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I wrote a blog earlier in the season about how selfish Russell Westbrook was playing, and now with the season over, and him being the first person in 55 seasons to average a triple double, it's time for a better look at things. Previously I combined Usage% with Assist Per 100 possessions to give an idea of just how big a roll Westbrook was playing in his team's offense. With the season over his numbers changed slightly. He finished the season with a Usage percent of 41.7, and 14.7 assists per 100 possessions. That adds up to 56.4, which isn't as high as the 57.3 those stats added up to when I wrote the blog above. That still puts Westbrook in a league of his own when combining the two stats. His numbers from the 2014-15 season added up to 50.9. The other player with a somewhat comparable season is James Harden, but when it came to having the whole offense revolve around him, Harden was chasing Westbrook. Harden's Usage%, was 34.2 this season, and he averaged 14.8 assists per 100 possessions. That adds up to 49. If I were to redo the list I made earlier. Harden's season would still be 3rd, and Westbrook would still have 3 of the top 4 seasons.
So it was obvious that he had the ball in his hands a lot. Of course he was going to get high assist numbers, and a high scoring average. One thing that i didn't get into was his rebounds. A couple seasons ago Westbrook had a string of 7 consecutive triple doubles. It was when Kevin Durant was hurt, and it's what led to his triple double average this season. It was like Russell got addicted to triple doubles, and running the whole offense. I watched one of those games a couple seasons ago that was on ESPN, and it became apparent why this little guy was getting the numbers he was getting. He had the ball all of the time. If a teammate got a pass from him, and the shot wasn't there, they would pass it right back to him. At one point it seemed to me that teammate tipped a rebound to him. How obvious must you make it that you are going all out to help this guy get a triple double. It just went to another level this season.
Russell Westbrook ranked 11th in the league in rebounds per game with an average of 10.7. Among the top rebounders in the league Westbrook's percent of contested rebounds stands out like a sore thumb. Among the 10 players ahead of him in rebounds per game, the player with the lowest percentage of their rebounds being contested is Kevin Love at 31.7. For Westbrook that percentage of 20.6. Out of the top 20 in rebounds per game, the closest to Westbrook in contested rebound percent is Lebron James at 24.7. The next lowest is Giannis Antetokounmpo at 31.6. There are other players who have played good minutes and have contested rebounds percentages similar to Westbrook, but almost all of them are below average rebounders. It makes sense that players who aren't good rebounders, would get a big portion of their rebounds uncontested. Better rebounders would be more likely to grab rebounds in traffic. Westbrook's low contested rebound percent is unusual for someone who is one of the league leaders in rebounds. There are a few things that help out his rebound averages. For one his teammates often concede rebounds to him, and sometimes go as far as tipping rebounds to him. It makes sense that if they want him to get triple doubles (which they do), and if no one from the other team is around with a chance to get the rebounds, teammates wouldn't have a problem letting Russell get it. Another thing is that teammates will sometimes box out to help Westbrook grab rebounds. Steven Adams pretty much admitted that he does this. While Westbrook has been selfish, his teammates have been unselfish to a fault, in helping him achieve history. Westbrook also plays very little defense. At the the time of Washington Post article that I linked below, Westbrook contested just 3.6 shots per game. Westbrook typically goes around the painted area, so he can be in better position to grab rebounds. So here is a guy whose teammates let him get rebounds, and who will often leave the guy he is guarding to get in position for a rebound, and we are just supposed to act like none of this shit goes on. People are worried about being "haters", but in this case we have good reason to complain about this shit. If we are judging the greatness of Westbrook's season, the fact that his teammates concede rebounds to him is something that should be brought up. When it comes to Oscar Robertson's triple double, some people bring up the insane pace that games were played at back then, and it should get brought up. Teams were playing around 125 possessions per 48 minutes back then. So this isn't about hating on Westbrook to enhance what Oscar did. This is about being honest about the way he plays, and how get so many rebounds.
I can feel safe saying that I don't think that Russell Westbrook will win a championship, and if he does it will be in a very reduced roll. I don't believe he will be one of the top 3 players on any championship team in his career.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fancy-stats/wp/2017/04/05/russell-westbrooks-triple-double-domination-is-not-as-impressive-as-it-seems/
http://stats.nba.com/players/rebounding/
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