Kevin Durant Was Bound to Come Up Short in NBA Playoffs

Kevin Durant had to put the Oklahoma City Thunder on his back after they lost Russell Westbrook early in the playoffs.

But one man, superstar or not, can only lift so much weight.

The reality is, when Westbrook went down with a slight tear in his meniscus following Game 2 against the Houston Rockets, it was only a matter of time before the Thunder would get sent home packing.

The Rockets—the Western Conference's No. 8 seed this season—took the first-round series against the Thunder to six games after Westbrook's injury. Against the Memphis Grizzlies in the semifinals, the Thunder shot under 40 percent for the series without Westbrook. That included shooting 37 percent from the field in the fifth and final game of the series on Wednesday, an 88-84 loss in Oklahoma City.

It was truly admirable what Durant did after Westbrook's injury. Headed into Wednesday's game, he was averaging 31.8 points, 9.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.0 blocks while shooting 48 percent from the floor and 85 percent from the free-throw line. He did this despite defenses keying in on him following the loss of Westbrook.

But you had to have seen a letdown game coming for Durant. Every player, star or not, has an off-night now and then. Durant's 5-of-21 shooting night and seven turnovers on Wednesday exemplified that. And it was ironic that the man who led the Thunder to Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals would be the one to miss the potential game-tying shot with seconds remaining on Wednesday.

Durant said after the game, via Royce Young of CBSSports.com:

Durant will pick himself up, dust himself off and get back to work soon after seeing his title hopes dashed once again. He's simply that kind of player, a calming influence who leads by example.

Durant has nothing to be ashamed of. The Thunder were simply doomed to fail the second their second-best player went down with an injury.