The Informer’s 50 NBA Blogs In 50 Nights Day 7: Russell Westbrook & The Oklahoma City Thunder

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I want to let everyone in on a little secret; Russell Westbrook is not the problem in Oklahoma City. And the fact that people are actually trying to make him the problem by drudging up a bogus “Can Russ and KD coexist” storyline is absolute garbage.

I mean for the love of “Kobe & Shaq”, didn’t we put the “OKC is better off without Westbrook because it frees up Kevin Durant” storyline to rest last year after “Mamba-blood” got hurt and “Sniper Jones” struggled without his running mate?

Don’t you all remember this?

OKC lost to the Memphis Grizzlies and then everyone who writes about basketball (The Informer included) came to the conclusion that the Thunder came up short because they needed a healthy Westbrook to be at their best.

Now 12 months later we are throwing that narrative out the window because Scott Brooks refuses to bench Kendrick Perkins, or call offensive plays. Seriously, how is having an inept coach Westbrook’s fault?

Yet somehow the narrative is not about bad coaching. No the narrative is Westbrook shoots too much, which in turn has people asking whether or not the Thunder would be better off without him.

To be very clear, the answer to that question is HELL NO!!!

Listen, I said before the playoffs began that the one thing you wanted to avoid during the 2014 NBA Playoffs is knee-jerk overreactions because they tend to make you look foolish.

Well, that is exactly what is going to happen to all the people saying Durant-Westbrook can’t coexist due to the fact that they are down 2-1. Sure it has been a bad two games, but that doesn’t mean it is time to blow up the best “under 25 duo” since the Penny-Shaq days in Orlando.

Now believe it or not, but adversity happens in the playoffs. I swear it has been like this for years. The thing is true champions respond and overcome the adversity. That is what makes them champions. And this Oklahoma City team has the ability to be a champion; they just have to overcome a little adversity.

And hopefully, after the Thunder overcome their adversity with a Game 4 win, everyone will finally realize the most explosive player in the NBA, not named LeBron James, is not the problem in Oklahoma City –he is one of the solutions.

One last thing about the Thunder as a whole before we go; for everyone ready to write off OKC because they lost two games, you may want to get on the internet and look up these teams: 1993 Phoenix Suns, 1993 Chicago Bulls, 2006 Miami Heat, and the 2012 Oklahoma City Thunder.

All of these “top-seeded” or “heavily favored’” teams won a series where they were down 2-0.

Do you want to know why these teams were able to come back?

They were able to come back because each of those teams had the best player on the court. The Suns had Barkley (MVP that year), the Bulls had Jordan (the GOAT), the Heat had an in his prime Dwyane Wade and the Thunder had Durant-Westbrook (two best players in that series).

Just saying, for everyone predicting doom and gloom, keep in mind that the two best players in the Thunder-Grizzlies series are still Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. And if history has taught us anything, it is that having the best players is usually a very good thing.

Enjoy Game 4 everyone. I have a feeling it is going to be a legacy defining game for two of the NBA’s biggest stars.

(The Informer note – The 1993 Suns trailed 2-0 to the eighth seeded Los Angeles Lakers in their first round best of five series before Charles Barkley and company came back to win. The Suns ended up making the Finals that year where they lost to Michael Jordan and the Bulls. The 1993 Bulls were down 2-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals and the NBA Finals before winning both series’. The 2006 Miami Heat were down 2-0 and trailing by 13 points in Game3 of the 2006 NBA Finals before coming back to win not only the game, but the NBA Championship. And finally, the 2012 Thunder trailed the San Antonio Spurs 2-0 in the Western Conference Finals before winning four straight games.)