Peace, Love and Thunderstanding: I Was Wrong

When I was young, I never wanted to leave the court until I got things exactly correct. My dream was to become a pro.-- Larry Bird

Makes you wonder how much these assistant coaches affect their players. Yao and Howard got better under Ewing, but you wonder how much he affected them. If only certain players could have gotten the right coaches at the right time, the league would be very different. My favorite what-if is what could have been had LeBron teamed with a point guard like Magic to begin his career. LeBron could have taken the playmaking route rather than the scoring machine thruway.

STFU donuteyes.

stopped reading when i saw "...my full-throated lobbying to select Ricky Rubio..." yeah, obviously you were wrong. you're also retarded. rubio was the most obvious waste of a draft pick ever. i'm so glad presti doesn't listen to fans and bloggers, because some of us have stupid ideas. did you really think he would play here (america, not oklahoma)?

@justin
Agree 100% about Harden in the starting lineup. Russ is the best playmaker on the floor right now, but he doesn't always have the best sense of timing. Harden will definitely relieve some of that burden. No doubt.

@Mark!

I agree his shot selection can be maddening at times.

Two things that should happen in the future will assist in Russell's development. First is either acquiring a big man that's a threat on offense or the promotion of James Harden to the starting lineup. Both would help him a lot.

The other is Scott Brooks finding offensive schemes that work. Our offense is much improved from the first month of the season but there's still a lot of work to be done, obviously. I saw some pick and roll action in the Hornets game that we usually don't see and it was mostly successful. I'd like to see more of it.

I agree with all your statements regarding Russ, I'm just content with his improvement in other areas for now and will hold off on getting too worked up over his other deficiencies.

@justin
Either seem like a possibility. I've said countless times (in spite of much contrary opinion) that I think Russ is a pretty decent spot up shooter. That's why it drives me crazy to see him do that insane driving jumper her has. He does it consistently enough that it has to be something he practices.

I've been encouraged by the moments that Westbrook keys in and starts feeling the floor a little better. It's not very consistent, but you can tell when it happens. Our offense suddenly has purpose, and it's almost all derived from him. It's definitely promising to see it.

yeah i know ive read that the coaching staff seems to like durant doing that, i just think it would be a better idea to help westbrook grow as a point guard to allow him to create a play or execute a play for durant. i just wish people could be a little more patient with him remember he is very raw still,and he has so much potential if he keeps working as hard as he has

@meggie

I don't think it's Kevin Durant's idea to have the ball behind the 3pt line. The coaching staff seems to like isolation plays, especially in crunch time, which is baffling.

Russell is definitely a key part to this team's success. His PG play is basically on par with the second tier guys right now, he just has to shoot it a little better and he's a legitimate second tier point guard..

yeah b ut whenever westbrook has had some turnover problems its like no one else but westbrrok has problems with that, dont give me that it doesnt matter if durant has turnovers because he will improve, all ive heard from the oklahoma city media is gushy praise towards durant when westbrook should get just as much credit for how the thunder is doing this year. ever since westbrooks rookie year u have been looking for things to critisize because u didnt like the draft choice, its his second year, he has just as much upside and maybe even more than rose because of his inexperience of playing the point guard position, and i think okc needs to do something about the commentators for the game especially the bald guy, he knows nothing about basketball all he cares about is stats and every chance he gets to put down westbrook, he does it way too much, and all he wants to talk about is durant, does he realize maybe one of the reasons why durant is having such a offensive good year is because a certain point gurad is getting him the ball in the right places. i just would like to see a little more patience with certain media on westbrook, yeah maybe he may not be an all star this year, but he certainly needs to get some attention, and one more thing maybe if durant would stop trying to bring the ball up the court all the time, westbrook could actually get some time to get in a rythm, i hope some of u realize durant feels he needs to win games on his own sometimes but thats not how they are going to grow as a team, put the ball in westbrooks hands and grow from there.

I as an old guy can admit that I watched that 82-83 Philly sweep of the Lakers and it was pure nirvana. I hated the Lakers 26 years ago and every year since.

Mo Cheeks was cool as a cuke. Just a very poised point guard.

