NEW YORK — Russell Westbrook could have easily swung the ball to Kevin Durant.
After all, the NBA’s three-time scoring champion was wide open on the right side of the 3-point arc.
The game was hanging in the balance at Madison Square Garden. The Thunder played somewhat complacently against a feisty New York Knicks team that was without its star, Carmelo Anthony, and managed to hold onto the narrow, 92-91 lead that J.R. Smith’s second-half 3-point extravaganza (4-for-9) had helped to produce.
But Russell Westbrook took the wide open jumper from a shade to the right of the top of the key, and missed long.
If the Knicks went on to win this game, Westbrook would probably be hammered in the media – yet again – for taking too many shots, for making too many poor decisions, for not deferring to the game’s most gifted scorer at a crucial point in the game.
Heck, he probably still will.
Such has been the popular theme within the media whenever the Thunder guard decides he’s going to be the one to take over the game.
Well, I’m here to say this once and for all: We need to stop this charade.
Chris Bernucca, who wrote a piece detailing Westbrook’s nature, has some quotes from Thunder head coach Scott Brooks:
“He’s done a great job and today was a classic example of what he has done,” the coach said. “We know that. We see it all the time. We don’t like to tell everybody how good he is, but he leads our team.
“He’s an emotional guy, he keeps everybody together, and he’s a big reason why we won this game – dialogue in the locker room, dialogue in the timeouts and on the court.”
As somebody who loves to watch the Thunder and, truthfully, hopes that they can find a way to win a few championships together, I’ve gone through times in the past where I’ve yelled at the television, smacked the table, or cussed my way through the second half of a close game because Westbrook has attempted to take over a game and failed…
But that doesn’t mean I’m right – it doesn’t mean the media is right – for repeatedly trying to dissect Westbrook’s ability to play with Durant at a championship level.
Now, did Westbrook’s decision to shoot the aforementioned shot puzzle me in the moment?
Sure it did.
Is there a reason Kevin Durant, his teammates and coach Scotty Brooks trust Westbrook to take those shots time and again?
You’re damn right there is.
It’s because he’s willing to sacrifice his body and get on the floor without even thinking about it, as he did last night, securing a loose ball at the defensive end with a minute and 25 seconds left in the game and the Thunder up 95-94.
As different as these two players are on and off the floor, there is only one thing they are striving to become: NBA Champions.
Westbrook’s never-ending flashy wardrobe, the way he shuns the media (at times, like he did last night) and, of course, his aggressive nature on the hardwood, when compared with Durant’s mild-mannered, even keeled, ‘nice guy’ persona, help to paint him as the villain in this relationship.
When all else fails, outsiders can blame big, bad Russ for what’s happened to the Thunder.
The problem, though, is that they forget that Westbrook slashing through the paint to create opportunities for himself also creates opportunities for others, whether it’s through an assist, a hockey-assist or just because the defense has to account for him much, much more than your average lead guard.
Does the 24-year old, cocky, confident and brash guard out of UCLA make poor decisions with the basketball at times?
Absolutely.
But it doesn’t diminish the fact that his relentless nature, constant energy and hunger to win drive this Oklahoma City team equally as much as Kevin Durant’s lead-by-example nature.
Need proof?