Charles Barkley: “Russell Westbrook Must Give Up His PG Position To James Harden”
Some people are saying that James Harden and Russell Westbrook are not a good combo because they are ball dominant and they want the ball in their hands. They want to make the plays. Russell Westbrook when he was on the Thunder was passed to by everyone on his team because he was the playmaker of the group. He was the man on the Thunder. Also James Harden was the man on the Rockets, he was the main target in Houston.
People are saying that Westbrook could get all the assist, when Harden gets all the points, but they said in a press conference, “ We will be teammates, like we were in OKC I don’t need to touch the ball to impact the game.” This also shows me that it might work, but Westbrook will have the mindset that "I'm a superstar," and so will James Harden. Things will heat up on the court and people will think they are friends off the court, but what about on the court? Will they have that friendship, or will they be ball hawks and want the ball? Will the chemistry be there or will it vanish?
Now to the other side of the conversation: Russell Westbrook and James Harden will be an amazing duo. Russell is more of an "attack the rim" kind of guy, which I watched some game play from the preseason and he is passing more looking for the open person. When I was watching, though, he might be overthinking the passing and trying to be less of a ball-holder. Westbrook's game is changing from taking every shot and going to the rim to calming down and making the double team then passing it out to the open guy. “You know what? ” Westbrook said. “I think it’s interesting just for me, because I impact the game in so many different ways, and I’ve proven that for many years, and that’s why I’m not worried, because I don’t have to have the ball to impact in the game. I don’t have to score, I don’t have to do anything. I can defend, I can rebound and I can pass. I can lead.”
Now let's talk about what other players in the NBA thought about Russell Westbrook. Kendrick Perkins said “I know Russ,” he said. “Russ has looked himself in the mirror. I know what kind of competitor he is. I know for sure Russ was working on his game, and he’s gonna come back better. I guarantee you he will. His shooting percentage is gonna be better, everything is gonna be better. People not gonna even remember last season or them playoffs the way Russ gonna come up. Let me tell you something,” Perkins continued. “When was the last time Russell Westbrook really had anything to prove? When KD left. And what did he do that season? He won MVP. This dude carries a chip on his shoulder, he hears the s— that everybody says about him. And when he’s coming in to the Rockets with something to prove? I guarantee you, man, it’s gonna be scary.” And then Earl Watson, who backed up Westbrook at point guard in 2008-2009 and coached against him with the Phoenix Suns, said in the news the next stage of his development is the nuance of late-game decisions in the pick and roll. “I would never say Russell doesn’t have the ability to change,” Watson said. “You don’t want him to change. You want him to grow. He has the ability to grow, to get better and adapt, to continue to evolve mentally. Now it’s time for him to build on the levels of the game within the game.”
People in the NBA respect and are even scared of Westbrook's game style because he is explosive, he is an animal and if you poke at him then the beast awakens.
So I think that my opinion has changed from having them not be the best duo to they could become something in the future, because Westbrook might have changed his timing on his brutal getting to the rim, but he didn’t change the “Why Not” mindset. That is how he plays, and always will play. Even James Harden is changing his ball-dominant side of him to share the ball with the all-star Russell Westbrook.