Stephen A. thinks Russell Westbrook is the key to the Rockets winning a championship | First Take

The key is Eric Gordon. If he shoots lights out, the Rockets are very hard to beat. People forget he is a former 3 point contest champion and former six man of the year.

A star player being key for their team, what a surprise!!

“The late Kobe Bryant God rest his soul” 😢 still doesn’t seem real

I agree. Without Russ the small ball doesn’t work and they’ll solely rely on harden isolation.

Max "Highest Leverage moment" Kellerman.

They’re both important for a title run they’re a 1-2 punch

I don’t like how Stephen a thinks he knows so so much more than max like he doesn’t think their equal that’s why undisputed will always be better !!!

“the late” kobe bryant dont even sound right 💔

2:39 “U knew you weren’t getting the Basketball”😭😂😂😂

They’re both important but they’re not making a title run if either one of them is injured.

James playing offball is the key to success.

Covington is the difference maker

0:18 my brain when I'm answering true or false questions

well when he was with thunder they had a supposedly stacked team ...and everyone said they would go to the finals but never did

Eric Gordon’s best year came when it was CP3s first year he needs to play EG 2017

Honestly I think the Rockets can upset the Lakers, but the Clippers are a horrrible matchup for them. Lakers don’t have enough defenders to guard Russ/Harden.

This is the problem for Houston, westbroook tested positive. Now James Harden also. Why you didn't stepback.

Tucker is the key. he is the only center and big forward in Rockets

Stephen A really did a great job pointing out Max’s inconsistency about the Rockets vs Warriors with or without Chris Paul/Westbrook. I’ve always believed Max was right that the Rockets would have won if Chris wasn’t injured, but that proves Stephen A right about Westbrook for this specific debate.

I really hope we finish 4 or 5 so we play the Lakers in the second round. I believe we can upset them. They have had no answer for Westbrook all season

They are all great players but i think theyll have problems in the playoffs because they got no big man

Max killed it at the end

They forgot to mention how James harden is usually very tired by the playoffs because he has a high as uses rate and now that he has Russell was broke on his team takes a lot of load from his workload he should be well rested when the playoffs start of course this all means nothing if james Harden wasn't working out during the covid-19 break

I think kd should find a way to get out his contract and go bac to okc and finish what him and rush started....jus my opinion 🤷

I believe Westbrook is more important. He is a more well rounded player than Harden.

The key is people knowing their role when it comes time to perform. If harden is off, Westbrook and Gordon need to be on. Simple as that

Been watching this show since 2012 😎

Both make valid points because the answer is they both are equally important because neither is winning without the other

Max nailed it

I think rockets match up better with lakers than clippers

If they can't do it with Russ this year or next, I don't think Harden ever will win a ring. Daryl Morey is a real one for taking the blame, but c'mon.. Dwight, CP3, a perfect supporting cast and now Russ..? Nothing else the front office can do. 🤷🏾‍♂️

They both are good

Champions. Westbrook finals mvp

CP3 fit better because he and Harden could essentially take turns playing the same way. Westbrook, not being an outside threat, forced management to trade Capella and go all in on the small ball to create more space to drive. That was the only way they were going to fully capitalize on Westbrook’s skill set. But that also crippled Houston’s versatility with Capella and at the same time, took away Harden’s threat to hit the roll man on the alley. Overall, I think the Rockets were better with first year CP3 than they are this year. That being said, they still have 2 mvps giving them a chance against anybody.

Best PG in the NBA and the best SG in the NBA bout to win it all after they they sweep the Corona virus

I don’t know I thought he was saying god rest his soul about gasol lol

Max fixes his ear piece the whole show🤣🤣

That’s what I was thinking, harden can score 2+ points every possession when he has the ball. Russ can score in every drive or assist on every possession, so with them both combining 61+ points per game they’ll be able to match opposing teams in scoring but they most important thing to remember is defending high usage players in the playoffs is tiresome. They both are great defensive stoppers in big mom but will they hold Stead to relentless scoring teams while defending on defense?

Second banana bro max pause

Damian lillard in the comments like “ 👋🏽

Stephen a smith was describing an X factor. Max is right

I can't believe I just watched a 6min debate between max and steoehn a with no shouting

Covid Just wanted Some of Westbrook’s Triple Doubles😭😭😭

the fact that bleacher report had westbrook as the 22nd best player in the bubble. so disrespectful

Them working together will build a championship team. ✌✌

The only teams that's beaten the rockets more than once in the playoffs were warriors so keep that in mind it took the greatest team of all time to take down the rockets so people sleeping on them saying they have no chance are just flat out ignorant

Max blinking so much

I actually agree with max this time around. Coming from a russ fan, I see what stephen A. is saying but you already know what Westbrook will give you every game. Westbrook is an amazing facilitator and with his new playstyle you can count on him to give you at least 25 on 42+ fg each game. He’s not gonna miss too many layups and mid-range shots. Not to mention his chances of getting fouled are significantly higher when driving to the hoop relentlessly. It’s up to harden to hit those big shots, harden is a streaky scorer and if he hits what he needs.. the rockets are extremely dangerous.

Russell needs to be the point guard and stop taking bad shots

If they traded their main man in the paint, he has to be the best player on the floor

you are the reason

Yes, if CP3 was the defining factor in the Rocket's beating the Warriors, at the very least, then RW wouldn't be the defining factor now. CP3 is a true Floor General. It doesn't matter what team he is on, everyone plays better when he is on the floor. Russel is about stats, which does not equate to making his teammates better. Making teammates better generates wins and when its time to turn it up, CP3 does that without costing the team a W, unlike RW.

