Who's better: Rondo or Westbrook?
Comparing the young stars for Boston and Oklahoma City
ESPN INSIDER
By Chris Palmer | ESPN The Magazine
One is the league's highest scoring point guard. The other fits the profile of a classic pass-first floor general. Despite their differences in style, they operate with a number of the same qualities, such as speed, athleticism and high-energy effort.
Still, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo have entirely different approaches to scoring, shot selection and defense that have resulted in a combined five All-Star appearances. Fourth-year Westbrook is developing a rep as one of the flashiest guards in basketball, and mercurial Rondo has battled trade rumors despite proving himself the Celtics' best player. Although their reputations and styles might be night and day, no doubt both point guards are the cream of the crop. But who is better?
Shooting
It's often said that when Westbrook finally develops an outside shot he'll really be dangerous. How's this for dangerous? On long 2s, he's shooting a solid 42 percent, higher than vaunted shooters Ray Allen (35 percent) and Joe Johnson (40).
What's more, from the crucial midrange distance, he's hitting at a better clip than Steve Nash (40 to 35). (He's fifth in midrange field goal percentage among players with at least 2.4 attempts per game.) Seems those summer shooting sessions with Kevin Love have paid off. Westbrook has turned the foul line pull-up into one of his most useful weapons. But he still has room to grow. He has a tendency to lean forward and float to the side when he shoots.
Even with lingering shot selection issues, Westbrook is still a far more advanced shooter than Rondo, whose awkward knuckleball directly takes him out of contention for best point guard in the league. Rondo has very little interest in shooting from the outside. It's unfortunate, considering that his excellent ability to create space for himself in half-court situations would allow him to get quality looks. The pull-up appears to be a very unnatural movement, likely preventing him from developing a consistent midrange shot. Rondo is rightfully lauded for his array of artful floaters but is hitting a career-worst 25.6 percent on those runners this season.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8.5, Rondo 6
Passing
Rondo is a pure point guard in every sense of the term. His primary function is to get guys the ball in a position to score. Rondo's deep cache of passes runs the gamut from textbook two-hand PNR bounce passes to clever one-handed wraparound deliveries from the high post to a cutter to eye-popping (50-foot two-hand laser chest passes). Rondo is a master of understanding angles, reacting to spacing (good or bad) and knowing how his teammates move without the ball. In fact, he leads the league in assists leading to field goals from 10-23 feet and is third overall in assisting on 3-pointers. Westbrook isn't in the top 10 in either of those categories. In the past four seasons, only Nash has more games with 15 or more assists than Rondo.
Even though Westbrook is playing a career-high 35.3 minutes per game, his assist numbers have taken a nosedive down to 5.5 from 8.2 assists per game last season. Much of that is down to his decision -- for better or worse -- to become more of a scorer. But at his facilitating best, he delivers crisp passes that shooters can catch in motion, and his size and goods hands allow him to throw accurate skip passes to teammates spotting up around the arc. Westbrook is also a quality passer in the open court -- the area of the floor where his athletic ability serves him the best. The problem when he kicks it into the upper gears is that his tunnel vision and determination to score override what point guard instincts he might have and usually result in a foray to the rim regardless of numbers.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8, Rondo 10
Athleticism
Westbrook's most tantalizing ability is his game-breaking leaping. His 42-inch vertical puts him at the high end of the league's very best leapers, and he can hang and contort his body in the air to get off twisting shots at close range. Westbrook has 34 dunks (24th in the league), a tally that leads all point guards. In half court or transition, he can finish off the bounce or cover a surprising amount of real estate leaping off of one leg. Although his zippy quickness gets the attention, one of his best qualities is his upper-body and core strength, which he uses in concert with great footwork to overpower other points to get off clean shots from the low block.
