Thunder lose game, 1 seed in west

     Kevin Durant had a stellar game in Indianapolis tonight, but in the end it was (like most the Thunder's close losses) not enough to overcome a sluggish effort. While Russel Westbrook missed a triple double by 1 assist, and the Thunder actually led the pacers in assists (20 to 13), the game was not close until the final 3 minutes. Ball rotation being a much talked about issue for the Thunder, you'd assume with a good assist lead, they could put away a team like the Pacers pretty early, sub in the clean up crew and watch them hold on for an 8 point win.


     However, with the Pacers playing like they cared, and the Thunder playing about as bored and uninspired as the janky navy and yellow court at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, the game was routinely bordering on a rout for the Pacers. Tonight was a lazy night on the defensive end (out rebounded 50-40, including 18-11 on the offensive glass) It raises the question, does it matter how the Thunder finish in the last 11 games? 


     Now, the Thunder are no longer at the top of Western division. That honor officially belongs to the Spurs now, who blew out the Hornets and are doing their typical trouncing through the regular season schedule. Looking back at the season, it would appear that the biggest threat to a championship lies in the west, with the Spurs. So a 1 seed keeps them on the opposite side of the spurs until the conference finals, just like a 2 seed does. So what can one assess about the Thunder, heading into the final stretch of the season before the playoffs?


1) You don't want to have to see the Spurs. I think everyone can agree on that. They have owned the Thunder (outside of a Duncan and Manu-less early season game) Parker is kryptonite, and whats worse the Thunder can't even find a telephone booth to change in when they come to town. It hasn't been pretty.


2) The Thunder look like they are bored. That much is obvious by watching them struggle with teams they have gotten up for in the past (Grizz, Pacers, Utah, Cleveland). You could say it makes them look beatable, and you could also say it doesn't matter as long as they peak during the playoffs and come prepared and play to win, not play to have a chance in the last few seconds after a furious last 3 minutes of regulation rally. The only pseudo real issue with finishing strong is the one seed, which is partially negated by having a great chance against every team except the spurs, but even that is suspect because the spurs are old (even when giving Duncan big rests this season) and the Thunder might just wear them out (the spurs didn't too well in the playoffs last year)


3) Westbrook is much better. Even when having a poor shooting night, he's been able to find other ways to contribute (9 assists tonight, and what point guard can claim better rebounding ability than Westbrook?) Last year Westbrook would just continue to throw shots up, and while he hasn't grown out of that entirely, his all around game has improved to the point of making him indispensable to the Thunder's title hopes.


4) KD is a different kind of super dominant player. Would Lebron or Carmello put up with a young sidekick rapidly getting better? Probably not. I imagine Westbrook would have gotten shipped out of whatever city he was sidekicking a while ago, at the request of the All-star batman he played robin for. Durant's quiet and intelligent demeanor, and straightforward way of looking at winning, combined with a healthy dose of Kendrick Perkins PHD and his Ubuntu Pow-wow's, has allowed for a 1-2 punch that is nearly unrivaled in the current game, and is rocketing toward greatness like few seen before it. Most teams would be lucky to flaunt a single 'once in a generation player' but at the end of the day, the Thunder may have two on their roster, and despite what shoe commercials tell you about talented basketballers, they get along.


P.S. I like Grant Long. But he's starting to casually KD 'the gift' now. As in 'awesome drive by the gift' and 'the gift just pulled up and nailed it!' No one else is calling KD the gift, so I'm begging you to let it die