After a tightly contested matchup versus the Warriors on Saturday, some Oklahoma City Thunder fans are satisfied. Others…not so much.
The Oklahoma City Thunder predictably, borderline absurdly and almost comically, lost to the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night. It’s an easy loss to explain. Steph Curry has some kind of telekinetic power that allows him to guide the ball through the hoop when it leaves his hand, no matter where he’s at on the court. The refs called a questionable foul on Kevin Durant at the end of the game that allowed the Warriors to tie it on free throws and then took Durant out of the game in overtime by calling him for his sixth foul. Both reasons allow fans to take comfort with the loss and be satisfied with a moral victory.
I’m not satisfied with a moral victory.
This is a game that the Thunder had won. They led for 52 out of 53 minutes. Steph Curry had to be taken out of the game for an extended stretch after he rolled his ankle. Durant scored 37 points and had his best three-point shooting night of the season. Russell Westbrook had 26 points and 13 assists. Serge Ibaka had 15 points and 20 rebounds. Andre Roberson and Steven Adams had 10 points apiece. Defensively, they may have played their best game of the season, especially given the opponent. Yet they lost.
I’m not happy thinking the Thunder hung tough with their best player sitting on the bench in overtime. I’m angry that this team can’t seem to win a close game against a good team. This team has blown their fair share of leads with two minutes to go this season. Whether it’s Damian Lillard hitting ten threes (possible exaggeration) in the final two minutes while Durant goes scoreless for an entire quarter, Dwyane Wade turning back the clock, or Myles Turner hitting his first career three, this team has a terrible habit of losing games they have won.
I’m angry that the bench, which was supposed to be a strong suit for the Thunder entering the season, can’t seem to get it together and are now dragging Durant down with them. Billy Donovan has finally learned that’s it’s ok to play Westbrook or Durant every single minute of the game. Recently, Durant has been playing with the second unit and most of the time running the offense as the point forward. In theory, it sounds great. Unfortunately, the mere presence of the second unit drags Durant down. He tries to overcompensate for the lack of talent that he’s surrounded by and turns into a turnover machine with a sloppy dribble and lazy passes. And when he does set up his teammates, chances are they’ll let him down by missing a wide open shot.
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Curry once again re-wrote the laws of basketball and proved that there’s no right way to defend him. But “Steph being Steph” doesn’t mask the bigger issues that plague the Thunder. “Steph being Steph” doesn’t explain a blowout loss to a shorthanded Cleveland Cavaliers team or the complete failure to show up against the New Orleans Pelicans. They’ve given the Warriors all they can handle in both meetings, playing them as tough as any other contender in the league. That’s good enough for same fans, but not for me.
Why should I be satisfied? What has this team won? There’s no championship pedigree to fall back on. There’s no evidence that they can flip a switch in the payoffs. This is a team with two of the top ten players in the league. A team that was supposed to compete for a title this year, but how to they expect to win 16 playoff games when they can’t even keep their focus for a full 48-minutes in a regular season game? The Warriors won the title last year, capping off one of the greatest regular seasons we’ve seen in years, and are somehow better this year.
This is it for the Thunder. Durant might leave after this season and Westbrook might leave after next season. That’s a harsh reality that Thunder fans, myself included, have tried to avoid for the majority of this year. If it happens, then what for this team? They could go down as one of the best duos to never win a championship. Right next to John Stockton and Karl Malone. Maybe you’re satisfied with that outcome.
But I’m not.