Russell Westbrook Real MVP? Thunder Sidekick Has The Angst And Competitiveness To Survive In The Playoffs! Is KD Too Soft?
Russell Westbrook is not the MVP of the NBA. He's not the MVP of his team, but not for lack of trying.
Kevin Durant is the Most Valuable Player of the NBA. No player in the NBA played was more important to their team than Kevin Durant. For the last two years, Durant was second in MVP voting to LeBron James. This season, he is second to none. Or maybe someone closer.
Russell Westbrook has played the last two games with angst and swagger. There's a determined look that simply says he will refuse to lose. The kind of look we've seen from the likes of Michael Jordan.
In Game 4 against the San Antonio Spurs, Westbrook led the Thunder with the first playoff performance the NBA has seen with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five steals since Michael Jordan. His Airness achieved the feat in 1989-two years before he won a title.
Who was the MVP of this game?
From Bleacher Report: "Russell, obviously..." (OKC Thunder coach)Brooks said with a sigh, "He had a monster game."
MVP Kevin Durant on the best part of Westbrook's game: "His focus on every possession on the defensive end and his poise on the offensive end. I think that's what's fun to watch. People outside of our team don't really look at that type of stuff, but that's something that we can definitely build on as a group-watching him wreak havoc on the defensive end and offensively playing with such patience."
Even his experienced counterpart from the esteemed San Antonio Spurs, Manu Ginobili has recognized how dangerous Westbrook can get. From Fox:
"Sometimes he's going to go off. He's capable of doing that. If he makes a lot of jumpers, it gets really tough."
What about Kevin Durant-the Most Valuable Player of the entire league?
One telling image was in Game 2, when the Spurs blew the Thunder out of the water. Westbrook was clearly seen telling Durant to "Wake up!"
Westbrook talked about the gesture: "I was just getting on Kevin about some stuff, and he got on me right back. That's what teammates do. That's what leaders do. We get on each other, we come back, and we talk about it, and then we come out like nothing ever happened."
This was not the first time that Westbrook had to step up to the plate. It usually happens in crucial situations, in do-or-die games. In the Finals against the Miami Heat in 2012, the UCLA star scored 43 points trying to fend off the Miami Heat.
In crucial Game 5 of the Conference Semi-Finals this year, Westbrook scored three straight free throws that turned out to be the game winners (and series turning point).
Time and again, Westbrook has saved the Thunder in the most dire situations, even with Durant in the game. Will he someday take the reins in Oklahoma?