Russell Westbrook and the OKC Thunder remind me of the early days of Saturday Night Live.
The cast of Saturday Night Live was originally called the Not Ready For Prime Time Players. The joke is that the cast members were talented, but because they were on a TV show that aired very late at night, they were talented only in a very late at night role. Put them on prime time television and they wouldn’t be as successful.
That’s the kind of cast Russell Westbrook is dealing with right now.
Let’s get the caveat out of the way: it was one game. And Westbrook himself wasn’t particularly good in that game. But this has been a season-long trend for the OKC Thunder in big games. They went 2-9 against the top three teams in the West this year. What happens in the regular season doesn’t always translate to what will happen in the playoffs, but that record isn’t exactly encouraging for any fan who had a sliver of hope that this team could make a Finals run.
We know what we’re getting out of Westbrook. He’s going to be insufferable and maddening in a game or two, but he’s also going to be brilliant in other games. Westbrook has been to the Western Conference Finals three times. He’s been to the NBA Finals. He’s been in the playoffs seven out of his nine seasons in the league. And he’s always been the starting point guard and the 1A or 1B option. We can count on him.
The rest of the cast? You look up and down the roster, and you have to ask yourself: who can I count on to step up in the moment?
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The Thunder have the youngest squad in the playoffs, and while members of this team were on last year’s team that was one game away from the Finals, the roles are drastically different.
The second guy I feel I can count on is Andre Roberson. His role hasn’t changed much from last years, where he was fantastic. He’s still the defensive stopper who can hopefully hit threes and finish around the basket. Billy Donovan used him brilliantly last year and he’s proven his worth in these games.
After Russell Westbrook and Andre Roberson, things get murky.
Taj Gibson has the playoff experience, but that was a different team and a different role. Gibson was typically the energy guy off the bench for Chicago. He’s now being tasked with the role of starting power forward against the greatest three-point shooting team in league history.
One would think that we could count on Steven Adams given his performance in last year’s playoffs, but he’s seemed to regressed this season. With the Serge Ibaka trade, Adams was given the keys to the defensive kingdom. Thus far, a lot of X-Box’s and PlayStation’s have been stolen. Quick-footed and athletic bigs rule in today’s NBA where teams are so perimeter oriented. Unfortunately, Adams is a half step behind.
Enes Kanter gained playoff experience last season, but he also proved to be nearly unplayable in the Warriors series. In the first game against the Rockets, he looked nearly unplayable again.
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Then, there’s everyone else. Victor Oladipo, Semaj Christon, Alex Abrines, Jerami Grant, and Domantas Sabonis are all making their playoff debuts. Doug McDermott has three games of garbage time experience. Norris Cole and Nick Collison have the experience but are unlikely to see meaningful minutes during the postseason. Oh yeah, Kyle Singler exists as well.
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Stars can be made in the playoffs and weird things happen. It’s very possible that Oladipo finally emerges as the second banana to Westbrook’s fruit salad. Grant may turn into a rim protecting machine. Alex Abrines could shoot the piss out of the ball once again.
But through eleven regular season games against the West powers and one postseason game, we haven’t seen it. We’ve only seen timid play, indecision and a lack of focus.
It took the Not Ready For Prime Time Players three episodes to impact Saturday Night Live. Indeed, the first episode of Saturday Night Live was brutal to sit through. Game One was brutal. Game two may not be pretty, but we can only hope that the star does enough to get us through it, and that his cast mates emerge for game three.