James Harden Vs. Russell Westbrook Debate

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James Harden had another mind-blowing performance last night posting 40 points, 10 assists, and 15 rebounds. James Harden became just the 4th player in NBA history to have back-to-back 40 point triple doubles. The other three are Pete Marovich, Michael Jordan, and Russell Westbrook. The last guy of those three is currently competing with Harden for this year's NBA MVP award. The case could be made for both players to win the award, but here is a quick comparison of what they are doing this year.

James Harden

28.5 Points, 11.8 Assists, 8.4 Rebounds, 44% FG, 35% 3pt FG

James Harden has been somewhat of a surprise this season after Mike D'Antoni made the decision to have James Harden become the point guard for this team. There was a lot of speculation about how well Harden would make the transition. Clearly, Harden has adjusted fine to playing point guard. He has more than doubling his career assist average of 5.4 to 11.8 this season. Harden has also had a huge jump in his assist percentage. This year Harden has assisted on 52.2% of his team's field goals when he is on the floor. Looking at the team Harden has around him it is a little surprising that the Rockets are 31-9 and only 2.5 games behind the Golden State Warriors. The team's success is not all thanks to Harden, though. Much of their success should be credited to Mike D'Antoni. D'Antoni's offense is a perfect fit for the group of guys he has. That's not to take away from Harden's performances, but he may not have the high-level success he is having without the offense he is in.

Russell Westbrook

31.2 Points, 10.4 Assists, 10.6 Rebounds, 43% FG, 34% 3pt FG

Westbrook currently is the MVP favorite. Westbrook is averaging a triple double, something that has been done this far into the season since Oscar Robertson. Aside from Westbrook's numbers he has a lot more carrying to do with his team. Unlike Harden, Westbrook is in an offensive system that relies solely on his ability to create for others. Westbrook also has a higher usage percentage than James Harden. While Harden is at 34%, Westbrook is at 42.2% which proves that Westbrook has to do a lot more for his team when he is on the floor. Westbrook also has a higher assist percentage than Harden assisting on 57.6% of his team's baskets when he is on the floor. Westbrook is statistically beating out Harden in every category except win shares. Harden currently has more win shares than Westbrook. This makes sense considering the Thunder have a record 23-16 and are seventh in the Western Conference.

Harden is performing very well this season and if continues to string together games like he has had lately he may be able to pass Westbrook as the MVP favorite. Another thing in Harden's favor is his team's performance. The Rockets have 8 more wins than the Thunder right now and are currently on a 9 game winning streak going into tonight's game against the Timberwolves. The Thunder, on the other hand, are 5-4 in their last nine games going into tonight's game against the Grizzlies. With half a season to go Harden still has a shot at catching Westbrook.

James Harden Vs. Russell Westbrook

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Tonight two of the leagues elite players will be going head to head as the Huston Rockets face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Both players are playing at MVP levels so far this season. Russell Westbrook is averaging 32 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 9.9 assists per game. James Harden is averaging 30.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 12.6 assists per game. With both players being the clear face of the franchise for the first time in their careers it should be fun to watch.

Harden has made the transition to point guard seamlessly and is fitting very well in Mike D'Antoni's system. For a team expected to decline this season the Rockets have all the right personnel on the team to execute D'Antoni's offense perfectly. The team is reminiscent of the 2008 Phoenix Suns and that is no a bad thing at all.

Westbrook is getting used to life without Durant and so far he has personally played well. His team on the other hand has some what struggled as of late. With a 4 losing streak the Thunder are looking to get back to what they were doing early in the season. It will be hard against this Rockets team, but it should be a close game.

Durant and Westbrook's First Meeting

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This was the first match up between Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant since Durant bolted for Oakland California in July. All the media has been talking about is Westbrook and Durant's relationship since Durant left. Last night we finally got to see them face off against each other for the first time in their careers.

For the record Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant did not shake hands before or after the game. With that out of the way here is what happened in last nights game. To no surprise Westbrook came out attacking earlier and wanted to make a statement. Even though the Thunder took an early lead it did not last long. Soon enough Durant caught fire and it was all over. Durant put on a show last night scoring 39 points on 15-24 shooting. For Westbrook he had a double double with a stat line of 20 points, 10 assists, and 6 rebounds.

Ben Margot/AP Sports

What stands out is Westbrook shot 4-15 from the field and had 6 turnovers. His shooting and turnovers are what really hurt his team. 15 shots is not a lot, but his teammates expect him to make somewhere around half of those shots. Westbrook's percentage was 26.7% meaning he made about 1/4 of the shots he took. For him to also have 6 turnovers on top of a bad shooting night hurt his team's chances of winning. Combine that with Durant's performance and what you have is the 122-96 blowout that occurred.

What was significant about this game was the story line between the two players. But at the end of the night Durant and Westbrook never really played each other. Westbrook went up against Klay Thompson while Durant was doing work against every player the Thunder threw at him. The only plays that standout that involved Durant and Westbrook were when they blocked each other. Westbrook had a block from behind on Durant and Durant did the same thing to Westbrook a few plays later. Other than that there is no one-on-one match up between the two players.

