Bruin Star ends ex-trojan’s season, with a Game 7 Triple-Double, the first one in the NBA for 19 years
O.J. Mayo had already been temporarily suspended from playing this year, after testing positive for a steroid-related, banned substance. Now he has been suspended from playing until next season, after his Memphis Grizzlies were brutally ousted from the NBA Playoffs by Russell Westbrook’s Oklahoma City Thunder, 105-90.
Mayo had lost his Starting job earlier in the year, but was playing in the Postseason due to an injury to Rudy Gay. Unfortunately for Memphis, Mayo is not Gay. O.J. went a weak 1-5 from 3-point range, as the Grizzlies could not solve the Thunder Defense. Besides his poor shooting from behind the arc, Mayo also got criticized (by the ABC-TV Announcers) for not being able to block Westbrook off the Glass. OKC pulled away in the 3rd Quarter, when Westbrook got a couple of Offensive Boards to gain crucial extra possessions.
While Mayo and his team were floundering, Westbrook was doing it all. Westbrook had almost completed his Triple-Double in 3 Quarters, and ended up with 14 Points, 14 Assists, and 10 Rebounds. Of those 10 Caroms, SIX came on the Offensive end, and of the 14 Assists, about half of them were spectacular, Magic-like dishes to Kevin Durant for dunks or wide-open looks. Durant led the Thunder with 39 Points, thanks to Westbrook’s awesome set-ups.
Westbrook’s Triple-Double was the first one in a GAME SEVEN since 1992. Westbrook really came through when it mattered the most, while Mayo basically took himself out of the game early, by committing three dumb fouls in the first half.
Oklahoma City is the only team that I can still root for this year. Not only do they have the Last Bruin Standing, but also, I have issues with the other three remaining teams. Dallas is run by the despicable and classless Mark Cuban, and run on the court by despicable wife-beater and scene-of-accident-fleeing Jason Kidd; Miami has a Bibby, and of course LeBron, who arrogantly alienated the entire city of Cleveland, and unfairly stacked the deck in South Florida; and Chicago has Bruin nemesis Joakim Noah, as well as the last ex-trojan standing, Taj Gibson.
The Thunder is probably the longshot of the NBA’s Final Four. They also have the youngest roster in this year’s Playoffs, but youth could be their key to success. Their top 4 scorers are all under 23 (Westbrook and Durant are 22). They are too young and brash to feel the pressure. First up for the kids is Jason Kidd and Dallas, who is led by Dirk Nowitski. Dirk has a history of disappearing when it counts, and Point Guard Kidd has always lost the big ones. OKC having a superior Point Guard may be just enough to smoke the Cubans, and put the Thunder in the NBA Finals. Then OKC would likely face Miami. All the heat would be on the heavily-favored Heat, who has been expected to deliver a Title ever since The Decision was made.
So maybe a loose, young Oklahoma City team can snatch the Championship, from an arrogant and complacent Miami. After all, LeBron has never been the Closer that Kobe has been, and that could leave the door open just a crack. I wouldn’t BET on OKC, but that doesn’t mean it can’t happen. Go Thunder! All I know is that if OKC had lost today, the rest of the Playoffs would have been completely unwatchable.