Before the season I wrote a roster analysis for the Thunder for another website. In it I posted what I would consider a successful season for each Thunder player. Here's what I put down for Russ:

16.4 PPG / 43% / 31% / 81%. 5.1 RPG. 6.5 APG. 1.6 SPG 2:1 A:TO

He's exceeded all of these except the FG%, and one hot month can swing that solidly the other way. His A:TO is well over 2:1, and if he keeps this up will approach 3:1 (elite level) by the end of the year.

Russell, Kevin Durant, and Serge Ibaka are the only players on the roster producing higher than what I would have considered a successful year for them. Nenad Krstic and Jeff Green are way below, and James Harden is slightly below.

I guess my point is that Russell has improved enough so far after last year that his other problems can be put to the side for a bit, IMO.

@Mark!

I have two theories about why Russell plays so out of control at times:

1. He's told to be aggressive by the coaching staff. Listening to how Scott Brooks talks about Russ and the offense in general, how he's handled Jeff Green's difficulties, and his comments whenever something doesn't work on offense, I get the impression he's the type to allow the players enough rope to hang themselves.

2. Our offensive game planning is so far behind our defensive game planning that we are often 'winging it' on the court. This will obviously lead to the point guard having the ball in his hands more than usual.

The biggest problem for Russell, and the primary reason I feel he forces things sometimes, is that we have a team full of players who are not utilized correctly on offense and who do not step up. Jeff Green, James Harden, and Nenad Krstic are talented players on offense but go through stretches as long as several games where they are unable to get anything done. Kevin Durant is our only reliable offensive threat, and he cannot do it all. Therefore, Russell is forced into doing some things on offense.

Anyway, for me, it's tough to come down too harshly on Russ for forcing shots at times. Our offense is painful to watch and that's usually when he does it. You said you're not really looking at his stat line, but his stat line shows he's improving on his primary function as a point guard (ball handling, distributing) at a startling rate. Young point guards have a steep learning curve and Russ probably has a steeper one than most. Parts of the game are coming easier for him (P'n'R offense, half court offense in general), and he's not making as many stupid decisions on offense so I'm content to wait him out a little longer to see how he alters his play on defense and his shot selection.

Besides, Jeff Green's utter uselessness distracts me from Russ' shortcomings..

Also, I love this notion that EVERYONE is down on such and such player. Or no one talks about so and so.

The board is, overall, pretty well rounded. Especially for something on the net, I'd say the discussion is balanced.

Westbrook's control
Durant's turnovers
Green's passivity
Thabo's offense
Harden's inconsistency
Krstic's everything

These are all topics pretty regularly discussed and criticized. Few people rate them all equally, so different people have different levels of concern about them.

I also think it's the criticism of the criticism is a bit overblown. I don't think I've read any posts on this board from anyone who was openly hostile to the team for quite a while (and those people had other agendas.) Most of us are pretty upbeat about the way things are going and are happy for the most part.

We just have different opinions about where we see the team going and what we think is the best way to get there. They're our opinions, so of course we each think we're right. That difference is what leads to such healthy and prolific discussion on this blog.

As far as Durant's turnovers, again, it has to do with how the future is perceived. I think most of us wish he would have fewer turnovers, but we're not terribly concerned about it because most of us are reasonably confident it will improve. We expected very little from this season, so everything is gravy right now. It's not like we're being let down by Durant's turnovers; we've already overachieved. If its still a problem in 4 years, the attitude will probably change.

@meggie
The media? Link please.

u guys are so ridiculus, have u looked at durants play lately, yeah whatever hes getting 30 point games but he cost them the bucks game that night with the late turnover and he turns the ball over more and more, westbrook is protecting the ball more than anybody right now, instead of blaming westbrook for some flaws on this team why dont u go look at your pprecious durant, its sickening how much love he gets and westbrrok gets no respect by the media he gets put down way too much

@Vega
<3

I blame Earl Watson for all of Westbrook's flaws.

And for the record, I'm no where near the point of saying we should get rid of Westbrook, through trade or bench or whatever. I like watching him play, he just drives me nuts sometimes. It's amplified because he's our point guard and gets so many touches, for better or worse.

