BREAKING: Russell Westbrook has a torn meniscus in his right knee

durvasa · Apr 26, 2013

GreatOne1978 said: ↑

Lets look position by position...assuming Lin doesn't play game 3

C Asik vs Perkins Wash
PF Ibaka vs Delfino Wash
SF Durant vs Parsons Durant
SG Harden vs Thabo Harden
PG Beverley vs Fisher Beverly

Bench

G Jackson vs Brooks Wash
G Garcia vs Martin Wash
F/C Greg Smith vs Nick Collison Collison but barely
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Laughable breakdown right there. Ibaka, Jackson, Martin, and Collison are all far better than the Rockets counterparts you have listed.

TheRealist137 · Apr 26, 2013

how is delfino and ibaka a wash. One is a possible dpoy while the other is a bench scrub

saleem · Apr 26, 2013

TreeRollins said: ↑

That sucks for the Thunder. Not a fan of Westbrook but hate to see him get hurt.
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Repped.

Kruze10 · Apr 26, 2013

laneh said: ↑

It's unfortunate for a player to get hurt. If OKC fans are reading this... don't be bitter. Stuff happens. Remember when Manu undercut AB? He was never the same after. AB was having an incredible run up until this injury.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYDVDcJ4jQM
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That's not a great example, considering Brooks wasn't our superstar and Lowry was arguably better. The Rockets have probably only once been healthy enough to compete in the playoffs in the past 10 years. So yeah, OKC, we know how you feel.

J.R. · Apr 26, 2013

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/201...brook/oklahoma-city-thunder-russell-westbrook

2. Was the Westbrook-Beverley play dirty?

Adande: No. A player has the right to go for the ball until the whistle blows ... and sometimes even afterward if he's already in motion. We've seen players fake the timeout and go to the hoop, and we don't call that dirty. There's a difference between sneaky and dirty. Beverley didn't cross that line.

Shelburne: No. I was sitting 10 feet away from the play Wednesday night and it was nothing more than two guys going hard after a loose ball. Yes, Beverley didn't have position on Westbrook, but there was a chance for a steal and he went for it. At worst, it was a questionable decision. But it's the playoffs, you go for everything. When Westbrook slammed the scorers table afterwards, I took it as a sign of him being frustrated that he'd hurt himself, not anger at Beverley.

Strauss: Not at all. Blaming Beverley for this is as logical as blaming Westbrook for this, and I'm of the opinion that you should blame neither. This incident was a little like how Moises Alou's rage pegged Steve Bartman as the scapegoat. If a pained, peeved Russ hadn't reacted with such anger, Beverley's swipe would have been dismissed as the mundane basketball play it was. Instead, Westbrook's reaction put the spotlight on Beverley and gave fans a vessel for their aggravation.

Stein: Reckless is a better word than dirty. But it was definitely over the line. Reckless and regrettable. Westbrook's reaction when it happened tells you as much.

Young: Not at all. Because to me, "dirty" implies that there was intent. And I don't think Beverley was doing anything other than just playing hard and playing to the whistle. Unfortunately, he played a little after the whistle blew. While it was dumb, over-aggressive and reckless, I don't think it was dirty in the slightest.

3. Does this change how the James Harden trade looks?

Adande: Yes, in addition to changing how the whole Thunder master plan works. The Thunder have always been about the future and the long term. This serves as a stark reminder that the long term brings more variables and introduces more risk. One play can undo years of planning. fIf the Thunder had Harden they'd still have two U.S. Olympians on the active roster. That could at least keep them in the championship conversation. Now the discussion will likely be had without them.

Shelburne: Not for me. The James Harden trade looked bad then and now. But I'm from Los Angeles where folks are used to the Lakers owner spending way too much to keep players (like Lamar Odom in 2010) who are vital to a championship run. Losing Harden's playmaking and scoring off the bench didn't hurt the Thunder as much during the regular season as some predicted, but now that teams are going to load up on Durant the rest of the playoffs, pulling extra punch could be very damaging to OKCs title hopes.

Stein: Don't think so. I'm sure some folks out there will presume that the Thunder might still have been able to contend for the 2012-13 championship if they had Harden next to Kevin Durant, but I don't see it that way. I tend to believe OKC will now be spared judgment this season, no matter how it turns out, with the referendum on the trade that these playoffs were supposed to be pushed to a later date. Major injuries tend to change the equation in a big way.

Strauss: It certainly could. If Westbrook can't come back, it's hard to survey the field and not conclude that OKC would be Western favorites with a healthy Harden. Apologies to the Spurs, but a Harden-Ibaka-Durant core is more impressive than San Antonio's regulars. It's playing the result, but the refusal to wait a year on the Harden trade might equal a lost season.

Young: Well, I suppose it does. But you can't plan for these types of things. There's just no way to know. You can't hang on to Harden trying to anticipate one of your key players going down at some point. It's just bad luck, plain and simple.

4. Who wins the series?

Adande: The Thunder still win. They have enough to win two out of five games, even if it's only the two home games.

