Daily NBA Fix: Russell Westbrook And Kevin Durant Are Terrifying

The entire offseason around the Oklahoma City Thunder was filled with more talk about where Kevin Durant would be next year rather than where he is now. Maybe it was because injuries have slowed down a team that made the NBA Finals just a few years ago, but everyone seemed to forget one important thing.

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are absolutely terrifying.

The game against the Orlando Magic went into overtime thanks to some clutch shooting, but ultimately Oklahoma City was victorious, beating Orlando 139-136. The scoring on OKC’s side of the ledger came from Westbrook’s 48 points and Durant’s 43 which were impressive enough, but we were then reminded of this:

While some people’s insistence on comparing everything to Michael Jordan and his era of basketball is pushed to the limits of sanity, this comparison was particularly enlightening. We often hear about the Thunder having two of the best players in the league but between questioning Russell Westbrook’s style of play and wondering where Durant will be next year, that often gets lost.

Being compared to one of the NBA’s most famous dynamic duos should remind people that the Western Conference is going to be shaken up drastically from the past few playoffs.

With the exception of the 2013 NBA Playoffs, the Thunder have had one member of the duo miss games with significant injuries. Last year it was bad enough that the Thunder missed out in the competitive Western Conference playoffs.

But right now, both are healthy and arguably in the prime stages of their careers. As long as both stay healthy, and that’s a big if, they could be one of Golden State’s biggest threats for dominance in the conference.

You don’t need most of your roster to show up on a given night when the two combine for 91 points, which would have been enough to beat the 76ers by themselves on Friday night. Put together they went 32-of-66 (48.4 percent) from the floor while also heading to the foul line often enough to combine for 23-of-27 from there.

Obviously they needed help from their teammates to beat the Magic but the amount and efficiency of their performance shouldn’t be glossed over. They took a lot of shots but when that’s 50/50 proposition your teammates will continue to feed you.

Last year the Thunder happened to be a deserving team that found itself on the outside looking in at the playoffs. If Oklahoma City and their dynamic duo keep this up they won’t find themselves anywhere near that position when the playoffs roll around.

Steph Curry Isn’t Human, Part 41

Stephen Curry has already shown us he’s still the MVP, but he continues to pad that resume with stupefying maneuvers to go along with his stats.

Curry’s play continues to be a mix of pure genius and what looks like terrible ideas, but somehow he pulls it off.

Harrison Barnes Slams A Dunk Over and on Dwight Howard‘s Head

You may be the namesake of The Dwight Effect, but if you’re out of position and Harrison Barnes is driving in the results may not be so good for you.

Sorry Dwight Howard, and thank you Andre Iguodala for that dance.

Now Watch Me Dunk, Right Over Nene

Nene doesn’t have any phenomena named after him but he also showed what happens when you have bad defensive positioning and someone has a full head of steam headed towards the basket. Giannis Antetokounmpo did as much with that beautiful thrown down.