We still have a lot to learn about what he's capable of, and many of my complaints aren't difficult to fix (assuming the coaches aren't telling him to do those things... in which case, if I do decide that's whats going on, I'll probably shift my criticism.)

@divisadero
Just like defensive rebounding halts offensive fast breaks, offensive rebounding halts transition defense. It's not uncommon to see Russ going for offensive boards and a post player get back on transition D (guarding the other teams fast breaking guards). This seems opposite to me.

Sympathize for Warriors fans. It can be easy to translate raw criticism into angst or something. Even though I don't dish out praise in every post, I'm definitely much more happy than frustrated with this team.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct
I think both coaches and Westbrook share the blame, regardless of who's closer to the truth.

I don't count the words of a coach to the media very high because I've been exposed to too many cases where coaches use the media for their own ends. I'm not suggesting there's a conspiracy to hide the coaches staff true feelings about Westbrook. Maybe Brooks doesn't feel like now is a good time in Russ's development to share some coaching criticism about Westbrook to the media? Maybe Brooks doesn't like to share what he's coaching to other teams? Who knows? Brooks is new just like Russ. Once I know more about him, his style, and how he handles the media, I might change my mind. Just have to go with what I know for now.

I have no problem with our whole team crashing the boards on defense. We don't have a dominant rebounder, so our whole team has to get involved to keep us in the game. We give up some fast break opportunities because of this, but it's a sacrifice we have to make. I guess you could argue the same goes for offense, but I think allowing easy transition points for the other team is more harmful than losing potential fastbreak opportunities for us (esp if the other team is strong in transition D.)

I'm not really focusing on Russ statline improvement. I'm focusing on anecdotal observables, which I know keeps all this squarely in the "my opinion" camp. I'm not really trying to convince anyone one way or the other, just voicing my thoughts. I've observed much fewer of the tendancies than drive me crazy since Maynor joined. It could be a coincidence. If this is a hot streak for Russ, then I'll learn more once he starts slumping. Maybe Maynor will get more playtime. If things stay exactly the same despite Russ reverting some, well, maybe I'll have to spend more time banging my head against the wall trying to figure out why the coaches think certain strategies are good ideas.

@Mark!

I don't have an answer. It could be that RW is encouraged to do certain things and take more chances because his athleticism allows him to get away with them. To be honest, it's not clear to me why RW is being criticized for banging the boards offensively. Isn't that a good thing. As for defensive rebs, I'd expect him to be farther away on the perimeter ready to start the break. But, unfortunately, we don't get too many Thunder games on the West Coast, so I can't really say. But be patient and don't assume the worst (not that you are/were). He'll learn.

As a Warriors fan, I'm incredibly jealous of what you have going on there: talent, fun, character, and a bright future. Here, we have talent and fun but little character and a muddled future, to say the least. Also, we routinely see our talent leave and blossom elsewhere. Part of it is management, and part of it is the fact that we don't always draft good character guys (e.g., Webber, Chris; Spreewell, Latrell, Arenas, Gilbert, etc.). Don't take for granted the fact that you have good players who also happen to be good and loyal people!

Mark! :@divisadero

The things I’ve heard about Westbrook’s character and work ethic are the biggest affirmation of the opinion opposite mine. That said, I still can’t wrap my head around why the other guards (Harden, Thabo, Maynor now, Ollie, etc.) seem to play differently on defense as far as fighting through screens or why Westbrook goes for more offensive rebounds. If its a system thing, then why wouldn’t it be more uniform?

If you go back and watch the Dallas game, Russell switched onto Dirk every pick and roll. Then Thabo took his place, and he switched every time. Then Livingston came in and took that place, and he switched every time. That game is the most obvious game we've played where it was the game plan to switch no matter who was playing the defensive position.

Why would you do that? I don't know. I don't see how it makes sense to have Russell, Thabo or Livingston (well, maybe Thabo) guarding Dirk on a switch. But they did it all game long. They didn't win that game by the way.

But there are other situations that I've seen people switch. Russell does it the most, but of course, he plays the most. I agree that it is not uniform, and games like the Dallas game are exceptions to the rule. But I mention it because it was obvious that the switching came from the bench. It's one reason why I can't assign 100% of the blame to Russell.

