The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off, likely, their biggest win of the regular season beating the defending champion Golden State Warriors 125-105. Russell Westbrook came one assist and one rebound shy of a triple-double (34 points 9 rebounds 9 assists) and Paul George went for 38 points on 11/23 shooting.
George did have three turnovers, but other that was pretty solid, to say the least, hitting six of his 11 3-pointers, grabbing five rebounds, and having six steals. Not only did the Thunder embarrass the defending champs, but the loss was on their floor in Nor Cal. Ok, one game, but still begs the question, can the Thunder beat the Warriors in the playoffs? Also, another interesting question for OKC is that with how George is playing how long can he be Robin to Westbrook’s Batman? Their dynamic has certainly taken turns this season, but Paul George’s quest to fitting on the Thunder feels somewhere between Kevin Durant’s experience with Westbrook and Kyrie Irving’s with LeBron James.
It is hard not be the 2nd fiddle playing with Westbrook, who is the reigning MVP and this season ranks 7th in ppg, first in assists per game, and leads all guards and ranks 14th overall in rebounds per game. George recently said to ESPN he is happy playing in the Midwest, but he is a L.A. kid and he stated “I obviously would’ve loved to go home. That was ideal when it was that time.” (before he came to OKC.)
He had to know coming to the Thunder he would be Robin and he still is even though the team also brought in Carmelo Anthony, so PG has to feel good just being ahead of the future Hall of Famer for 2nd guy. George is averaging 22 ppg, three assists per game, and 5.4 rpg and is one of the better defenders in the league. In five of his last six games he has been shooting the rock well with a FG% of 47.8% or higher and in four of his last seven games he has had at least 10 free throws. So, he is Robin and may want to long to head West, but the Thunder give him the best chance at the title and the win against the Warriors showed that.
Following trends?
George is, obviously, the 2nd guy in Oklahoma City and while happy now we shall see how long that lasts, as every elite player wants to be THE man. Look at the last few seasons when Kyrie wanted to bail LeBron, KD wanted out of Westbrook business, and even going way back when Kobe wanted to be the big gun in La La Land even with Shaq in the fold.
On a separate note good thing Shaq was traded from L.A. He may have made more movies. George is having a great season and Westbrook even came to his defense when he was not initially voted into the All Star game. He was voted in the previous four seasons, but take that with a grain of salt with him being in the Eastern Conference with the Pacers.
The Thunder simply give George the best chance to win the NBA Championship soon, so he has to swallow of the pill being Robin and if he does not the title will be well out of reach.
The more games that are like the recent Thunder win over the Warriors has to help George get confidence that he can get the title in OKC. If he does make his move to L.A.? He is home, but what other big name will come to Tinsel-Town? We could be having the same conversation next season if another player, like King James, came to L.A. and PG would be the Robin once more. Oklahoma City has a super-team, but they still are only currently in the 5th spot in the West and while they are only 1.5 games back of the T-Wolves they are also only 1.5 games up on the Blazers.
The Thunder have beaten the Warriors in both match ups this season and have not only won, but won by at least 17 points in each game. If you can beat the defending champs by double digits in both games facing them and you are like George searching for an elusive title why leave? He would be leaving a solid super-team trio while heading West to go home, but play for a Lakers’ team that has a ton of issues and has to get another superstar, ie James, to challenge for a title in the near future. George has the tools in OKC and while they are only in the 5th spot in the West they have two wins over the Warriors and have one of very few teams that may be able to take them down in a seven-game series.
Can it Happen?
Ok, so enough about the Robin and the 2nd fiddle what it really comes down to is can the Thunder beat the Warriors in a seven-game playoff series? Obviously, for OKC they would like to see them in the Conference Finals, or likely not at all, but they may have to face them in the 2nd round depending on how the Thunder do in the 2nd half. The Warriors have the firepower with Curry and Durant, and Klay Thomson, but they have been sloppy with the rock in both of the losses to OKC this season.
In the first game at Oklahoma City the Warriors had 22 turnovers and in the Tuesday game they coughed up the rock 25 times. Even with the Thunder having Westbrook in the fold and bringing in George and Melo the Thunder rank higher in the league in points allowed (6th) than ppg (13th).
The defense has been solid on the season. Golden State has the guns to shoot the rock deep, which they thrive on, but in the two games facing OKC this season they have shot a 3-pt FG% of 32.3% and 28.6%. In the two games Westbrook scored 34 points in each totaling 19 rebounds and 18 assists while George has combined for 58 points and has 10 steals.
Other factors are obviously involved, but the Thunder are 2-0 facing the Warriors this season using the same formula of forcing turnovers with solid D, defending the deep ball, and getting scoring games from Batman and Robin. I mean Melo went scoreless in the Tuesday night game on 0-4 shooting in six minutes before leaving with an ankle injury, which appears to be minor, and OKC still won by 20 points.
One of those aforementioned factors was the play of Thunder C Steven Adams (13.9 ppg 9 rpg), who is nearly averaging a double-double and had two of them in the wins over Golden State. On top of everything the confidence factor has to be pretty sky-high for the Thunder, especially after the last win over the Warriors on the road. Again, the Thunder won by 20 points even though Golden State shot 48.1% from the floor and Curry and KD combined for 54 points. You can be sure KD and company, at the moment, would rather not face OKC anytime soon. There are two more games between the teams that have so much love for each other with the next one a primetime ABC match up at Golden State on February 24th.
All in All
So, the Thunder have beaten the Warriors twice and that seems, right now at least, trump George being content being the Robin to Westbrook’s Batman. Yeah, the Thunder did lose four in a row before their big win over the defending champs, but that game may be one that sets the tone for the season. We shall see. George will, obviously, be the 2nd fiddle with Westbrook on the team, but with wins like the one on Tuesday it is hard to believe he would not be okay with that. Robin is still pretty sweet.
George is in the perfect place to challenge for the NBA title even though a few other teams are seen as better bets to win it all. One of those teams has to be the Warriors, but the Thunder have had their number this season. Yeah, this season is only two games when speaking of that, but do any other teams have that going for them right now?
Westbrook is Westbrook, George is the next guy, and Melo has still yet to find his role even though he has not been a disappointment and while only shooting 41.2% from the field he is averaging a legit 17 ppg and six rpg. George has to like where he is on the Thunder with the talent and experience they have and how he has played so far in the campaign. Yeah, he is Robin, but he and Batman usually win from the movies I have seen, well Batman yes George Clooney no. His best chance at a ring is right where he is, as to uproot that may take time and another superstar if he heads to a team that is not a super team, which is more than unlikely. Playing the 2nd fiddle does not get all the accolades, but can be sweet when winning, especially in the fashion the Thunder did on Tuesday night embarrassing the Warriors on their floor with George being a big factor.
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