By the midpoint of the first quarter, the Thunder were already down by 10.
The timeout Donovan called after Link's putback dunk had done absolutely nothing.
Clearly, the gap between the two sides wasn't just about Link and Westbrook. It was an all-around disparity.
The current Grizzlies were a championship contender. As for the Oklahoma City Thunder? At best, they were merely a playoff team.
At that point, Westbrook had 4 points, 1 rebound, and 0 assists. Two of those four points had come from free throws.
His only field goal had been a pull-up mid-range jumper over Conley. Of course, how many of those difficult shots Westbrook could make was anyone's guess.
In other words, "the Brodie" had not made a single easy basket all night.
Those meager numbers were completely unworthy of Westbrook's status as Mr. Triple-Double.
"Link and the Grizzlies have completely shut down Russell Westbrook's passing lanes. He hasn't made many clean passes today. Westbrook leads the league with nearly six turnovers per game, and today, he may very well end up with far more than his average."
Although Westbrook had not committed another turnover after his first two, Hubie Brown believed that with the Grizzlies defending so successfully, it was only a matter of time before Westbrook turned the ball over again.
So far this season, Westbrook had surpassed James in career triple-doubles. But what few people mentioned was that his career turnover total had also surpassed those of two superstars, Duncan and Nash.
Barring any surprises, Westbrook was on track to crack the top ten in all-time turnovers.
At that moment, Billy Donovan had to find a way to improve the team's offense. If they continued relying on Westbrook alone, the deficit would only grow wider.
So, he finally looked toward the Turkish center