Russell Westbrick Discussion: Clipper Gonna Clip

Melo is probably our best shooter. If we need AD, Bron and Westbrook to work out offensively late in games, we need Melo in there. He's been phenomenal as a catch and shoot guy. Our Big 3 needs space and need teammates who keep defenses honest. Melo can do that.

On a side note, Melo is 1020 points away from passing Shaq for #8 on all time NBA scoring list. Incredible.

 

Westbrook's shot chart is intriguing. When Lebron returns, there are certain areas of the floor where he can actually convert a decent % of his looks, there is some hope if the team is methodical and really work together. If Russ is willing to put down his ego and willing to move into spots on the floor, he and the team can get by just fine on offense.

It truly is baffling how he's put up a ton of shots where he's really inefficient. He wants to beat what the defense is giving him but he needs to be smarter about shot seleciton.

 

I agree.

Still think we need a physical presence @ the 4 who could shoot and defend better than Melo in the PO's.

 

read a while back that AD/melo/lebron lineups were looking pretty good. throw russ in and whoever our best defender ends up being, and that's a reasonable closing lineup. if you play melo at the 4, he can hold his own defensively, especially with lebron and AD in the other spots.

 

The question for Lakers is will this guy perform in the playoffs not whether his team would have won.
He has not played well in the playoffs in about 4-5 years statisically. Stars can play well and lose all the time (Lebron, Jordan before Pippen and Grant).
Not only has he not played well but his numbers just look awful (TS% of 46 with turnover rate of 16)

I just don't see any evidence based on this that he'll perform well but I do think it's fair to say that he's never been given the option to be the third guy with a guy like Lebron clearly the leader/best player type leading the team. His game is so hit or miss that this is probably the most optimal type of team for him to succeed in the playoffs (less risk of TO's, bad decision making when Lebron is available)

 

I would to these numbers after Lebron gets back with about 6-7 games under his belt.

You can't judge a man on what he did if the situation isn't the same. He was expected to be the number 1 or 2 option in those places. That is not the case here. I don't get this rush to judgment after 12 games, the season is here, let's watch it unfold. I believe that Russ is going to thrive here and push this team over the top. I will either be wrong or right, but I wouldn't be gloating over it, if he was killing it right out of the gate now either. I'd rather gloat in June.

 

You're right.

I just need to see more evidence of that for a full season before I would commit to trusting that.

 

Needs to post up more

 

Yikes

 

So, my eyes aren’t lying to me. Check.

 

If that pattern holds up Lebron and Westbrook are gonna be a disaster in half court and late game situations

 

Beautiful play

 

Why is this a shock to anyone? He has only really played well in 3 or so games so far. But we know he’ll improve in a lot of areas as he acclimatises.

No point looking at these figures now, theyre useful half way through the season.

 

I don't think analytics are ever going to like Westbrook.

The real concern isn't the regular season where I think we can "mask" some of these issues - it's in a 7 game series where teams can prioritize weaknesses & attack them.

But we shall see...

 

Exactly. Westbrook is the type of guy that is a target in a playoff series because he has a game so flawed.
Lebron and AD surrounded by shooting and defense are more than enough for title contention. We'll see if they'll have the courage to take tough decisions when we are there, like sitting Russ in the 4th

 

Since he arrived, nobody’s delivered more in the clutch than Russell Westbrook ✍️ https://t.co/QKSrW2Ku8b

 

I just don’t understand why

stats don’t always tell the whole story

 

he shoots a lot in the clutch.
Poor paul George vs Iso joe
Too bad Joe Johnson never cared about winning. If he had stayed with Phoenix that would have been a generational team