Getty James Harden with Russell Westrbook.
When Russell Westbrook teamed up with James Harden in Houston, it was supposed to be a strong pairing. The two grew up in Los Angeles and played together in Oklahoma City. Instead, the duo only lasted one season together and now neither player is with the Rockets anymore.
The two are on opposite sides of the country as Westbrook was recently traded to the Los Angeles Lakers and Harden is locked in with the Brooklyn Nets. Despite their team up in Houston not working out, the two remain close friends. The two are so close that Westbrook just dropped a small fortune on Harden’s birthday present.
The Nets star showed off on Instagram that Westbrook purchased him a Richard Mille watch.
.@russwest44 got @JHarden13 a Richard Mille watch for his birthday 😱
There’s no way to know exactly how much the Lakers guard paid for the watch but Richard Mille watches run for well over $100,000 on the resell market. That’s quite a gift to give to somebody for their birthday. It’s good to see that the two don’t have any issues with each other after the Rockets experiment didn’t work out.
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Lakers & Nets Could See Each Other in Finals
Last season, everybody wanted to see the Nets and Lakers matchup in the NBA Finals. LeBron James and Anthony Davis versus Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden would’ve been an epic matchup. Unfortunately, injuries ended up keeping both teams out of the Finals.
With Westbrook added to the Lakers, a possible Finals matchup between the two teams is even more interesting. LeBron could be facing off against his former teammate in Irving while Westbrook goes against his two former Thunder co-stars in Durant and Harden. If the two did meet, it would be a matchup of the two best big threes in the NBA. Barring injuries, there’s a really strong chance that the Nets and Lakers will be the last two teams standing.
Lakers Big 3 to Mesh Better Than Nets, Says Analyst
There’s no doubt that the Lakers have a great big three but do they have the best big three? Many would argue that the Nets have the superior lineup. The problem with Los Angeles is that Davis, LeBron and Westbrook aren’t great shooters while Harden, Durant and Irving are elite when it comes to that aspect. However, none of the Nets players come close to Davis or LeBron on defense.
Former player and current NBA analyst Kenny Smith believes that the Lakers’ big three has the edge over Brooklyn.
“The Lakers probably would just naturally play better easily, because Anthony Davis doesn’t need to handle the basketball to be productive,” Smith said recently on ESPN. “Russell Westbrook can pass and assist and rebound to be productive. LeBron doesn’t need the basketball to be productive. I think that when the Nets are at their best, their best players score. So with one basketball, I would say it would be easier for the Lakers to adjust to play better together.”
We have yet to see the Lakers’ current roster play together so it’s hard to know for sure which team is better right now. It’ll be fascinating to watch during the season.
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