I feel like I should preface this by saying that I actually like Russell Westbrook to avoid confusion in reading forward. I like his 'take no prisoners' attitude. I like his cutthroat compete level. I like the pride he takes in putting the game on his shoulders. Unfortunately, I love how all those same qualities look on a superior shot maker like the somewhat silent assassin who remained as humble as humanly possible while absolutely humiliating him...
I don’t know that that’s something I would have said prior to the playoffs, but if the series that Damian Lillard just made light work of in punctuating it by way of a 50 piece with unlimited sauce was his postseason coming out party then the eternally pissy opposing point guard was shunned to the kids' corner on clown duty.
Again, all due respect to Russell Westbrook, but over the course of five games he got flat out disrespected by what was as much of a calculated and cold-blooded emasculation of his ego as it was a destruction of his team's defense. Never mind the savagery of the subsequent wave, because to think otherwise would be to ignore the fact that Damian Lillard, with plenty of time at his disposal, voluntarily picked his spot to pull up for a game-winner and this was said spot... Everything about what was a legendary performance says that simply winning was not enough for a guy who looked poised to play the arsonist in burning an entire book of narratives. The rocked baby to Russell Westbrook? Quite the opposite, actually, as that rivalry was made to look like that of lightning to a lighting rod...
Playoff punchline? Old enough news to be read from the morning paper. Honestly, I'd be half surprised if he didn't show up to the second round with arthritis considering the unprecedented amount of re-writing Lillard attempted to do to his legacy in a short, but oh-so-sweet series. Of course, we still have a ton to learn about Damian Lillard as the loyal leader to what's a second-tier team until proven otherwise this postseason. However, if you're asking whether or not he has Mamba-like mentality and moxie to be a true NBA superstar then, ironically enough, the question is so rhetorical that the only appropriate answer would be "next question."
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