I mean if harden is himself, and russ keep playing the same were he left of i meaan.... Gordon is back, covington is underrated, tucker hitting every corner shot and House & Mclemore been a 3p beast, and even an upgrade can come to the rockets thru Green,Moute, Carrol lol Am I farfetch thinking with this..

why are they playing circus music during Max Kellerman's part?

They got rid of Clint to add spacing in the paint just for Russ. Russ hit the inside harden kills from the 3. The perfect one two punch. So Russ is a vital piece, they will double harden each possession if Russ is not in the floor. Along with switching so harden won’t be able to dish to the open man for 3. Russ also gets rebounds better than any big man I know

Same question every time wen it comes to this team Jesus

They need to both show up. Simple as that.

Why does that dude on the right blinks sooooo much!

The argument is really simple for me - Is Westbrook gonna show up and ball in the postseason? Yes. Is Harden gonna show up and ball in the postseason? We don't know. History says no. That's it. Simple as that. If James Harden shows up and plays like the MVP he is, Rockets are going to go deep in the playoffs.

i don’t get why people still expect westbrook to be an average to above average 3pt shooter. people say time and time again that he plays the role of the center, and most times he’s the ONLY one on the floor that can’t knock down the 3. would it be nice if he could shoot 35% from 3? yes but it’s not necessary to win a chip.

I mean they both have achilles, Westbrook shooting & Harden shrinking. Both need to show up stronger in these areas.

They're leading our stars to harm's way...and they think it's cool

Max: “his second banana” 🤨

Harden can’t disappear like he’s been doing. He has to make more clutch shots. They are the key to win but I doubt that they do.

Lolol sas jinxed my man Westbrook, he tested positive for covid hopefully he gets well soon

Westbrook just keeps the intensity and runs the floor when Hardens on the bench or stinking up behind the arc.

Rest In Peace Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant.

Like he was with okc right

If they win a title, odds are they'll be Co-Finals MVPs.
I'll accept that. Harden can't play without Russ and Russ can't win without Harden.
They compliment each other.
And I say this because if Harden comes up short in the Playoffs (referencing his history of doing so), he has Russ and his explosiveness to help keep the Rockets in crucial games.

Max is Full Of It!

rockets not winning , we have this same video every year with a diff player in the title 🤣

Rare W for Stephen A

So no one wants to address the fact that they'll be out for 2-4 weeks?

And the sky is blue

harden was coming off the bench at okc, now it appears hes clearly overtaken westbrook in most peoples eyes

It’s going to be Game 7 vs warriors all over again but without bigs.

Westbrook > harden

Well of course they need him. Without him it’s just back to James and he’s one man and can only do so much. James carries them to the WCF in 2015 but wasn’t enough to beat the warriors.

These two will be fighting for the remote when Kawhi Unlimited is playing in the NBA Finals

Harden needs to be more efficient, Russ has been averaging 30+ on 48%fg since January while Harden has been averaging his 36 points but with 22% from 3 since January, He needs to effect the game in different ways when his 3's ain't knocking because shooting till you make a lucky shot isn't a efficient plan

This mans just got COVID GG’s

I think it’s pretty even. If one underperforms they have no chance whatsoever. I do think Harden having a bad game will effect it more though.

Including James Harden!

Max seems like he’s hating on harden.. but he knows how great he really is . If he had won with Durant and Westbrook in okc and in 2018 with cp3 he would arguably be the goat

The answer is look at their roster... They both need 2play all world 4them 2win the chip period

People keep saying big man this big man that do they not realize big men will get a lot of fouls on offense and defense

I love how they say harden ain’t clutch when he just got eliminated by the best team in nba history we acting like they didn’t have kd lol

According to how the rockets play its Harden. Doesn't matter what Westbrook does, if Harden continues missing easy shots and taking bad ones. They have no chance.

its obviously James harden, he is the face of the team, however, its only by a little to the point you need harden going for 35+ and russ going for 30+, so while its harden, its nearly equal bc russ gets the rest of the team energized. This is why I loved the westbrook trade so much. Russ gets the team going more than CP3 did no matter how good paul was. Russ is finally getting into the offense of the rockets. I hope he feels much better and has a speedy recovery from covid

Max is right

Incoming Russ hate for no reason

Prediction: The Phoenix Suns will go (8-0) during the Orlando bubble and will make the NBA Playoffs.

if Westbrook and harden could share the ball.. maybe

These dudes acting like westbrook wasnt the best player for half of the season this year.. And smh.. Kd was clearly better than russ.. idk that harden is better than russ.. in high leverage moments russ heart is bigger than hardens and in the playoffs you need that.

Imagine Russ on the bucks

To me it’s Harden. If Harden played just as good in the playoffs as he did in the season the Rockets would have a couple chips

1 game away without Russ to the finals against kd warriors and added a mvp lost capela though

WestGOD 2020 Finals MVP

Doesn't matter. Neither Har_en nor Westdumb will ever win. Westdum chokes in the first round, at least without him Har_en will choke in the 2nd or 3rd round.

If Russ and Paul George (with a solid supporting cast) lost to Portland in 5, and then Portland proceeded to get swept by a Durantless Warriors just last year, I really don’t see how Russ and Harden do much better.