NBA Playoffs 2011: Can We Please Stop Hating on OKC Thunder's Russell Westbrook?

Now that sources are saying that the Oklahoma City Thunder's Russell Westbrook was benched because of a botched play, can we please move on? 

The amount of press that this is receiving is absolutely ridiculous. Scott Brooks simply made the right decision, and that's all that needs to be said. 

Oklahoma City did end up winning the game after all, and Westbrook wasn't the only starter that rode the pine for the duration of the fourth quarter. In fact, Kevin Durant was the only starter that stayed in during the game's final period. When the bench is playing well, sometimes there's simply no reason to mix things up. 

It was a gutsy call by Brooks to leave Eric Maynor and the rest of the backups in the game, but it paid off. It's not like Maynor was playing poorly and Westbrook would have been better. The former VCU Ram never even turned the ball over and was playing quite efficiently. Had he been turning the ball over left and right, then we'd be having a different conversation. 

Now sure, Westbrook is a volatile player who is quite prone to anger, but he usually channels that anger into his characteristic intensity. Something tells me that Brooks wouldn't want that to be any different. After the point guard got over his frustration about the botched play, he smiled and laughed with his teammates and enjoyed the victory. 

After the game, he said all the right things and appears ready to bounce back. The other players are supportive of Brooks and Westbrook, at the same time, and there really doesn't appear to be any issue here. 

So, why are we still talking about it? Do we really need to keep beating up on a frustrated young player who made a mistake? 

It's time to move on.