Replace Lebron with Westbrook in last year's finals

[Marchesk]

What would WiltBrook's stat line look like? And would he stand in the corner to conserve energy for parts of the game?

[navy]

Westbrook played the Spurs in the WCF....

It would have been like no Ibaka the entire series.

[Marchesk]

Westbrook played the Spurs in the WCF....

With Durant, though. I meant to add, replace Lebron with current Westbrook in last year's finals.

[navy]

With Durant, though. I meant to add, replace Lebron with current Westbrook in last year's finals.
I dont think current Westbrook is any different from the one in last years playoffs.

[Marchesk]

I dont think current Westbrook is any different from the one in last years playoffs.

So what kind of numbers would he put up trying to carry the Heat? Would it have mattered (closer games)?

[Prime_Shaq]

Heat were just outclassed and outplayed so badly, only prime Jordan or Shaq could help the Heat last year.

[SouBeachTalents]

Heat were just outclassed and outplayed so badly, only prime Jordan or Shaq could help the Heat last year.

Honestly, even they would be arguable

[navy]

So what kind of numbers would he put up trying to carry the Heat?
Same as he put up trying to carry the Thunder.

[Marchesk]

Here's the thing we know about Westbrook. He would've gone all out chucking, for better or worse, unlike Lebron, who plays within the flow and for efficiency, and had to conserve energy at times during that series, since the rest of his teammates weren't getting it done. The only thing I didn't like about Lebron's play is that he didn't just say screw it and go all Kobe on the Spurs, even if it wouldn't have changed the outcome.

[navy]

Honestly, even they would be arguable
Shaq would have been useful so the Heat wouldnt have to use Spolestras overtrapping to make up for the lack of shot blocking.

[Marchesk]

Shaq would have been useful so the Heat wouldnt have to use Spolestras overtrapping to make up for the lack of shot blocking.

Shaq might have also gotten the Spurs front line in foul trouble.

[Im Still Ballin]

Spoelstra's shit defense cost the heat

[Marchesk]

Anyway, in that sort of situation, give me a Westbrook or Kobe (or MJ before Pippen) over Lebron. I want to see my superstar go down gunning.

[RoundMoundOfReb]

Sweep for the Spurs.

[J Shuttlesworth]

So what kind of numbers would he put up trying to carry the Heat? Would it have mattered (closer games)?
He probably would have put up similar numbers to LeBron, but on much lower efficiency.

He's 2/5 (no pun intended) in his last 5 games, including the 4 triple doubles, and these have all been against weak PG's aside from Lillard (which was an L in portland)

If you think he's putting up triple double numbers against the Spurs, you are on some serious shit. Keep in mind he'd be defended by Kawhi Leonard if he was i LBJ's shoes. I'd say he'd put up the same numbers he put up in the WCF, except maybe a couple more PPG

[RoundMoundOfReb]

If Westbrook and Durant are both better than LeBron, as several autistic posters on here seem to think, than how much of a failure is it that they have made the finals just once?....and that was with another guy (James Harden) who some retards think is better than or as good as LeBron.

[3ball]

replace Lebron with current Westbrook in last year's finals.


If this year's improved Westbrook had averaged, say, 38 PPG against the Spurs instead of Lebron's 28 PPG, it would have been a very close series.

I would compare it to the 1993 Finals, which might be the closest series in the history of the playoffs: for the series, the Bulls and Suns both averaged exactly 113.0 PPG and exactly 106.7 ORtg.. a literal tie... Accordingly, the Bulls needed every ounce of Jordan's record 41 PPG, which was the primary factor giving the Bulls a chance of keeping up with the Suns juggernaut, #1 ranked offense, instead of getting blown away.

Westbrook's aggression and eagerness to embrace the responsibility of being the alpha leader would've had a similar impact on last year's Heat, as Jordan had on the 1993 Bulls.. and Westbrook's aggression would have also caused the Spurs to make adjustments and pay more attention to him, thus freeing up and taking pressure off of teammates.

[inclinerator]

westbrook played like what half the games lebron has played the past 2 years? if westbrook didnt miss so many games i guarantee his production would drop

[warriorfan]

westbrook replacing lebron doesn't even make it to the finals

:roll:

[deja vu]

Goatbrook would beast even more since he no longer has to compete with Durant for shots. It wouldn't be enough to beat the Spurs though.

