Russell Westbrook is yelling at the wrong guy.
Larry Brown Sports posted a YouTube video of Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook yelling at teammate and 2013-14 Kevin Durant to "wake up" at halftime of the Thunder's 112-77 blowout loss to the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 of their Western Conference finals series.
Durant scored 15 points with three rebounds and two assists in 29 minutes in a game that was not competitive in the second half both he and Westbrook sat the entire fourth quarter. Westbrook wasn't any better, shooting 7-for-24 from the field and scored 15 points with five rebounds, two assists and three turnovers.
"It's easy for you guys to figure out because y'all aren't playing," an agitated Durant said after the game, according to ESPN. "But for us, we've just got to fly around. We've got to make more efforts. We've got to play a little harder, and got to contest.
"Of course everybody is going to try to spread us apart these next few days, but we've never been a team that front-runs. We always stick together no matter what. We've just got to go out there and do it."
NBA analysts and media all over the country are lamenting the Thunder's loss of Serge Ibaka to a calf muscle injury as the culprit.
According to ESPN stats, the Spurs have scored an unbelievable 120 points in the paint during the first two games of the series - San Antonio won Game 1 122-105.
That's giving Ibaka a whole lot of credit. He's an excellent defender but anyone suggesting that the Thunder could have won either of the first two games with him is a stretch.
The Thunder came back from a two-game deficit in the 2012 Western Conference finals against the Spurs, but that team also had James Harden.
Since then, Harden exited to the Houston Rockets via free agency, and Oklahoma City management has done nothing to fortify the supporting cast around Durant and Westbrook.
And coach Scott Brooks has not figured out how to overcome that. As Tim Legler said on ESPN radio during the Thunder-Los Angeles Clippers series, "I don't think 'Be Great' is a (diagrammed) play."
The Thunder had the makings of a championship team in 2012. Two years later, it's evident they have regressed. It's not Durant or Westbrook who need to wake up.
Do you think the Oklahoma City Thunder can win a game - much less the series - against the San Antonio Spurs? Comment below or tell us @SportsWN.
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