Russell Westbrook's Hand Injury Nudges Thunder Title Window a Little More Shut
LOS ANGELES — Russell Westbrook was so exasperated as he walked off the Staples Center floor that even after he decided he'd better stop arguing in the tunnel with a heckling Los Angeles Clippers fan/imbecile, Westbrook spun in a circle and seemed about to punch the wall with his unbroken hand.
Westbrook's opportunity to promote himself as an MVP candidate and advance the Oklahoma City Thunder without Kevin Durant was rudely erased Thursday night when the guard broke his right hand.
He will likely miss at least a month, and Durant could possibly be back from his broken foot before Westbrook even plays again. The longer they are out simultaneously, though, the more the 0-2 Thunder will surely slide in the challenging Western Conference.
That's the tightly focused harsh reality for the Thunder.
But the fascinating part about Oklahoma City is, and for some time has been, the broader landscape.
Every little thing that happens to the Thunder can be extrapolated into life or death, past and future.
This latest Westbrook injury, even though a month at the start of the regular season shouldn't ever be catastrophic, is no different.
The Thunder were stung in the 2014 Western Conference Finals by not having home-court advantage, losing every game they played in San Antonio in an eventual 4-2 defeat. Playoff seeding and home court for the Thunder could be just as big this season with it being unclear whether the aging Spurs can maintain their level again or the Warriors and Clippers are ready to make a leap.
The opportunity is there—still—for the Thunder finally to win that NBA title with Durant and Westbrook. They've disappointed every single time in a window that has lasted long enough for LeBron James to go from Cleveland to Miami to Cleveland again. Oklahoma City has made only one NBA Finals appearance, with money-saving decisions from owner Clay Bennett rightly scrutinized as potentially costing the Thunder multiple championships already.
Flashing forward, every setback the Thunder absorb these days can likewise be rightly scrutinized as decreasing the odds that Durant re-signs in 2016. The Lakers, Knicks and Wizards know it; Durant knows it, too.
The one clear statement Durant issued over the summer was that if the Thunder could put it all together to win this season and again next season, then he would not leave.
"It would definitely be tough to do anything," he said in late July during USA Basketball training camp. "That's one of those things where you're building a dynasty now, you win two in a row."
That dream looks nothing like this team today, though.
And even if Oklahoma City fares better than expected the rest of 2014, it will largely be because Reggie Jackson owns his new spotlight, which is only going to jeopardize Jackson's return to the team after restricted free agency come summer.
The Thunder did put together a scrappy effort after Westbrook went out Thursday night in the 93-90 loss to a Clippers team that was feeling pressure to win its home opener for new owner Steve Ballmer. Perry Jones played with real confidence in a 32-point uprising. Jackson, whom Kendrick Perkins suggested could return from an ankle sprain as soon as Saturday, will do the same—and maybe young Jeremy Lamb will, too, when he returns from his sore back.
Despite what the luxury-tax-fearing Bennett has done while in charge, Thunder general manager Sam Presti deserves high praise for continuing to develop young talent.
The Thunder refused to consider cutting Perkins via the amnesty provision and paying him not to play—including last offseason, when it could have meant offering perhaps a $10 million salary to someone such as Pau Gasol, Luol Deng or Lance Stephenson to join a top contender. But second-year center Steven Adams has at least dislodged Perkins from the starting lineup this season.
(The skill-less Perkins was still out there taking up enough space Thursday that Westbrook collided with him, breaking the hand. When told after the game he was the immovable object that caused Westbrook's injury, Perkins wasn't even aware: "Was that the play? Damn," he said.)
Whatever growth the young guys are forced into now—even if it's just the defensive cohesion that Scott Brooks is making the focus—it should theoretically strengthen everyone to be better supporting cast members for the spring.
"It will be good for us at the end of the season, when we have guys who will be coming off the bench sharp and ready to play," backup point guard Sebastian Telfair said.
Maybe these little things wind up working in Oklahoma City's favor this time. More likely, though, fellows such as Jones, Lamb and Telfair aren't going to be difference-makers anyway in the playoffs on the road, where the Thunder might find themselves after potentially piling up losses for the next month.
"The only thing we can control," Serge Ibaka said, "is to keep playing hard."
OK, but what a long, long way that is from cruising toward the consecutive NBA titles that would lock Durant up in OKC.
Kevin Ding is an NBA senior writer for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter, @KevinDing.
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