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Can Russell Westbrook change the narrative with the Washington Wizards?
Just a few years ago, Russell Westbrook was possibly the best show in the NBA. He was a player you couldn’t take your eyes off of and it was certainly a TV show, even if you weren’t a fan of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
During the 2016-17 season, en route to winning the NBA MVP award, Westbrook became the second player (at the time) in league history to average a triple-double throughout the season. He also set the record for the most triple-doubles in a single season at 42.
He was electric, dynamic, and arguably one of the top 5 players in the game. However, less than five years later, Russell Westbrook’s narrative has changed dramatically.
More of Sir Charles in charge
Since that magical season, Westbrook has not been seen as the same player. In fact, it is now viewed, perhaps somewhat unfairly, more as a liability than an asset. Now he has been traded in back-to-back off-seasons and is no longer considered a leader.
If anything, you want a player like Westbrook to be your third best player, or not even on your team (if you’re the Houston Rockets).
Now with the Washington Wizards, Westbrook will have a new opportunity to change the narrative of his career. After being seen as one of the most exciting players in the league, he is seen as one of the biggest stars who is also a liability, both on and off the court (in contract terms).
And Westbrook will be in an interesting position for you to do so.
Westbrook will be Bradley Beal’s second fiddle, a star who has continued to rise over the past few seasons. In fact, there may be no better option for Westbrook than Beal.
Assuming Westbrook is going to play a big role in the team’s offensive game plan, Beal fits the bill. Beal is one of the best and most consistent 3-point shooters in the game, coming off a season in which he averaged 31 points, six assists and four rebounds per game on 35 percent shooting from three points on nearly eight attempts. by contest.
Even though Beal has shown that he can be a good scorer with the ball, he has also shown how great he can be as a scorer without the ball. I feel like we’ll see a lot of that this season when they put Russell Westbrook on offense.
The big blow to Westbrook in recent seasons, of course, has been his inefficiency. Despite Westbrook shooting 47 percent from the field last season in Houston, the career-high, he still fought powerfully from 3-point range.
Westbrook shot just 26 percent from 3-point range, on nearly four attempts per game. Two things need to be resolved here, or Westbrook stops shooting 3s or improves on them. It’s that easy.
The thing is, in recent years, he hasn’t done either of those things.
Over the course of his 11-season career, he has only shot more than 30 percent from deep five times and has only done so once in the past six years. The hope is that Westbrook is a different player with the Wizards. If you want to change your career narrative, you will have to.
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