“Does Not Mean a Player Played Well”: Brother of Former Knicks Head Coach Takes a Dig at Kemba Walker and Russell Westbrook

While the concept of a triple-double isn’t new in the NBA these days, it wasn’t always the case. Achieving a triple-double is not an easy job. Russell Westbrook is currently leading the record in that category. While most would agree that having these stats is impressive, the brother of former Knicks coach, Jeff Van Gundy, thinks a triple-double doesn’t necessarily translate to a good performance.

Jeff Van Gundy is the former coach for the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets. He started off his coaching journey way back in 1989 as an assistant coach for the Knicks. He took charge as the head coach in 1996 and impressed with his coaching abilities.

While Jeff may be in favor of the player after a triple-double, his brother Stan Van Gundy is not impressed with them.

Van Gundy is not impressed with Knicks guard Kemba Walker

Recently, Kemba joined a select few individuals who notched up a triple-double on Christmas Day. He achieved the same against Atlanta Hawks in their playoff rematch. Fans took well to his performance as he contributed in all ways. However, for Stan Van Gundy, a triple-double doesn’t necessarily translate to a good night.

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This mainly hits Kemba’s night and a player such as Russell Westbrook. Kemba put up 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 12 assists in the Knicks’ win over Atlanta. Since his return, he has been impressive for the team while putting up crucial performances. With triple-doubles being common in today’s era, their importance has gone down.

While Kemba did shoot poorly in the game, his contributions in other major areas helped the Knicks immensely. Putting up 12 assists means he ran the majority of the offense for the Knicks in a game where both teams struggled on the court. Moreover, grabbing 10 rebounds as a guard is no easy job.

For Westbrook, however, triple-doubles have been frequent. He averaged a triple-double for multiple seasons while putting up over 20 points per game. Now, his role on the Lakers has been questionable with their injury worries but Brodie has improved with time. Even he put up another triple-double on Christmas against the Nets with a shot rate of just 20% from the floor.

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To sum it up, triple-doubles are not always impressive. It all depends on the flow of the game. While the Knicks game had Kemba as the main facilitator, the Lakers needed the scoring. With Russ being the second-best scorer, they needed him to supply on the offensive end rather than be the playmaker at the time. Hence, a triple-double can go both ways.