James Harden vs. Russell Westbrook: Who is more important to the Rockets’ title run? | First Take
소스 코드
- 게시일 2020. 07. 13.
- Stephen A. Smith and Max Kellerman debate whether James Harden is more important to the Houston Rockets' title run than Russell Westbrook.
#FirstTake #NBA
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I feel like they’ve addressed this topic 1,000 times
Exactly what I was gonna say. I had to check the upload date to see if it was today. They have nothing to talk about lol
Its annoying and its a distraction they are teammates what does it matter and then they wonder they have poor ratings 🙄🙄🙄
Thank you like 1 Day After the trade
They've addressed everything 1000 times
And yet ya still clicked on it so yeahh🤷
PRAYERS GO OUT TO BOTH Of em🙏🏽🤞🏽
Facts God Bless both of em
They need to survive in the playoffs until Russ comes back and they’ll be super competitive
Kevin Pickelman harden has it also
Sports Pancake No he doesn’t Harden said this morning he’s ok, it’s just Westbrook
harden has it too?
Russell Westbrook is the key to the Rockets simply because of his pace! He brings something that most teams do not have! A scoring point guard, that is strong, and can penetrate anybody’s defense. He can either score or dish it.
99 z
@@crhuynh8 love how u said manipulation. No one ever agreed with me when i say that.
@@crhuynh8 He's still VERY good, but he does get a lot of calls
@@crhuynh8 bench?
@@weneedhim526 dont listen to this clown.
dumb question. they need both. but harden has gone further with less help. so i guess hes more important, but they not winning with just one of em.
agreed
U Exactly on point bruh... it’s gon be hard for them to win even with both of them
@Jay mere everyone lost to them so what's you point? At least the rockets came closer than anyone else
Dub
Jay mere dribbledribbledribbledribble
Its Westbrook. They literally got rid of Capela and went small ball for him
Harden and westbrook both get triple doubles meaning they grab rebounds. Big men are not needed unless they face the Lakers and Denver who will dominate them down low and just HOPE they shoot enough 3s to out number their 80% 2pt in the paint.
Sharpshooter 02 they traded capela to give Russ more space in the paint when he drives and if they double team him he passes out to a teammate and they shoot the 3
@Cem 1905 Capela wasn't their best defender Tucker is,but Capela was their best rebounder.
Sharpshooter 02 capela had a 47% DFG... you don’t watch basketball if you think his defense is trash, you probably play 2k all day lmao
Sharpshooter 02 They traded capela so Westbrook could have more open space in the paint
The recycle is good with this show🤦🏽♂️😂
Sports really needs to come back. They’re really bored and desperate 😆
SLaCker they can still talk about different things instead of finding a way to talk about the same things
The answer is both, because if you lose either one of them their season is done, no hope at a title run.
Westbrook is benefiting more from the small ball lineup but they are both great in their own ways
Great way of putting it
Bro, they talked about this at least 20 times
And they talk the same topic about LeBum over a hundred times
Max will blame James harden for Westbrook getting the coronavirus
Westbrook. Obviously. He’s the reason they switched to the small ball. His ability to attack the paint made them not need a center
Slime Peso rockets ain’t winning with or without him because they are going to get owned on the glass with that style they play. But that style they play has zero chance without Russ
@@desean3402 true. i dont see harden or russ winning a chip unless KD teams up with them again.
Slime Peso his mid range game is clean it’s just his 3pt comes and goes
what has russ won without an mvp on his team btw?
Wallyy he’s got the same number of rings as Harden. The question wasn’t who is better. It asked who is more important
westbrook is so underrated hes having an amazing season
2nd round elimination waiting to happen 😂
faxx no printer
Underrated?
He is overrated asf, a big stat padder, he isn't even a top 10.player in the league, I would even choose Klay over Westbrook
Raza Kids you would choose klay over Westbrook and let’s see how far he gets you in the playoffs
Westbrook is more important in my opinion..
