Running 2014-15 NBA Thread

He'll be a Laker.

 

Cavs on pace to score about 130 on the Warriors.

 

When will TNT finally give up on Reggie Miller as an analyst? His mushmouth delivery is distracting enough, but he also seems to say things without thinking. After Brandon Knight drills a step-back 3, Miller notes that the "change of scenery has done this young man quite well ..."

I'm sorry, but changes of scenery doing someone well are meant in cases where the player was struggling in his previous locale. Such was not nearly the case for Knight. A few minutes later, he called him "Jennings," also.

So at the end of the overtime, Westbrook drives and just before going up steps on a Suns player's foot and rolls his ankle. They show the replay and you can see his ankle rolling. And Reggie has no idea what happened. Wonders why he didn't go up on the short side of the hoop. In Reggie's defense, how can a producer or director not be in his ear pointing it out?

 

Russell Westbrook is on a goddamn tear. Triple double last night.

His Feb averages are 29.5 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 10.1 apg. Season averages are 25.9-6.5-8.0.

For comparison's sake, the averages for all four of LeBron's MVP seasons are 28.0-7.7-7.3.

The MVP vote should be intriguing this year.

 

Only once have teammates won the MVP in consecutive years: Cousy in '57 and Russell in '58.

Other intrigues:

* 1 guy with 2 names won it back to back: Alcindor in '71 and Abdul-Jabbar in '72

* Moses Malone won it in '82 with Rockets and '83 with the Sixers

NBA Most Valuable Player Award - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

In the last two years, what's OKC record with just Wesbrook? What's OKC's record with just Durant? What OKC's record with the two of them?

Is this a case of not enough basketballs on the court?

And Westbrook has been insane this past month.

 

I don't know how the team record breaks down, but it's hard not to notice how those guys always look best when the other one's not playing. Obviously that's partly because they have to pick up the slack and extra shots from the missing star, but still, it's a mighty clear pattern going back several years now--whenever one gets injured and leaves the lineup, the other goes on an incredible tear.

I think Westbrook deserves the MVP this year, but probably won't win it because of OKC's mediocre record. One of those unwritten rules of MVP voting--the team has to have a great year too.

 

More on Westbrook's dominance.

Russell Westbrook is most offensively dominant player in league history -- NBA - ESPN

 

Wilt?

 

Not at all downplaying what Westbrook is doing, but why is it that every week ESPN has to declare something the greatest ever?

Oscar Robertson's averages through his first five seasons were over 30, 10 and 10.

 

To ESPN, NBA history began when they went on the air. There were no sports of any kind before that.

 

I mean, Westbrook is amazing in this run, but he isn't the first, but it's a short list.

January of 1987, Chuckster goes 25/14/4 with a shooting percentage of .63 and .33 from three.

Records also seem spotty after a certain point, though.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 1978-79 Game Log | Basketball-Reference.com