[ImKobe]

Heat win Games 1,2 & 6. Spurs in 7.

[ThickassGlasses]

If this year's improved Westbrook had averaged, say, 38 PPG against the Spurs instead of Lebron's 28 PPG, it would have been a very close series.

I would compare it to the 1993 Finals, which might be the closest series in the history of the playoffs: for the series, the Bulls and Suns both averaged exactly 113.0 PPG and exactly 106.7 ORtg.. a literal tie... Accordingly, the Bulls needed every ounce of Jordan's record 41 PPG, which was the primary factor giving the Bulls a chance of keeping up with the Suns juggernaut, #1 ranked offense, instead of getting blown away.

Westbrook's aggression and eagerness to embrace the responsibility of being the alpha leader would've had a similar impact on last year's Heat, as Jordan had on the 1993 Bulls.. and Westbrook's aggression would have also caused the Spurs to make adjustments and pay more attention to him, thus freeing up and taking pressure off of teammates.

Maybe close games, but they get swept or win 1 game tops.

And that's assuming Goatbrook is on every game.

Now put Goatbrook on the Pacers of last year :pimp:

[ArbitraryWater]

With Durant, though. I meant to add, replace Lebron with current Westbrook in last year's finals.

And why would we do this?

How about we replace Wilt with Westbrook, in the '69 finals?

Lakers sweep

[pmj]

Westbrook changes nothing, Lebron played well. The Heat were a different team without it's shooters hitting and the whole supporting cast sucked. The Heat as a team hit a wall last year, didn't have the same desire and energy. Couple that with the Spurs playing and shooting lights out and it's not a contest either way.

[Le Shaqtus]

Lots of bricks.

[imdaman99]

Westbrook plays great at home. Go watch his Game 4 against the Spurs. He dominated them on both ends with his 40-10 statline. Heat would probably win at least one of the home games instead of losing by 100 both times. Spurs in 6.

[34-24 Footwork]

Westbrook would've went down swinging... Leonard, and the rest of the spurs for that matter, would've been in foul trouble before the fourth quarter. But Spurs in 6...

[greatest-ever]

Spoelstra's shit defense cost the heat
You're right, Spo was the worst defender on the floor. He was missing assignments, getting blown by and giving up open 3s.

[tpols]

Here's the thing we know about Westbrook. He would've gone all out chucking, for better or worse, unlike Lebron, who plays within the flow and for efficiency, and had to conserve energy at times during that series, since the rest of his teammates weren't getting it done. The only thing I didn't like about Lebron's play is that he didn't just say screw it and go all Kobe on the Spurs, even if it wouldn't have changed the outcome.

They probably would've still lost.. but no way is westbrook cramping up leaving in crunch time of game 1.. and the Heat won game 2 so....

The series wasn't really blown open til kawhi went on a tear in game 3 with lebron guarding him and not swinging back. You're right in that westbrook is going to try to light a fire and bring enormous energy which is naturally contagious.. instead of just stat padding in blowouts.

[Rose'sACL]

They probably would've still lost.. but no way is westbrook cramping up leaving in crunch time of game 1.. and the Heat won game 2 so....

The series wasn't really blown open til kawhi went on a tear in game 3 with lebron guarding him and not swinging back. You're right in that westbrook is going to try to light a fire and bring enormous energy which is naturally contagious.. instead of just stat padding in blowouts.
bolded parts are absolutely wrong. keep telling yourself that lebron sat out even though he could have played. if he could have played, he would have played.
lebron didn't statpad in a single game. show me play by plays to prove your point. your opinion is not a fact.
i remember exactly one possession where lebron didn't guard kawhi well which was a three pointer. all other points scored were either guarded well or scored on other players.

[Rose'sACL]

Westbrook plays great at home. Go watch his Game 4 against the Spurs. He dominated them on both ends with his 40-10 statline. Heat would probably win at least one of the home games instead of losing by 100 both times. Spurs in 6.
i think it helped that he plays on a team with durant. replace both bosh and wade with durant in last finals and heat most probably would have won. i can't believe that this forum thinks that westbrook was the better player last playoffs or even now.

[ArbitraryWater]

They probably would've still lost.. but no way is westbrook cramping up leaving in crunch time of game 1.. and the Heat won game 2 so....

