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Two teams were eliminated from the NBA Playoffs last night. One, the Chicago Bulls, were desperately undermanned—decimated by injury and illness—and bulldozed by the Miami Heat juggernaut. The other was the Oklahoma City Thunder. Led by perennial MVP candidate and professional bridesmaid Kevin Durant, the Thunder suffered a tremendous loss of their own when All-Star point guard (and Complex cover subject) Russell Westbrook went down with a knee injury in the first round. But hey, they made the Finals last year and Durant's only 24. They'll be fine, right? Well, maybe. Here's Five Reasons Oklahoma City Thunder Fans Should Start Panicking Now—and we didn't even include the fact that a recently scorned Seattle might be ready to get their team back by any means necessary.
RELATED: Gallery: The Struggle Faces of the 2013 NBA Playoffs (So Far)
The '95 Orlando Magic Thought They'd Get Back to the Finals Too
Remember the '95 Orlando Magic? Of course you do! Shaq and Penny were young and this was a dynasty in the making. Then Nick Anderson missed a bunch of free throws, they were swept by the Rockets, Mike got angry, Shaq left for L.A., and that pretty much did it for basketball in Orlando until Dwight Howard came along a decade later. Here's the thing about championship windows in the NBA: they close awfully fast. And just because you make one Finals trip doesn't mean you'll ever get a second chance. (Also see the 1996 Seattle SuperSonics.)
Point Guards Are Rarely the Same After Knee Surgery
Sure, Russell Westbrook's surgery was relatively minor and he should be all set by the start of the 2013-14 season. Then again, Derrick Rose was supposed to be back in February. Look, it's much easier to return from injury now than it ever was—what was once career-ending now may not even be season-ending—but this was Westbrook's first surgery, period. Who can say how he'll respond? And, as the Rose situation threw into stark relief, this isn't a purely physical issue. A large part of Westbrook's game is his outsized confidence. Will he still have that when he returns?
Maybe Scott Brooks Is the Wrong Coach
It's actually a wonder that Brooks hasn't been fired yet. Not that he's a bad coach-after all, the Thunder did make it to the NBA Finals just last season. But given that he was named Coach of the Year following the '09-10 season, he's clearly passed his expiration date. Just ask Avery Johnson. Or Mike Brown. Or Sam Mitchell. (And given that he played Kendrick Perkins-we'll get to him in a second-200-plus minutes in this year's playoffs, well, maybe he WANTS to get fired.)
Kendrick Perkins Is Still Under Contract
Kendrick Perkins used to be a more-than-servicable NBA center. We're not sure what happened to that guy. Because the Kendrick Perkins who played in the 2013 NBA Playoffs was one of the worst players of all time. In fact, from a purely statistical basis, he was the worst player in playoff history - recording a negative PER in 200-plus minutes. (Advanced stats are a wonderful thing until they point out that you're worse than anyone ever.) Anyway, Perk is under contract for two more seasons, and while the Thunder can legally amnesty (if not euthanize) him this offseason, his presence is representative of a bigger front office issue. (Hey, whatever happened to James Harden anyway?)
LeBron James Isn't Getting Any Worse
Maybe Sports Illustrated should have held off on that Kevin Durant cover story where he lamented always being No. 2. Because hey guy, first off you guys were, like, No. 6 this year, and LeBron James—who just received his fourth MVP and whose Heat seem to be steaming relentlessly towards their second straight title—is still only 28. Ah, you say, but Kevin Durant is only 24 and will still be in his prime when LeBron is retired or playing football or whatever. Sure, maybe so. But, two words: Andrew Wiggins.
