NBA Finals 2012: Lay off Scott Brooks for Russell Westbrook's Benching in Game 3

After benching All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook for the final five minutes of the third quarter Sunday night, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks has largely been cast as the scapegoat of Game 3 of this year's NBA Finals. 

The "blame the coach" narrative need not apply here, though.

Brooks' benching of Westbrook wasn't the deciding factor in Game 3 in favor of the Miami Heat, no matter what you may read elsewhere. 

Let's quickly flashback: Kevin Durant had just picked up his fourth foul of the game with 5:41 remaining in the third quarter, earning him the quick hook from Brooks. In the Thunder's two previous possessions, Westbrook had turned the ball over and bricked a 25-foot three-point shot, which directly led to Durant's fourth foul. 

James Harden—the Thunder's Manu Ginobili clone—came off the bench for Durant. In the Thunder's next two possessions, Westbrook missed a driving layup and was called for a charge, earning him a trip to the bench right next to Durant. 

In the remaining five minutes in the third quarter, the Heat outscored Oklahoma City by a margin of 15-7. That includes a four-point play from Derek Fisher, which occurred soon after Westbrook's benching. 

Looking at those numbers, it's reasonable to jump to the conclusion that Brooks single-handedly keyed Miami's run by keeping his two best offensive options off the court. 

It's also unfair to pin the blame completely on Brooks for the Westbrook decision.

In that five-minute stretch, both Fisher and Serge Ibaka fouled Shane Battier and James Jones as they attempted three-pointers. Battier and Jones drained all six of their combined free throws, shrinking a nine-point Thunder lead to three. 

Brooks immediately pointed to that stretch in his postgame press conference when asked what he'd remember most from Game 3. John Schuhmann of NBA.com blamed that stretch, too, aptly describing it as a "bonehead sandwich." (Thabo Sefolosha air-balled a three-pointer between the three-point-shot fouls, to make matters even worse.)

But what makes anyone think that having Westbrook in the game instead of Fisher would have helped? 

Westbrook has been dealing with the "Good Russell/Bad Russell" dichotomy throughout the playoffs. At times, his aggressiveness and relentlessness turns him into an offensive dynamo ("Good Russell"). Other times, he's an uncontrollable, runaway freight train, determined to single-handedly sway the course of a game no matter how many shots he attempts—miss or make ("Bad Russell"). 

Just past the midway point of the third quarter, Westbrook looked like Bad Russell incarnate. With Durant sidelined by fouls, he knew that his team's offensive burden would fall upon his shoulders. 

That doesn't, however, give him license to revert into out-of-control mode. 

Who's to say, had Westbrook stayed in the game for a few more minutes in the third quarter, that he wouldn't have kept jacking reckless shots? Who's to say that Miami wouldn't have taken advantage of those bad possessions and turned them into quick transition points? 

Can we confidently say, with no hesitation whatsoever, that Westbrook would have suddenly reined in his emotions after getting the charge called on him? 

Westbrook still recorded nearly 39 minutes of playing time last night, including every last second of the fourth quarter. Durant and Harden stayed in the entire fourth, too. 

Perhaps Brooks realized he'd need all three of his All-Star-caliber players for every second of the fourth, and tried to steal as much rest as possible for his mercurial point guard in the third quarter (a move which, retrospectively, backfired)?

If anything, don't do what Yahoo! Sports' Kelly Dwyer did, and jump on Brooks for benching Durant immediately after picking up his fourth foul, which he called "an adherence to an outmoded style of thinking that doesn’t hold up to logic or reason." 

Basically, Brooks benched Durant in the third quarter of Game 3 to avoid having to pull Durant for a long stretch if he picked up his fifth foul quickly. Brooks played it safe, instead of rolling the dice. 

In Game 2, however, Brooks kept K.D. in the game after he picked up his fifth foul with 10:32 remaining in the fourth. Durant went right to work, dropping 16 of his game-high 32 points to almost bring the Thunder back against Miami. 

Where was that sort of calculated gamble in Game 3? 

Again, this doesn't all fall on Brooks' shoulders. Had James Harden not labored through a 2-of-10 shooting night, or had Durant managed to avoid foul trouble for the second consecutive game, there's a strong chance that the Thunder would be the ones with the 2-1 series advantage. 

Should Brooks have brought Westbrook back before the end of the third quarter? In retrospect, most likely. Should he have been more reluctant to give Durant the quick hook after his fourth foul? Probably so. 

But it's not like those decisions single-handedly cost the Thunder Game 3. OKC managed to cut the Heat's lead to one point with 90 seconds remaining, before falling apart at the seams down the stretch. 

If the Thunder hope to even the series Tuesday night, they'll need everyone on their team—from Durant, Westbrook and Brooks down to Derek Fisher—to perform at a higher level, especially in the waning minutes of the game. 

Most importantly, though, they'll need Durant to stay out of foul trouble. 

Doing so prevents Brooks from having to make difficult decisions about his superstar's playing time. 

Otherwise… well, we all saw Game 3, right?