Russell Westbrook Isn’t All That Impressed With Two-Time MVP Stephen Curry
Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
The Western Conference Finals gets underway on Monday night with the Oklahoma City Thunder set to take on the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors in Oakland at Oracle Arena in Game 1. The Thunder pulled off the surprising upset over the San Antonio Spurs in the previous round of the playoffs and hope to do the same against the seemingly unbeatable Warriors.
On Monday, Russell Westbrook was asked if guarding two-time NBA MVP Stephen Curry is different from other guards in the league. Westbrook didn’t hesitate to say there isn’t much difference making the comparison to Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, via Royce Young of ESPN:
“He’s a shooter,” Westbrook said ahead of Monday night’s Western Conference finals opener against the Golden State Warriors. “He’s not nothing I haven’t seen. Him, [Damian] Lillard, guys like that, can shoot the basketball from four or five feet behind the 3, you’ve got to do a little different job. But just be physical.”
With Curry and Westbrook arguably being the top two point guards in the league, it’ll be interesting to see how the two elite backcourt players face off in this series for the right to advance to the NBA Finals. Curry likely won’t be guarding Westbrook on the other end of the floor, but the Thunder will definitely be sticking to the reigning MVP like glue throughout the series.
As expected, the Warriors are favored heading into Game 1 of this best-of-seven series. Golden State is currently sporting a -7.5 point spread (via Sportsbook.ag) in Game 1 and will more than likely cover that spread unless Oklahoma City can figure out a way to stop Curry on his home floor.
Golden State is also favored to eventually advance to the NBA Finals for a second straight year with 5/19 odds, via Sportsbook.ag. The Warriors advancing is a foregone conclusion in opinions of many, but that could quickly change if Westbrook and Kevin Durant become a problem for Golden State.
