J.J. Redick Changes MVP Vote After Playing Russell Westbrook

J.J. Redick is all about Russell Westbrook winning the NBA's MVP award.

Or rather, he used to be.

Choosing the MVP is difficult practice these days with so many names being thrown around. How in the world are we supposed to select just one of Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, James Harden, LeBron James and Westbrook?

Well, Redick did have a favorite at one point, deciding to board the Westbrook bandwagon. But then his Los Angeles Clippers played the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Now he is all about Curry and Harden.

While appearing on The Lowe Post podcast with Grantland's Zach Lowe, the sweet-shooting guard detailed how his MVP pick suddenly changed:

"

A few weeks ago, we played Oklahoma City, and it was the first time that we had played them with Westbrook doing what Westbrook is doing. As we were prepping for the game, I told the media that I thought Westbrook should be MVP just based off of his exploits of late. But then we played him.

He's getting great numbers and they're actually winning—not at the level they've won in the past, but they're in eighth place and they're solidly in eighth place. But he uses a lot of possessions. It's kind of crazy how many possessions he uses. And he's kind of forced to do it with the personnel and with KD being out...

"

Lowe interjects here, pointedly asking Redick whether he thinks Westbrook has "crossed a line."

It turns out he has:

"

There is a little bit of a question mark after we played them and you get a feel for 'All right, this is how these guys are playing right now.'

He's incredibly talented, don't get me wrong. And he's putting up insane numbers. So after playing them, I was like 'Ah, you know what, different MVP for me.' So it's down to James or Steph for me.

"

You can jump ahead and listen to Redick's MVP comments in full here. Once you've done that, feel free to let everything settle in, because Redick didn't pull any punches.

Westbrook's numbers are nothing if not out of this world. Never mind his 27.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.2 steals per game—benchmarks no one else has ever sustained for an entire season. He's nearly averaging a triple-double since Kevin Durant last went down, enjoying the type of stretch that compels The Brooklyn Game's Devin Kharpertian to tweet things like this:

There is, however, merit to Redick's criticism. Westbrook is using a lot of Oklahoma City's possessions.

A whole lot.

His usage rate sits at 38.2 percent this side of the trade deadline. Extrapolated over the course of an entire season, that would rank as the third-highest mark in league history. The Thunder also have a better net rating with Westbrook off the floor than they do with him in the game during this time, which isn't helping matters.

Still, all the context in the world, good or bad, does not take away from what Westbrook is doing.

"It's easy to try picking holes in Westbrook's resume," Bleacher Report's Adam Fromal wrote in his latest edition of superstar rankings, where Westbrook finished at No. 1. "His style of play leaves him open to criticism, and some of it is deserved. But with each rebound, point and assist in quick succession, he's building an even stronger MVP case."

The Thunder wouldn't even be sniffing the playoffs without Westbrook in the fold. With the announcement that Durant is done for the season, they need Westbrook to be Westbrook more than ever. And so long as he stays Westbrook, they'll retain a firm hold on eighth place and nab a playoff berth.

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

As for the MVP race, it doesn't necessarily matter what Westbrook does. The award traditionally goes to great players on great teams. No MVP in the last 30 years has played for an outfit that finished worse than third in their respective conference.

True to that trend, Harden and Curry have a better chance at securing MVP honors. But Westbrook, for his part, most certainly belongs in the conversation—a fitting consolation prize not even Redick is prepared to strip from him.

 

*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate heading into games on March 27.

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