In the end, this defense is still a top 10 defense, so there must be something we're doing right. If the switching on high screen and rolls is what we're doing wrong, it's one of the only things.

More evidence of Brooks' sinister conspiracy to improve Westbrook's public image (I kid, I kid):

http://www.nba.com/thunder/news/westbrook_100106.html

@Mark!

Defensive switching grinds my gears. But it's being allowed. Westbrook fault, but coaches share this blame.

The rebounding however, is what I was talking about earlier, and that is something the staff does encourage. At least, if you're going to take them at their word. Otherwise, you have to decide yourself what the truth is, and find any excuse as to why the coach would say something different than what you believe to be true.

I'm just not willing to pretend that I know so much about the whole situation that I can tell when a coach is telling the truth through the media and when he isn't. I just take them at their word.

In your first post you said some people think Westbrook plays the way he plays because it's coaches orders. But you thought it was because he had developed bad habits. You listed offensive rebounding as a bad habit. I listed one recent article where Brooks encourages that habit.

So I think it's unfair to assign Westbrook more of the blame. Unless of course, the coach is lying to everyone in some grand cover up scheme to make a player look better than he is. I just don't buy it. The '5 guys rebounding' theme has been too consistent a theme throughout Brook's tenure for me to pretend he's lying about it.

You said later that Maynor is pushing Russell and that's why he's played better. Russell had made big leaps this year without Maynor, and this recent string of games started in LA before the Maynor trade went through. And it isn't because he stopped rebounding or switching on defense. He still does those things. It's because he started hitting those pull up 15 footers we all hated when he was missing them.

I do agree that Maynor is pushing Russell, and the he will continue to do so. I don't agree that he is the soul reason.

@J.G.
I definitely don't think he's lazy, or even disinterested. I think the sagging on pick and rolls is a habit. Of the three things I listed, this is the one that persists the most, but it's also the one I'm most okay with. It takes time to change something like that. It will come.

@divisadero
I would hope that the majority of individuals who accuse Westbrook of being lazy really mean that at times he has a tendency to look disinterested in pick and roll defense or any time the play is five feet or more ahead of him.

Otherwise he, as a player, could never be considered lazy.

Here's a question for Clark, like others, it's clear that Maynor is not a backup pg in this league so he'll probably move on in 2-3 years. But what about Mo Cheeks? I'd be shocked if he's not a head coach again by next year (still don't know why Chicago hasn't called him, to be honest).

@divisadero
The things I've heard about Westbrook's character and work ethic are the biggest affirmation of the opinion opposite mine. That said, I still can't wrap my head around why the other guards (Harden, Thabo, Maynor now, Ollie, etc.) seem to play differently on defense as far as fighting through screens or why Westbrook goes for more offensive rebounds. If its a system thing, then why wouldn't it be more uniform?

Even if the answer for rebounding was Russ is better at it, I still can't process how Green would be a better candidate for getting back in transition than Russ, or how Russ would be a better candidate for fighting for offensive boards than Green. Green's bigger and stronger and a great athelete too, right?

His shooting makes sense to me.

Better link here: http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/6/14/551922/re-westbrook-more-on-team

@divisadero
Interesting take. Thanks.

A couple things about Westbrook from the UCLA perspective:

(1) It doesn't get mentioned often enough, but Russell is generally a really good guy. Or at least he was at UCLA and I haven't seen anything in the past two years to make me think any different. He listens to his coach, plays hard (accusations here of laziness baffle me), is fiercely competitive, gets along with his teammates, and doesn't do stupid things off the court (to my knowledge). As someone who was at UCLA during the Harrick/Lavin era and knew a number of the players, I can say that this isn't always the case. I know that he spent part of his summer taking classes at UCLA (in part to keep UCLA's good academic name in athletics) and tuning his game while playing pro-pick-up ball in the Men's Gym.

