• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

May 14th 2016

Queens NY

Dynamic Duo

 

In the era of the “big three” the dynamic duo of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are saving their city.

 

The Oklahoma City Thunder failed to make the playoffs last season, injuries to both stars cut their string of playoff runs short. Russell Westbrook had one of the best individual seasons of his career however not making the playoffs opened the duo and team to numerous questions from those outside of the organization. Flash-forward to this season and the Thunder are set to play the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Monday in the Western Conference Finals.

There were many questions coming into the season, were the stars happy together? Were the other players on the Thunder happy with their roles? Can the two stars stay healthy?  Then Dumbo entered the room, for those who aren’t old enough to remember, Dumbo is a fictional Disney character, a flying elephant. Kevin Durant’s free agency has created an era of uncertainty around the team and around the league; many teams will be seeking his services when the season ends. Will Durant stay with OKC, will he go home or will he go to Los Angeles? All this is of course speculation so we will all just have to wait to see how this plays out. However it seems that this did not become a major distraction for Durant.

Now lets get back to the two superstars and why they seem to be defying the current NBA trend of stockpiling 3 or more elite players to go after a championship. Individually these guys are unstoppable most nights, it is very difficult for opposing defenses to try to slow these two offensively.

Kevin Durant, with his size does things that guys Westbrook’s size can do on the court. He can handle the ball, he is a deadly shooter from pretty much anywhere on the court and then he has those nights that only elite players seem to have. Those nights where he just cant miss, no matter what the defense throws at him he takes over the game and puts up massive offensive numbers. This season he put up some impressive numbers, 28-points per game while shooting over 50% on the season. He also added 8 rebounds and 5 assists per game to his resume. He has also shown improvement on the defensive end of the floor.

 

Westbrook is a different monster. Aside from his deafening yells after hammering home a monster dunk, his ferocious style of play has had him in the topic of MVP consideration. He can score, he can pass, he can rebound and he puts pressure on opposing defenses like no other player in the league. He has racked up triple doubles at an amazing rate this season. When he gets the ball and heads to the rim it can be a scary sight for anyone on defense. This season Westbrook like Durant had very impressive numbers all across the stat sheet, 23ppg, 7rebounds, 10 assists and 2 steals per night.

 

Two superstars, two different personalities and two different styles of play have these two in the spotlight. Now the question is do they have enough? Can they do it without a 3rd major contributor? We’ve seen what Cleveland did with James, Irving and Love. We’ve seen what the Warriors have done with Curry, Thompson and Green, the Spurs with their immortal trio and the list goes on. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have defied the norm.

kev defend russ
Kevin Durant defends his teammate (Westbrook)

 

Who’s Batman and who’s Robin? The two superstars dodge this question on a nightly basis. They are both focused on winning and they give their all on the floor every night. Some nights it’s Kevin and other nights it’s Russ, the two don’t seem to mind sharing the leadership role on the team.

 

Who will or should be their 3rd option? Another question that they face on a nightly basis. Could it be Serge and was it the departed James Harden? We can search for that answer and probably choose a different player on their roster every night but the dynamic duo for now, are putting all other questions to rest and are focused on continuing their  post-season run.

Kevin Durant, Kenneth Faried, Russell Westbrook
Kevin Durant, Kenneth Faried, Russell Westbrook (Barneys New York Collaboration Party)

They have a genuine friendship and genuine working relationship, a combination that does not often exist in the sporting world where money and fame can drive wedges between friends and teammates. When Westbrook ventured into the fashion world Kevin was there to show his support. At Durant’s numerous charity events Russ also shows up to support his teammate. We may not know what the future holds for the duo but for now they need each other and for now they are together for the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Thunder are set to take on the Golden State Warriors on Monday May 16th 2016, it will be a rematch of two teams that produced a few of the most exciting regular season games. The Dynamic Duo vs. the Warriors!

 

Thanks for reading.

Follow me on Twitter sherman@shermangmz1

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Email: shermangmz1@gmail.com

Photo Credit: AP Photo Jae C. Hong

By Sherman Gomez

"Basketball is my favorite sport, I like the way they dribble up and down the court." "I wish I was a little bit taller, I wish I was a baller." "Last week messed around and got a triple double." I write about basketball sometimes and then I try to go play....

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