Injuries can absolutely kill a team, but what Russell Westbrook‘s torn meniscus is doing to the Oklahoma City Thunder is hard to watch. Oklahoma City is playing exceptional basketball, but without Westbrook, the Memphis Grizzlies are simply a better team.
Game 4 between these two teams was a crucial contest in Memphis and Kevin Durant battled til the bitter end in a six-point overtime loss that put the Grizzlies up 3-1 in this Western Conference Semifinal Playoff series. Now as the series shifts back to Oklahoma City for Game 5, the Thunder players have their backs against the wall and Westbrook is helpless on the sideline.
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To make matters worse, young Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley Jr. has taken his game to a new level in this series, which has rudely reminded the Thunder just how well these playoffs could have gone had Westbrook been healthy. Of course, it ain’t over til it’s over, but down 3-1 and coming off a heart-breaking loss, things aren’t looking good for Oklahoma City.
Durant recently said he’s tired of finishing in second place, but unless OKC gets some sort of unexpected spark, the Thunder will be finishing a lot worse than that in these playoffs.
