Thunderous Thoughts: Game Two therapy session for OKC Thunder fans

Apr 19, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard Patrick Beverley (2) shoots a layup while OKC Thunder forward Domantas Sabonis (3)defends during the fourth quarter in game two of the first round of the 2017 NBA Playoffs at Toyota Center. Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports /

Welcome to Thunderous Thoughts. A weekly column about life and the OKC Thunder.

I really didn’t want to write Thunderous Thoughts this week. I spent Tuesday night and most of Wednesday traveling from Hawaii, where I got married, back home to North Carolina. I’m just going to assume that, after reading “I got married,” you’re congratulating me on getting one more ring than the Oklahoma City Thunder. Thank you.

I’m writing this because I can’t sleep. I should be sleeping. I’ve been awake over 24 hours. I spent ten hours on a plane. Another seven hours just sitting at the airport. I envy people who can sleep on planes and at airports. I can’t do it. Screaming kids, arguing parents, turbulence, uncomfortable seats. Seriously, how do people sleep through that?

I can’t sleep because I decided to watch Game Two.

What a mistake that was. Why couldn’t it be like Game One? A nice blowout that would have allowed me to go to bed at a decent hour without having to write. Tony and Tambz already gave me the week off. Why didn’t I take the week off?

Before I start, I want to make something clear. This isn’t a column. This week is a therapy session. These are the thoughts that I have to tell someone and I’m fortunate enough to have an outlet to do so. I advise every Thunder fan to join Thunderous Intentions right now because it truly is a support group. We even have weekly karaoke sessions.

Alright, let’s do this.

Any time the Thunder get off to a hot start, you know things are going to end badly. Sooner or later, Russell Westbrook has to sit. When that happens, the other team makes a run. Maybe they don’t take the lead, but they don’t need to take the lead. They just need to get into a rhythm. See the ball go through the hoop. Start getting some confidence. Then, even when Westbrook returns, the opposition has all the momentum and it’s up to Russ to halt it.

Sometimes, he does it. It’s amazing to watch when he does it. He’s taking shots that you don’t want him to take, but he’s hitting them. He’s growling and scowling and he becomes the greatest basketball player to ever grace any planet.

Other times, he can’t halt the momentum. He’s taking those same shots, but they aren’t going in. And then, he starts forcing shots. And when he starts forcing shots that aren’t going for in, and flailing around looking for a foul call, it just becomes sad to watch.

Game Two was one of those sad moments. Westbrook left the game in the third quarter with his team up by 12. He sat for two minutes and twenty seconds. When he returned, his team led by three.

The Rockets had found their rhythm, OKC was out of sorts and Westbrook was going to be Westbrook.

Unfortunately, we got the bad version of Westbrook. The one that wasn’t making the tough shots. The one who just kept shooting, hoping and praying that they would start to fall. But they didn’t fall, and the OKC Thunder blew their chance to split in Houston.

Westbrook was bad in the fourth quarter. Anyone who says otherwise is blinded by their Russell love because they don’t want to blame the one guy who does everything for the team. I get it, but I’m also not falling for it. Westbrook is at fault for that fourth quarter.

But he’s not at fault for Game Two. At least, not entirely. Billy Donovan, who was near perfect in the first half with his game plan and rotations, fell apart when Westbrook went to the bench. He started doing crazy things like playing Semaj Christon and Kyle Singler together. He played Enes Kanter while James Harden was on the floor.

Donovan used 12 guys in Game Two. Benches are supposed to get shorter in the playoffs. Donovan played literally everyone except the two players not named Russell Westbrook with the most playoff experience.

Then, there’s the rest of the team. I wrote about it yesterday, but allow me to reiterate. The Thunder have too many guys who simply aren’t ready for this moment. There’s Westbrook, there’s Andre Roberson, and there’s no one else. Victor Oladipo has one or two flashes of brilliance when he drives to the rim, but then he clanks a bunch of wide open three’s and you’re wondering why he even bothers. Steven Adams and Kanter look unplayable at times against the spread pick-and-roll offense of the Rockets. And Semaj Christon still shouldn’t be in the league.

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Maybe they’ll be ready next year, but the moment looks far too big for them right now. And that’s why Westbrook feels the need to shoot 20 times in the fourth quarter. I don’t like it, you shouldn’t like it, but who else do you trust to make a shot? He clearly doesn’t seem to trust anyone else to make a shot, and why should he? No one on the team has given him a reason to trust him in these big games.

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This was the false hope game. The game that the OKC Thunder could have stolen to make fans believe that they had a chance at winning the series. A win knots the series at one and gives the Thunder home court advantage. 1-1 heading back to The Peake? Sign me up. We could pull off the upset.

Unfortunately, the team simply isn’t good enough to win this series. The Rockets are a well-oiled offensive machine who can survive long stretches without their MVP. The Thunder don’t have that luxury. They have to hold on for dear life without their MVP and then pray at his alter that he can bail them out.

Game Two was miserable. But it got us one game closer to having hope again. Hope that Sam Presti can fix this mess in the offseason and hope for next year, when the season doesn’t end on July 4th.

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