NBA Finals 2012: Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook Must Demand More Playing Time

The Miami Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 91-85 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 series lead in the 2012 NBA Finals. In order for the Thunder to storm back, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook must receive more playing time.

In Game 1, Kevin Durant played 46 minutes in the Thunder's win. He didn’t even play 40 in their Game 2 and 3 losses.

Foul trouble is preventing Durant from staying on the floor. After the Game 3 loss, the league’s leading scorer talked about his foul trouble and being promptly sent to the bench by coach Scott Brooks (via CBS Sports):

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That's coach's call. I had four, I think, I want to say four or five minutes to go in the third, and we had a nice little rhythm going. I had a nice rhythm going on the offensive end, and for it to just stop like that by me going out of the game because of fouls is kind of tough.

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When Durant exited the game with less than six minutes remaining in the third, OKC held a 60-54 lead. By the end of the quarter, Miami had gone in front, 69-67.

But Durant’s departure wasn’t the only thing that helped evaporate the Thunder's lead. Forty seconds after Brooks took Durant out of the game, he called Westbrook to the bench as well.  

A five-man unit of Derek Fisher, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins/Nick Collison isn’t exactly an offensive juggernaut. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out how that group surrendered the Thunder’s cushion.

After the game, Brooks defended his benching of Westbrook (via CBS Sports):

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You've got to rest the guys sooner or later. It's hard to play guys—you can do it occasionally, play them extended minutes. It's hard to play 24 straight minutes at the point guard spot, because every time you've got the ball or every time you're guarding the ball.

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Erik Spoelstra certainly doesn’t believe in resting his guys sooner or later. Spoelstra's win-now, rest-later game plan was evident in Game 3, when LeBron James played 44 minutes and Dwyane Wade 45. 

With just a maximum of four games left in the championship, Brooks shouldn't be worrying about stamina. Unless the Thunder leave it all out on the floor, they will be going home full of regret. 

Bottom line, Brooks needs to get his rotations back in order. Basketball is a game of runs, and runs are typically generated by a team's best players. On Sunday, LeBron, D-Wade and company went on a 13-2 run in the last 3.5 minutes of the third quarter while Durant and Westbrook watched from the sidelines. 

Though foul trouble certainly played a role, Durant and Westbrook missed some crucial stretches in Game 3. That simply can’t happen if the Thunder want to win the title. OKC’s stars must demand more playing time from Brooks, or they won’t win another game.

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