Yup but Carmelo never was able to assist anything. All he could do well was rebound and he shot well but not great at times.
You think that it's old and outdated because of what? What does Westbrook have to fall back on as he loses his athletic ability? Shooting? No. Skill? Not really. Craftiness? No. He's always had mediocre efficiency, so what do u think his efficiency will be looking like as his athleticism declines and it becomes harder for him to finish at the rim with his usual explosiveness? Just because Curry's responsibility on GS isn't scoring alone doesn't mean that he's not a scoring machine. He can put up points with the best of them. If Curry wanted to average 24 shots per game like Westbrook then he'd probably average around 35 ppg. Westbrook rebounded but rarely assisted? He was leading assist man on the Thunder when Harden and Durant were there and it wasn't even close. He averaged over 8 assists twice and almost 6 apg in the other season while never averaging more than 5 rpg.
Sports medicine, technology has advanced since the Yao and Mac glass body era. Players still get injured and decline but more and more players are coming back strongly or stay fit till their mid thirties. There is no guarantee for anything. Harden or WB could suffer from a severe injury any time that will affect their late career for all we know. Whereas we are speculating if they are healthy who will age gracefully, there is a possibility that they do not get the chance to age well in the first place. There is uncertainty but there is also hope that they will recover well if needed. Preserving your body for your late career is key nowadays.
Lol @ all athleticism narrative being old/inaccurate. Familiarize yourself with his building block moves. They're all based on speed/strength.
I'm not saying that Westbrook will turn into some useless scrub as he enters his thirties and his athleticism declines, I'm just saying that his game won't age as gracefully as Curry's or Harden's. If they're all at a level 10 right now, at age 32, Curry and Harden might have fallen down to a level 7 or 8, while Westbrook might fall down to level 6 or 5. Plus, his style of play can lead to injury issues in the future which could accelerate his decline.
Iverson never got slow . Strength and the ability to jump high will likely be the key areas. You just do layups instead of dunks. And p n roll more. As long as you are scoring it does not matter if that is a highlight dunk or just a layup. We had that conversation already about Dwight Howard. That guy had almost 0 skills apart from moves he learned from the Dream but he could not follow through with the majority that he learned. WB is a Top 3 guard and it is impossible that he has little skills. Reeko's argumentation was Curry and Harden age best and I think even if Curry and Harden do age better it won't be a big difference barring injuries. WB can pick things up. And if not he needs to find teammates that complement him. I just think other things like team building and luck play a bigger part.
Westbrook is not a good or crafty finisher around the rim even with all of his athleticism and explosion. Westbrook shoots 58% at the rim for his career and has been above 60% only 3 times in his 9 year career. Harden is at 64% at the rim for his career while Westbrook's career high for a season is at 63%. This year, Harden is shooting 69% at the rim while Westbrook is at 58%. This just goes to show u that Westbrook's game won't age as gracefully. He can't shoot that well, and he's not a great finisher. His finishing ability will only get worse as he ages, and the probability that his shooting will improve by a large amount are low. Harden is a crafty finisher who knows how to shield off his defender at the rim. He does not rely on being able to out-jump his opponent. Westbrook just goes into the paint at 100 mph and elevates over his defender. What is he gonna do when his elevation and explosiveness isn't what it used to be? He won't be able to finish at the rim, and he still won't be a particularly good shooter.
Efficiency and success are two narratives. They could go together but they do not have to. Even one of the most efficient shooter and passer in the history of the game cannot win regularly. Nash for several reasons. Russell can team up with the right teammates and could contend.
I shudder to think what Westbrook will look like when he's not able to blow by his defender with that speed and first step anymore. Because you know he sure as heck ain't going to be a threat to you camping behind the 3 point line.
The thing is people assume he is stats padding for his entire career. He won't. He is working for his next contract obviously. He will stat pad like ZBO and then join a superfriends or Allstar friendly team sooner than ZBO did. He would be dumb to do otherwise and I would call him out on this. He has to undergo a transformation, and he will be more efficient with people drawing away attention.
I don't understand where you're going with this. Your post has nothing to do with what I said. My post was talking about his game and how it would age.
IMO folks here are scared that players end up like Wade and Tmac and suddenly lose their athleticism. Or maybe Howard. And 33 year old Kobe. I am sure not everyone declines that fast. Most of them had career ending injuries, and they came back but could not play any longer. Not on the same level. I am not sure I wish such an injury upon WB.
Westbrook isn't working for his next contract, he doesn't need to. He will easily get the max when he's on the open market. He has to change his game, but the question is will he and can he. Westbrook is like a Kobe. Kobe didn't change his game for anyone. Westbrook wouldn't even change his game for Durant. Westbrook must have the ball in his hands at all times in order to be effective. He can't be a spot up shooter and he doesn't really move without the ball either. Westbrook can't function as an off ball player the way Harden (in OKC) or Curry can.
My answer was not an follow up on your various theories who ages well. I do tend to view things from various angles and touch on the outcome of what you said and how to prevent other scenarios in a player's late career. Forgive me if I have a more volatile way of communication and way of thinking. Points 1. You may be right or not about WB. IMO it won't matter much because team will just have to put athletic guys around him. 2. Team building and if he joins Super team or not. 3. Severe Injury or not. And can and will he be able to come back from that. You deem it has nothing to do with your post because you might be locked in on one issue but there are several issues here. I agree with people that say Harden and Curry are more team friendly options but WB can be a cornerstone you just have to find the right pieces. The difference won't matter much if WB has the better big man or the better front court than the other two stars. Reality suggests neither Harden or WB can easily win a championship with GSW, Spurs with Pops, and Lebron around. Barring a drastic change of the roster.
You are not sure if you wish an injury on WB? Thats messed up lol. I am 100% sure that I dont wish an injury on anyone
I am not sure why you are so stubborn with this opinion when some ex players said WB improved in smarts and starting to be strategical. Visit one of my threads. He is changing. Kobe said it himself and he was a student of the game. Copying Jordan, Hakeem, Bird, Magic....... He was not the best teammate but still a great player. http://bbs.clutchfans.com/index.php?threads/talking-about-the-zone-and-the-muse-cage-co-mvp.281766/ Maybe I am the only one here who goes against the grain and think WB can still be a very good player when he gets older. Aging well does not mean he has to be efficient as Harden. Harden does not have WB's drive or killer instinct every god damn game. You cannot measure that. Harden has the tendency to coast on one side of basketball. This year he tries but who is to say he is trying every year? And when he is not feeling it or has a sprained wrist, he chucks up 3s and makes lazy passes. You are right that WB does not play for his contract alone, he plays for honor and for making history.
