Bledswole
Slappin and clowning chumps for fun.
http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/103186/westbrooks-numbers-might-add-to-mvp
Let’s play the blind résumé game for NBA Most Valuable Player. Below is a list of three MVP candidates. Two have been in the conversation most of the season, and the other has been gaining steam over the last few weeks. Based on individual numbers, whom would you take?
NBA MVP candidates this season
Player A Player B Player C
Points per game 27.3 26.1 23.6
Assists per game 6.8 8.0 7.9
Rebounds per game 5.8 6.4 4.7
Player Efficiency Rating 27.1 29.2 27.7
If you picked Player B, you went with the player gaining steam, Russell Westbrook. Player A isJames Harden, and Player C is Stephen Curry. Below are stats on both sides of the argument; some in support of Westbrook winning the award and some that show why he won’t.
Why he will win
Westbrook is posting a career-high 29.2 player efficiency rating this season and trails onlyAnthony Davis (31.2).
Westbrook is averaging a career-high 26.1 points, 8.0 assists and 6.4 rebounds (also a career high) per game this season. Three players in NBA history have averaged 26-8-6 in a season: Oscar Robertson (eight times), LeBron James (2009-10) and Michael Jordan (1988-89).
No one has been responsible for more of his team’s points than Westbrook this season. He has been responsible for a career-high 44.1 points per game.
Russell Westbrook with Kevin Durant on/off court this season
On Off
Points<< 22.3 35.5
Assists<< 9.1 8.4
Rebounds<< 7.6 6.4
FG pct 40.1 46.6
PER 22.7 36.9
>>Per 36 minutes
Westbrook is scoring nearly 36 points per 36 minutes with Kevin Durant off the court compared with 22.3 points per 36 minutes with Durant on the court. His PER increases dramatically with Durant on the bench.
Westbrook’s play of late with Durant sidelined has added momentum to his MVP candidacy.
In the last five games Durant has missed, Westbrook is averaging nearly 33 points and 10 assists per game and shooting better than 50 percent from the field. The Thunder have won four of those games.
Russell Westbrook
when Kevin Durant does not play
1st 10 Games Last 5 Games
PPG 27.1 32.8
APG 7.2 10.2
FG pct 43.5 51.3
W-L 5-5 4-1
Westbrook ranks 12th in the NBA with 6.8 win shares (from Basketball-Reference.com - an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player). But Westbrook himself has missed 14 of the Thunder’s 56 games.
No one has more win shares than Westbrook among players who have played 42 games or fewer this season. Durant is second with 5.0 in 27 games, and DeMarcus Cousins is third with 3.9 in 42 games.
Why he won’t win
Durant and the Thunder are in eighth place in the Western Conference. Since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1983-84, two players have been voted MVP from a team finishing worse than a 2 seed: Karl Malone in 1998-99 and Michael Jordan in 1987-88 (both were 3 seeds).
The only player in NBA history to win MVP from a team that missed the postseason is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
Worst win pct by MVP’s team
at All-Star break
Season Player Pct Team
1955-56 Bob Pettit .350 Hawks
1981-82 Moses Malone .488 Rockets
1975-76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar .500 Lakers
1978-79 Moses Malone .540 Rockets
*Russell Westbrook (OKC): .528 win pct at All-Star break
Source: Elias Sports Bureau
Westbrook and the Thunder had a .528 win percentage at the All-Star break. Three MVPs have been on a team that had a worse record at that time. The teams of 55 of the previous 59 winners had a win percentage of at least .600 at the All-Star break.
Westbrook has missed 14 games this season. The only MVP in NBA history to miss 14 or more games in his MVP season was Bill Walton, who missed 24 games in 1977-78 for the Trail Blazers. The only other player to miss more than 10 games in an MVP season is Allen Iverson, who missed 11 games in 2000-01.
Teammates don’t tend to win MVP in consecutive seasons. The Boston Celtics are the only team in NBA history that had two different players win the MVP award in back-to-back seasons: Bob Cousy (1956-57) and Bill Russell (1957-58).
