The original text of many people pissing up! ESPN reporter: The Nuggets hope to win the championship is based on the most unstable players

(Original article was published on May 13, the author is Ramona Shelburne of ESPN website, the content of the article does not represent the translator's opinion)

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Westbrook's way of leaving Oklahoma City is not a pain point for anyone in this city. Unlike Durant's departure in 2016, and Harden's departure in 2013, those breakups brought bad emotions. And Westbrook's departure was not the case, although he did push the deal behind the scenes.

Therefore, when Westbrook came on the bench with 5 minutes and 17 seconds left in the first quarter of the Western Conference Semi-Finals G1, and Thunder's MVP candidate Alexander was standing on the free throw line to accept the cheers of the "MVP" of the whole game, the fans stopped shouting at the new stars and stood up to applaud their old heroes.

What puzzled home fans was that this completely inspired Westbrook's state. When the Nuggets caught up from the disadvantage of being 13 points behind in the fourth quarter, Westbrook made key performances in a row. And the most important blow appeared at the deadliest moment.

The game has more than 8 seconds left, and the Nuggets are behind 118 to 119. Nuggets guard Braun grabbed the rebound on the right wing and immediately threw the ball to Westbrook, who was running along the right sideline at his unique speed.

Destiny, with the victory and loss hanging on the front line, Westbrook faces a choice to decide the direction of the game. Everyone in the stadium thought he would go straight into the Thunder's defense to try to complete a possible winning blow. The Nuggets have seen such a scene, but their success or failure were achieved. Thunder also knew it well.

Thunder center Homgren even deliberately took a step back, trying to lure Westbrook into a dilemma: either break through the inside by himself or stop by three-pointers by emergency, which is a provocation. Westbrook is never afraid of provocation.

Even the Nuggets' commentary team didn't think Westbrook could hold back the impulse. In the studio of Altitude Sports, they perfectly interpreted the emotional ups and downs Westbrook brought to people in just three seconds.

The game has 7.2 seconds left, Westbrook catches Braun's pass and speeds up. First, he rushed towards Thunder forward Jaylen Williams, and then faced the basket guard Homgren.

"No, no! No! No————!"

"Oh, my god!"

Then they opened their mouths and stared at the studio screen in amazement. Westbrook neither made a 7-foot-long defense line to take a risk attack, nor did he stop and make a strong shot at the three-point line.

He trembled his wrist and passed the ball accurately to Aaron Gordon in the open position on the left wing. With 2.8 seconds left in the game, Gordon's three-point shot hit the net, giving the Nuggets an incredible lead 121-119.

Westbrook explained this decision after the game: "I saw Homgren guarding the penalty area, and my task was to break through and pass the ball. Gordon had been ready to shoot a long time ago, and he was shooting key goals all season."

It is difficult to tell whether this decision was a flash of inspiration or the beginning of a real transformation.

The Nuggets have the championship ring, and this is exactly what Westbrook is still chasing. On a night like this, you will feel that the champion gene is infecting him. But on other nights, this effect seemed to be gone.

"This is an experienced team, and everyone has seen big scenes," Westbrook said. "It feels great when the brothers support you behind the scenes. I think we did a good job, whether it is good or bad, whether the penalty is good or bad, whether it is good or bad, whether it is wrong or not, whether it is shooting or making mistakes, and always supports each other."

In many ways, Westbrook's narrative is the epitome of the Nuggets this season: those extreme highlights - the explosive power to end the game, the occasional unsolved doubles with Jokic, incredible rebounding and defensive performance; and the unexplained lows - layup misses, bad shooting, more deadly decision-making mistakes, the lack of responsibility, the impact on the original culture of the Nuggets locker room.

Even the Nuggets themselves cannot predict the end of this lineup experiment, and their remaining hope may be based on the most unpredictable and unstable players in the league.

If you close your eyes and listen to Westbrook warm-up before the game in the Thunder home Paycom Center Arena, it is easy to have the illusion of going back in time. Westbrook came to the stadium for a full three hours in advance in the first two games of the second round of the series.

Because Westbrook, 36, still maintains his physical condition at the peak of his 30s, the Westbrook, who had almost overturned the ceiling of the stadium in his glorious years: the sculptural muscle lines have not changed, and the carefully planned warm-up process is still started on time, and the duration is exactly the same as before.

The only difference is of course that he is now warming up under the basket opposite, and after completing the bottom corner finishing shot, he runs toward the player channel on the other side.

Westbrook gave himself two trial shots. If the first ball hits, he will sprint and leave the field with satisfaction; the same is true for the second ball hits. But if both shots are missing, he will still rush into the player channel, but his smile is slightly lighter. Here, the sense of ritual is more important than the result.

Westbrook has returned to Russia as a Rockets, Wizards, Lakers and Clippers player, but this time it feels different. Perhaps because of the favorite child of Oshi City, he was standing in front of the young army that rose from the ruins after his departure. Perhaps because Westbrook is getting older, he has never found a home that cherishes him as much as Oscar since he chose to leave in 2019.

The story of Westbrook joining the Nuggets is not as imagined by the outside world. This is not the retirement station at the end of his Hall of Fame career, nor is it the painstaking efforts of Jokic, a basketball master, as he is..

"The best thing about this team is that we dare to communicate honestly," a Nuggets player told ESPN about the post-G2 conflict. "And urge each other to take responsibility." Only those who win are eligible to say this. At least for now, Westbrook and the Nuggets are dragging the former overlord Thunder into a Greek-Roman fight. Every game is like an epic battle, everyone is exhausted, except for the man whose energy is comparable to lightning charge.

"We've been turning things around all year," Westbrook said after the G1 game against the Thunder. "Although we've experienced ups and downs, we've done a good job of focusing on mistakes, taking responsibility, facing problems and keeping communication. If you want to go far in the playoffs, you have to be honest with each other."

These words have never appeared in Westbrook's previous dictionary.

To some extent, Westbrook's superpowers are its fatal weakness. No matter what pressure or situation he is, he will never change. He scoffed at the compromise, rather than almost ruining his career than accepting the Lakers' substitute role, and even parted ways with his many years of agents.

"It's hard to imagine other teams doing this," said a Nuggets insider of signing Westbrook (who had already had a bad time with four teams before), "but I didn't expect we would take action."

But it's obvious that the Nuggets have no choice. Without Westbrook, the Nuggets would not have stood on the stage they are today.

Original text: Ramona Shelburne

Compiled by: Li Taibai