We often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and bloggers are saying about the Celtics. Here’s a look at some enemy chatter from OKC.
Rajon Rondo with his 36th consecutive 10+ assist game. I’m not going to say that Rondo is not a tremendous, outstanding player, but let me say this: His assisting is incredible and there’s no denying he’s an unreal point guard. But shouldn’t players be evaluated to a degree by what kind of team offense they help produce? Make what you will about Westbrook, but he’s running one of the NBA’s very best offenses. Boston’s is mid-pack, if that. Point is, when you’re judging Westbrook this season, I think it might be wise to start with the Thunder’s offensive efficiency. I think that might tell the best story about his season.
I’m not saying team offensive efficiency is the way to judge point guards, but let’s play this scenario out.
The Thunder rank 3rd in offensive efficiency, while the Celtics rank 11th.
The difference in points per possession from 3rd to 11th is… 0.035 ppp. I believe that’s three hundredths of a point.
That number blows my mind. I just can’t fathom how such a statistic is the best measure of point guard play.
Assessing individual performance of point guards is difficult because their success is directly dependent on the success of other players. Would Rajon Rondo average 13.5 apg if he played for Charlotte? No. Same goes for Westbrook. Hell, he would likely score 30 ppg playing for the Bobcats.
Call me old-fashioned but I think one should include assists, turnovers, and shooting percentage, along with team stats when analyzing individual performance.
With that said, who’s better – Rondo or Westbrook?
Westbrook is a better scorer and Rondo is the better facilitator. Who you pick depends on what the team needs.
How’s that for straddling the fence?
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