Bruce Jenkins: Oklahoma City is emerging as a challenger to the Warriors in the West.
There’s a new threat emerging to the Warriors’ superiority in the Western Conference, and it’s not the Houston Rockets. That’s old news. It’s time to start paying attention to Oklahoma City, next up on the Warriors’ home schedule (Tuesday) and discovering the beauty of team basketball within a star-laden roster.
Wasn’t everyone blithely dismissing the Thunder just a month ago? Hadn’t they failed miserably trying to blend Paul George and Carmelo Anthony into Russell Westbrook’s kingdom? Without question, but this is the NBA, where the Celtics’ rise could leave LeBron James powerless in the East. Where Blake Griffin departs the Clippers in a shocking deal. It’s a long-haul season that invites radical transition, and we see it now in OKC, where legitimate friendships proved to be the catalysts for change — and an eight-game winning streak before a 102-96 loss in Washington on Tuesday night.
Through all the early-season confusion — the archaic offensive sets, the hero-ball mentality, the inexcusable losses — the players did not grow apart. Westbook and George, friends since their youth in the L.A. area, have formed a bond that might keep George from joining the free-agent market. Anthony has tossed aside a career’s worth of me-first thinking and traded it for harmony. Westbrook remains the most fierce, relentless competitor in all of sports.
The results have been spectacular, for reasons that make OKC a far more intriguing playoff opponent than Houston. Not to denigrate the Rockets in any way; they’ve proven their worth against Golden State. It’s just that observers can be lulled to sleep by Houston’s one-note (make that three-point) style, and the sight of James Harden or Chris Paul dribbling away huge chunks of the shot clock.
The Oklahoma City experience is pure fireworks, best displayed during the final moments of Sunday’s game against Philadelphia. Westbrook and Joel Embiid had been going back and forth all night, unleashing vicious dunks, biting comments and cold stares. When it was over, and OKC had prevailed, Westbrook wasn’t in the mood for farewell embraces. He’s a bit old-school that way, if you get him angry. Eyes ablaze, he glowered at the 76ers’ bench as he dribbled out the clock, then walked backward toward the tunnel. This after an allworld performance (37 points, 14 assists) in which, at one point, Westbrook yelled, “I’m coming, mother—!” on his way downcourt.
He’s coming for Embiid, for the whole damn league, and especially for the Warriors. Reset your focus on OKC right now, so you won’t be shocked come playoff time.
Here’s the strange and endearing contrast: The Warriors are built around sacrifice and unselfishness, embodied in the natural-born humility of Stephen Curry and Kevin Durant. They live for the extra pass, the tranquillity, the honest joy of watching teammates succeed. There is no such thing as the man, not when team-MVP cases could be made for four men.
That was the goal in OKC, but it simply wasn’t working. Only when a clear decision was made — this is Westbrook’s team, and he will rule the offense — did this team elevate itself into relevance. “I think the fact that Russ is just playing, not trying to defer to anybody, just letting us play off him — we needed that,” George told reporters recently. “We need that Russ out there. Let the rest of us figure it out.”
Anthony, who became one of the league’s all-time greatest scorers by dominating the ball, getting into isolation sets and humbling his defenders, had to leave all that behind. At first, he just couldn’t do it. The ball came his way, he went to work, and the action slowed to a crawl.
It was wise to remember that Anthony became a deferential teammate playing alongside NBA superstars at the Olympics, and he rediscovered that mentality when Westbrook and head coach Billy Donovan steered him away from his comfort zone. He became a spot shooter, a catch-and-shoot guy, and suddenly, the OKC offense looked twice as effective. “It’s been good,” Anthony said. “It was just a matter of accepting that role, realizing that this is the what we need to win.”
The result: The Warriors and OKC operate on separate paths, but they each have three All-Star-caliber shooters at their disposal. Westbrook takes the big shots. He sets a tone of maniacal intensity not seen since the vintage Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan, storming into the lane and just
humbling people with suddenly soft layups or wicked dunks. George and Anthony, each given to dreadful shooting nights this season, have become far more consistent. They see where this is heading, and they’re fully engaged.
A setback struck like lightning Sunday when Andre Roberson, the Thunder’s starting shooting guard, was lost for the season with a ruptured patella tendon. He’s one of the league’s best defenders and set a stop-the-ball tone that infiltrated through the roster. Donovan is trying to get by with Jerami Grant, rookie Terrance Ferguson, even ex-Stanford forward Josh Huestis on the wing, but there could be a trade in the works. Remember that Roberson, one of the league’s worst shooters, was useless on offense. If the Thunder acquire an offensive threat who can hold his own defensively, they’ll no longer be playing 4-on-5 —and that means even more space created for the Big Three.
So imagine the glory of this matchup: Curry, Durant and Westbrook, each a prime MVP candidate. Durant and Westbrook renewing an intensely personal rivalry that has yet to fully thaw. Historically significant lineups operating on entirely different principles. It will be a treat to witness the spectacle Tuesday, with another date at Oracle (such a strange schedule) on Feb. 24. Let’s hope it blossoms into a best-of-seven.