Sunday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder take on the Phoenix Suns. And if they win, it’ll be their first of the season. That means that through four games, the Thunder do not have a single win. But Russell Westbrook isn’t about to hit the panic button. In fact, he’s not going to worry at all, as he told reporters after a tough loss to Boston Thursday night, via ESPN’s Royce Young:
“We’re OK. We’ll be all right. It’s early. I’m confident in my guys in this locker room, I’m confident in myself and my abilities to make sure that we have an opportunity to win a ballgame. There’s no need to panic. Obviously we’re not starting the way we wanted to, but we’ll be OK and I will make sure of that. So, not worried.”
But should they be? Losing to the Celtics is fine; there’s no shame in that. It’s how they lost that’s the problem. And losing four straight games to start the season is never good. Especially in the Western Conference. Then again, the Thunder have Westbrook, Paul George and Steven Adams. They’re not going to be this bad forever.
Last season, Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the second consecutive year. He took MVP honors for his performance during the 2016-17 campaign, but not last season. Now he has to rally OKC to get back on track. They’ll get their first chance Sunday night against the Suns. And if they don’t win then, we might have to start worrying.
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