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NBA Today evidently didn't get to watch a lot of 2K23 MT Los Angeles Lakers or Minnesota Timberwolves basketball this season. Cassidy Hubbarth, Los Angeles Sparks power forward Chiney Ogwumike, Matt Barnes and Brian Windhorst spoke about what they believed was NBA 2K doing Russell Westbrook dirty by releasing their latest player ranking for the stricken L.A. point guard. The most recent edition of the video game, NBA 2K23. is on sale today.
Westbrook was awarded a "mere" score of 78 in the total player rating, just one notch lower than the 79 he received from his new teammate (and Westbrook's possible replacement as the team's new starting center) Patrick Beverley. Cassidy Hubbarth called the move "petty," which leads one to wonder which Cassidy Hubbarth see the damage a healthy Russell Westbrook did to the Lakers on the floor last season?
Barnes, a 15-year pro who played in two seasons playing for the Kobe Bryant/Pau Gsol Lakers, noted that he hosted a 2K launch party in the past and that Westbrook's ranking was the most-discussed 2K23 detail of the night. "I think, although Russ had an off-season last year, I think his ranking is too low," Barnes opined. I think Pat Bev is right there..."A score of 79 is an excellent one, but Russ's ranking is too low."
If 79 is solid, wouldn't it be the same for 78? Beverley is an excellent defense player, and an excellent three-point shooter. Westbrook may be a better player (at at the very least, in the beginning of the game) as well as rebounder, stats that a video game might be able to reward, but he's clearly not the "better" performer than Beverley at this stage in their respective careers. "Russ even as you question his skills and point out his shortcomings, I believe he's still performing," Ogwumike contended on the program. "
He's there and gives you at minimum 20 pointsor so], maybe even 8 or so [assists? rebounds? unclear]. "Of of course, a significant portion of that production comes as a direct result of Westbrook ignoring or waving off players who are open and making the low percentage of heaves that are common in traffic. As the primary focus of an offense the six-foot-3" UCLA product is now something of an inefficient detriment to his team's success.
The demise of Westbrook was swiftly wrought. He was an unremarkable All-Star in his season of 2019-20 NBA time with James Harden's Houston Rockets. But that kind of model for Westbrook is no longer in Cheap MT 2K23 use. His weaknesses outweigh his strengths. While he is still putting up numbers (though even those numbers are declining) But he's likely to be used in the future as spark plugs off the bench facing off against other teams' second units rather than as a starter.
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