The third consecutive season of a first round exit from the postseason has the OKC Thunder team and fan base sitting in reflection the day after.
Losing sucks! There is no other way to put it. This OKC Thunder – Portland Trail Blazers series has been a roller coaster of emotions and in truth, it sure didn’t go the way most thought. Sure there were some who felt the Blazers could win but prior to the series most felt the odds were stacked against Portland.
Jusuf Nurkic was out following his horrific injury, CJ McCollum missed 11 of the last 13 regular season games with a knee injury and his nine and 11 points in his two outings sure made it seem like he was less than 100 percent. Factoring in the big man (Enes Kanter) the OKC Thunder weren’t able to use in the last playoff series he was with the team all pushed the arrow toward the Thunder.
Certainly, there were questions coming from the Thunder camp as well about Paul George and Steven Adams health, but with OKC finishing the season strong it seemed they were poised to produce in the postseason.
Even when the Blazers went up 2-0 at home there was still belief the Thunder could even the series at home. So, the brief elation experienced following the Game 3 victory was met with the equivalent of a punch to the gut on Sunday when the team lost Game 4.
Yet nothing, NOTHING could equate to the absolute heartbreak of the Game 5 loss. Inexplicably Paul George was suddenly playing like we hoped he would the entire series (prior to injury). Westbrook was taking too many shots but trailing by 10 points late in the game it was these two superstars who mounted the comeback to not only erase the Blazers lead but build a lead of their own.
And then the wheels came off. Slowly but surely the OKC Thunder lead disappeared. Paul George missed not one but both of his free throws and Westbrook who appeared to be fouled on the last OKC offensive play didn’t get the benefit of the whistle. But with precious little time left on the clock, it looked like overtime was looming.
Damian Lillard had other ideas though. Despite what Paul George might call a ‘bad shot’ the truth is any shot taken from midcourt by Damian Lillard and Stephen Curry are within their arsenal and have to be respected.
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In hindsight, there will be copious questions to be answered. At the forefront of queries will be why didn’t Billy Donovan double team Lillard. Why not try at least to take the ball out of Dame’s hand and even if he elected to not do that throughout the game why or why didn’t he double team Lillard on that last shot?
The fallout from the lost series will no doubt focus on 12 consecutive playoff road losses and no series wins since the exit of Kevin Durant. There will be calls for General Manager Sam Presti to fire Billy Donovan implying this is just a system issue. Some will say it’s time to revamp or trade Steven Adams in order to obtain other pieces to pair with Westbrook and George. Some might feel this series could’ve been won had everyone been healthy.
What cannot be denied and was a definitive issue all season long is this roster lacked shooters and weren’t an efficient team from anywhere on the hardwood. Those areas have to be addressed regardless of what top level decisions are made.
The team at TI are licking our wounds along with the rest of Thunder Nation as our hopes for a deep season run are gone. In the coming days, we’ll revisit exit interviews, begin our season review and look ahead to the offseason.
For now, it felt like a day to grieve was in order.