Russell Westbrook – please ignore the haters.

You’re an All-Star, and your ability and performance are tops in the NBA. But some would have you to believe otherwise.

There are many analysts out there – some of them well-accomplished in their careers, and some of them not-so-much – who have heavily criticized your game of late.

Their criticisms are robust (like the analyst, in some cases, eh hem…) and plentiful. They generally center around the fact that you are taking too many shots, and consequently, not looking to be the primary facilitator to present your teammates with the gift of open shots.

I guess what they are saying is that your 8.2 assists per game (9th in the league) – which, by the way, trump the averages of Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Mike Conley and Jameer Nelson – is not good enough for them.

When defenders attempt to come to your rescue by bringing up the high-volume shooting of recently crowned MVP Derrick Rose, the critics continue with their case against you – laboring the point that you have scoring champ Kevin Durant on your team while Rose has no alternative scoring options.

But, of course, you had nothing to do with Kevin Durant leading the Association in scoring. None of the alley-oops that Durant finished nor the 670 assists you tossed helped him to assert himself as the league’s most dominant scorer. Sure, Durant inbounds the ball to himself, brings the ball up the court and scores on his own. Your assist numbers are clearly forged. And nevermind that OKC’s interior tandem of Kendrick Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Nick Collison and Nazr Mohammed have as much rhythm as Evander Holyfield, you remain responsible for their lack of offensive game on the low block.

No other point guard can match the sheer athleticism of Westbrook.

Your uncontrollable forays into the paint prevent your inconsistent teammates from getting opportunities to improve upon their shooting strokes. Russell, you clearly need to get James Harden and Daequan Cook more open looks although they haven’t cashed on what you have given them thus far in the Thunder’s postseason run.

So, despite the fact that your team’s current formula for success has helped you to improve your record and playoff duration each season, you need to make adjustments to your game.

Will it make Oklahoma City better? Who cares. At least the analysts will respect your for playing the game the right way – just like your contemporaries like Chris Paul, Steve Nash and Tony Parker…who are all at home watching you play now.

That’s right, Russell. Sacrifice your stats, All-Star status and team success to lead your team as a true point guard should.

Then, tune back in to TNT and ESPN to hear them reveal how much they liked the old Russell Westbrook better.

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