They were +22 with him on the floor though; their bench just got pounded because the Nuggets are much deeper than they are. If he plays like he did in either of the past two regular seasons when seemingly no one was paying attention, they'll be fine. There's nothing at all wrong with 8+ assists compared to 15 or 16 shots.
GROUP A: "Completely and Utterly Untouchable" 5. Blake Griffin 4. Kevin Love One of the best random Trade Value battles I can remember. Let's break it down: SALARIES: Blake is still playing under his rookie deal (two years, $12.95 million); Love just signed a lucrative extension (four years, $65 million with an out after Year 3). ADVANTAGE: GRIFFIN NUMBERS: Blake is averaging 21-11 with 53/20/56 shooting splits and a 23.5 PER; Love is averaging 25.5-14 with 45-37-83 shooting splits and a 25.02 PER … on pace to surpass Duncan's best statistical season ever, by the way.13 ADVANTAGE: LOVE BIGGEST WEAKNESS: For Griffin, his piss-poor free throw shooting (a real issue that's starting to affect his career). For Love, gravity. ADVANTAGE: LOVE MEDIA SAVVY: Nobody works Twitter/blogs/ESPN/radio shows better than Love, but Blake's marketing plays (especially his Kia campaign) might be the shrewdest in years. Did anyone even know what the hell Kia was 18 months ago? ADVANTAGE: TIE "SEEING THEM IN PERSON" FACTOR: This hurts because I love watching Love chase down boards with the sonar rebound chip that's implanted in his head. But this is 100 percent true … there's a rule at Clippers games (at least in my section) that goes, "Don't leave your seat to pee, eat or drink when Blake is on the court." ADVANTAGE: GRIFFIN DEFENSE: Both guys try their hardest; both guys will never be McHale in his prime (or anywhere close). Love is a little further along only because he always seems to be in the right place; you can't say that about Blake. At least not yet. In Blake's defense, his coach is Vinny Del Negro. If I were Blake, I'd use that defense for anything and everything. Even speeding tickets. ADVANTAGE: LOVE DURABILITY: Not a problem for either … but man, Griffin needs to start picking his spots better. When you're trying to win a title, you don't need to go for the Greatest YouTube Highlight Ever every time (especially in blowouts, and especially in traffic). Against Miami, Blake made the mistake of trying to dunk over Joel Anthony from eight feet away — just foolish for about 10 different reasons — and nearly ended up breaking his hip. Law of averages says he's going to get hurt one of these times. (Frantically knocking on wood.) Unless he slows down. Then again, that's my favorite thing about Blake: He goes 110 percent every play. He can't help himself.14 ADVANTAGE: LOVE FACIAL HAIR: Huge win for Love here. A runaway. I don't think Blake can even grow one of those wispy 20-hair Larry Bird mustaches. ADVANTAGE: LOVE CRUNCH-TIME CHOPS: A work in progress for Griffin, who can be handled by smarter teams who either swarm him with doubles or dare him to shoot 20-footers (and if he gets into the paint, they just foul him). But here's where Love has been a revelation — he's turned himself into a late-game assassin with his ability to shoot 3s, run high screens with Rubio and even post up with his back to the basket (he killed Kenyon Martin late on Wednesday night). ADVANTAGE: LOVE NICKNAMES: Blake doesn't really need one; he's just "Blake." (Although "The Blake Show" isn't terrible.) Kevin Love's nickname is his full name said together — he's never called "Kevin" or "Love," just "Kevinlove." Boring category. ADVANTAGE: NEITHER INTANGIBLES: Has there ever been a better in-game dunker than Blake? I saw MJ, 'Nique, Vince and Kemp in their primes — they never dunked on people as relentlessly and violently as Blake does. Meanwhile, Love has locked up the Mokeski Award15 (see the trophy below) for the second straight year. And, probably, for the rest of the decade. I love this category as much as I hated the last category. ADVANTAGE: GRIFFIN [+] Enlarge ESPN.COM ILLUSTRATION FINAL VERDICT: Blake is going to keep getting better and better if only because he wants to get better. But Love transformed himself into the league's best power forward and (in my opinion, anyway) the no. 2 MVP candidate behind LeBron. Nobody does more for his team night after night after night. It's true. ADVANTAGE: LOVE
Oh look, Griffin is 3rd and Love is 8th. Maybe because the latter is shooting 35%? NBA 25 Under 25 Rankings
He's averaging 18 and 14. Wonder if their stats would change if Love and Griffin switched teams? Sure they would.
True, Griffin's stats probably would change if he could take 17 shots a game. Don't think his shooting would get a full 18% worse, though.
There are a whole bunch of guys in NBA history whose numbers say otherwise. Antoine Carr, JR Rider, and Sharif Abdur Rahim come immediately to mind.
Not really. A whole bunch of guys have made huge livings in the league putting up gaudy numbers on shitty teams. Every lousy bunch has at least one. The ones who go to good teams almost always see their numbers decline immediately.
