The All NBA teams were announced today, and here are they are.
First Team
Stephen Curry, James Harden, Paul George, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic
Second team
Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Joel Embiid
Third team
Kemba Walker, Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gobert
Every year, these are dissected by fans and media members alike. A media member makes the case for whom they voted for, and fans argue for who they feel had a better season or who they like better.
For example, you could argue Joel Embiid over Nikola Jokic. You could argue, if you wanted to, that Kawhi Leonard, who played in 60 games, did not play in enough games to warrant an All-NBA selection. For me, though, the big mistake is having Kyrie Irving on the second team, ahead of Russell Westbrook.
For starters, let's remember that these are regular season accolades, so the playoffs - where both the Thunder and Celtics were eliminated swiftly in their respective rounds - do not factor in. Now, lets compare regular season numbers:
Westbrook: 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, 10.7 assists, 43% / 29% / 66% (FG/3pt/FT)
Irving: 23.8 points, 6.9 assists, 5.0 rebounds, 49% / 40% / 87%
Now, Irving has always been a better shooter than Westbrook, and proved such again this year in all three aspects of shooting the basketball. However, what gets overlooked with Westbrook - whether it's because of the Warriors, James Harden, LeBron being in the western conference now, or the fact that Westbrook plays with a fellow all star in Paul George - is the fact that he averaged a triple double for the third straight season.
What hadn't been done since the 1960s, Russell Westbrook has done now for three years running. That is truly remarkable.
Both teams won 49 games - the Thunder 6th in the west and the Celtics 4th in the east - so that cancels out. Their head to head matchups look like this:
October 25, 2018 at Boston - 101-95 Celtics
Westbrook: 13 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists, 5/20, 0/5, 3/5
Irving: 15 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 6/13, 2/6, 1/4
February 3, 2019 at Oklahoma City - 134-129 Celtics
Westbrook: 22 points, 16 assists, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 8/19, 1/3, 5/8
Irving: 30 points, 11 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 block, 14/19, 1/5, 1/1
Although the Celtics won both games, Westbrook had a near triple double and a big triple double. Although both teams failed to meet expectations, the Thunder played in the tougher conference. Both, according to some media and fans, have attitude issues that you wouldn't want on your team. However, both are outstanding players. Depending whom you want depends on what you want from your lead guard. Westbrook covers all the bases, whereas Irving gets you points in bunches, is virtually unguardable one on one, and can get his shot off anytime.
Both have their strengths, both have their weaknesses, and both played on teams this year that underachieved. It just so happens that Westbrook made history - previously unthought of history - again, for the third straight season with a triple double.
That, to me, is too much to overlook and should have given him a slot on the second team.
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