Rondo's breakaway speed can propel him from one foul line to the other before the shot clock ticks below 21 seconds. He also operates effectively in tight spaces -- loves to skirt the baseline -- where he can use a quick change of direction to slip between defenders for easy baskets. Rondo's balance, body control, timing and hair-trigger reflexes serve him well on the ground and in the air. One area where Rondo can't touch Westbrook: durability. The Thunder guard has never missed a game.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 10, Rondo 9.5
Defense
Rondo is arguably the best defensive point guard in the NBA. His ability to hawk the ball and pressure his man frustrates even the most accomplished ball handlers. Thanks to his long arms and keen anticipation, few are better at playing the passing lanes. He also likes to sneak up on bigs to pluck the ball from behind to ignite the break. Westbrook has all the tools to develop into one of the league's best overall defenders but isn't quite on the level of Rondo.
Westbrook's aggressive approach to defense mirrors his all-or-nothing style on offense. He has exceptional lateral movement and the ability to move fluidly in any direction, which he uses to dictate where he wants his man to go (or not go). His pick-and-roll defense has taken a step forward with regard to fighting over screens, recovering and communicating with the defensive big. If Westbrook cuts back on his tendency to gamble -- the pull of those breakaway dunks is quite strong -- he'll take yet another step forward on D.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8, Rondo 10
Ballhandling
It's tough to find much of a difference when comparing the handles of most topflight NBA point guards. Westbrook uses a rather high dribble he pounds mercilessly into the floor to free him up for 15-footers or get to the rim. His left-to-right snap-back crossover is as fun to watch as it is effective. Westbrook's 4.0 turnovers per game (third in the league) can partly be excused because of the Thunder's pace and the aggressive nature of his play.
Rondo opts for a much different style. He keeps the ball low and close to his body, which allows him to change direction at a moment's notice without compromising speed. His large hands get away with an inordinate number of palming violations but let him flick a clever in-and-out dribble while initiating in either direction at the top of the key. He's one of the few point guards who can palm the ball commandingly, allowing him an array of unique ball fakes to throw defenders out of whack when attacking the rim. The key difference in their ball skills is that Westbrook has a tendency to over-dribble which is caused in part by his identity struggle between point and shooting guard. Conversely, Rondo uses the dribble solely to gain an advantage on his man to put himself in the best position to set up his teammates.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 9.5, Rondo 10
Finishing
Both Westbrook and Rondo are experts at breaching the lane and finishing with regularity at the rim. Westbrook launches from as far out as possible, often from around the dotted half circle. His unique weapon is generating as much speed as possible when he takes off so that he actually accelerates while airborne. On his third and fourth step, just before liftoff, he slightly coils his body and powers his steps as if he's coming out of starting blocks.
Most players glide in the air -- ultimately slowing down -- leaving them susceptible to blocks. But with Westbrook's approach, help defense can scarcely react in time. Any help defense likely would result only in a midair collision that most bigs would just as soon avoid. Westbrook is seventh in field goal percentage at the rim (63.8) among players with at least 6.5 attempts. (Five of the six ahead of him are forwards or centers.) Rondo relies far less on his athletic ability in the paint and around the rim than Westbrook does. Instead, he uses cunning, craftiness and patience. Once in the paint, he sometimes slows his dribble to a dead stop before rocketing back to speed. This hesitation dribble frees up space where none previously existed because post players who look to thwart him normally don't have the foot speed to make the necessary adjustments. His pet move is a fake behind-the-back pass, which clears out space after defenders mistakenly bite.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 10, Rondo 9.5
Final score: Rondo 55, Westbrook 54
Although Westbrook is a better scorer and athlete, Rondo is a much more accomplished point guard and all-around player. Nothing speaks more to that than the eye-popping line Rondo put up against the Knicks on March 4, when he tallied 18 points, 20 rebounds and 17 assists, only the third time in league history a player had achieved the feat. In fact, in the past four seasons, Rondo's 11 triple-doubles are second only to LeBron James' 15.
Westbrook is a phenomenal offensive talent with the potential to rack up points from anywhere on the floor. Although he's a virtually unguardable highlight machine, Westbrook suffers from a basketball identity crisis. The past couple of seasons, he has struggled to find a happy medium in which he doesn't detract from Kevin Durant's effectiveness while doing what a point guard is supposed to do -- run a team and make those around him better.
Westbrook will get the All-Star votes and the lion's share of the nightly highlights, but Rondo -- balky jump shot and all -- can be secure in the knowledge that he's the better player.