Although their success depends a lot on Westbrook, I can’t say Harden is less important. When Westbrook isn’t on, his play style is hard to work around since he isn’t a great shooter. They play off each other pretty well
Westbrook became D’Antoni’s new shiny toy by the end of the season. Surprised these guys didn’t catch on (oh wait they’re not the Lakers)
No the clips
Marcus Schultz lakers are overrated and so is everyone on that team except lebum
@Steve Lambert the NBA is very weak this year that's why
@@uncivilwaterboy0788 AD and Kuzma are both overrated. Everyone else is pretty accurately rated lol
@Steve Lambert AD has never been a top 5 player but all of a sudden he plays with Bron and hes arguably top 3???😂😂😂 and people were talking like Kuzma was the second coming of Tmac. As a Laker fan we have a couple overrated players but it doesnt matter bc were still great.
without westbrook and already having no center rockets better shoot perfectly or they out 1st round
Nah they getting out the first round regardless Harden will get them out the first round
Westbrook will be back
Who said Westbrook ain't playing? lmao
@@winstonsmith8867 even if westbrook plays the second round is the nightmare matchup against the clippers they goin out second round
With or without Westbrick. When did he ever lead a team to anything again.
Both are equally as important
Its both. If one of them doesn’t play, they aren’t going anywhere. Both have not been able to carry their teams alone in the past. Its that simple
What do you mean by not been able to carry their team, clarify please
Manje11 I mean they haven’t gone to the finals since 2012 even tho both harden and Westbrook are MVP.
Didn’t they do this like a month or so ago
Bob Johnson Right?
Yeah feels like deja vu
You didnt know ESPN recycles topics?
Same💩 different day
Westbrook was the best player on the Rockets before the season stopped
No
Only for a month
Harden 2019-2020
34.4 PPG
7.4 APG
6.4 RPG
28.39 PER
0.21 DRPM (Positive Defender)
22.7 FGA
Westbrook 2019-2020
27.5 PPG
8 RPG
7 APG
21.59 PER
-0.20 DRPM (Negative defender)
22.6 FGA
Stop spreading lies ....
@@Tmoney10434 stats are not everything what does your eyes tell you
NBA PLAYER OPINION ur looking a stats without context, sometimes Russ runs with the second unit so of course that would effect his defensive rating but it goes without saying is better than harden defensively, but harden is a better post defender
They had this debate 3 weeks ago... I've searched on youtube and the title of the video is the same but without "title run" 🤦♂️
No one cares about the details after your first sentence
IN FACT....BOTH HARDEN AND WESTBROOK ARE CRUCIAL !!! 💐💐💐💐💐
You're right Stephen A 💪🏾
If harden could shoot efficiently, then the points he averages would mean something. But he shoots bricks most of the time.
If you look at true shooting he’s one of the most efficient players in the league
@@Rohan_Mehta true shooting is a flawed stat as it heavily favors 3s and doesn't take into count the amount of misses which result in opponents scoring
What do you mean efficient he’s a most efficient shooter than Steph and I’m a warriors fan lmao
True harden chokes in the playoffs since he was traded and I think he hadn’t passed through the rounds to the finals at all the last time was when he was okc player
They’ve lost to the warriors in the past and if he can’t go through either clippers or lakers from my point if they can’t get through those two teams there’s no championship on their accomplishments that’s all I think because hardens play style is basically shooting threes, mid range etc it hasn’t been affective including that they’ve lost their best defender on the team Clint capela and got Covington so I think that small ball lineup isn’t effective against championship contending teams like lakers, clippers or even nuggets I think
They’ve already done this take like twice already in 2020 lol
Facts
Yea I swear I’ve seen this before
As with every other topic....
ESPN stop doing the same run
Come back STRONG RUSS hold ya head 🙏🏿
I was thinking PJ tucker seeing how he’ll have to guard the other team big man
the key is their chemistry
This is how the media try to divide them
Both. They feed off each other neithe Rome needs that type of energy from another player but doesn’t mean they don’t compliment each other
Crazy sad when I heard the news 😪 I just hope Roco, Eric, PJ, and Austin step it up this series.
Westbrook is more important but Harden is the better player. However, Harden may have amazing numbers but sometimes the efficiency is his issue.
Perfect answer
So is Westbrick he's never been the man which is why his teams always lose. He's a good third option on a good team.
