The Thunder Go As Westbrook Goes

Tonight's Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals will be critical for a young Thunder team who does not want to go back to Oklahoma City down 0-2 to a very good San Antonio Spurs team.

The key for the Thunder tonight be will to see how well their young all-star point guard in Russell Westbrook performs. The Thunder go as Westbrook goes, meaning if he plays well they will have a chance, and if he doesn't perform they won't stand a chance. At 6 foot 3 191 pounds Westbrook is a nightmare match-up for 90% of the point guards in the NBA, due to his explosiveness and freakish athleticism. These are all attributes that any player would want, but with all of the good comes the bad. Westbrook is always able to create his own shot and get anywhere on the floor, which leads to him taking an array of shots.

Westbrook being the point guard is the facilitator, and responsible for getting the rest of his teammates involved. In an odd way Westbrook making his shots creates opportunities for the rest of his teammates, because he draws so much attention. When his shot isn't falling he fails to get others involved, and the Thunder's half-court offense gets very predictable turning into a one man show whether it’s Westbrook, Durant, or Harden. For example Game 1 he went 7-21 scoring 21 points, with only five assists that tells the story that other than Durant and Harden nobody else really was a factor. Now in Game 4 of the Western Conference Semifinals against Los Angeles Westbrook had 37 points which led to Durant dropping 31 points and Harden having 14 points all contributing into a win. In order for the Thunder to even have a chance against the Spurs Westbrook must play better, like he did against Dallas and Los Angeles.

Tonight's Game 2 will be a very important game for the Thunder which Westbrook will show up? The 7-21 or 15-26? Who knows? But that's why we watch the game.