Russell Westbrook used to be quite the lightning rod for the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Hold him up in the storm that encircles the Thunder after a loss, and you'd get tons of criticism aimed in his general direction. His attitude sucked, and he was pouting on the bench far too often. He needed to pass to Kevin Durant a lot more. His shot selection was awful, and we're being generous by calling it "shot selection."
But in the words of S.E. Hinton, that was then, and this is now. The meniscus injury he suffered against Patrick Beverley and the Houston Rockets during the 2013 playoffs—one that carried over into the beginning of the 2013-14 season—could very well emerge as the best thing that's ever happened to him.
If I may continue quoting famous people from decades ago, let's turn to Joni Mitchell. In her 1970 hit single, "Big Yellow Taxi," she crooned that "you don't know what you got till it's gone."
No sentiment is more applicable to the Westbrook situation. His absence essentially proved his value to the team.
Whether it was during last year's playoff ...
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Article written by Adam Fromal
Russell Westbrook’s Injury Is the Best Thing to Ever Happen to Him
December 3rd, 2013 by Adam Fromal Leave a reply »
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