What kind of player will Westbrook be remembered as in the future?
What kind of player will Westbrook be remembered as in the future?
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Russell Westbrook (36, 191 cm), who has been playing for the Denver Nuggets since this season, is one of the most difficult players to evaluate. Those who value him highly say that Westbrook will compete in the all-time high-ranking guard line. On the contrary, some say that he is a difficult player to produce results and that he is a guard who is not suitable for playing basketball together.
Of course, Westbrook is not the only player who has extremely mixed reviews. However, there are not many players who have such a wide gap. He rides a rollercoaster ride from the best ace guard to Gyereuk depending on how he looks at him. He was nicknamed "the epitome of versatility." He was good at scoring, giving assists, and even rebounding.
However, there were pros and cons at the time as well. He was praised as an all-weather multiplayer and criticized as a player who can't do anything for sure. When it comes to personal performance, he is truly a versatile player. He has recorded the most triple-doubles in NBA history, including two top scorer, three assistants, and even achieved the tremendous feat of triple-doubles on average for three consecutive seasons. Just as Stephen Curry reminds us of 3-point shooting, it would not be strange to mention triple-doubles when it comes to Westbrook.
His other achievements include the MVP of the 2016-17 season in the regular league, the two-time MVP of the All-Star Game, the two-time All-NBA First Team, the nine-time All-Star, and the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. He has built a solid career that would not be shameful when it comes to personal records and awards records. Nevertheless, there are always likes and dislikes of Westbrook.
He has never led his team to a championship by becoming an ace and as a team leader, losing a lot of points in this area. Analysts say that there is too much time for ball possession, and as a result, his contribution to secondary statistics is significantly lower. The record for triple-doubles is all-time, but the number of errors compared to games played is also all-time. This is also the reason why Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson cannot be summoned even though they have exceeded the number of triple-doubles.
First of all, he needs to acknowledge his trademark ability of making a triple-double during his heyday. Although he owns a lot of balls and plays around, simply driving him around in the "Monsters' League" does not mean that he can record a triple-double. Moreover, triple-double in this season is an area where players have to perform in all areas including scoring, assist and rebounding, and hence deserves credit for being great enough.
Some players burn up even more when they play the role of an ace, and others are more comfortable when they silently demonstrate their capabilities as a piece of the puzzle. Westbrook is thoroughly the former. You can demonstrate your abilities better when you stand at the center and do everything. It is necessary to think about the efficiency of the ace, but it is clear that he is the type who enjoys taking a lot of roles.
Until the days of the Oklahoma City Thunder, there were many people who liked or disliked the game. However, since the 2018-19 season, he has played for many teams including the Houston Rockets, the Washington Wizards, the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Los Angeles Clippers, and his status has deteriorated dramatically since then. Most of them stayed so short that they ended up being accompanied by one season, and then left.
Why was that? If Westbrook felt it was helpful for the team, he would have caught it. Because it wasn't, everyone easily gave up. Of course, Westbrook was not satisfied with the team's company. The temperature difference between the Thunder and other teams, which were all centered on themselves, was much larger than expected.
Westbrook's reputation declined sharply in a short period of time, and at some point, he was excluded from the candidates for recruitment. In this regard, moving to Denver ahead of this season seems likely to be a win-win for both Westbrook and Denver. For now, Denver lacks players to play at full speed.
Although the team won the title this season with Nikola Jokic (29, 211 centimeters) as the best player in the team's current era, even players who are not strengthening their capacities are going through difficult times every year. The reason Jokic wanted Westbrook is simple. Other teams will closely check the team's compatibility and synergy effect, but Denver is different.
Major players such as Jamal Murray and Aaron Gordon suffer from major and minor injuries every season, and their performance fluctuates as well. They are also at the bottom of the bench. It would be right to say that there are not enough players to play properly. From Denver's point of view, it didn't matter what Westbrook was playing like or what he was doing.
So far, the team has shown good performance against each other. Currently, Denver is suffering from injuries including Murray and Gordon. Worse yet, the team already has a thin lineup of players. Despite this, the team beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 124-122 on Sunday. The Thunder are one of the best teams in the early days of this season. Against such a team, they showed their concentration to the end and secured a come-from-behind victory. 메이저사이트
It is not surprising for Jokic who had 23 points, 20 rebounds, and 16 assists. What stood out to me was Westbrook. He scored 29 points, the most in his team, to ease Jokic's burden. Denver's biggest weakness is its offensive productivity, which declines when its starting lineup is excluded. If Murray and Gordon are excluded on the day, there will be no answer.
But now he has Westbrook. He can fill the vacancy if the starting lineup is absent, and depending on the situation, he can also serve as a bench ace. He must know very well that he cannot be the center of the game in Denver, so everyone is satisfied with his performance as he is now. Currently, Westbrook has 12.4 points, 4.9 assists, four rebounds, and 1.8 steals on average in eight games.
His personal record may be regrettable, but maybe this season will serve as an opportunity to change his image. If he contributes to his good performance by covering Denver's disappointing lineup with all weather conditions, he can be given another medal. Will Denver and Westbrook be able to win by taking their current compatibility to the end of the season? It's still in the early days of the season, but they feel great.