Written by Royce Young at ESPN.com
Russell Westbrook has been eliminated from the playoffs seven times, and the scene each time has been mostly the same. As the clock edges closer to zero, Westbrook flings himself all over the court, running his tank so far past empty that the gauge combusts, and he isn’t much more than a puddle of sweat and adrenaline.
As he walked off the floor Tuesday, shirt untucked and head down after the Thunder lost 105-99 and were eliminated in five games against the Rockets, he found the tunnel before the final buzzer actually sounded, leaving as Alex Abrines launched a half-court shot.
Westbrook’s brilliant, historic season had its book closed, and its final chapter was 47 points on 15-of-34 shooting, 5-of-18 from 3, 11 rebounds and 9 assists. He was sensational. He was also erratic. He was the complete summation of Russell Westbrook, circa 2017.
The Thunder leave Houston frustrated and disappointed, knowing they weren’t overwhelmed or overmatched by the Rockets. They were a handful of plays away in three of the four losses in the series. But they also walked away knowing that in a season full of doubt, unknowns and worry, they produced a successful, stabilizing campaign that has set a foundation for them to build on. The result was unsatisfying, but just as when they stood on July 4 following Kevin Durant’s announcement, staring at the prospect of the entire franchise being burned to the ground with a complete teardown possible, there is a roadmap that exists.
Now, it’s the same question Westbrook asked the front office in the moments after Durant departed: What’s next?
Thunder general manager Sam Presti repeatedly called the 2016-17 campaign a “season of discovery.”
The Thunder roster was vastly different from the one they expected. On July 3 last summer, Presti envisioned Victor Oladipo and Enes Kanter anchoring his bench, with a potential starting five that featured Westbrook, Durant and Al Horford, who was strongly considering OKC before he joined the Boston Celtics as a free agent.
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