@@melvynsngltn27 Yeah he should've been the 3rd option to KD and Harden back in OKC. SMH
@@GUURL101 i agree he can play. Yet he doesn't play smart. Tries to hard to be the man. If he let others play and let the offense go to him he would be way better
same with russ in efficiency too
When it matters least
Hope you're doing well Russ 🙏🏽 Stay healthy everyone 💯
Stephen “you take all those things into consideration” Smith
Max capping bruh. James Harden doesn’t drop off to a “solid All-Star” in the playoffs. He doesn’t play at the same level as in the regular season, but the drop off isn’t anywhere near as drastic as Max is making it seem in this segment.
it is tho
He’s averaged 30 ppg overall last 2 post seasons which is still the most in the NBA besides LeBron in 2018. So yea he’s still MVP level
Jay Morin ppg isn’t everything if u have seen him play in the playoffs u know that he drops to a lower level
@@jaymorin72 what about FG% / 3P% / AST to TO ratio. The drop off IS massive just from the eye test
Alan Hung 2018 and 2019 they played against utah and the warriors. Utah made a plan to shut down harden both series and the warriors have multiple players that can hold harden in 7 game series. In 2019 he had better numbers against the warriors then kawhi did.
How do you count people getting records this year when they didn't play the whole season?
Facts!
I love harden as a scorer but he is super inconsistent but i feel like with a point guard that can penetrate and dish it out the way he can after the defense collapse on him and he can pass it out to any other team mate on the court and thennnnn even if its iso brook can overpower most of the point guards
I’m just glad Perkins wasn’t on this segment
Lol
Same thing every segment: heavy breathing when he doesn't like something that he hears (which is usually said by Max) and agreeing with everything that Stephen A. says.
They have asked this question and debated on it like once every 2 weeks
Everyone is important this is team ball man I see everyone saying Westbrook or harden cause that's thier favorite but if harden and Westbrook space out the floor and kick out for a wide open 3 they'll both be averaging 8 Assist or more
Both. Either one could keep us afloat. But we need both to have a shot at a title.
Rockets just need to make their shots
Everyone would win if it was that easy lol
They also have to create better shot selection when they aren’t making their shots.
These dudes are just trying to create problems within the locker room with these stupid topics...
Cough cough, kd and warriors??
@@Moloc2230 good thing Russ and Harden are actually friends. The Dubs didnt even like KD. Their fans dragged him more than the media did sometimes lol
@@Moloc2230 kd just went to warriors to win and leave
You can't turn the door knob without th right key: the last key got the door to the finals with the best record in the NBA. THIS Key so for has produce the best dou in scoring since 1961-62... so for so good.. so we have the right door knob perhaps the right key to easily open the door
The Beard on triple doubles.
10+ triple double - check 👍
20+ triple double - check 👍
30+ triple double - check 👍
40+ triple double - check 👍
50+ triple double - check 👍
60+ triple double - check 👍
This is like the Steph and KD Warriors shows they used to do always asking who's the most important player for the teams run, just like back then nobody is saying Westbrook is better than Harden just like nobody said that Steph was better than KD, but both Steph and Westbrook are the team engines they ignite the rest of the team instead of playing iso ball.
The Rockets need both these guys to both step up in the playoffs for once to have a chance
Can they win without Russell? No
Can they win without Harden? No
Can they win it together?...NOPE
🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️🤷🏾♂️
If harden shows up and Russ keeps up his play he’s been dishing out this year they’ll have a good chance
Pray for them
Neither is more important there both crucial to the teams game plan that's why there paired together
They're clearly both equally important, they need each other. We've seen teams structured around Harden and we've seen teams structured around Russ. Both guys didn't pan out as solo acts, and the Rockets need both stars to shine brightest.
How do people call a player that averages double digit assists several seasons in a row selfish??
Does it matter ? Neither one of them can do it without the other.
The thing is that they ignore is that both of them are equally important. The small ball they play only works with Russell's pace and aggressiveness and Harden's skill. Without both the one that plays will get shut down. They both make space and plays for each other. They need each other there.
Nah the key is Harden. “Harden being Harden” well guess what he’s not his usual form in the playoffs. That’s the whole point
James harden has been off lately so I'd pick Russ.
TBF, the whole league has been off lately
The media already starting to tear them apart smh they couldn’t help there self
I swear they had this same topic and title months ago.
They’re equally important
this is the 4th time ESPN has done this topic
Why these comparisons? Just trying to create hate between brothers and fans. BS espn
This Westbrook’s year 💪🏽 get well soon bro 💯
Both are Bosses...But the type of heart Russell has compared to Jordan and AI that you can't teach...if he gets a spark talking trash fouling him hard
..When he gets fired up everyone in trouble 35/15/20 triple double all series!!! Heat
We all' k Now what you get with James.
