Russell Westbrook - Liability

I have avoided talking about the NBA all season mainly because they're a joke woke league. But I have to mention the Los Angeles Lakers failing to make the playoffs. I put this down to them having ball hog Russell Westbrook on their roster. He's paid $44 million for what exactly? He doesn't add value, all he does is add to his personal stats.

Meanwhile, Steven Adams who used to be a teammate of Westbrook's at the Thunder, is about to finish his season with the Memphis Grizzlies in second place overall in the league. Adams personally is the NBA's 2021/2022 12th highest in rebounds. Just saying.

NBA Season 2020/21

Despite the NBA trying to corner the market in being the PC League gone mad department, I'm still a sucker for punishment and will be following them again this year. I list my picks for the season below. I'm never better than 50/50 on this, so be warned if betting on them: 

Summary: 

Looking Good

 

Houston Rockets 

Atlanta Hawks 

Don't Discount

 

Los Angeles Lakers 

Miami Heat 

Disappointing

Los Angeles Clippers (perennial under-achievers) 

Washington Wizards (ball hog Russell Westbrook will kill them) 

Surprises

Portland Trailblazers 

Toronto Raptors

The Ugly Side of the NBA

I like this YouTube look at the cynical stat padding that occurs in the NBA:



Then below is more depth on the Russell Westbrook factor. He hurts his team by insisting on taking rebounds away from Steven Adams, who incredibly has more offensive rebounds than defensive boards. This hurts the OKC as Westbrook is not putting the team into a situation where they can get an offense going fast, Westbrook prioritises his own stats ahead of the team...



Note that I've previously posted about how regular season games are orchestrated to ensure key players get open looks.

Why Westbrook Should Have Left OKC

Have a look at the following video from ESPN. It covers the same ground addressed by me in earlier posts to this blog, pointing out that the Thunder have traded and got little back in return. The argument here is that's because the owner is too tight. Westbrook if he had any sense would get himself to the Lakers and a bigger media market - Los Angeles

http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=22760850