Wednesday Bolts – 6.20.12

Gregg Doyel of CBSSports.com: “‘Get this straight,’ Russell Westbrook sneered at me, and already I liked where he was going. Whatever came out of his mouth next, I was going to deserve it. You were going to deserve it. Most of us were going to deserve it, because most of us have been critical of Westbrook even as he has played more than 40 minutes a game at point guard on a team that has reached the NBA Finals and even briefly led the series after one game. Those days are gone, just like the trophy is almost gone. The Heat now are in command after winning 104-98 on Tuesday night to take a 3-1 series edge. This could be all over Thursday night — but not for Russell Westbrook. For him, it will continue. It will continue because people like me, and people like lots of you, will continue to critique him for all those nights when his game was so damned confounding.”

Kelly Dwyer of BDL: “Which means we’re likely due for another close one in Game 5, even if I just reminded you that we probably shouldn’t be looking at any potential facet of this series as likely to happen in the future. The Thunder can take a close one. Then it’s another one, in Oklahoma City. Then, potentially, another one in Oklahoma City. The trick, as we’ve known for years, is to take things one game at a time. But if OKC takes Game 5 …” Elias: “Russell Westbrook is the 7th player to make 20 or more FGs in an NBA Finals game, and he’s the first of those players to lose.”

Henry Abbott of TrueHoop: “Westbrook didn’t monopolize the Thunder’s late mistakes — Sefolosha took a sure-to-miss, almost-at-the-baseline 3 with a minute left — but he will monopolize the discussion of their mistakes, despite a simply wonderful game overall.”

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com: “Not only did all three of the Thunder’s players come together at the right time, they’re playing together at the right time — now. Had they won Game 4 to even the series, they would have happily taken a situation in which they only needed two of the remaining three games. But two out of three star players isn’t cutting it. The truth is the Heat’s way is the Thunder’s way, in function if not process. Only the Thunder’s way isn’t working.”

Ethan Sherwood Strauss of HoopSpeak: “Russell Westbook created and ended the possibility of Oklahoma City victory. It’s difficult to process within the context of “blame.” Russell Westbrook is the reason Oklahoma City had a chance to win. Russell Westbrook is the reason they lost almost any chance of winning. Both these statements are true. He knocked over his wonderful sandcastle, and we’ll never quite grasp why.”

Darnell Mayberry: “Unless something changes and changes in a hurry, James Harden is going to have nightmares about this series for a long, long time. Eight points on 2-for-10 shooting. It’s inexplicable at this point. He knows exactly how the Heat are playing him, yet he seems powerless to do anything about it. Definitely didn’t see him being next to a non-factor offensively in this series.”

TrueHoop TV recaps Game 4.

Andrew Sharp of SB Nation: “He can’t be a fearless, Iversonian scorer capable of sometimes sabotaging the offense AND a great teammate that respects his coaches. He can’t be the occasionally blackout drunk point guard AND the catalyst for everything that makes the Thunder offense so unstoppable. That just doesn’t make sense to people. And that’s Russell Westbrook. He will never make sense, because everything that makes him frustrating also makes him great. His reckless drives, the transition jumpers, the raw emotion… People love it when it works and hate it when it doesn’t, and he’s not going to make every shot, so this roller coaster will probably go on forever. In the Finals it’s all magnified. But Russ doesn’t really change.”

Eric Freeman of BDL: “Westbrook has earned a great deal of criticism for his score-first tendencies and extreme aggressiveness, but this game showed why that approach has helped him become a perennial All-Star. With his customary mix of lightning-quick drives and mid-range jumpers, Westbrook had the Thunder in this game until the final moments. That he failed in those moments shouldn’t be forgotten, but it also shouldn’t completely overshadow what he did in the game.”

John Schuhmann of NBA.com: “The foul was dumb. There’s no other way to put it. It brought back memories of Josh Howard‘s timeout call in Game 5 of the 2006 Finals on the same end of the same floor in the same arena. That one also kept his team from getting a good chance to tie (the Mavs had to go full court in 1.9 seconds) and also put the Heat one win away from a championship. Brilliant performance. Brutal mistake. And Westbrook continues to be a lightning rod for controversy.”

The Thunder as The Avengers.

Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com: “Russell Westbrook was a wrecking ball early and late, destroying the Heat defense with laser jumpers and furious paint attacks. He established a new career high in points (43) and gave the Heat whiplash seemingly every time down the court. But alas, the Thunder can’t win with James Harden playing like this.”

Sebastian Pruiti of Grantland: “The James Harden of old would have made the catch, attacked the space in front of him, and gone from there. Instead, Harden let two Heat defenders cover three Thunder players on a key possession. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks drew up a great play — it just wasn’t executed, and that hurt the Thunder. With Miami struggling to score late (only two of their remaining five points came from the field) and LeBron James fighting cramps, a made basket here would have put a lot of pressure on the Heat, and who knows what would have happened then.”