Heres a statistic for you

[WiggyRuss]

I was wrong

OKC was actually favored, and so was San Antonio the second time


NBA Finals Historical Series Odds List

wow...im surprised OKC was favored.....maybe becuase of the uncertainty with Bosh that year? was that the year bosh was banged up?

So--- As far as i can tell the Finals LeBron has been favored in out of his 7 are- Dallas, and one of hte Spurs...

is that right?

 

[TJL]

wow...im surprised OKC was favored.....maybe becuase of the uncertainty with Bosh that year? was that the year bosh was banged up?

So--- As far as i can tell the Finals LeBron has been favored in out of his 7 are- Dallas, and one of hte Spurs...

is that right?

If you remember, OKC was on absolute fire heading into that Finals, and people still questioned LeBron's mentality and leadership in a finals series.

 

[tlance]

Yea it is, there's a reason why a lot of pundits have Kawhi/LeBron at the top of their lists right now.

And those pundits are correct.

Unfortunately there are not nearly enough to allow either to win this year. The race is essentially between Harden and Westbrook with LBJ and Kawhi as dark horse candidates. It probably should be the other way around.

 

[bksballer89]

If you remember, OKC was on absolute fire heading into that Finals, and people still questioned LeBron's mentality and leadership in a finals series.

Yep and miami had just struggled in back to back series vs Indy and Boston. Also Bosh had just returned from uis injury

 

[Wishbone]

Westbrook, Harden, KD, and Ibaka. FUCK

 

[msgkings322]

Westbrook, Harden, KD, and Ibaka. FUCK

Why would you miss that soft loser Durant?

 

[Inimical]

Westbrook ties LeBron for career triple-doubles in 5 fewer seasons

 

[Inimical]

Measuring greatness of Cavaliers' LeBron James, OKC's Russell Westbrook: Bill Livingston (photos)

Westbrook vs. James

Westbrook leads the NBA in scoring and is second in assists. He is on pace to become only the second player ever, after Oscar Robertson in 1961-62, to average a triple-double for the season.

James is ninth in scoring and fifth in assists.

James' offensive share is almost as big as the Big O's 55 years ago, but not as big as Westbrook's now.
James: 364 assists on 203 3-point assists (second-best in the NBA), for 609 points and 161 2-point assists for 322 points. Effective Assists: 364 + 101.5 = 465.5 His total assisted points: 931.

James has scored 1,105 points. He is responsible for 2,036 points.

In the 43 games James has played, the Cavs scored 4,788 points. He has been 42.6 percent of the offense.

As we shall see, that's almost as good as the Big O 55 years ago, but not as good as Westbrook.

Westbrook: 491 assists, 117 of them on 3-pointers for 351 points, 374 on 2-pointers for 748 points. Effective Assists: 491 +58.5 = 549.5. Assisted points: 1,099.

Westbrook has played in all 48 OKC games. He has scored 1,478 points. He has been responsible for 2,577 points.

OKC has scored 4,589 points. Westbook is responsible for a staggering 56.2 percent of the offense.

 

[Inimical]

While i hate to say this, this man is more prolific then anyone we have seen in the history of the NBA. There is just no doubt about it. If your precedent has been set, then let it be set.

 

[tlance]

Measuring greatness of Cavaliers' LeBron James, OKC's Russell Westbrook: Bill Livingston (photos)

Westbrook vs. James

Westbrook leads the NBA in scoring and is second in assists. He is on pace to become only the second player ever, after Oscar Robertson in 1961-62, to average a triple-double for the season.

James is ninth in scoring and fifth in assists.

James' offensive share is almost as big as the Big O's 55 years ago, but not as big as Westbrook's now.
James: 364 assists on 203 3-point assists (second-best in the NBA), for 609 points and 161 2-point assists for 322 points. Effective Assists: 364 + 101.5 = 465.5 His total assisted points: 931.

James has scored 1,105 points. He is responsible for 2,036 points.

In the 43 games James has played, the Cavs scored 4,788 points. He has been 42.6 percent of the offense.

