Kevin Durant Downplays Heated Altercation With Russell Westbrook
by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Russell Westbrook had a terrible night during the OKC Thunder’s thrilling win in Memphis. The point guard didn’t connect on any of his 13 field goal attempts, and he forced up many bad shots to boot.
Most interestingly, Westbrook got into a heated argument with Kevin Durant during a second-quarter timeout.
According to Durant, even though this isn’t the first time he’s had a yelling match with Westbrook in a public setting, the latest incident between the two Thunder stars is nothing to get too worked up over.
Reports the Oklahoman:
Westbrook’s frustration appeared to have started with just 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the second quarter when he drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to Thabo Sefolosha in the corner. Sefolosha passed up a wide open 3-pointer, which prompted Westbrook to yell at Sefolosha “shoot the (expletive) ball.” Sefolosha and other teammates, including Durant and center Kendrick Perkins attempted to calm Westbrook down immediately during an ensuing trip to the free throw line. But the emotions spilled over to the bench one minute later.
Durant appeared to again settle Westbrook, but Westbrook appeared to take exception to how Durant delivered his message. The two began shouting at each other and had to be separated. Durant patted Westbrook on the head when the two took the court out of the timeout, and the two seemed to communicate well throughout the rest of the game. “We’re going to disagree sometimes, like I’ve always been saying,” Durant said. “But I’m behind him 110 percent, and he’s the same way with me. And you seen when we came on the floor we clicked and everything started to work from there.”
Russell Westbrook left the locker room before reporters could ask him about any of this.
This is the fourth season for the increasingly fascinating and fruitful Durant/Westbrook relationship. Both guys have always said that they want to continue working and playing together.
One factor to consider is that Russell Westbrook is (rightly) angling for a rich contract extension; it will be interesting to see what — if anything — OKC Thunder management and coaches do to address the dynamic between Kevin and Russ, as they move forward with such a critical decision on their point guard.
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russ/kd over wade/james? your point can be made on both sides. you claim they “compliment” each other better….I dont see that. Wade and James being the same player means better chemistry, they know where the other one wants to be, and likes the ball. If you were to replace Russ with Wade (as far as pg)…Wade would be x2 in everything. He is a better scorer, defender, shooter, free throw shooter, clutch player, And he damn near gets trip dubs. If they complimented each other better, why werent they in the finals? why has russ been taking so many bad shots (trying to put his stamp on the game)? They wont win any rings with Russ running point unless he changes his mindset as well as his emotions when things arent going his way. 0-13? really? dude is talented enuff to get to the cup and make a layup. His mind is what keeps him and his team down.
tyreke got that grown man game, and he runs the point a lot better than russ without a kevin durant.
all that being said, i still love westbrooks game, even if he does act like a punk at times.
the kings.
he seems to have a better attitude than russ at this point and though i wouldn’t go as far as saying they should have drafted reke instead of westbrook, i could see reke on OKC working.
and of course harden would fill a more secondary role, he was drafted the year after they already had russ and kd.
if russ wasn’t already on that team, i can totally picture OKC picking up tyreke.
2nd season – makes playoffs
3rd season – makes Western Conf Finals
4th season – 3-0 so far The only thing that keeps going down about Russ is his reputation, while ironically he and his team are on the rise. Let dude play and figure it out…KD still has his back
what im saying is, and i guess i need to re-word it since you didnt get it last time. Wade’s abilities are far greater that Russell’s. (in every category)—yes Russ is young, but hes been in the L long enuff to understand that its a team effort and not individual stats that matter. You arent gonna see wade forcing a mid range jumper with a man all in his mug with 16sec left on the shot clock. And Wade wasnt doing that at Russ’ age either. As far as the Wade running pg…i was saying that if you put the ball in wades hands, in the same situations as westbrook…you would get a much greater outcome. either by him scoring himself or by him finding the open man. i agree (yet again)…westbrook is young…and has alot to learn…and if he doesnt learn soon, he will be out of OKC and they will bring in someone who can give their “superstar” the ball. And for you to say that Wade doesnt defend lets me know that you are basically biased towards OKC. Bottom line is Wade/James and their “talents” are far greater in every stat category (except for Durants shot), than that of the team of Russ/KD. Good luck to OKC and Russ getting rings with Russ playing the way he does.
a) the East sucked that year
b) Iverson was at the peak of his prime
The Lakers should have swept them instead of the in 5. Still, it was a joy to see AI do his thing back then. He could drop 50 in his sleep back then.
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