Apr 5, 2017 Michael Jordan, the greatest basketball player OAT has an endless list of accomplishments that certify his spot at the top of NBA's greats. He is often identified as the goat by 3 things. His records, his ability to defensively shut you down and offensively punish you in every possible way, and his mythical clutch factor. Add in his second to none competitiveness and you have the legend that is Jordan. In no way am I saying Russ is as good as Jordan. But in this close MVP race (not as clutch as it was some weeks ago) Westbrook stands out amongst the MVP pack because of some of the same reasons. The triple doubles are absurd, I never thought I'd see anyone come close. The fact that Russ has brought a rec team to the playoffs is absurd. But Harden is doing much of the same.. Except there's two areas where Westbrook shines brighter, and honestly brightest amongst his peers.. That's in the clutch. Much like Jordan staked his legacy on his ability to be the scapegoat or the hero, Westbrook plays with that same fire. Often times it seems like a switch goes off where Westbrook simply decides that as an instrument of God's will, he will not take an L. The clutch shots, the 4th quarter scoring runs to win the game. This is Westbrook. He will take all the blame that comes with the missed shots and all the glory that comes with the made ones. "I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." - Michael Jordan Westbrook had turned into a dynamic 4th quarter threat, he's the last man you want to run into when you're up 10 with 3 minutes left. He might not do it every time, but he's going to come close and send chills down your spine. While he's a 42% shooter from the field in the 4th his numbers remain about the same % wise while Harden's take a sharp dip. In a MVP race where everything is coming down to the smallest details, the league has taken notice of the same thing that makes Michael's legacy so unreal, and that's clutch time.. And because of this, Westbrook stands above the pack and will win MVP because of this.
Apr 5, 2017 At what point did I say all the criteria for Jordan applied to Russ? The MVP is a race for the regular season. I think you need to actually read what I wrote.. Thunder would be Nets level without Russ. I'm not saying Russ gonna win a chip (1st round win would be a monumental success) but he deserves MVP for his regular season performance.
Apr 5, 2017 Jordan also had two hall of famers Russ has Enes Kanter and 14 ppg streaky Oladipo KD was also the anti-clutch to Russ's clutch factor.
Apr 5, 2017 I would give Russ the MVP right now but ppl need to stop acting like he's taking the 2005 Lakers to the playoffs. The Rockets are better but the Thunder aren't a 'rec league team' in any way.
Apr 5, 2017 Have you seen the stats they put up? They aren't far off. You gotta factor in that half the good stats they have are because of Russ who is perennially double teamed and creates wide open shots which they still manage to whiff.
Apr 5, 2017 Difference is Jordan put up insane numbers on a championship team. Russ will never come close to averages like this on a true contender, the only reason he's putting these numbers up is because there isn't another all star on the team.
Apr 5, 2017 Hardens numbers are barely lower than russ's and his team is actually contending, this is a no brainer. People just love to get caught up in record chasing
Apr 5, 2017 He put up fairly similar numbers with KD. I would argue this season was bound to happen even if KD stayed
Apr 5, 2017 His team is contending because he has other players OKC is contending with only russ. Look at the stats of each player when their stars are off the field
Apr 5, 2017 Ppl are obsessed with even numbers. He's having a great year but he doesn't come close to this on an actual contender. When the Thunder got Dipo everybody thought it was a heist. He's putting up 16/2/4 and shooting career highs from the field & 3. Adams is a perfect big for this era, and I think he just got a $100 million extension. Kanter is maybe the best bench big in the league? Taj is above average. Roberson arguably a top 5 perimeter defender in the league albeit has an awful jumper. Grant and Sabonis are solid too. This idea that these guys are some D league squad is getting overblown.
Apr 5, 2017 If you're gonna make an MVP case for someone and compare them to the GOAT MJ, it better be LeBron James. Westbrook may very well win MVP, but leading a team to a sixth seed while being terrible on defense and having an insane usage rate isn't anything that should be compared to Jordan's greatness. Ever.
Apr 5, 2017 Only in two facets, one (the competitive drive) is a trait many people compare Russ and Jordan to.. Not to mention Jordan himself said Russ is a younger version of himself. Sooooo is Jordan wrong ???
