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Even though many NBA pundits believe that Russell Westbrook will win the most valuable player award, that shouldn't be the case. This is because as I have said previously the Thunder will most likely run a half court offense similar to when Kevin Durant had to miss games with the Jones fracture injury. Where Russell Westbrook will bring the ball up the floor until he gets up to the three point line, then he calls for a screen. Once the screen is set, he goes over the top of it and if there is no defender on the other side of the screen he will drive to the basket. Westbrook will try to score if he sees a wide open path towards the basket, otherwise, he will pass it to the perimeter to try to get a three point shot for the team. On the other hand, if there is a defender on the other side of the screen he will pass to the screener for a wide open shot. However, the Thunder won't be able to effectively run this type of offense because the team does not have enough players who are capable of consistently making a three. As a result, opposing defenses will focus on clogging up the painted area which will force the team to take a contested shot in the paint or settle for a long two pointer or a three point shot that they will have difficulty making. For instance, on most possessions I expect that Westbrook will bring the ball up the floor until he gets up to the three point line, then he calls for a screen. Once the screen is set, he goes over the top of it and he will be tempted to shoot the three because he knows this is the only wide open shot will get. On top of that he knows that if he decides to attack the basket, the opposing team will collapse on him which forces him to choose the lesser of two evils either take a contested shot or kick it out for an ineffective three. As a result of this, it would be unrealistic to consider Westbrook a front-runner for the most valuable player award when he does not have the right players around him to accumulate the statistics and wins necessary to win the award.
(the 3 point percentage of every player on the roster last season)
(Ersan Ilyasova's 3 point percentage)
(Victor Oladipo's 3 point percentage)
( 2 examples of the thunder's half court offense without Durant)
Therefore it leaves the door open for other players like his former teammate James Harden to overtake Westbrook as a front-runner for the most valuable player award. This is because Harden will be playing in Mike D'Antoni's half court offense which is built around a pick and roll concept where the point guard would bring the ball up to the three point line and then a big man would set a screen. Once the screen was set the point guard would pay attention to his defender to determine the next course of action for instance, if the defender went under the screen, the point guard would go over the screen and take the wide open shot. On the other hand, if the defender went over the screen, the point guard would go over the screen as well and drive towards the basket where he would score or pass the ball to the player next to him or to the perimeter depending on whether he was double teamed or not. Furthermore, opposing teams will have a hard time trying to limit the impact that Harden has on a game because the Houston Rockets organization has filled the roster with enough players who are capable of consistently making a three. As a result, opposing teams can't afford to clog up the paint or double team Harden because it will give the team a wide open three. Due to this, Harden will be able to hurt opposing teams in multiple ways which increases the likelihood that he will be able to accumulate the statistics and wins necessary to win the award.
(the 3 point percentage of every player on the roster last season)
(Eric Gordon's 3 point percentage)
(Ryan Anderson's 3 point percentage)
(Mike D'Antoni's offense)
