KD and Westbrook get into altercation...

[MDot]

It seems as though it was just under the circumstances plus it was small but you still never want this to happen between your two best players, or any for that matter.

http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-r...rticle/3635701

[ljbab728]

It seems as though it was just under the circumstances plus it was small but you still never want this to happen between your two best players, or any for that matter.

http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-r...rticle/3635701

I see this as a minor issue. Things happen and even the best of friends have disagreements. It's not evidence of any major dissension on the team. I'm sure it will be addressed internally.

[MDot]

I see this as a minor issue. Things happen and even the best of friends have disagreements. It's not evidence of any major dissension on the team. I'm sure it will be addressed internally.

Yeah, this was just a small heat-of-the-moment altercation it seems. I've had my fair share of heated (in their face) arguments with my closest of friends and we have always apologized and went back to getting along (generally within a few minutes) and that appears to be the case here as well. Hopefully Westbook will get back on the right track tomorrow night, he was just plain awful tonight although he did hit some clutch FT's with 5.0 remaining in the game.

[ljbab728]

Yeah, this was just a small heat-of-the-moment altercation it seems. I've had my fair share of heated (in their face) arguments with my closest of friends and we have always apologized and went back to getting along (generally within a few minutes) and that appears to be the case here as well. Hopefully Westbook will get back on the right track tomorrow night, he was just plain awful tonight although he did hit some clutch FT's with 5.0 remaining in the game.

He was probably more frustrated with himself than anything else.

[MDot]

He was probably more frustrated with himself than anything else.

It appears that he's usually more frusterated with himself more so than anyone else. If I couldn't make a single shot all game either, Lord knows I would be madder than the devil.

[dankrutka]

Russ is emotional and with the media pushing it's KD/Westbrook feud narrative non-stop it's hard not to notice this stuff. What we don't notice is that this happens on every team regularly... but that's not part of the narrative.

[G.Walker]

This is actually a good thing, it shows how passionate both players are about the game, and how they are taking it seriously and putting their emotions on the line. This shows that both players are dedicated to winning. But I am sure this won't be the last altercation this team has, things happen, hash it out, and move forward.

[rcjunkie]

This is actually a good thing, it shows how passionate both players are about the game, and how they are taking it seriously and putting their emotions on the line. This shows that both players are dedicated to winning. But I am sure this won't be the last altercation this team has, things happen, hash it out, and move forward.

So true and well said. If you've ever played sports at all, at any level (little league, high school, college, pro), this is not uncommon.

[TaoMaas]

It appears that the argument wasn't about each other, but about Thabo passing up an open 3. Thabo did that a couple of times last night. But, with as much heat as Thabo has been getting about being an offensive liability, I can't blame him for wanting to be more sure of the shots he takes.

[Thunder]

Not a major news. This is a worldwide known issue with Westbrook's inferno temper. Its in fact shocking how management continue to keep him on the team despite his teenager behavior. I don't like the guy one bit, because he sets a bad example for the entire team, especially for the state of Oklahoma. Who knows, one day he may actually display typical redneck behavior by bringing out a loaded gun from the locker room. Westbrook is a ticking time bomb and I knew this from day one. We can definitely go far without him.

[TaoMaas]

Maybe Zack Randolph should have talked to Russ. He, better than anyone on the court last night, knows that teams WILL trade a player with attitude problems, no matter how good they are.

[MDot]

It appears that the argument wasn't about each other, but about Thabo passing up an open 3. Thabo did that a couple of times last night. But, with as much heat as Thabo has been getting about being an offensive liability, I can't blame him for wanting to be more sure of the shots he takes.

That's what I was thinking. LOL it's probably better that he DIDN"T shoot it.

[kevinpate]

snit or no snit, overall it is a very good thing they were hitting the 3's in the last quarter.

I was surprised when the announcers were noting people were getting up and leaving with several minutes left in the game. Even though I'm far removed from being an avid bballer, my initial reaction was 'Leaving?! Are You Freakin' Kidding!?!'

[Just the facts]

Maybe Zack Randolph should have talked to Russ. He, better than anyone on the court last night, knows that teams WILL trade a player with attitude problems, no matter how good they are.

Trading Westbrook could free up some serious money and could probably land two future first round draft picks. Harden and Maynor can more than fill the void with probably half the turnovers. I was actually surprised Westbrook was in the game in the final minutes. Everytime he was out OKC opened up double digit leads, the he comes back in and Memphis gets back in the game.

[MDot]

Trading Westbrook could free up some serious money and could probably land two future first round draft picks. Harden and Maynor can more than fill the void with probably half the turnovers. I was actually surprised Westbrook was in the game in the final minutes. Everytime he was out OKC opened up double digit leads, the he comes back in and Memphis gets back in the game.