(2) At least at UCLA, Russell was never considered selfish or lazy. Mark! is wrong when he speculates that RW has developed bad habits because he's always been the best player on the court. Perhaps in high school, but not since. He only started a single game during his first season, when Aaron Afflalo, Collison, and Mbah a Moute were the alpha dogs. He started the second season, but Kevin Love and Collison ran the team. At that time, he was known as tenacious defender on a team that made its name on lock-down D. If he was ever unhappy about playing second fiddle, I never heard about it. I understand he keeps in touch with Coach Howland and has helped in recruiting and coaching. Trust me when I say that Westbrook was and remains adored by the Bruin Nation (see here: http://www.bruinsnation.com/2008/6/14/551922/re-westbrook-more-on-team).

I think most people understand that what we're engaging here is speculation and not fact, which is all good and well. But I would be reluctant to accuse RW of being selfish or lazy or changing his game because of the arrival of Maynor. I acknowledge that it's possible that he's changed the past year and a half. But I doubt it.

But we will see in 3 or 4 years, earliest he can come to the wolves in 2011-2012 season and if he skips them to reenter draft 2012-2013. Even then he needs a 1.4 million buyout, so he may end up waiting til the end of his contract in 5 years. If im wrong and he is a superstar ill admit i was wrong

@Clark Matthews
His assists numbers which is what people would want him for is 5th in the league, which isnt horrible, but barely better then westbrook who is 7th. though I probably exaggerated in that the ACB is d league and that rubio wouldnt play here, but his performance is not amazing, superstar quality play, will he be NBA caliber yeah probably, but I doubt he will start in the NBA for quite a few years, much less star, though some of that is also his perceived risk, after the BS he pulled with the wolves I doubt any small market team would draft him, and the big market teams would, but he might make a lot less money here probably wont get drafted higher then 5th where he was this year, unless the knicks draft him. Would he start in LA or Boston, probably not.

Tony parker had significantly better numbers in europe then rubio,
FIBA tourney tony parker:25.8 points, 6.8 assists and 6.8 steals
FIbA tourney ricky Rubio: 19.1 points, 4.8 assists and 4 steals

@Vince
It's not everyone, and it's not 'sheer stupidity.' Geez.

I know we have a good defense. I say we're playing good defensive in SPITE of Westbrook not getting back in transition as often as most guards in every level of play I'm familiar with. You say it's part of some game plan beyond the comprehension of us stupids. I dunno.

As has been pointed time and time again, these guys are still really young, some of our lineups are younger than half of the guys enter THIS year's draft. Green is the only guy we drafted that wouldn't still be in college if they stayed. Lebron is such an outlier, most if not all players take 2-3 years to be starter quality coming out of 1yr of college. Look at how long it took at least 2 years for Kobe, Durant, KG, and Amare to get to where their development levels out. Paul took 2 years before he hit his peak, that was after 2 years starting at wake forest. I think any conclusions of westbrook should be held to next year. Paul's fg% jumped from 43% to 48% and he took way more shots. Green is the player we should be worried about.

Everyone on the board seems to think that it is just SHEER STUPIDITY that Westbrook goes for offensive rebounds and ruins our fast break defense.

Yet we're in the top 10 in defense (measured almost any way you like) and in the top 10 in offensive rebounding rate. Are we that good, that our point guard can go off on his own while we can play 4-on-5 and still slow opposing offenses at a significantly above-average rate? Or is there perhaps a method to the seeming madness?

I agree Westbrook's halfcourt defense leaves a lot to be desired. But I think one thing that NBA fans -- particularly new ones -- do is think that the NBA game is played the way that they were coached to play, or even the way that college games are played. They're simply not. The systems, the play-calling, the defenses are just completely different. So assuming that an NBA player is not playing "fundamentally sound" basketball because it's not defined as "fundamentally sound" at Putnam North or whereever is erroneous.

@Clark Matthews

Not really. Playoffs will be interesting for sure, but more for the experience than anything actually emerging from them. Unless of course we knock off LA in the first round. :)

By the way, I've asked this before, but didn't get an answer from you. When you write articles talking about planning for the Thunder's future, what do you usually have in mind as far as the next 5-6 years? Do you think about the Thunder being in serious contention for a title at the end of that time frame? Or do you see them as just coming into their own, ready to make a real push after a key addition or two AFTER the next 5-6 years? In other words, pushing for a title in 8-9 years or so?