Shelburne: The Thunder should still win this because Durant really is that good. I've always felt Durant defers to Westbrook more than he should. He's capable of more and he'll do more now that Westbrook is out. The Rockets offered a good challenge in Game 2 by pulling some tricky stuff out of the bag -- going with a small, three-guard lineup most of the time, and throwing a zone defense at OKC in the fourth quarter -- but they still lack the depth and talent to beat the Thunder.

Stein: The Thunder still win in five. Six games, tops. For sure. They've got some players (Serge Ibaka, Kevin Martin, even Reggie Jackson) who can step up and do more than they're typically asked to do. It's a team that's uniquely quipped to try to compensate for Westbrook's absence offensively. The question is how will they handle it emotionally as a team. The Thunder have pretty much no experience playing without one of their two stars. They'll finish off Houston without Westbrook, but OKC's second-round degree of difficulty -- whether it's the Clippers or the Grizzlies -- just spiked significantly.

Strauss: Who has Kevin Durant still? Who's up 2-0, a position from which teams rarely lose from? You could sell me on a possible Rockets upset if this series was tied up. At 2-0, it's just too tall an order for a team as defensively deficient as Houston is.

Young: If this happened in Game 1, the Rockets might have a serious chance. But the Thunder have a 2-0 series lead and the emotion they're going to play with in Game 3 will be extremely strong. I think OKC still moves on, it might just take a little longer.
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And Marc Stein says it perfectly.

Stein: The Thunder, as currently constituted, weren't beating Miami with Westbrook. They're not beating the Heat without him ... or with a Westbrook coming off knee surgery for a late-season return.

RocketRaccoon · Apr 26, 2013

Considering our history, not feeling too bad about WB injury. Especially on an absolutely fair play.

I do like the idea that our odds got a little better. This could be a great series to watch.

SeabrookMiglla · Apr 26, 2013

that sucks, i dont like westbrook but that is bad to see a player of that caliber go down.

Krizzle · Apr 26, 2013

Dont give a ****, **** OKC.

Get those two W's Houston.

jev5555 · Apr 26, 2013

Will Beverly get the loudest ovation during saturdays introductions?

yunac010 · Apr 26, 2013

jev5555 said: ↑

Will Beverly get the loudest ovation during saturdays introductions?
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I hope not. No need to make the Thunder even more motivated when they have dirty players on the team. Last thing I want to see is Bev getting hurt as well.

jimmyv281 · Apr 26, 2013

Its time we add another video top the collection.

RiceDaddy7 · Apr 26, 2013

Wow. Don't the Thunder wish they had.....James Harden.

laneh · Apr 26, 2013

Kruze10 said: ↑

That's not a great example, considering Brooks wasn't our superstar and Lowry was arguably better. The Rockets have probably only once been healthy enough to compete in the playoffs in the past 10 years. So yeah, OKC, we know how you feel.
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Duly noted, but Westbrook is not the superstar of OKC either. It's not like Durant was injured... and if the second response is that OKC has a chance to win it all, I don't think so. The Heat would beat them again. They don't match up against Lebron/Wade/Bosh/Allen.

fishguy91 · Apr 26, 2013

i never like him that much but it's sad to see great players out for injuries. Hopefully he will become smarter after the surgery.

RoxDC · Apr 26, 2013

FearTheBeardJH said: ↑

Metta came back in 12 days after similar injury.
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MWP got his removed, because he's an older player. It sounds like they're going to repair Westbrook's, so he might be done this year like Lin was. Repairing a meniscus tear takes significantly more time to heal, but removing the meniscus degrades your knee significantly (and Westbrook's only 24).

Asian Sensation · Apr 26, 2013

jev5555 said: ↑

Will Beverly get the loudest ovation during saturdays introductions?
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Yes and rightfully so. Not for injuring Westbrick but for being a MFing stud and balling out.

DreaMac · Apr 26, 2013

Damn that sucks. Even though I hate Westbrook, but never wish injury on anyone.

Now I really wish we stole that game 2. We could have had a chance to win the series.

SuperStar · Apr 26, 2013

Listen to Peytons Manning's head

@PeytonsHead
I have people saying Patrick Beverley was "over aggressive" and "reckless". It was 42-41 in a PLAYOFF GAME. You better be aggressive!

ThunderFan · Apr 26, 2013

Some of your fans are acting like huge jerks. Celebrating a man's injury? Give me a break.

Some of you all have been classy, which I appreciate.

pippendagimp · Apr 26, 2013

that team wasn't winning shiit anyways....now they can go fishin even earlier

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BREAKING: Russell Westbrook has a torn meniscus in his right knee

durvasa Contributing Member

TheRealist137 Member

saleem Contributing Member

Kruze10 Member

J.R. Member

RocketRaccoon Contributing Member

SeabrookMiglla Member

Krizzle Member

jev5555 ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

yunac010 Member

jimmyv281 Member

RiceDaddy7 Member

laneh Member

fishguy91 Member

RoxDC Member

Asian Sensation Member

DreaMac Member

SuperStar Member

ThunderFan Member

pippendagimp Member

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