Tag: Russell Westbrook

NBA Playoff Basketball At Its Finest

Why Playoff Basketball is the Best

If the recent antics and storylines aren’t enough to persuade you that playoff basketball is where it’s at, then I don’t know what will. From the rough play in the Celtics and Wizards series to the Big 4 doing damage in Golden State there’s no shortage of intriguing gameplay.

The marvelous Russell Westbrook show has come to an end and Paul Pierce has stepped off the court the last time as a player. The battle of MVP trophy aka the Rockets-Thunder series proved to be a showcase of “WOW”. Westbrook went to work, displaying why he’s a finalist in the race for the MVP trophy. But James Harden wasn’t going to allow an old teammate to send him home packing early. Instead, Harden sustained his claim to the MVP trophy.

It’s difficult to think of any team – not named Cleveland – that can thwart the Golden State Warriors. They successfully took away the chances of any other team in the west succeeding by obtaining Kevin Durant. They don’t need him. They’re just as dangerous without him. The Warriors knew his added star power on another team could result in a slightly challenging road to the Finals. So why not lure one of the top 5 players in the league with grandeur of hoisting a championship trophy?

The Celtics began the playoffs on a somber note. Isiah Thomas suffered a heart breaking loss. The Bulls came in and conquered briefly. Rajon Rondo became injured, Dwayne Wade’s age began to show, and Jimmy Butler’s greatness could not withstand the gritty Celtics.

The Wizards have the swagger of their starting point guard, John Wall. A team that plays with a chip on their shoulder. They’re a rough bunch of players. In a league plagued by “soft play”, they epitomize the style of ball played years ago. Their rugged play was too much for the Atlanta Hawks.

Round Two

Now we’re onto round two. The Cavaliers quickly handled the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs used their experience and their own MVP candidate, Kawai Leonard to fend off the pesky Grizzlies. And Utah is back to their old ways and winning in the playoffs. Here are a few intriguing storylines to look at during the second round of the NBA Playoffs:

  • The Varsity – JV Series. The Cleveland Cavaliers are up against the Toronto Raptors. Rematch of last year’s conference finals. This year the Raptors have a few new additions (Serge Ibaka and P.J. Tucker) along with many familiar faces. One would think that the outcome would be a competitive series. In place of a competitive series, we’ve been subjected to watch as LeBron James and the Cavaliers treat the Raptors like the JV team. If DeRozan can’t lend a supporting hand against the Cavaliers then it’s all up to Kyle Lowry. With all due respect, Lowry can’t do it on his own. Expect to see more of Cleveland pounding Toronto if DeRozan remains M.I.A.

 

  • Kelly & Kelly. Old school basketball was a game where the tough ruled. Imagine if the Bad Boys played today. They’d be in the penalty within 2 minutes. The game has been toned down. Softer – for lack of a better word. That’s why the Celtics and Wizards series is intriguing. Kelly Olynyk – the same man who took down Kevin Love – set a hard screen on Kelly Oubre Jr. of the Wizards. Next thing you know, a rattled Oubre is charging towards Olynyk and what ensues is an ejected Oubre and Washington team that fed off the energy of the altercation. If you missed the squabble, you can see it here: Kelly vs. Kelly. Don’t think that Oubre Jr. was only upset with the hard screen. The hard screen was the essentially the
    “straw that broke the donkey’s back”. A man can only take so much. Look for more physicality in this series as the Wizards look to tie things up.

 

  • Parker-less Spurs. The Spurs are good. They’ve been good for at least the past 18 years. This year they don’t have Big Fundamental in Tim Duncan. No worries. Kawai Leonard picked up the slack. After a challenging Memphis Grizzlies series, the Spurs were up against a run-n-gun team in the Houston Rockets. Things didn’t look good in game one for the Spurs. Game two was a different story. The Spurs played inspired basketball and were able to tie the series. Unfortunately, they lost their starting veteran guard Tony Parker. Question is, can the Spurs survive the loss of Parker or will they run out of steam before reaching the finish line?

 

  • Golden Boys. It’s tough trying stop the Golden State Warriors. Once you think you’ve got them solved, they hit you with another surprise. Utah squeaked by the Los Angeles Clippers but the talent the Warriors bring to the court outmatches the talent brought by the Clippers, especially when Blake Griffin went down. Utah simply has to hope for a bad shooting performance. An off day in Golden State could mean victory for Utah but that’s just one game. Draymond will continue with the trash talk and Golden State will continue to light the nets on fire.

