The NBA Season has begun, and while for many sports fans that is as exciting as a poopy-flavored lollipop, for the people in Oklahoma City, it is a thrilling prospect.
Their team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, lost the Western Conference Finals in six games to the eventual champion Dallas Mavericks. Despite the disappointment that always accompanies having your season ended with a loss, the Thunder had plenty to look forward to. They were the youngest team in the league, with two of its best young players and a nucleus of talent that seemed to genuinely enjoy playing with each other and would continue to improve. Things got even better after the lockout ended. The Thunder saw the Mavericks lose the defensive player that gave them fits in the postseason (Tyson Chandler), saw the Lakers get royally screwed by the NBA in the Chris Paul debacle, and watched the Spurs get another year older. Those were the three teams seeded higher than them in last year's Western Conference. Imagine the lofty expectations for 2012.
So imagine my surprise when, after a 4-0 start for the Thunder, all I am hearing about on Sportscenter and reading about online is whether Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant can get along. Come on. Of course we still remember Westbrook taking bad shot after bad shot against the Mavs, but he wasn't the reason they lost. Have you forgotten that Dirk Nowitski was scoring 65 a game and shooting 99 percent from the foul line throughout the playoffs? The Thunda's fate was sealed, whether Westbrook was hitting those shots or not.
And yes, I am aware of the arguing on the sidelines that happened during the Thunder's win at Memphis in the team's third game of the season. But guess what? Westbrook was polishing off an 0-for-13-er on the night. Who wouldn't be pissed off during and after a game like that? And now, after Westbrook made several big plays down the stretch against Dallas and Durant hit a game-winning buzzer-beater, while half of Twitter was celebrating the shot, the other half could only find time to comment on the "half-hearted" hug the two players shared afterward in celebration. Get a life.
Maybe Westbrook isn't as happy as he could possibly be in Oklahoma City. But I'm not buying into some seething hatred he holds for Kevin Durant. The guys have grown up in the NBA together. They've shared immense amount of success at a young age by feeding off each other. Together. Whether or not Scott Brooks blames one for the team's failures is moot. That might represent a problem in the coach-player relationship, but the not the one between teammates.
And beyond all that, we shouldn't be worried about Westbrook leaving until at least after this season is done. The Thunder are one of four teams I would say have a legitimate shot at a championship this season (Heat, Bulls and Lakers are the other three. Really, the Lakers would need a full 58 games of good play from Andrew Bynum to be legit. That remains to be seen). Westbrook would be crazy to leave before this season is done. Even if he wants to be the alpha dog, or play in a bigger market, there is no place he could go that would give him a better title shot that OKC this year. So there's not point until after the season.
At any rate, it would be great if we could stop hearing about the discontent on the Thunder's sideline and in the locker room. I'm not buying it, and doesn't their play so far (especially KD's shot last night) deserve a bit more airtime?
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