Houston Rockets: How John Wall is outplaying Russell Westbrook

When the Houston Rockets traded Russell Westbrook for John Wall the response in the industry was that the Washington Wizards had won the trade. John Wall was an unknown commodity coming off of an Achilles injury and Westbrook had just capped off an All-NBA season.

However, trades are not won based on prior production but off of future production and the way it looks now, it appears that John Wall has a lot more left in the tank than Russell Westbrook. Over the totality of their careers, Westbrook has been better and is guaranteed to end up in the Hall of Fame, but Wall is younger and appears to be physically more explosive.

The players who get most ravaged by age are those who are most reliant on athleticism. Westbrook has always played basketball like an NFL running back; he sprints the length of the court leaving defenders in the dust before exploding towards the rim over a retreating defender.

Will John Wall or Russell Westbrook have the better season?

The shelf life for NFL running backs has always been short and even the greatest players at the position have had precious few productive seasons after the age of 30. Westbrook is now 32-years-old and the trademark burst he once possessed seems all but gone.

Wall, on the other hand, has looked fresh after having close to 24 months to recover from his injury. Both players have missed games due to injury, Westbrook with a quad injury and Wall with knee soreness.

The injury concerns are real for both players but in the early going, John Wall has been the better player than Russell Westbrook. These are the ways that John Wall has outplayed Russell Westbrook and whether or not he keep it up.

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