Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook - NBA's best two punch duo?

Kevin Durant (35) and Russell Westbrook (0) during game vs Chicago Bulls

There are few things better in the NBA than a two punch duo. It’s such a logically sound strategy that it’s a wonder more teams aren’t trying to implement it. My personal fascination of this strategy began with the duo of Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Right now, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are one of the best 1-2 punch duos.

However, the question is: Are they one of the best or are they the best?

They’re so good that there’s only one duo which is in their class: Dwayne Wade and LeBron James. Without comparing the two pairs, it’s not possible to decide who the better 2 punch duo is.

There’s one key similarity and one key difference between the two duos: in both the cases, both players are capable of lifting the team solely with their individual skills. James, Wade, Westbrook, Durant are all prolific and explosive scorers. The key difference is, at Miami, Wade is willing to play second fiddle to James when it comes to scoring, while at Oklahoma, neither is willing to do so to the other.

However, we do need to appreciate the fact that KD and Westbrook have found a way to coexist despite their difference(or similarity?) of opinion when it comes to scoring.

This kind of a debate can be resolved a little easier if we take statistics into account. Throughout the 2012-13 regular season, Durant and Westbrook assisted each other 294 times when compared to Wade and LeBron’s 216 times. Of course, the difference might also be due to the fact that Wade missed 13 games due to injury.

That brings us to another aspect of the equation.

Wade’s health is not at the peak form as it was before. His knees are deteriorating. Of the 13 games Wade missed, Heat won 11 of them. The year before, Wade missed 17 games and Heat won 14 of them. This shows that Heat can function at an elite level if they’re led solely by James.

On the other hand, when Westbrook got injured during the post season, the Thunder went 3-6 before crashing out of the playoffs. This shows just how valuable Westbrook is to the Thunder.

OKC’s offense is a true double edged sword. Durant is an incredible shooter with a 90/50/40 (close/medium/3 point) efficiency. This means that defenders need to stick close to him, right? Wrong. This guy’s driving to the basket skills are some of the best in the league. Which means that the defenders need to maintain a safe distance. This confusion puts them in a pickle.

Westbrook on the other hand, is strictly one dimensional. He can drive, drive and drive. The point is, he drives so hard and so fast that defenders are unable to stop him despite knowing exactly what they need to do to stop him. Also, to add fuel to the fire, Westbrook is improving his outside shooting at a slow but steady rate.

Westbrook’s main problem is that he often forgets his role in the team. He’s a point guard, a facilitator. This means that he helps his teammates to score, not ram into the opponent’s defense like a crazed bull every time down the court. This decreases the scoring chance of his more talented teammate.

Despite all this, Durant has still scored better than Westbrook both in terms of efficiency and amount. (28.2 PPG at .501 efficiency when compared to Westbrook’s 23.2 PPG at .438 efficiency). Sum them up and together, Durant and Westbrook have scored 51.4 PPG.

LeBron James #6 and Dwyane Wade #3 of the Miami Heat

Now, coming to the Heat, Wade is an explosive scorer. His scoring average, before LeBron joined forces with him, was at 25.7 PPG. After their coalition, it has dropped to 22.9 PPG. Not a huge drop when you have the best player in the planet as your teammate. Somehow, the Wade-LeBron duo has managed to coexist more peacefully than Durant and Westbrook. Last season, the duo of James and Wade scored 48 PPG together – 3.4 PPG less than the former duo.

Alright, enough with offense. Anybody who follows basketball would say that Wade and LeBron form the better defensive unit. It definitely looks so. Both rack up steals, blocks and rebounds.

Neither Durant nor Westbrook is known for a formidable defensive presence. They are both primarily scorers and tend to rely on their incredible offensive talent to pull their team through. Or do they?

The league average for PER (Player Efficiency Rating) has always been 15. Durant holds his opponents to a PER of just 10.5 per 48 minutes. Westbrook hold his match-ups to 14.5 PER per 48 minutes. This is a total of PER 25 for the two Thunder.

Now, let’s take a look at the Heat duo’s ratings. LeBron holds his opponents to 12.7 PER per 48 minutes while Wade holds his opponents to 16.2 PER per 48 minutes. Sum them up, and you get a total of 28.9 which is 3.9 PER - worse when compared to the KD-Westbrook pair!

Unbelievable.

Another difference is age. Durant and Westbrook are both 24-year-olds which means that they’re still moving towards their respective primes. Whereas, Wade is 31 years old and James is 28 years old. Both the players are in their prime but Wade’s quality of play seems to be slowly going down.

This is a major point to be noted: At a much younger age, Durant and Westbrook are playing at a slightly better class than Wade and James.

Of course, being a Heat fan, I would start quoting the accomplishments of James and Wade their titles, their individual accolades etc. The stars of Miami have 2 championships together and they’re the strongest favourites heading into the 2013-14 season. However, stats don’t lie.

The Verdict

Durant and Westbrook form a more lethal attack and as the stats have shown, they’re a better defensive unit as well (if you consider JUST both of them and not their team as a whole). If one of them is in form, the other assists the enforcer. If both are firing on all cylinders, well good luck to the opponents, you’re doomed.

If you consider their accomplishments, Wade and LeBron have found much greater success than Durant and Westbrook. Maybe, even greater success than what these two can achieve in the future. However, that’s not the point at discussion here. If you are willing to look beyond rings, titles and individual accolades and accept that true greatness lies else where too, then the Durant Westbrook duo have the edge.

(All statistics are courtesy of 82games.com)