National Basketball Association

OKC Thunder: I Could not Watch Past the First Half

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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Why I had to turn off the OKC Thunder vs. Golden State Warriors game.

I couldn’t take it. I had to turn the game off in the second quarter. Yes, I gave up early, and that doesn’t make me any better than the Warriors fans who walked out during their home opener against the Spurs. But, I just couldn’t take it.

November 3, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) shoots a technical foul shot as Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) looks on during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

I didn’t expect much from this game. The Thunder were coming off a physical and grinding game against a really good Los Angeles Clippers team. It was the second game of a road back-to-back, and those are tough to win against any team in the league, much less a team as good as the Warriors. I expected it to be bad. I don’t think the Thunder are as good as their record and they couldn’t beat the Warriors in the regular season last year, and they were a much better team last year.

Of course I tuned in at the start. But I knew it could get bad in a hurry.

November 3, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Golden State Warriors forward Kevin Durant (35) talks to the Oklahoma City Thunder bench during the second quarter at Oracle Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

It got bad the moment Russell Westbrook and Steven Adams left the court in the first quarter. That’s when Draymond Green starting jawing, that’s when Klay Thompson remembered he could shoot the ball, and that’s when Kevin Durant reminded everyone that he’s still the best scorer in the basketball.

And, simply put, I couldn’t take it.

I couldn’t watch as Durant went to work in the post and got everything to fall. It reminded me too much of all the times he went to work in the post for OKC. It wasn’t fancy. It’s what he’s done for years. But now he was doing it for someone else.

I couldn’t watch as Durant hit every three he took. I watched him throw up brick after brick in Game 5 and Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals. Had he shot as well as he typically shoots in those games, he’d still be in Oklahoma City. And he may already have a ring. So, I couldn’t see him shoot that well against his old team. On the team that he shot so poorly against in the playoffs.

You can call me a salty Thunder fan. And you’d be right. How could I not be salty? How could any fan just accept what Durant did after all of the support he received throughout his tenure in Oklahoma City? And how could any fan just enjoy him torturing his old team while celebrating with the team that cost them a title last year?

That’s what I still have a hard time accepting. How can Durant watch highlights of the Western Conference Finals, and be fine with his decision? How can he smile and laugh and showboat with this team after the playoffs? As a competitive person who hates losing at video games, I just don’t understand it.

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It’s funny how fired up Durant was throughout the game. He had that fire against the Spurs in the playoffs, and we all saw what happened. But where was that fire against the Warriors? I guess he was just happy to play against his friends. It’s clear that he doesn’t have any friends in Oklahoma City at this point.

Durant acts like the team let him down, the organization let him down, and the fans let him down. But in reality, Durant was the one who let everyone down. He’s happy with his new team, his new organization, and his new fans. That’s great, but that doesn’t mean that we as fans don’t have a right to be upset, bitter, salty, crying Jordan, blew a 3-1 lead, or whatever else you want to call us.

I stopped watching on Thursday night, not because I’m a bad fan. But because I’m a fan who simply cares too much and couldn’t take watching my ex-girlfriend make out with her disgusting new boyfriend while Chris Webber laughed and joked about it.

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