Yahoo.com

A take away from this game for the Warriors is how will they share the ball? Durant was feeling it last night and just kept demanding the ball. One play Curry brought the ball down and Durant stood at almost half court behind him calling and clapping for it. Since Durant was feeling it and the focus of the game was on him, they let him take over. But what happens late in the season when the Durant wants the ball, but the Warriors want to run their offense to get open threes? Do they let Durant have isolation's or do they tell him to go in the corner while Curry runs a pick-and-roll? It will be interesting to see.

For Thunder they are completely reliant on Westbrook. He now has one less guy to share the ball with, but that means he has a lot more weight on his shoulders. Will this season wear him down or will he be able to carry the load? Westbrook's teammates are ok, but none of them can score like Durant. The Thunder need to add more shooters to their team. This will open up the lane more for Westbrook and allow him to hit the open man on the perimeter when the defense collapses. The Thunder may have a line up that helps them on offense. It is just the matter of Billy Donovan experimenting with line ups and finding one that works.

Westbrook with Another Triple Double

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Coming into the 2016-17 season Westbrook is considered an MVP candidate. Some even feel Westbrook could be the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple double for a season. Although it is still early Westbrook has two triple doubles in three games. Right now Westbrook is averaging 38.7 points, 11.7 assists, and 12.3 rebounds per game. Westbrook's numbers have been good enough to win him Western Conference player of the week for the first week of the season. It is impressive considering how many players had outstanding opening week to the season.

If Westbrook can continue his current rate of production it will be hard to not consider him for MVP. It was only two seasons ago that Westbrook made a late push to gain votes for MVP. This year he is starting off well and is no longer sharing the stage with Kevin Durant. It is Russell Westbrook's team now and it should be exciting to see what he will do unleashed.

Westbrook Agrees to Contract Extension

Picture Westbrook posted on Twitter after agreeing to extension

Russell Westbrook decided to sign an extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder worth $85 million over three years. This changes everything for the Thunder. Essentially Westbrook just saved the Thunder from going into the lottery for years to come. The Thunder can now target big name free agents next summer and ultimately know their top player is locked in. Recruiting free agents will be easier if the recruits know Westbrook is not going anywhere. But as excited as Thunder fans may be of this news, why would Westbrook stay after they just lost Kevin Durant and traded Serge Ibaka this summer?

Mark D. Smith USA Today

For starters Westbrook will be making much more than he was set to make this coming season. Westbrook's salary going into next season was set at $17.8 million dollars, but after reconstructing next season in his extension he will make $26.5 million. Along with an instant salary increase this season he is also set to make $27.8 million in 2017-18. In his third year he will have a player option worth $30.6 million. Westbrook now has a salary that resembles his worth.

The second reason Westbrook would sign an extension through 2019 with a player option is because by 2018 he will a 10 year veteran. As a 10 year veteran players are allowed to take up 35% of the salary cap as opposed to 30% of the cap. Over the span of a five year max contract that can equal more than $40 million extra dollars to be made. With the cap increasing as well Westbrook will be in for a huge pay day once the summer of 2018 rolls around.

This extension also makes Westbrook look like a hero. Westbrook would never have been hated as much for leaving as Durant, but Oklahoma City fans would not have been happy with him. Now that he is staying he gives fans hope and paints a positive picture of himself. What better way to get fans to root for you than saying you hope you beat the guy who left you and say you are not going anywhere? Westbrook is setting out to make a statement and he means every word of it. The real question becomes will management help him? The Thunder still have a huge hole to fill with Durant gone. Westbrook signing this extension allows them to focus on putting talent around him. That's great, but Sam Presti cannot just be on idle for a year because he has Westbrook locked in. In order to keep Westbrook he has form a plan now to make the team better. If Presti fails to provide Westbrook with another high level running mate he will leave. And when he leaves he will get no flack. Everyone will be saying Sam Presti was given one last opportunity and failed to deliver. So all the pressure is on the Thunder to keep Westbrook happy these next two seasons.

Nate Billings. The Oklahoman

This extension puts Westbrook in a win-win situation. When players hit that decade mark with one team they are usually praised for their time with the team. If Westbrook goes through all the ups and downs in OKC he will be remembered for sticking it out for as long as he could, but if the situation never improves he has the right to leave. And fans, as heart broken as they may be, will cheer him when he returns because they will know he gave it his all. A great example would be when Kevin Garnett landed in Boston after playing 11 seasons with the Timberwolves. Minnesota fans still showed him love when he returned. Hopefully in Westbrook's situation the Thunder can quickly build another win now team. As the roster stands today the Thunder could be a 4-6 seed in the west. They also have a good chance at advancing to the second round of the playoffs. It is a good starting point, but they need to add another piece that will help them challenge the Spurs and Warriors. And that's where Presti will have to work his magic.