The way the world turned on Russell Westbrook in the postseason was almost shocking. Actually, not “almost.” It was completely, entirely stunning. And dumb.
A player that during the regular season almost everyone agreed was maybe the real MVP of a 55-win division champion went from a blossoming superstar into a target that mediatypes zeroed in on. After the Thunder’s exit in the Western Conference Finals to the Mavericks, there were actually debates and discussion that — and I still can’t believe this — asked, “Should the Thunder trade Russell Westbrook?”
Yeah, trade a 22-year-old point guard that made the All-Star team and was named second-team All-NBA in his third season and is maybe just now starting to realize his potential. Yeah, trade the point guard that finished the season averaging 21.9 points and 8.2 assists per game with a PER of 23.6, which was eighth in the league and better than the MVP Derrick Rose. Yeah, trade the point guard that’s part of Sam Presti’s overall long-term plan that helped push one of the league’s youngest rosters to the Western Finals, averaging 24 points, six assists and five rebounds a game.
Happy weekend peoples. Thank you for your support of DT. Jump around.
This story aired on OKC’s KFOR Channel 4 a few weeks ago, but there was never a great time to post it. I love advertising disguised as news. It’s the offseason so it’s brainstorming time for new shirts. We’ve got what I think is a pretty cool Nick Collison one coming, among others. So get excited and such and such.
The Mavs opened some old wounds with yet another comeback last night. John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Fool’s gold. That’s my two-word analysis of the Miami Heat’s offense that got them a 1-0 series lead and 15-point edge midway through the fourth quarter of Game 2. With LeBron James and Dwyane Wade converting an unusually large number of bailout 3-point attempts and the Heat getting multiple easy baskets from their defense, it was easy to overlook the fact that Miami’s half-court offense was struggling to consistently generate good shots.”
Henry Abbott, with apologies to Shawn Marion: “List #1: Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, Kobe Bryant, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Dwyane Wade — just some of the players Shawn Marion has guarded on the Mavericks’ 13-4 playoff thrill ride to this point of the Finals.” Read more…
After the Thunder’s 15-point meltdown in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals, LeBron James said this:
“I don’t want to sit here and be the coach of OKC but I seen a lot of things that could have been done better.”
Do you prefer college rule, cardstock or construction?
(Now, I suppose you might be saying, “But Royce, shouldn’t you eat yours? You just wrote about how the Thunder should learn from the Heat.” And you’d be right. But I also said this in that piece:
“They’re closing games with impressive style. Now, it’s about closing a series. They’ve got a leg up on the Mavericks 1-0. As goes anything with the Heat, one time of failure and all this goodwill flies out the door. One time of not closing and finishing poorly and everyone is ready to write and talk about their problems.”
Maybe I just got it backwards. Maybe the Heat were the ones learning from the Thunder.
The Heat totally blew this one, no doubt. Their possessions were poor, they didn’t play defensive and Dirk totally Dirk’d them. At the same time though, they kind of did their thing. They just missed some shots. The trust was there. All those quotes from Wade and LeBron are still applicable anyway.
And really, there’s something for the Thunder to learn here again: It happens to everyone. Even the really good, experienced guys. Winning is hard. Especially when you’re playing Dirk.)
MIAMI — The Miami Heat are absolutely terrifying closing out games.
That’s something my colleague Matt Moore said Tuesday night as the Heat steamrolled past the Mavericks in the final five minutes of Game 1.
But that’s also something no one on this planet was saying four months ago. At that time, it was about how Miami couldn’t close. It was all about how they were something like 2-17 on shots with the game within a possession in the final minute. It was all about their sub-par record in games decided by six or less.
Now look at them. Closing games like they’re Mariano Rivera. Amazing how talented people committed to their craft and willing to work hard can, you know, improve and stuff.
They’ve found an incredible rhythm and a superior confidence in what they’re doing. All five players walk to the same beat in those crunch time minutes. LeBron has sort of elevated himself to the closer role for the Heat, handling the ball and finishing out games. But still there’s nothing about who should be taking the shots or who should be controlling the offense. It’s just about getting it done.
And lately, man have they been getting it done. Read more…
Forbes on Durant’s endorsement-ness: “So what’s the fascination with this kid? First, he’s damn good. Mr. Durant was the leading scorer in the NBA in 2010-11, averaging 27.7 points per game. This was his 2nd consecutive year as the league’s top scorer. Second, his game has great appeal because its smooth and seamless. Graceful and classy yet forceful and dominating when needed (see video above). He’s not a trash talker for the most part. He just plays his game.”
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com reports some serious progress was made on the CBA: “So why the reason for hope? Two subtle, but potentially important things. First, the bargaining session added to the schedule Wednesday during the Finals was in addition to two meetings previously scheduled for next Tuesday and Wednesday in Dallas. After a smaller session in New York last week in which the players proposed some new “concepts” for bridging the enormous gap between the two sides, the dialogue was deemed positive enough to accelerate the talks. Hunter even hinted Wednesday that another session could be added next week if the progress continues.” Read more…
I think you would be completely shocked if you rewound three years ago and watched the rookie version of Russell Westbrook running the Thunder compared to the current version that was an All-Star and second-team All-NBA player.
The improvement he’s made has just been incredible. Not surprising though at all, as Westbrook truly is one of the most committed, hardest working players in the league. He never stops working at his game, improving on the littlest things he can. And at just 22, he realizes just like everyone else that there are still places he can get better. He cited leadership and controlling emotions in his exit interview, but he’s far from a finished product in a lot of ways.
But one area that’s taken Westbrook’s game to another level has been his improvement shooting the basketball. Read more…
Does the age limit work for the NBA? Eamonn Brennen of ESPN.com looks: “Maybe the one-and-done rule has helped players develop into elite NBA talents. It didn’t seem to hurt Derrick Rose or Kevin Durant, the reigning NBA MVP and NBA scoring champion, respectively, both of whom happen to be 22 years old. But it’s just as easy to say that duo would have been successful no matter what path they took to the NBA. It’s also fair to say both players — like Kevin Love, Russell Westbrook, Tyson Chandler, Andre Iguodala and a host of other NBA stars that made major leaps this season — were just as affected by their time on Team USA in the summer of 2010. (This seems to be the common consensus in NBA circles, at least.)” Read more…
Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
