Kevin Durant Injury Opens Door for Russell Westbrook to Realize MVP Dream

Only Russell Westbrook knows what he put on his to-do list for the season other than get engaged to longtime girlfriend Nina Earl, but at least some familiar with the Oklahoma City Thunder point guard believe he included being named MVP.   

Some contend that was among his objectives even before teammate and reigning MVP Kevin Durant was expected to miss six weeks or more of the season with a fracture in his right foot. Now that Earl is in the fold and Durant is on the mend, being recognized as the most valuable player in the league simply moves to the top of the list.   

Does that shock you? Have you seen Westbrook dress? Do you think reaching beyond what anyone would expect is somehow out of character?

"This is his chance to show he can carry a team and that he's the heartbeat of that team," said one rival executive. "I don't know if that's good or bad, but I'm sure that's how he is looking at it."

Thanks to Durant's durability, it's his first chance. Durant has missed a total of 16 regular-season games over seven NBA seasons, only six since Westbrook became an All-Star and all of two in the last three seasons.

If he returns after eight weeks, he'd miss the first 19 games. League sources believe the Thunder will be cautious bringing Durant back, which could keep him out until a Christmas rematch of the 2014 Western Conference Finals with the San Antonio Spurs. Either way, it will be close to the stretch Durant went without Westbrook—an ironman in his own right—last season to establish himself as the early favorite to win last year's MVP award.

Sue Ogrocki/Associated Press

Thunder sources have long contended that the great misnomer about Westbrook is that he is competing with Durant and bent on subverting his authority and stardom. They point to how Durant has won four scoring titles and a league MVP trophy and say that if Westbrook really were a hindrance or disruption, none of that would've been possible.

Too much, they say, is made of the glimpses of Westbrook barking at Durant after a miscue or miscommunication and not enough of the times when Westbrook is yelling "Stick it in their face, KD!" or exhorting the crowd to support Durant when he's missed a couple of shots.

All that said, no one disputes that Westbrook wants to be regarded on the same superstar plane as Durant and that he seethes over the fact that he is not. If he wishes Durant as much success as he can achieve, he also wishes the same for himself.

The loss of Westbrook to torn knee cartilage in the first round of the playoffs two years ago underscored, perhaps for the first time, his importance to the Thunder; with him, they were in the NBA Finals (2011-12) and the conference finals (2013-14). Without him, they bowed out quietly in the second round in five games to the Memphis Grizzlies.

Situation	Field goal percentage	Three-point percentage	Points per minute	Usage
With Durant on-court	44.0	30.7	.70	32.8
With Durant off-court	37.1	50.0	1.12	47.5

That silenced a lot of the critics who viewed Westbrook as holding back Durant in particular and the Thunder in general. When Durant and the Thunder went on a tear during the regular season while Westbrook had a recurrence of his knee issues—the team going 14-2 in one stretch and Durant scoring 30-plus in 12 consecutive games—it not only launched Durant's MVP campaign but renewed the murmurs that Westbrook was a bad fit.

A Thunder source, however, insists that, one, the team couldn't have possibly maintained that winning pace and, two, that its collective quality effort should not be attributed to Westbrook's absence but merely a collective realization they all would have to do more without him.

Whether you buy that or not, Westbrook seeks to be viewed as far more than merely an asset; he wants to be considered Durant's equal. To do that, Westbrook knows the Thunder have to enjoy the same degree of success to start without Durant than they had without him.

Former Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro, who once had to integrate Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, believes the key to Westbrook achieving that will be efficiency more than expanded productivity.

Nathaniel S. Butler/Getty Images

"I do think Russell can take over games at the end, but teams are going to load up on him," Del Negro said. "I would look at his field-goal percentage more than his total points. How many shots does it take to get his average? If OKC can control their turnovers, they have enough firepower with Reggie Jackson, Serge Ibaka and Westbrook to win games without Durant."

The case for Westbrook being on the same level as Durant, or arguably even better, has been his versatility, particularly for a point guard. While he never has come close to leading the league in assists, he has consistently been in the top 10 and prior to last season led all point guards in rebounding three years running.

Nothing would change the analytical view of Westbrook more, though, than an improved assist-to-turnover ratio, which is just under 2-to-1 for his career. Durant's is far worse—1.08-to-1—and only rose to 1.56-to-1 as an MVP, but in not being tagged as a point guard, that doesn't draw nearly as much attention as it does with Westbrook.

"They'll be a better team after figuring out ways to win in the fourth quarter without KD," Del Negro said.

If Westbrook is integral to that improvement, he'll be viewed in a different light, for sure. Durant's injury, greeted initially as dour news, actually could prove to be a setback that leads to a spring forward. Both for Westbrook and the Thunder. The pressure, though, is on him more than anyone else. If his postseason performances—and his aforementioned to-do list—are any indication, he'd have it no other way.

Ric Bucher covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter @RicBucher.