The Westbrook Conundrum
As his team turned the tide in the fourth quarter to tie the series up at one game a piece, Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook could only look on from the bench as Eric Maynor ran the show in Game Two.
The Dallas Mavericks were carved up by the unconventional lineup of Maynor, Daequan Cook, Kevin Durant, Nick Collison and James Harden; with Maynor setting the pace from the point.
After logging over 28 minutes through three quarters, Westbrook didn’t play a single second in the pivotal final frame in which Oklahoma City outscored Dallas 29-24 to take the decisive Game Two victory on the road.
The Thunder starter at point guard was asked after the game if he was unhappy riding the pine for that long of a stretch.
"Not when we’re winning," Westbrook said. "I’m good. I’m just sitting there waiting to get my name called."
For the second straight game Dirk Nowitzki got the better of Durant, but it didn’t matter as the Thunder ended the Mavericks seven-game playoff winning streak and became the first team to win in Dallas this postseason. Leading the way was the aforementioned Oklahoma City’s bench, which dominated the Dallas reserves to the tune of a 50-29 advantage off the pine.
It’s only the second time in the 2011 Playoffs that the Mavericks bench has been outscored by another team.
"I can’t remember the last time we lost the battle of the bench," J.J. Barea said. "It was going to happen at some point and it happened tonight and I give them a lot of credit. They were more aggressive and they made more big shots. Their bench just played better tonight."
Thunder coach Scott Brooks’ decision to stay with the five on the floor throughout the fourth paid dividends as Maynor, Harden and Collison all played pivotal roles off the bench down the stretch.
"We were making shots," Brooks said after the contest. "I didn’t want to mess with the rhythm. I usually will sub him in. Very rarely have I ever done that since [Westbrook] has been here… But it was the decision really that [Maynor] was playing well. It had nothing to do with Russell. [Maynor] was playing good basketball, solid basketball for us, and we were increasing the lead. The temptation was there when they cut it to six and when they trapped and we had to call a time-out, but I believe in all of our guys. Some guys get more minutes than others, but the minutes that they do, they have to play hard and they do, and I believe in what they do out there."
{AUTHOR_BOX}Brooks decision to sit Westbrook, who has been so important to the Thunder surge this season but also has had questions raised about his decision-making, might have very well won Game Two for OKC. While Westbrook was having much more success with his shot Thursday night than in Game One, hitting nearly 50 percent of his shots and scoring 18 points through three quarters; Maynor’s ability to be that floor general from the point guard position helped the Thunder reserves gel out there and ultimately led to the victory.
"We came in and did our job," Maynor said. "It was good to be out there, in control of the game and doing whatever my teammates needed me to do to get the win."
There’s no doubt that Westbrook is a phenomenal talent that has the skills to put up monster games for the Thunder. Unfortunately, his reckless style has led him to commit more turnovers (8) than dish out assists (7) through two games in this series and his shooting percentage of under 40 percent over the course of these playoffs doesn’t afford him the luxury of making costly mistakes.
Thursday proved that Oklahoma City needs stability at the point guard position in order to play to the best of their abilities.
His starting job is safe, and should be. However, the change of pace Maynor brings is something the Thunder have to continue to utilize over the course of the Western Conference Finals.
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