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Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook Ruining it for Kevin Durant
There is no good and bad in the story of the Oklahoma City Thunder blowing a huge lead and a chance to finish the series. There’s one player – Russell Westbrook, who seems to be living inside a bubble; there’s another player, who happens to be Kevin Durant and the league MVP; and there’s a head coach called Scott Brooks who has some nice numbers and win-loss record, but doesn’t seem to have any idea on how to make adjustments or improve his team.
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Grizzlies Over Thunder – Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook Playing the Wrong Way
The playoffs are different from the regular season, and not everything that worked then has the same impact now. The Memphis Grizzlies are forcing to Oklahoma City Thunder to try and win by giving Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook the ball while the rest stand around and watch. The result? Grizzlies win game 3 98-95, taking a 2-1 lead in the series.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Offense Needs to be Coached too
The Oklahoma City Thunder have a head coach who seems to be unwilling to make any sort of offensive adjustment while relying on Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant trying to win games with pull up jumpers from beyond the arc. If it works, he looks like a genius, but in the 122-116 loss to the Phoenix Suns, it once again pointed towards a glaring problem with the team.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant Can Learn From Dirk Nowitzki
There isn’t too much love going around between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Dallas Mavericks. For the first time since winning their NBA title, the Mavs won the regular season series, culminated by a great scoring duel between Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant, which the German won in overtime 1289-119.
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Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks & San Antonio Spurs Only Teams With the Same Head Coach For More Than Three Seasons
The NBA isn’t exactly a league that preaches for coaching stability. In fact, only four teams: The Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs have a head coach that’s been at the job for more than three seasons, as Erik Spoelstra, Scott Brooks and Rick Carlisle have been at the job since the 2008-2009 season, while Gregg Popovich has been with the Spurs since the 1996-1997 season.
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Kevin Durant Needs to be Better, But How Much More Can He Give
When you look at the transition offense the Oklahoma City Thunder had during the regular season, the best in the NBA, and what they’re trying to pull off now, you suddenly realize why Russell Westbrook is so important, despite his obvious shortcomings. Kevin Durant is trying to do everything for his team, but it doesn’t seem to be enough, and it’s not certain he has anything else to give.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant Needs More From Serge Ibaka & Kevin Martin
It’s hard to point a finger on the one reason the Oklahoma City Thunder have been looking so bad on the court, regardless of who is missing. Reggie Jackson is doing a good job in the place of Russell Westbrook, but Kevin Durant needs more from what worked during the regular season – Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin, who have been disappointing, to say the least, the Western Conference Semifinals so far.
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Kevin Durant is Not LeBron James
It took LeBron James a little while before getting recognized as the best player in the world, but there was little doubt about his ability to carry a team without too much talent around him to playoff success. Kevin Durant, realizing life without Russell Westbrook isn’t a all its cracked up to be, might dream of becoming the best player in the world, but he’s someway off that “title” at the moment.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Replicating NBA Playoffs Success Harder in 2013
A look at some advanced stats and overall efficiency suggests the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the best team in the Western conference, let alone the NBA, but their over-reliance on the individual skills of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, not to mention their struggles in head-to-head games against the conference’s best teams suggests reaching the Finals for a second consecutive season isn’t going to be this easy.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – When Kevin Durant is the one That Follows Russell Westbrook
All it took was for Scott Brooks to get a technical foul, and we suddenly saw the Russell Westbrook the Oklahoma City Thunder need to win the NBA title. A responsible point guard who leads his team by scoring and passing, doing his best to make the team look better, including his co-star Kevin Durant, instead of trying to prove to everyone just how big of a star he is at the moment.