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Russell Westbrook's first game of the season was a revelation. With the entire world—myself quite happily included—expecting a freak show, we instead discovered a different side of Westbrook. While no less explosive or disruptive (for the opposing team), Russ was the consummate teammate, an assured leader, and very much the kind of player who could anchor a roster. Without Kevin Durant's trademark consistency carrying the team from possession-to-possession, Westbrook had to be that foundation, the stability. God forgive us all for thinking that Russell Westbrook was simply incapable of that level of responsibility or accountability.

It turns out that Westbrook had us all fooled, or least he was hiding in plain sight. Maybe it was all a strategic ploy. At this point, we underestimate Westbrook at our own peril. We've been lead to believe that Durant and Westbrook were ying and yang, opposites attracting, an uneasy union between young men who couldn't have been more different as players and as people. After opening night, it became apparent that Westbrook isn't out of control—he's gambling. Westbrook's id-dominated game is a luxury of having Durant as a foil. In the early NBA game the previous night, New Orleans versus Orlando, we'd seen Anthony Davis challenge pretty much every field goal attempt by the Magic; he could afford to do this because of dedicated paint protector Omer Asik. Westbrook played the way he has because he could, not because he couldn't help himself.

We were looking forward to Russell Westbrook unleashed. He was supposed to be more Russ than ever before. Instead, we learned that in KD's absence, the seventh-year guard might go totally against type. Or maybe he just reminded us that we see what we want to see.

Alas, this exciting new development was short-lived. After fracturing his hand last night in Los Angeles, Westbrook will miss the next four to six weeks, returning to action around the same time as Durant. It's a nice bit of synchronicity, and yes, it means we'll see this Dynamic Duo reunited and ready to yet again strive for a title. We'll once again get to watch Westbrook tempt fate at every turn and drive the team with his energy and aggression.

On his way into the tunnel at the Staples Center after he got hurt, Westbrook briefly got into it with a Clippers fan. I suppose you could interpret this sequence of events as a sign that underneath it all, Westbrook is still Westbrook, and that the respectability of the Portland game would eventually unravel. I prefer to think that it was a reminder that as one version of Westbrook disappears abruptly, the other side of Russ is quite literally waiting in the wings. The next time we see Westbrook, things will return to normal. There won't be the much-anticipated friction over whose team it is now; we won't get the spectacle of a drunk-on-power Westbrook dismantling the Thunder's team chemistry.