(Picture by Matthew Stockman/Getty Pictures)
Whereas Russell Westbrook has been a tremendous basketball participant for years and can nearly actually be a first-ballot Corridor of Famer after he retires, he has gotten some criticism over the previous couple of years.
Folks have accused him of looking for his personal stats on the expense of his personal workforce and even being considerably uncoachable.
He’s now a member of the Denver Nuggets, a workforce that received the NBA championship simply 15 months in the past, and head coach Michael Malone addressed one other massive criticism of Westbrook — his defensive shortcomings.
In response to Malone, Westbrook took on the duty of guarding the opposite workforce’s greatest participant final season, per NBACentral.
“When people talk about Russell Westbrook, nobody mentions defense…End of games last season, he was guarding the opposing team’s best player.”
– Michael Malone
Due to his athleticism and intense competitiveness, Westbrook probably has the flexibility to be a plus-defender, however he has as a substitute been seen as a legal responsibility on that finish of the ground.
Some have accused him of reducing defensive possessions quick and leaving his man to chase defensive rebounds, supposedly with a view to pad his stats and pursue triple-doubles.
Westbrook isn’t fairly the prolific participant he was a number of years in the past when he averaged a triple-double 4 instances in a five-season span, however he does have the flexibility to enhance what was a poor Denver bench final yr.
Denver misplaced beginning capturing guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in free company this summer time, and lots of really feel it will likely be a key loss for them, particularly since they relied on teamwork and synergy to win all of it in 2023.
Now, they are going to be counting on Westbrook to infuse them with power and tempo as they give the impression of being to regain basketball’s grand prize.
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