Comparing the young stars for Boston and Oklahoma City
ESPN INSIDER
By Chris Palmer | ESPN The Magazine
One is the league's highest scoring point guard. The other fits the profile of a classic pass-first floor general. Despite their differences in style, they operate with a number of the same qualities, such as speed, athleticism and high-energy effort.
Still, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo have entirely different approaches to scoring, shot selection and defense that have resulted in a combined five All-Star appearances. Fourth-year Westbrook is developing a rep as one of the flashiest guards in basketball, and mercurial Rondo has battled trade rumors despite proving himself the Celtics' best player. Although their reputations and styles might be night and day, no doubt both point guards are the cream of the crop. But who is better?
Shooting
It's often said that when Westbrook finally develops an outside shot he'll really be dangerous. How's this for dangerous? On long 2s, he's shooting a solid 42 percent, higher than vaunted shooters Ray Allen (35 percent) and Joe Johnson (40).
What's more, from the crucial midrange distance, he's hitting at a better clip than Steve Nash (40 to 35). (He's fifth in midrange field goal percentage among players with at least 2.4 attempts per game.) Seems those summer shooting sessions with Kevin Love have paid off. Westbrook has turned the foul line pull-up into one of his most useful weapons. But he still has room to grow. He has a tendency to lean forward and float to the side when he shoots.
Even with lingering shot selection issues, Westbrook is still a far more advanced shooter than Rondo, whose awkward knuckleball directly takes him out of contention for best point guard in the league. Rondo has very little interest in shooting from the outside. It's unfortunate, considering that his excellent ability to create space for himself in half-court situations would allow him to get quality looks. The pull-up appears to be a very unnatural movement, likely preventing him from developing a consistent midrange shot. Rondo is rightfully lauded for his array of artful floaters but is hitting a career-worst 25.6 percent on those runners this season.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8.5, Rondo 6
Passing
Rondo is a pure point guard in every sense of the term. His primary function is to get guys the ball in a position to score. Rondo's deep cache of passes runs the gamut from textbook two-hand PNR bounce passes to clever one-handed wraparound deliveries from the high post to a cutter to eye-popping (50-foot two-hand laser chest passes). Rondo is a master of understanding angles, reacting to spacing (good or bad) and knowing how his teammates move without the ball. In fact, he leads the league in assists leading to field goals from 10-23 feet and is third overall in assisting on 3-pointers. Westbrook isn't in the top 10 in either of those categories. In the past four seasons, only Nash has more games with 15 or more assists than Rondo.
Even though Westbrook is playing a career-high 35.3 minutes per game, his assist numbers have taken a nosedive down to 5.5 from 8.2 assists per game last season. Much of that is down to his decision -- for better or worse -- to become more of a scorer. But at his facilitating best, he delivers crisp passes that shooters can catch in motion, and his size and goods hands allow him to throw accurate skip passes to teammates spotting up around the arc. Westbrook is also a quality passer in the open court -- the area of the floor where his athletic ability serves him the best. The problem when he kicks it into the upper gears is that his tunnel vision and determination to score override what point guard instincts he might have and usually result in a foray to the rim regardless of numbers.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8, Rondo 10
Athleticism
Westbrook's most tantalizing ability is his game-breaking leaping. His 42-inch vertical puts him at the high end of the league's very best leapers, and he can hang and contort his body in the air to get off twisting shots at close range. Westbrook has 34 dunks (24th in the league), a tally that leads all point guards. In half court or transition, he can finish off the bounce or cover a surprising amount of real estate leaping off of one leg. Although his zippy quickness gets the attention, one of his best qualities is his upper-body and core strength, which he uses in concert with great footwork to overpower other points to get off clean shots from the low block.
Rondo's breakaway speed can propel him from one foul line to the other before the shot clock ticks below 21 seconds. He also operates effectively in tight spaces -- loves to skirt the baseline -- where he can use a quick change of direction to slip between defenders for easy baskets. Rondo's balance, body control, timing and hair-trigger reflexes serve him well on the ground and in the air. One area where Rondo can't touch Westbrook: durability. The Thunder guard has never missed a game.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 10, Rondo 9.5
Defense
Rondo is arguably the best defensive point guard in the NBA. His ability to hawk the ball and pressure his man frustrates even the most accomplished ball handlers. Thanks to his long arms and keen anticipation, few are better at playing the passing lanes. He also likes to sneak up on bigs to pluck the ball from behind to ignite the break. Westbrook has all the tools to develop into one of the league's best overall defenders but isn't quite on the level of Rondo.