Just curious. That makes a pretty big difference on how I interpret some of the things you write. Always enjoy your articles (even if I disagree sometimes)!

f5alcon :
I disagree about rubio he has been only ok in europe this year much less what he would be against NBA talent, and is probably equal to the d-league.
So rubio is maybe equal in performance to our current PGs statswise in an inferior league, if mullens and white can tear up the dleague and not sniff our rotation, there is no way rubio would if he plays only average for d league level talent

Um, the league Rubio plays in is the closest to the NBA that the world has to offer. Plenty of players in the D-League WISH they had the opportunity to play there. Brandon Jennings played in it last year and was awful compared to his numbers in the NBA. That Rubio is starting for FC Barcelona, a team that is stacked--therefore not asking him to take on much scoring, speaks volumes. I still believe he's going to be a star in the NBA, and wherever he ends up playing, they will be lucky to have him.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct

Calm down. You act like I'm on a crusade to be right about something at your expense. My stance is very simple.

1) Westbrook does things that don't make sense IN MY OPINION
2) Westbrook continued to play this way, often to the detriment to the team IN MY OPINION

You think he continues to play that way because the coaching staff is encouraging it, and Westbrook is just executing orders.

I think these things are holdovers from the days when he was the best player on the court and his athleticism would let him do anything he wanted (sagging on screens because he could still catch his man, going for offensive boards because he could rebound over bigger guys, taking ridiculous shots because he could make up for it, etc.) However, the coaching staff hasn't been able to hold him accountable because there wasn't anyone on the team to play behind him.

Your point of view says if anyone is to blame, it's the coaches. You don't like some of the things Westbrook does (especially sagging on defense), but you just assume the coaches know better and Westbrook is doing it on purpose.

My point of view is Westbrook holds more of the blame. I'm speculating that Westbrook's elevated play since Maynor has joined the team may indicate there's some truth to my theory. That's why I'm interested in this storyline. If Westbrook starts slipping back into his old routine, will Maynor get more playtime? Or will things remain exactly the same? I think, more than anything, that will indicate which point of view is closer to the truth.

Until then, I'm not saying that you're wrong, just that I disagree, and so far, you haven't provided any information to change my mind.

For you, the words of a coach might be enough to seal the deal, close the book, whatever. It's not for me. In my experience, coaches are notorious for using the press in their own way. Some throw players under the bus, some don't. Some tell the press the truth, some act like their team is an extension of the CIA. I would rather observe actual behavior on the court.

It's nothing personal. "... there is no way you could ever be wrong" seemed very dismissive/denigrating. Sorry if I misinterpretted.

Anonymous :Well, I have problems with the ” I was wrong ” concept, that Jim Traber has made famous.
Frankly, what you’re saying is your opinion has little or no credibility. If you were offering me a stock tip and I lost a lot of money on your stock tip, then I pay little attention to your stock tips in the future.
But just like Trabor, it takes a really large ego to step and admit you were wrong. You should be commended .

Traber admitted he was wrong on something? To be fair, I'm usually right. ;)

f5alcon :
I think maynor coming to them team also affected him, both as in looking over his shoulder and as somebody who is roughly the same size as him, and can show him things, there was one pass last night off a drive that RW never would have made earlier, but i have seen maynor make a few times, i really hope they become good friends, we could end up with the best 1/2 PG punch in the NBA.
I disagree about rubio he has been only ok in europe this year much less what he would be against NBA talent, and is probably equal to the d-league.
http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=esp&PlayerID=84319
over 24 games averaging roughly 20 mins per game he is averaging 4.9 assists, 6.3PPG, 3RPG.
westbrook averages in a per20, 4.1AST, 9.3PPG,2.85RPG
maynor 4.25AST, 7.4PPG, 2.35 RPG
So rubio is maybe equal in performance to our current PGs statswise in an inferior league, if mullens and white can tear up the dleague and not sniff our rotation, there is no way rubio would if he plays only average for d league level talent

I don't know if you are joking or not but the ACB and Euroleague are vastly superior than the D-League.

