Several years ago I told everyone that the triple doubles that Russell Westbrook and James Harden were posting were nothing but "fools gold". I was not taken seriously, and the trolls were relentless. In addition, both won league MVP awards so no one listened.
Fast forward to today and both were scheduled to make $47M next season. On the other hand, both are declining and neither has a legitimate chance of winning a championship before it is over for them. In fact, Harden is renegotiating his contract because the Sixers will not give him an extension at such a high salary. In addition, the Lakers are once again doomed to miss the playoffs because no one wants to trade for Russell Westbrook.
I saw this coming a mile away years ago. In addition, so did EVERY reasonably knowledgeable player, coach, or fan. We all noticed that both players were turning the ball over 4.0 times per game or more which is pathetic. Yes, I said PATHETIC. Players that turn the ball over like this are equivalent to "secret agents" for the opposing team. I will even go so far as to say that no competent point guard would ever average over 4.0 TOVs.
In comparison, Chris "CP3" Paul has a 2.1 turnovers per gane rate for his career. Although he has never won a NBA championship, Paul has made the playoffs every year, and he has been to the NBA Finals via a Western Conference Championship.
In addition, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are the only players in NBA history to record "pseudo quadruple doubles". That is triple doubles along with 10 or more turnovers. Both did this on multiple occasions. Ironically, they occurred during their MVP campaigns, and to no surprise EVERY one of those games resulted in defeat.
Russell Westbrick and James Harden have a combined total of 264 career triple doubles. They are also number 1 & 2 on the All-time list for most games with 10 or more turnovers. Neither is a point guard, and both should be playing off of the ball. It is no coincedence that the closest James Harden has come to the finals was when he played alongside Chris Paul
CP3 played the point in Houston. Unfortunately, in OKC Russell Westbrook was the starting point guard and they both turned it over so much that the Warriors were able to defeat them and move on to begin their current dynasty.
PLEASE NOTE: Out of the 264 combined triple doubles Harden and Westbrook have, only two games were devoid of a turnover. Since a player can avoid a turnover simply by shooting the ball, the fact that Ben Simmons (a non-jump shooter) has as many turnoverless triple doubles as both of them combined speaks volumes.
* Both Russell Westbrook and James Harden have to have the ball in their hands constantly in order to be effective. If you would like to know how the truly great players do it, with or without the ball, then click the picture below for more information.
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