NBA Playoffs: 5 Reasons You Can't Blame Russell Westbrook for OKC'S 0-2 Hole

All the Oklahoma City Thunder need to do is win four out of the next five games to advance to the NBA Finals. The problem is that their opponent, the San Antonio Spurs, has only lost four out of their last 38 games.

So, a comeback by the Thunder is not impossible; it's just highly unlikely.

When it looks like a team is going to lose a series, the blame game usually ensues. Sure enough, we're seeing various commentators and media types try to come up with reasons why the Spurs are taking the Thunder to the proverbial woodshed.

The easiest thing for them to say is, "It's Russell Westbrook's fault."

I'm calling bologna on that one. It's not Westbrook's fault. There are a lot of reasons the Thunder are getting waxed and are probably going to lose this series. Here are five of those reasons.

1. Kevin Durant Is Getting Manhandled

Kevin Durant is one of the best scorers in the world, and he is going to draw a lot of attention. Durant is skinny, and he plays small forward. That means teams will use all kinds of players on their rosters to guard him—bigger guards, really strong forwards, tall, skinny forwards and anybody else that will work hard to deny Durant.

The Spurs have mainly used Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson to blanket Durant. That is 12 fouls the Spurs have to give from two guys they really don't need to score. So please don't tell me, "Durant only attempted 17 shots and Westbrook took 24."

There's a reason for that. The Spurs are doing a really good job denying Durant (see the picture above), whereas Westbrook has the ball in his hands at the beginning of almost every possession. Where Durant has the most success is when he gets the rebound and pushes it up himself.

Durant is the Thunder's best player, and I agree he needs to shoot more. That responsibility falls on someone not named Russell Westbrook.

2. Scott Brooks Is Getting Killed by Gregg Popovich

If this were a boxing match, the ref would've stopped it by now. It's that bad.

Gregg Popovich is one of the best coaches in NBA history, and his four championship rings are evidence of that. He has changed his style over the years from a dominant defense to an attacking, driving, high-scoring offense.

Scott Brooks? He has the look of a young Doug Collins, a really good coach who is doing all the heavy lifting, but will ultimately watch somebody else cash in on all that hard work and win a championship coaching the Thunder.

Brooks has struggled to find a rotation that works in this series.

He continues to play Kendrick Perkins even though he can't guard the pick and roll, he can't score and he commits a couple of dumb fouls per game.

The Thunder got Perkins because he is a banger that is a terrific low-post defender. They got Perkins to guard Los Angeles Lakers bigs Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

The problem is that the Spurs aren't running any offense through the low post. So why is Perkins playing so many minutes?

Brooks continues to play Derek Fisher big minutes. Why? Fisher is a step slow on defense, and by playing him, you are forced to either put the ball in his hands, which takes it out of Harden or Westbrook's hands, or stand him on the wing to be a jump shooter, which Fisher is not.

So, Fisher is neither a big scorer nor a great defender. Why is he on the floor?

Finally, it is Brooks' job to get Kevin Durant better looks. When you are coaching one of the best players in the world and you only find a way to get him 17 shots, that's your fault.

It's your job to make your team understand he needs the ball in certain spots, and it's your job to design a game plan that gets him the ball in those areas. Brooks isn't doing that.

Brooks needs to post Durant on the low block, the one place on the floor that none of the Spurs defenders can handle him. Dare the Spurs to double him there, where he will either score over the top of smaller defenders, or he will pass over the top of smaller defenders to wide-open shooters.

3. Speaking of Derek Fisher...

Basketball is a game of matchups. If you can find a matchup or two that favors your team, you exploit it. You go to that well until it is bone dry.

That is how the Dallas Mavericks won the NBA championship last year. Dirk Nowitzki was a terrible matchup for opposing power forwards. He played the best basketball of his career. He made defenses contract, which forced them into tough closeouts, and that always favors a good shooting team.

The Spurs are a great shooting team. They are shooting over 49 percent from the floor and over 41 percent from the three-point line during these NBA playoffs.

The Spurs are primarily a pick-and-roll team. Their game plan is really simple—they want to create ways for Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to get downhill with the dribble. Both of those guys are terrific finishers, so the defense has to help, which opens up the Spurs' three-point shooters.

If you put Matt Bonner on a different team, he would still be a good shooter, but he wouldn't get the same kind of looks he gets playing alongside Ginobili and Parker. The same goes for Kawhi Leonard, a very average shooter that shoots an above-average percentage because he doesn't just get good looks. He gets great looks.

So what does this have to do with Fisher?

By playing Fisher so many minutes, the Thunder have a non-scorer on the floor who also struggles to stop penetration. Fisher is basically opening the flood gates for the Spurs. He allows them into the lane, which, in turn, opens up those great shooters.

4. The Thunder Need More Ibaka

If Tim Duncan is the greatest power forward to ever play in the NBA, then you tell me who their center is. Duncan has the skill set of a power forward, and if you want to call him a power forward, that's fine with me. I've got no problem with it.

My point is, Duncan is playing center for this Spurs team.

Duncan can still score from the low block, but as we've discussed, the Spurs are running a ton of pick and rolls. This is the Spurs' M.O. now, but they are also attacking the weakness of the Thunder defense—Kendrick Perkins and his inability to guard the pick-and-roll.

The answer to this dilemma is really simple. The Thunder need to play Ibaka at center and go small. Ibaka can play the pick-and-roll, and this would also allow them to move Kevin Durant around. They could play him at the 3 (with Nick Collison in the lineup) or the 4 (with Thabo Sefolosha at the 3) and put the Spurs defense on their heels.

Perkins could still be a valuable part of the rotation, coming in to guard Tiago Splitter, who is also running the pick-and-roll, but is a more traditional center than Duncan.

5. The Spurs Are Really, Really Good

The Spurs had the best record in the Western Conference last year. They had the best record in the Western Conference again this year.

Last season, the Memphis Grizzlies upset the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs, and that tainted the fact that San Antonio has had the arguably the best team in the West for two years running.

The Spurs have Tim Duncan, one of the 10 best players to ever play in the NBA, and he's playing like a guy four or five years younger. They have Manu Ginobili, one of the best players in the NBA over the last decade, and after missing extensive time due to injuries this season, he is playing with fresh legs.

Then there is Tony Parker.

The Spurs point guard is playing the best basketball of his career. In a league that is overrun with great point guards, Parker might be playing better than any of them right now.

Parker is a scoring point guard with a sublime mid-range game. He can get any shot he wants, anytime he wants, and that simple fact makes every spot-up shooter on the Spurs roster a better player.

The rest of the Spurs lineup is a blend of size, athleticism and gritty role players. Gregg Popovich, as usual, has blended this cast of characters together in such a way that they all play to each others' strengths.

The Spurs are the best team in the NBA right now. They won two home games, something they were supposed to do.

So, please don't blame Russell Westbrook for why the Spurs are up 2-0 on the Thunder right now.