As we shall see, that's almost as good as the Big O 55 years ago, but not as good as Westbrook.

Westbrook: 491 assists, 117 of them on 3-pointers for 351 points, 374 on 2-pointers for 748 points. Effective Assists: 491 +58.5 = 549.5. Assisted points: 1,099.

Westbrook has played in all 48 OKC games. He has scored 1,478 points. He has been responsible for 2,577 points.

OKC has scored 4,589 points. Westbook is responsible for a staggering 56.2 percent of the offense.

When the guy is shooting 42% from the field with a 1.8 assist/TO ratio, being responsible for so much may not be a good thing.

In fact, as I said on another thread, he should be averaging 32 and 10 given how much he shoots and how often he has the ball. The raw numbers are meaningless without looking at the efficiency stats for context.

 

[Shaqdaddy11]

When the guy is shooting 42% from the field with a 1.8 assist/TO ratio, being responsible for so much may not be a good thing.

In fact, as I said on another thread, he should be averaging 32 and 10 given how much he shoots and how often he has the ball. The raw numbers are meaningless without looking at the efficiency stats for context.

Disagree. Raw stats are what will make him memorable. He'll be known as only the second guy in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season.

Just like Kobe's final 60 point game will go down in history without those 50 shots being mentioned much.

 

[trojanfan12]

Disagree. Raw stats are what will make him memorable. He'll be known as only the second guy in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season.

Just like Kobe's final 60 point game will go down in history without those 50 shots being mentioned much.

Exactly. People talk about raw stats while it's happening (usually in an attempt to discredit what a player is doing and elevate another), but the fact is, in 10 years, all anyone is going to talk about is how Russell Westbrook was the 2nd player in history to average a triple double for an entire season.

 

[tlance]

Exactly. People talk about raw stats while it's happening (usually in an attempt to discredit what a player is doing and elevate another), but the fact is, in 10 years, all anyone is going to talk about is how Russell Westbrook was the 2nd player in history to average a triple double for an entire season.

That is great. Talk about Westbrook's accomplshemts all you want. Basketball is a team game though. Westbrook is playing for himself.

I am much more impressed by guys willing to sacrifice stats for the greater good of the team than I am by guys who play like this.

 

[tlance]

Also, people talk about the raw stats because casual fans don't understand efficiency measures. Raw stats are all they have to look at.

 

[trojanfan12]

That is great. Talk about Westbrook's accomplshemts all you want. Basketball is a team game though. Westbrook is playing for himself.

I am much more impressed by guys willing to sacrifice stats for the greater good of the team than I am by guys who play like this.

I disagree that he's playing for himself. His team literally can't win if he doesn't record a triple double. That's not playing for himself, that's doing what he has to do so his team has a chance to win. It's like when folks called Kobe a ballhog for the points he was scoring in the 3 years after Shaq left. Who was he supposed to defer to...Smush Parker?

I mean, who on the team is he going to sacrifice stats for that will give them more of a chance to win? I'm not saying Westbrook hasn't been or isn't a selfish player. But I can't call him selfish if him doing what he's doing is his teams only chance to win.

Whatever happened to just enjoying watching a guy who's on the verge of making history instead of picking him apart for it?

 

[tlance]

I disagree that he's playing for himself. His team literally can't win if he doesn't record a triple double. That's not playing for himself, that's doing what he has to do so his team has a chance to win. It's like when folks called Kobe a ballhog for the points he was scoring in the 3 years after Shaq left. Who was he supposed to defer to...Smush Parker?

I mean, who on the team is he going to sacrifice stats for that will give them more of a chance to win? I'm not saying Westbrook hasn't been or isn't a selfish player. But I can't call him selfish if him doing what he's doing is his teams only chance to win.

Whatever happened to just enjoying watching a guy who's on the verge of making history instead of picking him apart for it?

I hope he gets the triple double average. I really do. I would love to see it.

But, when people legitimately believe he is the best player in the league because of his stats (as more than a couple have stated), they need a dose of reality.

 

[trojanfan12]

I hope he gets the triple double average. I really do. I would love to see it.

