Triple effect
With mind-blowing stats that translate to wins, no doubt Westbook is MVP
IF YOU can attend just one NBA game next season, save up for a lower-bowl ticket for the Thunder. Don’t worry. Russell Westbrook doesn’t take “rest games.”
Television doesn’t capture Westbrook’s explosive magnificence. Only sitting downstairs, near court-side, can you appreciate the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet style of a whirring Westbrook. And the boundless energy with which he plays.
He is Superman. He is the most exciting player in the NBA since Kobe Bryant. And he is the MVP — hands down.
I can’t believe there’s still a debate. The Associated Press released its awards picks, and its three NBA writers were split — one for Westbrook, one for James Harden, one for LeBron James.
Harden has a better beard, a better 3-point shot and better won-loss record. That triple doesn’t get Harden the most scrutinized award in the sport.
That Westbrook is almost worth the exorbitant price of admission is also not reason he’s the MVP. It’s about winning.
The Harden fanatics in their “Fear the Beard’’ get-ups believe the Rockets guard should beat out Westbrook because winning should be the ultimate criteria. The Rockets are 54-27; the Thunder are 47-34. Harden himself joined the lobby. It is a fake argument that applies just as much to Westbrook — if not more.
“I thought winning was what this is about,” Harden said Sunday. “I’m not going to get into depths, but I thought winning is the most important thing.”
As you may have heard, Westbrook will end the season awash in history. He’s first player to average a tripledouble (31.9 points, 10.7 rebounds, 10.4 assists entering the final two games) since Oscar Robertson in 1961-62. On Sunday, Westbrook, who had played all 80 games before sitting out Tuesday night, passed Robertson for most tripledoubles in a season at 42. The Thunder are 33-9 in those games.
The year afte r Kevin Durant left, who knew Westbrook could lead like this? Who knew he could pass like this? Who knew he could still get the Thunder into the sixth seed in the Western Conference? Minus Westbrook, OKC is fighting the Knicks for the sixthworst record in the NBA — they’re probably not even a 30-win team.
Yet, according to esteemed Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who has led the Harden campaign, Westbrook is about numbers, not wins. How can the pioneer of sabermetrics really believe this? Morey, who also campaigned for Harden in 2015, tweeted the other day about how in 1962, Bill Russell of the 60-win Celtics won the MVP, Wilt Chamberlain of the 49-win Lakers was runner-up and Robertson, whose Cincinnati club was 43-37, finished third despite his statistical feat (in the days before the “triple-double’’ moniker had been coined).
Harden has been sensational in leading the Rockets to the Western Conference’s third seed. Against the Knicks on New Year’s Eve, he notched 53 points, 17 assists and 16 rebounds. Spectacular. Westbrook notched two of his 42 tripledoubles against the Knicks. His brilliance is almost being taken for granted — a double-digit rebounder in a day when 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porzingis is lauded for seven rebounds per game.
Harden’s renaissance is as much the function of first-year Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni and his speed-ball, 3-point offense, which is now copied across the NBA, as anything. As one scout said after Harden’s 53-point night against the Knicks, “That could’ve been Carmelo Anthony if he trusted D’Antoni’s system more.’’
Indeed, D’Antoni referred to Harden’s new position as “points’’ guard. Yes, D’Antoni will win Coach of the Year. Morey may win Executive of the Year. Combo-guard sharpshooter Eric Gordon should win Sixth Man of the Year. The Rockets will have their share of awards. They just don’t have the MVP.