Westbrook's aggressive approach to defense mirrors his all-or-nothing style on offense. He has exceptional lateral movement and the ability to move fluidly in any direction, which he uses to dictate where he wants his man to go (or not go). His pick-and-roll defense has taken a step forward with regard to fighting over screens, recovering and communicating with the defensive big. If Westbrook cuts back on his tendency to gamble -- the pull of those breakaway dunks is quite strong -- he'll take yet another step forward on D.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 8, Rondo 10
Ballhandling
It's tough to find much of a difference when comparing the handles of most topflight NBA point guards. Westbrook uses a rather high dribble he pounds mercilessly into the floor to free him up for 15-footers or get to the rim. His left-to-right snap-back crossover is as fun to watch as it is effective. Westbrook's 4.0 turnovers per game (third in the league) can partly be excused because of the Thunder's pace and the aggressive nature of his play.
Rondo opts for a much different style. He keeps the ball low and close to his body, which allows him to change direction at a moment's notice without compromising speed. His large hands get away with an inordinate number of palming violations but let him flick a clever in-and-out dribble while initiating in either direction at the top of the key. He's one of the few point guards who can palm the ball commandingly, allowing him an array of unique ball fakes to throw defenders out of whack when attacking the rim. The key difference in their ball skills is that Westbrook has a tendency to over-dribble which is caused in part by his identity struggle between point and shooting guard. Conversely, Rondo uses the dribble solely to gain an advantage on his man to put himself in the best position to set up his teammates.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 9.5, Rondo 10
Finishing
Both Westbrook and Rondo are experts at breaching the lane and finishing with regularity at the rim. Westbrook launches from as far out as possible, often from around the dotted half circle. His unique weapon is generating as much speed as possible when he takes off so that he actually accelerates while airborne. On his third and fourth step, just before liftoff, he slightly coils his body and powers his steps as if he's coming out of starting blocks.
Most players glide in the air -- ultimately slowing down -- leaving them susceptible to blocks. But with Westbrook's approach, help defense can scarcely react in time. Any help defense likely would result only in a midair collision that most bigs would just as soon avoid. Westbrook is seventh in field goal percentage at the rim (63.8) among players with at least 6.5 attempts. (Five of the six ahead of him are forwards or centers.) Rondo relies far less on his athletic ability in the paint and around the rim than Westbrook does. Instead, he uses cunning, craftiness and patience. Once in the paint, he sometimes slows his dribble to a dead stop before rocketing back to speed. This hesitation dribble frees up space where none previously existed because post players who look to thwart him normally don't have the foot speed to make the necessary adjustments. His pet move is a fake behind-the-back pass, which clears out space after defenders mistakenly bite.
Scores (out of 10): Westbrook 10, Rondo 9.5
Final score: Rondo 55, Westbrook 54
Although Westbrook is a better scorer and athlete, Rondo is a much more accomplished point guard and all-around player. Nothing speaks more to that than the eye-popping line Rondo put up against the Knicks on March 4, when he tallied 18 points, 20 rebounds and 17 assists, only the third time in league history a player had achieved the feat. In fact, in the past four seasons, Rondo's 11 triple-doubles are second only to LeBron James' 15.
Westbrook is a phenomenal offensive talent with the potential to rack up points from anywhere on the floor. Although he's a virtually unguardable highlight machine, Westbrook suffers from a basketball identity crisis. The past couple of seasons, he has struggled to find a happy medium in which he doesn't detract from Kevin Durant's effectiveness while doing what a point guard is supposed to do -- run a team and make those around him better.
Westbrook will get the All-Star votes and the lion's share of the nightly highlights, but Rondo -- balky jump shot and all -- can be secure in the knowledge that he's the better player.
