Isiah Thomas on Russell Westbrook: "He is the PG that no one wants to play against"

[ImKobe]

OMG. what a pick. hahaha someone is gonna get fired in Seattle soon. Westbrook over Bayless?

not that Seattle has a NBA team anymore.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

It was funny last night watching the game vs MIA, you can look in the GDT and you'd think Westbrook was having a terrible game, yet he finished the game with 18/10/6/4 on 8/17 shooting and single handedly demolished Miami in the clutch, going right at old man Wade, on both ends of the floor.

He's the only player whose games I'm sure to catch every time they're nationally televised. He has yet to disappoint, even in games where his shots aren't dropping he's great to watch.

[Kblaze8855]

Isiah is the best basketball mind in the world

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3xoQuIa3Kg

Nobody ever really doubted Isiahs ability to evaluate young players. His issues didnt come from drafting poorly or not knowing talent when he saw it...it was in assuming a bunch of talent will mesh and play well just because it worked in the 80s.

He gathered talented players. He just didnt build a well functioning team.

But he always found value players with late picks. He drafted David Lee in the second round or late first. Ariza second round. Wilson Chandler late. Nate Robinson was a solid late first rounder. In Toronto in 3 years he took the ROY in Damon Stoudamire...long career having future DPOY Marcus Camby....and Tmac when few were that high on him. He brought in and built up Jermaine Oneal on the Pacers. Jermaine felt he owed him so much he wouldnt sign back in Indy till they promised Isiah would keep his job...Jermaine signed...then Indy fired Isiah anyway. Its said it ****ed up his own relationship with the team. Ron Artest and Brad Miller were helped to go from role players to borderline all stars.

His worst mistakes were signing fat centers with potential and no work ethic(Curry and Jerome James).....but his evaluation of talent shouldnt be questioned.

Isiah Thomas knows a good young player when he sees one.

[ImKobe]

He's the only player whose games I'm sure to catch every time they're nationally televised. He has yet to disappoint, even in games where his shots aren't dropping he's great to watch.

It's baffling how easy he makes the game look out there, even if he's having an off night. Dude is so quick he gets wide open pull-up 15-footers in his sleep, his finishes around the rim are crazy and he's a great passer/playmaker.

[24-Inch_Chrome]

It's baffling how easy he makes the game look out there, even if he's having an off night. Dude is so quick he gets wide open pull-up 15-footers in his sleep, his finishes around the rim are crazy and he's a great passer/playmaker.

The Christmas Day game against the Spurs...horrific shooting in the first half, a lot of which was bad bounces...and then he just goes off at will in the second and finishes with 34/11/5/5 on 14/28 shooting.

[Thunderfan86]

Isiah sounds exactly like a typical old school nikka, "Hey, why you hogging?"

[buddha]

who cares what a backup PG has to say..

[L.Kizzle]

Damn a lot of people were high on Skip Bayless.

Stephen A. >> Skip Bay.

[bizil]

I think every position has those freak athletes who are great players and relentless. Those guys who want to use that athletic ability to totally overwhelm u. For the PG's, I think Westbrook is THE BEST PG OF ALL TIME in that regard. He is gonna get his and there is nothing u can do about it. Plus he's 6'4 on top of it! The fact that he's a score first PG really makes u not want to guard him. It's basically like playing against a peak David Thompson with PG skills!

[ImKobe]

The Christmas Day game against the Spurs...horrific shooting in the first half, a lot of which was bad bounces...and then he just goes off at will in the second and finishes with 34/11/5/5 on 14/28 shooting.

When his jump shot is on, he's the best player in the game. He gets so many wide open jump shots because he can get wide open if you set him a screen. He perfects his shooting and the dude will be the best PG in the league for years to come. He's improving by the year.

That Xmas game was awesome, I think that stat line (30+/10+/5+/5+) had only been put up 8 times (since blocks/steals have been counted) prior to his game. Truly amazing.

[imdaman99]

Isiah still had Westbrook at #5 on the top 5 PG list, tied with Rose to start the season

[Beastmode88]

Isiah still had Westbrook at #5 on the top 5 PG list, tied with Rose to start the season

Imagine a Rose with Russel Westbrook's mentality...

[russwest0]

Thing that amazes me about Westbrook is how he always finds a way to impact a game in such a way that basically guarantees that he's gonna outplay his matchup... at least 9 times out of 10....

Some nights you get the Westbrook that only has a statline of something like 14/6/5 on 45% shooting but you look at the other teams PG and he was absolutely taken out of the game...

Other nights you get the Westbrook who puts up 36/5/5 on 50% and dominates the game....

And then you have those games where he passes the ball at will, getting 14+ assists... He really can do whatever the hell he wants on the basketball court and dominate however he wants to... His only flaw at this point is shot selection and you can see that getting better as well...

This is why I don't take anybody seriously who ever suggests that OKC should have kept Harden and traded Westbrook. When Westbrook's shot isn't falling he can still be a dominant basketball player, outrebounding the other teams bigs, pushing the pace, and taking the other teams best guard out of the game...

[Joyner82reload]

Imagine a Rose with Russel Westbrook's mentality...

He would be in a wheel chair right now

[RightTwoCensor]