Let’s play the blind résumé game for NBA Most Valuable Player. Below is a list of three MVP candidates. Two have been in the conversation most of the season, and the other has been gaining steam over the last few weeks. Based on individual numbers, whom would you take?
NBA MVP candidates this season
Player A Player B Player C
Points per game 27.3 26.1 23.6
Assists per game 6.8 8.0 7.9
Rebounds per game 5.8 6.4 4.7
Player Efficiency Rating 27.1 29.2 27.7
If you picked Player B, you went with the player gaining steam, Russell Westbrook. Player A isJames Harden, and Player C is Stephen Curry. Below are stats on both sides of the argument; some in support of Westbrook winning the award and some that show why he won’t.
Why he will win
Westbrook is posting a career-high 29.2 player efficiency rating this season and trails onlyAnthony Davis (31.2).
Westbrook is averaging a career-high 26.1 points, 8.0 assists and 6.4 rebounds (also a career high) per game this season. Three players in NBA history have averaged 26-8-6 in a season: Oscar Robertson (eight times), LeBron James (2009-10) and Michael Jordan (1988-89).
No one has been responsible for more of his team’s points than Westbrook this season. He has been responsible for a career-high 44.1 points per game.
Russell Westbrook with Kevin Durant on/off court this season
On Off
Points<< 22.3 35.5
Assists<< 9.1 8.4
Rebounds<< 7.6 6.4
FG pct 40.1 46.6
PER 22.7 36.9
>>Per 36 minutes
Westbrook is scoring nearly 36 points per 36 minutes with Kevin Durant off the court compared with 22.3 points per 36 minutes with Durant on the court. His PER increases dramatically with Durant on the bench.
Westbrook’s play of late with Durant sidelined has added momentum to his MVP candidacy.
In the last five games Durant has missed, Westbrook is averaging nearly 33 points and 10 assists per game and shooting better than 50 percent from the field. The Thunder have won four of those games.
Russell Westbrook
when Kevin Durant does not play
1st 10 Games Last 5 Games
PPG 27.1 32.8
APG 7.2 10.2
FG pct 43.5 51.3
W-L 5-5 4-1
Westbrook ranks 12th in the NBA with 6.8 win shares (from Basketball-Reference.com - an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player). But Westbrook himself has missed 14 of the Thunder’s 56 games.
No one has more win shares than Westbrook among players who have played 42 games or fewer this season. Durant is second with 5.0 in 27 games, and DeMarcus Cousins is third with 3.9 in 42 games.
Why he won’t win
Durant and the Thunder are in eighth place in the Western Conference. Since the playoffs expanded to 16 teams in 1983-84, two players have been voted MVP from a team finishing worse than a 2 seed: Karl Malone in 1998-99 and Michael Jordan in 1987-88 (both were 3 seeds).
The only player in NBA history to win MVP from a team that missed the postseason is Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975-76.
Worst win pct by MVP’s team
at All-Star break
Season Player Pct Team
1955-56 Bob Pettit .350 Hawks
1981-82 Moses Malone .488 Rockets
1975-76 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar .500 Lakers
1978-79 Moses Malone .540 Rockets
*Russell Westbrook (OKC): .528 win pct at All-Star break
Source: Elias Sports Bureau
Westbrook and the Thunder had a .528 win percentage at the All-Star break. Three MVPs have been on a team that had a worse record at that time. The teams of 55 of the previous 59 winners had a win percentage of at least .600 at the All-Star break.
Westbrook has missed 14 games this season. The only MVP in NBA history to miss 14 or more games in his MVP season was Bill Walton, who missed 24 games in 1977-78 for the Trail Blazers. The only other player to miss more than 10 games in an MVP season is Allen Iverson, who missed 11 games in 2000-01.
Teammates don’t tend to win MVP in consecutive seasons. The Boston Celtics are the only team in NBA history that had two different players win the MVP award in back-to-back seasons: Bob Cousy (1956-57) and Bill Russell (1957-58).
