Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook will meet for the first time in a playoff series, but seven years after the former’s controversial decision to leave Oklahoma City, the latter is not using it as motivation in the first … matchup of round
Westbrook said there are no hard feelings toward Durant as his Clippers prepare to face the Suns.
“It’s going to be normal for me,” Westbrook told reporters about the upcoming playoff battle against Durant. “I think people still think like there’s some beef or something. There’s no meat at all [kind]so I think that’s the good narrative for the media, to get people talking about it.
“But there’s no beef. I have nothing but respect for him and the things he’s done with his career and to see him come back from an injury. There’s no beef. But he knows that I will compete and I know he will go there. compete and that’s it.”
On Wednesday, he was equally calm about the situation.
“I think Russ is competitive against any player he plays against, I don’t think it’s just for me,” Durant told reporters Wednesday. “For a lot of the fans and people watching, it was great intensity and entertainment for them. But for us, the players, it’s just another game, regular programming.
“Russ is like that. I’ve played with him for so long and watched him for so long that he’s been like that against everybody. So I don’t expect anything different.”
Westbrook and Durant were one of the best duos in the league during their eight seasons together with the Thunder from 2008-16. Durant won MVP in 2014 along with multiple scoring titles during that stretch, while Westbrook was a perennial All-Star for years.
But the Thunder only reached the NBA Finals once during Durant and Westbrook’s time together, in 2012. After that, they reached the Western Conference Finals twice, but lost the twice, including in 2016 when they blew a 3-1 series against Golden. Warriors of the State.
Durant joined the Warriors as a free agent during the following offseason.
In this case, however, time seemed to heal all wounds. Not only did Westbrook say he has “no beef” with Durant, he also praised his former teammate’s scoring ability.
“He’s always been very efficient,” Westbrook said of Durant. “But I think his ability to be more efficient and still score the ball at a high rate… He’s probably one of the best goalscorers I’ve seen, he can just score with ease and look effortless.
As for Westbrook, he has rebounded in recent months after being acquired by the Utah Jazz following his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers. Westbrook averaged 15.8 points and 7.6 assists per game for the Clippers, starting all 21 games in which he has appeared.
The Clippers-Suns series heads to Phoenix on Sunday.
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