NBA Playoff 2017: Three Observations And Three Overreactions
By Chris Wooden
Observation: Harden & D’Antoni are Greater Than Westbrook & Billy Donovan
Russell Westbrook should win the NBA MVP after averaging a triple-double over the course of an entire season, and if he does take home the award it will be well-deserved. Nobody did more individually for his team this season than Westbrook.
Without his triple-doubles, the Thunder might have been lucky to sneak into the playoffs as an eighth seed ready to be sacrificed to their new enemy and his Warriors teammates. But what James Harden has done in Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system has been as remarkable and more sustainable in the playoffs. This is no slight to Westbrook, but more indicative of the discrepancies in coaches.
D’Antoni wisely installed Harden as his point guard from day one, to the skepticism of more than a few teammates and analysts. All Harden has done since is put up historic numbers of his own that would have easily won him the MVP in a non-Westbrook year. He’s played the Steve Nash role in D’Antoni’s run, spread, and shoot system as capably as Nash did himself and has done so with an athleticism and drive to the basket that Nash never possessed in his prime.
It’s only fair to wonder what Westbrook would look like in the same system. Billy Donovan is a good coach in his own right, and he doesn’t quite have the depth and shooters that the Rockets possess, but he also hasn’t done himself any favors in allowing too many Thunder possessions to end in ill-advised shots or with the ball in Westbrook’s hands for too long on non-fast break opportunities.
Westbrook is a genius on the floor. D’Antoni is a genius on the sideline. It’s the sideline tactics that should make this an easy series for Harden and Co.