Nothing pleases me more than a big ol' "I told you so!" But this one is particularly gratifying. I have absolute faith in Westbrook's greatness, and I look forward to watching him smooth out his rough edges and hone his game even more. He is by no means a finished product yet, which in and of itself should give Thunder fans the shivers!

Like Jax, I have my doubts about our ability to keep Maynor, but not because we can't pay him. I bet he (naturally) thinks he deserves to captain his own starting unit, and his rookie play does not dispute that! We'll see if he buys in to the long term plans for perennial playoff contention that Presti is promising. (WOW!! didn't really intend that much alliteration....)

<blockquote cite="#commentbody-45092">
Mark! :
Easily the most interesting storyline for me from here on out.

Unless there's a playoff push, right?<

Since there isn't a single dominant rebounder (the guy who averages 10-12rpg) I would ASSUME Brooks is having all five guys on the floor go after rebounds which might explain why Thabo is rebounding at high rate for a SG and why Russ is going after offensive rebounds. Just a guess though.

So can I say, "told ya so"? I joke, but I'm glad people are coming around. The kid is really trying.

@Mark!

Fine then. If you won't accept what comes out of the horse's mouth then I guess there is no way you could ever be wrong.

@Jax Raging Bile Duct

You can just as easily interpret that as Brooks saying he doesn't care much about Westbrook's offensive rebounding. He wants him to focus on defensive boards, which I have no problem with.

Besides, what Brooks says to the press about his players can be taken with a grain of salt. We hardly have an open door into the team.

I think maynor coming to them team also affected him, both as in looking over his shoulder and as somebody who is roughly the same size as him, and can show him things, there was one pass last night off a drive that RW never would have made earlier, but i have seen maynor make a few times, i really hope they become good friends, we could end up with the best 1/2 PG punch in the NBA.

I disagree about rubio he has been only ok in europe this year much less what he would be against NBA talent, and is probably equal to the d-league.

http://www.eurobasket.com/player.asp?Cntry=esp&PlayerID=84319

over 24 games averaging roughly 20 mins per game he is averaging 4.9 assists, 6.3PPG, 3RPG.

westbrook averages in a per20, 4.1AST, 9.3PPG,2.85RPG
maynor 4.25AST, 7.4PPG, 2.35 RPG

So rubio is maybe equal in performance to our current PGs statswise in an inferior league, if mullens and white can tear up the dleague and not sniff our rotation, there is no way rubio would if he plays only average for d league level talent

Mark! :
Some people here think he’s a perfect player only following the inscrutable directive of the coaching staff. Personally, I think he just developed some bad habits in college and prior that had more room for him to play that way. His athleticism allows it to work now, but he would be so much more effective if he channeled that athleticism into more appropriate channels, like man defense or being an absolute monster in transition on either side.

The reason we keep saying that Mark, is because we keep hearing Scott Brooks say it. He says it in most every post game interview, and you can usually find it in print. Like this link from last week's bolts.

http://www.newsok.com/article/3428603

Room for improvement?
When asked about Russell Westbrook’s potential to blossom into a nightly triple-double threat, Brooks said the rebounding category currently is the most difficult stat for his point guard to accumulate. Westbrook is third among point guards in rebounding with a 4.9 average, his 1.6 offensive boards ranking first among players at the position.

"Offensively, he’s a pretty good rebounder,” Brooks said. "But he needs to focus more on getting defensive rebounds. I think he can get five of those a game.”

Brooks likes what Russell is doing on the offensive glass, and wants even more rebounding out of him on the defensive side. So, that's why we keep saying it's as much a coaching directive as it is anything else.

When I was "cutting my teeth" as DT's biggest Westbrook apologist, everyone thought I was crazy.

Now that everyone appears to be coming around, all I have to say is :)~

Well, I have problems with the " I was wrong " concept, that Jim Traber has made famous.

Frankly, what you're saying is your opinion has little or no credibility. If you were offering me a stock tip and I lost a lot of money on your stock tip, then I pay little attention to your stock tips in the future.

But just like Trabor, it takes a really large ego to step and admit you were wrong. You should be commended :) .