I've never thought much of this and I'm also not a Westbrook hater but I just read an article by J.A. Adande and he suggested we trade RW for Stephen Curry. Not that he's a pass first PG or even an PG period, but atleast when he shoots he's more likely to make than miss. He also made a great point that Maynor is more than capable of running the team, he already does it very well for the times he's used. I'm not ready to say Eric is starter material but he's come into his own over the past year, plus he's pretty accurate and he's a pass first PG unless he has a wide open shot. There are times he shoots contested shots, i.e. the floating runners but he generally makes them. I don't know what's best but I know Presti will do what he feels best which is usually the right thing.

[dmoor82]

No thread to put this in soooo......KD 4 threeeeeeee and the Thunder beat the Mavs to go to 4-0!Russ gets his mojo back!

[ljbab728]

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/74...sell-westbrook

[dankrutka]

Everyone that suggests getting rid of Westbrook does not understand the difficulty of finding star players in this league. Westbrook's temper issues are largely negated by the fact that he's a great guy who likes (and is liked by) his teammates. Getting rid of Westbrook would be a colossal mistake.

[MDot]

Everyone that suggests getting rid of Westbrook does not understand the difficulty of finding star players in this league. Westbrook's temper issues are largely negated by the fact that he's a great guy who likes (and is liked by) his teammates. Getting rid of Westbrook would be a colossal mistake.

I know my post suggested we get rid of him but that wasn't my suggestion, it was J.A. Adande's. I guess I should have added that I don't want to get rid of Westbrook. I've been following the NBA for years and trust me I've seen how hard it is to find a star player, much less two at the same time and keep both. RW is a type of player you don't come across often and he is really good for how young he is. I hope we can keep the roster we have intact for a few more years but that's nearly impossible in sports.

EDIT: I forgot to mention how much I love Westbrook's personality. Probably because it's a lot like mine but I love the rage/enthusiasm he has even on bad nights. Him, Perk, even Serge, Durant, and Maynor bring sort of a 'don't mess with me' kind of attitude. Not sure if that's a good thing but I like it personally. LOL

[Just the facts]

If you have been watching the 4 games this year the Thunder play best when Westbrook is on the bench.

[Stan Silliman]

If you have been watching the 4 games this year the Thunder play best when Westbrook is on the bench.

A lot of that is because when Maynor is in it is our 2nd team against their 2nd team. We happen to field one of the better 2nd units in the league. If our starters stay within 1 or 2 points of our opponents starters, we'll generally win.

Am I defending Westbrook? Yes, because he's a huge component in so many factors that favors our team:

1) He frees KD up. Westbrook's ability to slash to the basket at a moment's notice keeps teams from doubling on Durant.

2) Westbrook wears his opponent out. When you play Westbrook you're guarding the quickest PG in the league and he's one of the reasons why guys like Jason Kidd play less minutes against the Thunder than they do against other teams. Both in rebounding, defensively and in the threat to blow by you, he wears on his opponents.

3) Westbrook was 8th in the league in assists last year. However, he was also the top rebounding PG in the league and second only to Derrick Rose as a scoring point guard and in clutch time production (final five minutes of the game). In fact, in all categories, Westbrook was the most productive PG 4th quarter PG except for Rose. Consider this, Rejon Rondo had the most assists but because of his poor foul shooting is considered a late game liability at crunch time.

This year, Kerry, Westbrook has had a poor start. But looking at the big picture and how much he improved last year as the season moved on, I think it would be knee-jerk and very hasty to give up on him.

[catch22]

My favor for Westbrook has been waning this last season and this current one. His attitude really irks me, he wants to be in KD's position as the head of a team and on international commercials -- KD is humble and would be humble to be in Westbrook's position. The edge of the spotlight makes Russel a liability. He plays with emotion, you can see him give up on plays. I noticed in the first quarter of the mavs game last night, he'd stand around and walk to his position while the rest of the team was hussling. He already gave up on the game because the Mavs were outplaying us. His attitude is the deal breaker for me, a bad attitude is a cancer on a sports team and it just takes one guy losing focus to bring the rest of the team's motivation down.

I bet this season we will see some fireworks in the playoffs...and it won't be because we won. It will be around Westbrook.

[Easy180]

Agree on the attitude and I think it is becoming more clear that he just doesn't dig OKC like KD and some others do

J.A. Adande thinks he is gone and recommended trading him for Stephon Curry...Think that would be great to have a sharpshooter at the two guard and let Maynor start...He is more than capable and is probably even better than Westbrook with distributing the ball

Not a Westbrook hater at all but I hope Presti gets someone solid for him if he is on the way out

[TaoMaas]

We'd be insane not to hang onto Russ for as long as he wants to be in OKC. I think what we're seeing is more Russ being frustrated by his own play than it is anger at KD, Thabo, or having to play in OKC.

[Easy180]

We'd be insane not to hang onto Russ for as long as he wants to be in OKC..

100% true...Key is whether he likes it (city not teammates or organization) here or not...My take is he may not hate it but doesn't enjoy it either...That to me says he will jump to a larger market after this or next season