As Russell Westbrook's three point attempt bounced off a fan in the mezzanine late in game six of the Western Conference Finals, TNT cameras quickly turned to Kevin Durant. His shoulders slumped, eyes pointed to the sky, letting out an exhaustive sigh. His season, as great as it was, was over.
As a Grizzlies fan it pains me to say this, but I actually felt sorry for him...if only for a brief moment. Because my inner cynical fan quickly slapped me and pointed out that, overall, KD came up pretty small in these playoffs. In fact...Durant has come up small the last two years.
And the pass stops here.
For whatever reason, Kevin Durant is afforded the luxury of receiving all of the praise, while never having to accept responsibility for the Thunder not getting it done. And I get it, he's a likable star and it's hard not to root for him. And yes, he deserved the MVP this year. But when it comes to crunch time let's be honest.
Durant disappears.
Last year Durant was given a pass for getting bounced out of the second round by the Grizzlies because Russell Westbroook was out with a knee injury. I can accept that at face value when looking on the surface. But if you recall, all five of those games with Memphis were decided by six points or less...and the Grizzlies closed out the last four. Often overlooked is the fact that Durant had his Thunder in a position to win all four of those games, but caved late with missed shots and costly turnovers.
Mostly by Durant.
Judging by the reaction on Twitter immediately following last night's game, it appears that this year's scapegoat will once again be Russell Westbrook....this time for being on the court. Durant saw little action offensively in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime because Westbrook was once again dominating the ball. But from my view, he seemed to be the only one hell bent on not being eliminated last night. Showing the kind of heart that should come from your mvp.
And speaking of the Durant / Westbrook dynamic, what other championship caliber league mvp would allow himself to be frozen out of the game by a teammate...regardless of his ability? Do you think that Jordan, or Kobe would allow themselves to not touch the ball in the final minutes of a closeout game?
Highly unlikely.
Even Dwyane Wade will concede the ball to LeBron James to run the offense in crunch time. It's what the championship caliber stars do. They make it happen. If you do not think that Durant shrunk in these playoffs...then tell me a memorable play / shot / defensive stop that he made to win the game? Any game?
While I wait....
When the Spurs had a chance to win the game in regulation, it was Westbrook that was caught on camera saying..."I got [Manu] Ginobli". He accepted the challenge, and forced Ginobli into a tough fade away jumper that clinked off the rim. Westbrook came up with the series clinching game 7 triple double vs the Grizzlies. A series in which Durant struggled. I'm still waiting on the answer to my previous question by the way......
OK, I'll digress.
This is not to bash KD, he's still the second best player in the world. This is, however, a clear sign that he has a decision to make. It's either time to change personalities...or locations. If there is truly a chemistry problem between him and Westbrook, then it's time for KD to start making some noise. It's time to go to the front office and demand that someone has to go. Kobe and Shaq had chemistry issues during their championship run, and ultimately someone had to go.
They both went on to capture a title without the other.
It can be done...but the clock is officially ticking for you KD. Another mvp without a title would be meaningless now. It's time to get it done...even if you have to start stepping on some toes.
Or you can go down as the lovable loser, and refocus your sights on Kareem's all time scoring record.
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