I'm sorry, but comparing Irving to Westbrook is just laughable. Perhaps you have only read about him instead of frequently watching Westbrook over the years. They are polar opposites in many ways.
The primary way is that Irving QUIT ON HIS TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS. Everyone saw that against the Bucks.
If you watch Westbrook, not only would he never quit on his team, he never quits on plays. I can't think of anyone who goes 100% all of the time like Westbrook, it is remarkable how he never seems to get tired on the court despite his frantic pace.
Although their games were much different, the player that I think Westbrook resembles most is Kobe Bryant (who was never my favorite type of player because he suffered from many of the same deficiencies that Westbrook does). Westbrook has never reached Kobe's level of team achievement, and his talent may be a bit less, but not that much. After all, Westbrook won the NBA regular season MVP award only two years back in 2017, he has been the scoring champion twice, and he has been on the All NBA first team twice, second team five times, and third team one time.
Let's look at Kobe's mind set:
- A killer, always out to kill the enemy at all costs.
- Never left anything out on the court (at least until he got old).
- Always thought HE was the best person to achieve victory, regardless of how great his teammates were.
- Always wanted to take the last shot.
- Occasionally pissed off his teammates.
With the possible exception of the last bullet (Kobe pissed off his teammates 100x more than Westbrook) that could completely describe Westbrook. He will kill himself on the floor to get victory, but he always thinks he the best player on the floor and too often thinks he should take the last shot, even when he plays with someone like Durant or George.
Of course, their games are completely different. Kobe was much more skilled, a better passer, probably a better defender when he wanted to be, and a vastly better shooter and shot selector. Westbrook is much stronger and prone to initiating collisions, probably faster, more determined, and probably more athletic. The shooting is the main problem, if he was a better shooter he would have probably won many MVPs.
Sorry for the long defense. I actually would not want Westbrook on the Celtics. And, he is about to turn 31 and his type of hyper-athletic game is unlikely to age well.
However, he would never, ever, ever quit on his teammates or stop killing himself trying to win the game in any game, let alone a playoff game. He is the anti-Irving IMHO.
Maybe NOW ESPN will put the foot on the Laker-hype train for just a bit.