But, when people legitimately believe he is the best player in the league because of his stats (as more than a couple have stated), they need a dose of reality.

I disagree with the bold. He can be the best player in the league for 1 season without necessarily being the leagues best player.

I think most would agree that Lebron is the best player in the world. However, if another player has a better season, that player is better for that season. Additionally, Lebron is getting older and we are starting to see slight indications that he is beginning to decline. So, while he is still the best player in the game, the gap is definitely beginning to close.

Also, as for a doese of reality. As long as someone can make a strong, logical case for it, which can be made for Westbrook so far this year, then why do they need a dose of reality just because someone else doesn't agree?

 

[tlance]

I disagree with the bold. He can be the best player in the league for 1 season without necessarily being the leagues best player.

I think most would agree that Lebron is the best player in the world. However, if another player has a better season, that player is better for that season. Additionally, Lebron is getting older and we are starting to see slight indications that he is beginning to decline. So, while he is still the best player in the game, the gap is definitely beginning to close.

Also, as for a doese of reality. As long as someone can make a strong, logical case for it, which can be made for Westbrook so far this year, then why do they need a dose of reality just because someone else doesn't agree?

Cmon man.

The best player is the best player. The player with the best statistics has the best statistics. LeBron is the best in the world this year, last year and at least 5 years before that.

Westbrook may win MVP, but no knowledgable person would argue he is better than LeBron James. His stats reflect his opportunity as much as his talent.

Westbrook is the same player he was last year. Don't tell me because KD left and he shoots 30 times a game that he has surpassed the players who were universally considered superior last season. It is kind of ridiculous. If I am building a team, There are 3 guys I take ahead of Russ without thinking twice:

LeBron
KD
Leonard

After that it gets harder.

 

[trojanfan12]

Cmon man.

The best player is the best player. The player with the best statistics has the best statistics. LeBron is the best in the world this year, last year and at least 5 years before that.

Westbrook may win MVP, but no knowledgable person would argue he is better than LeBron James. His stats reflect his opportunity as much as his talent.

Westbrook is the same player he was last year. Don't tell me because KD left and he shoots 30 times a game that he has surpassed the players who were universally considered superior last season. It is kind of ridiculous. If I am building a team, There are 3 guys I take ahead of Russ without thinking twice:

LeBron
KD
Leonard

After that it gets harder.

I disagree. Also, I clearly stated that Lebron is the best player. I also stated that just because he's the best player, doesn't mean he's playing the best.

Westbrook is averaging a triple double. No one else is. That makes him, by many accounts, the best player this year. A strong, logical argument can be made for that. Just because you don't agree, doesn't make you right or anyone else wrong.

By the way, nice Wiggy tactic with the "no knowledgeable person" comment. Just because someone disagrees with you, doesn't mean they aren't knowledgeable.

It's really not as complicated as you are trying to make it. It's not about who you would rather start a team with, or any of the other nonsense that people try to drag in because they want to discredit a certain player. It's about who is playing the best right now, this season.

Again, I don't even understand why this is a conversation. Whatever happened to just enjoying watching a guy attempt to make history and leave it at that?

Btw, if I'm starting a team I take the same 3, but in a slightly different order:

1. Kawhi: Given the fact that Lebron's defense is down this year and he's 32 (or going to be soon), I'll take Kawhi since he's only 25.

2. Lebron: If I need 1 player to elevate my team to contending status this year (and maybe a couple more) I'm taking Lebron. But if I'm starting a team, he's #2.

3. KD: Still young, probably the best pure scorer in the game and his defense isn't bad. I question if he's a guy who can lead a team to a title though. I'm not sure about his toughness/willingness to demand the ball when he should be demanding it.

Really can't go wrong with any of them.

 

[Wamu]

Disagree. Raw stats are what will make him memorable. He'll be known as only the second guy in NBA history to average a triple-double for the season.

Just like Kobe's final 60 point game will go down in history without those 50 shots being mentioned much.

Did you know in '62 when The Big O averaged a trip-dub & Wilt averaged 50.4 ppg neither of them won the MVP that year?