One of the most surprising moves of the absolute polarizing NBA off-season this year was the trade that led Russell Westbrook to the Rockets. Now the Russell Westbrook and James Harden duo is a thing. A bad thing, a huge mistake. On paper, this duo looks amazing, and if you fully believe that this duo will work, you’re an NBA casual. There’s no other way around it.
Russell Westbrook’s Stats
Russell Westbrook is a great player, despite whatever Trey Daubert thinks. Trey has a shit ton of articles that are against Westbrook, including one that says he belongs in the BIG 3 instead of the NBA. But he’s not as bad as he thinks. Russell Westbrook is a walking triple-double, I don’t care how much you think that is stat-padding, you simply cannot be bad and still do that. Russell is so good that he made triple-doubles not even a big thing anymore. He’s AVERAGED a triple-double for the last 3 seasons, crazy impressive. I mean I could go into specifics but he’s always averaged 20 points except for his first 2 seasons. he’s averaged at least 8 assists in 8 of his 10-year career and averaged at least 4.6 rebounds as a PG. He won MVP in 2017, a year before Harden.
James Harden’s Stats
James Harden was always a better scorer than Russell Westbrook. I actually hate how James Harden plays, especially recently, but that’s a conversation for another day (foreshadowing wink). James Harden is one of the most prolific scorers of this generation. maybe even ever. When he got traded to Houston in 2012, he averaged 25 PPG at LEAST for the rest of his career. He also drops dimes averaging at least 7 APG in the last 5 years. He’s also won MVP in 2018.
The Point
“Uh, Chick? This is a good thing, I mean look at their stats, what could go wrong?” A lot actually. Basketball is so much more than just stats. I know I use stats a lot, but I use them as a guideline. They don’t and will never tell the full story. You can’t just add their stats together and say, “yeah, how can this go wrong? They would average about 50 points, 20 assists, and 20 rebounds together!” Like do you even watch basketball? These players are the most ball-dominant players I have ever watched in my life. Putting them on the same team doesn’t make ANY sense. How can you expect the other to succeed without the ball? Sorry, but James Harden and Russell Westbrook aren’t exactly known for their off-ball movement. This duo was a bad idea from the beginning. I still have the Rockets making the playoffs just because of the amount of talent they still have on the team but don’t expect this team to win a championship. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got bounced in the first round.
