Written by Royce Young at ESPN.com
Russell Westbrook summarized his assessment of theOklahoma City Thunder’s 120-98 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers in five words.
“Just wasn’t ready to play,” he said.
When asked why, Westbrook wasn’t exactly enlightening.
“I don’t know,” he said.
You don’t know?
“I don’t know,” he said. “Plain and simple.”
Well then.
Without Steven Adams, who was sidelined with a concussion, the Thunder looked lost from tipoff, struggling to defend the ball as the Clippers piled up points in the paint, slicing apart the Thunder’s defense. Their best hope was laid in Westbrook having one of those games, with him keeping it close enough to eventually steal. But he struggled early, hitting just 3-of-13 in the first half as the Thunder fell in a hole. Even with Chris Paul sidelined for the second half with a thumb injury, there was no ignition from Westbrook (24 points, five rebounds and four assists) to be found.
Westbrook is traditionally terse in postgame sessions, especially after losses, but he was clearly aggravated with the Thunder’s lack of competitiveness. He prides himself on a nightly ready-to-play disposition, but that hinges on at least a couple of his teammates joining him. Without their defensive anchor in Adams, and the fatigue of playing a game the night before in Sacramento, the Thunder were slow and soft against the Clippers.
“To me, in the game there’s a standard that we want to play to and I don’t think that we played to that standard on both ends of the floor,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “Regardless of who is out and who is playing, you have a standard you want to play to and I just didn’t think we played to that standard tonight.”
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