Thunder to be on receiving end of Westbrook's fury
Josh Stuper sat in Section 1 1 4 wearing a No. 2 j ersey w i t h a l a s t n a m e t h a t nearly curled t o his waist:
Gilgeous-Alexander.
Second- year guard Shai Gil geo us-Alexander is the new Thunder franchise cornerstone, but No. 0 jerseys were far more popular Sunday afternoon at Chesapeake Energy Arena.
Russell Westbrook's presence still looms over the city.
“When you come here, you immediately think of Russell Westbrook,” Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr told reporters. “To not see him on the other side of the floor is bizarre.”
Monday night will be even more bizarre. The Thunder will travel to Houston to take on Westbrook and his new teammates at 7 p.m.
West brook, who wore Thunder blue for 11 seasons, is now in Rocket red.
“I think it was the best place for him to go, especially to be back with his old teammate, James Harden,” 11-year-old Andrew Segura said.
Andrew and his older brother Joey ,15, took a family trip from Kansas City to Oklahoma City on Sunday to watch the Thunder play the Warriors.
They both wore Westbrook All-Star jerseys. Andrew in black. Joey in white.
“It's gonna be weird,” Joey said. “I was really sad to see him go. It was tough, but he had to do it. It's gonna be cool to see him playing us again.”
Brayan Vital, 21, got to his seat an hour before the game Sunday. He took pictures of the Thunder's new players as they warmed up, but it was Westbrook's jersey that he wore.
“I'm just hyped, really,” Vital said of Monday' s matchup. “It was time for him to leave. I just hope he goes off, because seeing him happy is the main idea here.”
Even if a Westbrook explosion comes at the Thunder's expense?
“Yeah for sure ,” Vital said .“I follow players. I don't follow teams. Seeing Westbrook go off will make me super happy.”
After the game Sunday, Thunder coach Billy Donovan pondered what it will be like to game plan against Westbrook after coaching him for four seasons.
But Donovan first spoke of Westbrook's mentality before breaking down the matchup.
“Listen, he was a great guy to coach ,” Donovan said. “The one thing I always admired and respected, and I told him this, I never took for granted that he came ready to play and gave it his all every night.”
Now the Thunder will be on the receiving end of West brook' s“all ”— the slams and the scowls and everything in between.
Thunder point guard Dennis Schroder laughed at the idea of Westbrook taking it easy on his old club.
“Never,” Schroder said. “I've never seen him take it easy on anybody. He'll try to go for our heads, but we're ready for it.”