The series wasn't really blown open til kawhi went on a tear in game 3 with lebron guarding him and not swinging back. You're right in that westbrook is going to try to light a fire and bring enormous energy which is naturally contagious.. instead of just stat padding in blowouts.

:roll: :roll:

so what? We're just gonna assume Westbrook puts up 35/10 on 60% like LeBron did? :oldlol:

[riseagainst]

He would lead the Heat to a 4-2 victory and become the greatest Heat player of all time.

[3ball]

If Russell Westbrook averages 38 PPG and 7 APG, instead of Lebron's 28 PPG and 4 APG, it's a totally different series.

Do the Heat win?.. Not sure... but the Heat would've had a chance and the series would've been close, not a blowout.

[Smoke117]

You could replace Lebron with a prime Jordan or whoever...it's not going to change the outcome of this series. The Heat in general were horrible defensively vs the Spurs...and no perimeter guy is going to stop that bleeding. They just don't have the impact too. It doesn't help that the heat were so small up front too. Maybe if you are replacing Lebron with a Hakeem, Shaq, or Robinson the series might have been more interesting...but replacing Lebron with another superstar perimeter is going to change absolutely nothing.

[Marchesk]

i think it helped that he plays on a team with durant. replace both bosh and wade with durant in last finals and heat most probably would have won. i can't believe that this forum thinks that westbrook was the better player last playoffs or even now.

It's not about Westbrook being better, it's more a question about Westbrook's energy and style of play in that kind of situation where the team is outgunned so you might as well have someone going all out playing hero ball.

There are other series where one would obviously pick Lebron, but this one leaves me wondering, even though Lebron did put up very good numbers. It's just that at times his energy was clearly lacking. Don't tell me that he wasn't, because I watched the entire series closely and was shocked how he could go from a dominant quarter to not wanting to drive past inferior defenders on the perimeter (when Kawhi wasn't guarding him).

[tpols]

:roll: :roll:

so what? We're just gonna assume Westbrook puts up 35/10 on 60% like LeBron did? :oldlol:

:wtf:

Considering westbrook had a game of 40/10/5/5 on the spurs in the wcf... 35/10 wouldn't even be special for him.

:yaohappy:

[jlip]

You could replace Lebron with a prime Jordan or whoever...it's not going to change the outcome of this series. The Heat in general were horrible defensively vs the Spurs...and no perimeter guy is going to stop that bleeding. They just don't have the impact too. It doesn't help that the heat were so small up front too. Maybe if you are replacing Lebron with a Hakeem, Shaq, or Robinson the series might have been more interesting...but replacing Lebron with another superstar perimeter is going to change absolutely nothing.

This

[34-24 Footwork]

Calling LeBron a PERIMETER superstar is a bit of a stretch. Superstar is accurate. But for fg % reasons, Bron takes most of his attempts close to the rim. Lamarcus Aldridge is more of a perimeter player than LeBron.

[Young X]

LOL @ people thinking Westbrook and his 30+ shots on low efficiency will hurt the Spurs in any way. Miami lost last year because they couldn't stop SAS's ridiculous offense and everybody besides Lebron struggled badly. There's nothing an extremely high volume, mediocre/low efficiency guard is doing to prevent that from happening.

[Rose'sACL]

Calling LeBron a PERIMETER superstar is a bit of a stretch. Superstar is accurate. But for fg % reasons, Bron takes most of his attempts close to the rim. Lamarcus Aldridge is more of a perimeter player than LeBron.
wtf? he starts almost all of his moves from beyond the 3 point line.....that is a perimeter player. he also shoots a lot of 3s. he shoots 6-7 mid range jumpers too.
do you understand basketball or are you just trying to be a hipster here?

LOL @ people thinking Westbrook and his 30+ shots on low efficiency will hurt the Spurs in any way. Miami lost last year because they couldn't stop SAS's ridiculous offense and everybody besides Lebron struggled badly. There's nothing an extremely high volume, mediocre/low efficiency guard is doing to prevent that from happening.
i still remember that time in the finals when lebron was hitting shot after shot and spurs lead was just not going down.
defense was heat's problem. offense only looked like a problem if you just watch the final score.
if spurs weren't blowing out heat then they would have scored even more.