Losing frustrates Westbrook
Back-to-back defeats, triple-double questions leave Thunder star irked
These were two of Russell Westbrook’s worst days, rare and revealing struggles in what has otherwise been a spectacular season for the Oklahoma City Thunder star.
In a road loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, with boos pouring down like icy rain, Westbrook played the villain role in the same “Angry Russ” way he did for all those years before Kevin Durant skipped town. Then, another beating, at the Utah Jazz less than 24 hours later, the Thunder playing without their No. 2 scorer, Victor Oladipo, for the second consecutive night because of a wrist injury and learning the hard way that the only thing thinner than Westbrook’s patience in this post-Durant process is their margin for error.
No triple-doubles. No wins. No fun. Yet still, as always, Westbrook played on.
While Westbrook’s superstar contemporaries were kicking up their feet, players such as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Marc Gasol and DeMarcus Cousins taking games off as part of the NBA’s recent trend toward what Westbrook might calls systemic sissyness, it was Russ against the world in one of the toughest back-to-backs you’ll ever come across. Among Westbrook’s old school qualities, it’s his relentless approach to his craft, to the underappreciated act of clocking in and working harder than the next guy, that resonates, no matter the context.
Nine seasons in, he is one of seven current NBA players who have played in all 82 games of a regular season at least four times. He only rested for the sake of rest twice last season, finishing with 80 games played. In that regard, the Thunder’s mini road trip came to an end in a fitting locale considering Jazz legends John Stockton (all-time record of 16 seasons playing all 82) and Karl Malone (10) were defined by durability and dedication.
The Thunder’s post-Durant landscape isn’t nearly as provocative as one might think. A group of gritty, young players (third youngest in the NBA overall) take their lead from the guy who never quits and who made his motivations known when he signed an $85 million extension with Oklahoma City a month after Durant decided to leave. They listen closely to the revised game plan of second-year coach Billy Donovan, the 51-year-old New Yorker whose understated intensity is such a perfect fit for the fiery personality of his franchise’s centerpiece player. They have won more than most expected (15-11, two games off last season’s pace), with Westbrook dazzling during his triple-double show (12 in all, including a stretch of seven consecutive that ended Sunday).
But there are no Durant dartboards on the locker room walls. The hard feelings appear to have mostly faded, partly because it’s just healthier that way but also because the Thunder will face their former teammate once in their first 43 games (they fell 122-96 to the Warriors at Oracle Arena on Nov. 3). What’s more, Durant doesn’t make his first return trip to Oklahoma City for nearly two months (Feb. 11).
A closer look at Westbrook’s last two outings. TRAIL BLAZERS Westbrook’s raw feelings about the nonstop triple-double talk wouldn’t be revealed until 36 hours later, when he got ir- ritated again and told reporters after the Utah loss that “the numbers (expletive) don’t mean nothing to me.”
But at the Thunder’s shoot-around at the Moda Center, where the mood was still rosy because the team had won seven of their previous eight games, he gave a less caustic version of his truth.
“You know, I get asked that question every single night, and my answer is always the same because that’s a truthful answer: I like to win, and that’s the most important part,” he said. “I play the same way every night, man, honestly. I just go out and compete. I’m just blessed with talent, and I’m thankful to be able to play the game I love every night, and I try to leave it all out on the floor every night.”
Afterward, he darted away, firing a verbal jab at the reporter who asked the question on the way out and heading for the team plane. Off to Salt Lake City, where the altitude (4,226 feet), time zone change and a deep and dangerous Jazz team await. JAZZ Nearly an hour before tip-off against the Jazz, as Westbrook asked Donovan to come visit at his locker, they discussed a particular out-of-bounds play that had been on his mind. Hours later, as the Thunder fell behind 33-23 and Donovan called a timeout, Westbrook stood at the center of the huddle with waving arms and a strong message before making way for his coach to come in.
“I really enjoy being around him,” Donovan said. “His intensity, his passion, sometimes for people it can be intimidating. But to me, I like it. You know he is very genuine, he’s very real. He’s not phony. What you see is what you get. I think he’s a man’s man. I think he’s direct, and I think he’s honest.
“My intensity for the game is very similar to his intensity for the game. … So I can identify with him.”
There’s no substitute for scoring, and the Thunder went down 109-89 because they had yet another woeful offensive display (30 of 52 shooting). Westbrook missed 18 of 25 shots, finished with five turnovers, then offered the edict to stop with all the triple-double talk.
The edginess is easily explained: The Thunder lost, meaning he was miserable and there was more work to be done.
And so it goes. This better-than-expected life without Durant continues.