We need a fearless leader with no quit.
They are both important... I don’t see the argument when they can’t win if one of them is gone.
I bellieve that they both will bring the championship home together! TEAM EFFORT!!
STARS: James Harden & Russell Westbrook are truly G.O.A.T.'s!! We LOVE Our HOUSTON ROCKETS!!!🏀🏆🚀🚀
Both of them are important
They had this topic 3 weeks ago bro
Both are important. They need more shooters.
There hasn’t been a basketball or football game played in months and ppl complain about recycling content😂
What title run?
Ain't this like the 3rd time they did this take this year?
It's hard to believe a team with 2 guards that have the highest usage rate in the league can win anything. Plus both of them have history of low field goal percentage in the playoffs when full court play gets replaced by half court and more adopted defense. On top of that, neither of them is elite on D.
On paper there is no chance to win it all. In order to that, it would be special and kind of revolutionary if they can prove anybody wrong.
Why not both?
Didn’t ESPN already discuss about this topic? Come on ESPN u lackin
Max is wrong again, not suprising. I'm a Thunder fan and if the Rockets can get Russell to play his 4th quarter as if it was quarters 1-3 and keeps his teammates involved instead of playing 1 on 1 and milking the clock out. James has a shot and it's not always great especially when he doesn't get the foul call and defense is as tight as possible. For James to do great and loosen up the defense Russ needs to attack and get everyone including James involved.
Both. But Harden on fire can be more clutch. He needs his confidence back.
Why don’t the media never ask who’s more important to the clippers Pg? Or kawhi? Like do they just hate the rockets cuz this literally the second video they posted with this title
media hates rockets
Bro they are both equally important. Neither are cable of obtaining a title on their own so it’s like yea 😭
I knew SAS was going to disagree... I just didn’t think he was going to respectfully disagree
y’all really made a video talkin about who’s more important to the team 🤦🏽♂️
If I had a dollar for every time Steven A said, I respectfully disagree with you I could get a Benz
This topic was interesting but then max started the debate so I didn't finish it lol
Both. Westbrook needs to take over and do what he’s doing but harden is the one drawing doubles for Westbrook to have that space
Notice they don’t ask these questions when it comes to the Lakers... or Clippers... or Bucks... or any other contender
I feel like Westbrook is showing that he has potential to make this his team and be the best player on the team at some point he’s made a lot of crucial adjustments to his game and I have confidence in himI I’ll know if I’m right when the playoffs roll around
If James Harden doesn't choke during the playoffs, then Rockets have a good chance of winning the championship. Unfortunately, Harden always chokes during big moments so they will not win the championship this season.
same with russ...
Max is right. I gotta go Harden just because when he’s on, he’s a better player. So if he can play up to his best consistently, it’ll put them over the top.
It's crazy to say but really both no bar none... they win this 2020 it would bring bac balance to the league and they both have 2 important roles for the rockets so u can't really pick 1
Why is this even a debate
what title run
Russ takes care of the inside, Harden takes care of the outside. Both are necessary.
Yea put Russ at center to jump with the centers and if he get dunked on don’t get heated
James playing offball is the key to success.
Westbrook offball 2
as a rockets fan they r both important but with no home court advantage russ brings that energy
Hate to say it but westbrook or harden, the great kobe bryant said the D'antoni system will never win a championship in an interview!
They were only the fail every year because the warriors were the only team to beat the rockets
True, until Chris Pauls greatness almost made it work until he got injured against the Warriors in the playoffs
Eddie Barbour harden will still retire without a ring
@@TheFlowBrothers why you say that even if he doesn't he still gonna come down to the greatest players of all time just like Iverson
Kobe played the same way. Until the Gasol trade.
I think that Russ should work on his 3s they way he can hit more of them. I don't think he should shoot alot of them in games I think he should shoot maybe 4 or 5 of them a game, and during every practice he shoots like 20 to 30 3s until he becomes better so that when he does shoot the few 3s he takes in games he can make more and at a higher percentage.
After all star break until the season got suspended he shot 43% on threes
What about boffum
Who made it further in the playoffs last few seasons 🤔