Seeing the same team – game after game – will make tensions flare. The emotional carryover from game to game can either make or break a team. But I’ll stand on a limb – a pretty strong limb – and say that we’re in for a familiar final series. Cleveland and Golden State look primed to represent the Eastern and Western conferences. Unless there’s a storyline that we don’t know of yet. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Who Cares…About the Oklahoma City Thunder?

In 2012, I rooted for the Oklahoma City Thunder to defeat the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. Every game, I was glued to the television cheering on the trio of Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. I was anti-Lebron, at the time, so of course I was going to favor the underdogs.

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Lebron James and Kevin Durant in the 2012 NBA Finals.

They gave it their all but their all wasn’t enough to defeat the star studded Miami Heat roster. The Thunder lost the series four games to one. At that moment I jumped on the bandwagon and became a supporter of the Thunder’s rise to the top. Kevin Durant, the league’s leading scorer that year, was automatically in my top five. I went as far as buying an “authentic” jersey of his. It takes true fandom to purchase an authentic jersey. I was team Durant, team Thunder. They would one day become champions, I thought.

That fandom ended this week. I had the privilege to attend the Detroit Pistons vs. Oklahoma City Thunder basketball game. Billy Donovan, the Thunder’s head coach, decided that after the gritty Toronto game the night before he was going to give Durant and Serge Ibaka the “night off”. Russell Westbrook was coming into Detroit hot following a triple-double performance.

Even though Durant and Ibaka were missing from the Thunder’s roster, the Pistons dug deep and pulled out a win on their home court. During the waning moments of the game, Reggie Jackson (formally Russell Westbrook’s backup, now the Pistons’ starting guard) evoked the excited crowd and threw his arms up, celebrating the win. A win that vaulted the Pistons to 7th place in the Eastern Conference. His end-of-game celebratory antics left  a sour taste with his former teammates.

Westbrook and Durant had their own comments about Jackson’s celebration after the game. Russell Westbrook told reporters, “It was some real bullshit,” referring to Jackson. Westbrook did not appreciate Jackson jumping up and down and being overly elated over a regular season win against a non-conference opponent that was missing two of their starters.

But that wasn’t the statement that ended my fan relationship with the Oklahoma City. It was Durant’s statement that pushed me over the edge. Kevin Wayne Durant, he was arguably one of my favorite players in the league too.

“I wanted to play against Detroit, for sure, but you know, it’s Detroit, who cares about Detroit?” Durant told reporters. Prior to his “who cares about Detroit” comment Durant assured that if he and Ibaka were available they “would’ve beat the hell out of them…” referring to the Pistons.

As a Detroit fan, I’m used to it…we’re used to it. Durant can say whatever he wants about Detroit and how insignificant they are in the NBA but a win is a win. A win that put Detroit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference. Durant may not care about Detroit but the thousands of fans at the arena and watching on TV cheering the Pistons on, sure do.

Durant, Westbrook and company almost lost to a Los Angeles Clippers team that was near depleted. DeAndre Jordan, Chris Paul, J.J. Reddick AND Blake Griffen weren’t in action. The Thunder should have rolled over the Clippers but instead had to rely on a Steven Adams tip in late in the game to guarantee the win. The Thunder are already destined for the playoffs but I’m sure Westbrook and Durant were happy to get the win. Sounds like deja vu?

Granted, Reggie Jackson left the Thunder last season at the trade deadline on bad terms. Reggie wanted to be the “man” in Oklahoma City but was overshadowed by Durant and Westbrook. Since his departure, I guess you can say there has been bad blood between these players. Jackson must have really got under their skin to bother them the way he did.

My allegiance to the Thunder is officially over. With the two kings of the West (Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs) the Thunder won’t get as far as they did in 2012. Durant will possibly go his own way and Westbrook…well who knows, he might stay in OKC and become their go to triple double machine. Truth be told, the Thunder aren’t winning a championship this year or next. Their power in the Western Conference has weakened over the years.

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Kevin Durant being guarded by Reggie Jackson.

Detroit is a hard-working city. The Pistons’ motto years ago was “Going to work!”  We were the Bad Boys. We were supposed to be swept in the finals in 2004. It’s not like those words haven’t been said before about Detroit. We’re not expecting to be favored anytime soon. Durant and Westbrook should worry more about getting past the Spurs and Warriors before being disgruntled that your former teammate celebrated your loss.

So I wish Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the rest of the Thunder the best of luck, because just like the Pistons, they’re going to need it to advance in the playoffs. I guess Durant will add Reggie Jackson and the Detroit Pistons next to Stephen A. Smith’s name of those he can’t stand.