Derrick Rose has made it clear that he intends to produce at an MVP level this season, but he’s off to a bit of a rough start. In total, Rose’s numbers against the Thunder were nice: 28 points, six assists, four rebounds, and only two turnovers. That’s enough to get Rose into the discussion, if not merit a place as a serious contender for the award. But take in Rose’s full stat line and his season opening performance becomes markedly less impressive; it took Rose 31 shots (!) to get to that 28-point mark, and he connected on just 38.7% of those 31 attempts. Oomf. Rose’s performance takes a huge fall on the basis of efficiency, and though he was able to keep his turnovers down, it’s not exactly kosher for him to be taking that many shots, particularly when he’s hitting so few of them.
One of the biggest detriments to Rose’s efficiency was the impressive number of long jumpers he managed to chuck. Rose is actually a pretty sturdy shooter from mid-range, but he took 12 attempts from 16+ feet from the basket, and made just two of them. He fell in love with the long two-pointer, and while I don’t necessarily doubt Rose’s ability to hit that shot, it’s a flat-out waste for a player with his speed, handle, and creativity to be suckered into those attempts on the regular.
If Rose sticks to this prescription, he’s no MVP candidate. Even if he drops 28 a night with six assists. Volume can be impressive on first glance, but efficiency is what endures. Great players are often marked by their discretion, and last night’s D-Rose wasn’t all that great.
Russell Westbrook was, though. Rose and Westbrook will likely always be linked by their position and some nostalgic commitment to draft classes (Rose was selected No. 1 overall in the 2008 draft, Westbrook at No. 4), but the two were entirely different in approach last night. Rose doesn’t have a teammate like Kevin Durant to work off of, but Westbrook managed some of his most impressive sequences on his own. Westbrook isn’t coasting in KD’s wake. He’s as vital to OKC’s success as Durant, and together they’re powering the damn thing. If the Thunder make it to 50 wins again, Durant will be soaking up an unfathomable amount of sunshine. But Westbrook, camped out in partial shade, deserves his due.
Last night, Westbrook only matched Rose’s 28 and six. He only threw in 10 rebounds for good measure (is there any question that Russell is Jason Kidd’s heir apparent as the top-rebounding point guard in the league?). He only did it all on a 15 shots and 53.3% shooting. No big deal, just truly MVP-worthy numbers from a guy who hasn’t made a peep about the award and likely won’t even be mentioned in MVP chatter all year, save as a Durant footnote. But last night, Westbrook blew “MVP candidate” Derrick Rose out of the water, and it wasn’t even close. Compare the tape (I haven’t even mentioned Westbrook’s defense, which is very much superior to Rose’s), compare the highlights, compare the box scores, compare the final verdict -- by almost every conceivable measure Westbrook was the better player, even if it was only for a single game.
Rose will certainly have better nights than this one, but it’s scary to imagine that Westbrook might, too. Yet Rose will live in the spotlight due to declarations of his MVP candidacy and claims of an improved three-point shot, while Westbrook will be pegged as a mere sidecar rider. The hype around Rose is deserved -- he’s a phenomenal talent, and this was not one of his finer nights -- but to let Durant’s clout obscure Westbrook’s brilliance would be tragic.