Many analysts and columnists have scrutinized Russell Westbrook all season long for his style of play, especially now that the Oklahoma City Thunder are in the NBA Finals.
ESPN columnist, Stephen A. Smith, is one of the loudest people on television that usually never bites his tongue. So you know that when Stephen A. apologizes, it is a big deal.
Wednesday night, after Westbrook's dazzling performance in Game 4, Stephen A. Smith was on air after the postgame press conference with Kevin Durant and Westbrook was aired.
When ESPN went back to American Airlines Arena, Smith asked that Westbrook forgive him for his comments regarding his way of playing in the NBA Finals.
Days before, Stephen A. had called Westbrook's Game 2 performance "pathetic." He could not understand why Westbrook was taking so many shots when Durant and James Harden were on his team.
He described Durant as being a scoring machine. Smith went on to say that Westbrook's job was not to shoot but to pass the ball to Durant.
When the Thunder fell behind early against the Heat in Game 2, Stephen A. Smith could not understand why Durant did not get many touches and said that Westbrook seemed more concerned about his final points total than the game's final score.
"The level of selfishness that I saw in Game 2 is alarming," said Smith regarding to Westbrook not finding Durant as the Thunder trailed.
He took all of these words back as Westbrook scored 43 points in Game 4. All of Westbrook's potential clicked in this one.
Westbrook finished with a Durantesque performance, scoring 17 points in the fourth quarter. Without Westbrook, the Thunder would not have been able to make a comeback in Tuesday's game.
Despite Westbrook's great performance, if he wants to continue taking more shots than Durant, he will have to continue scoring 40 points a night if he expects people to stop criticizing him.
He said he did not care what the press had to say about his style. With Tuesday's game, Westbrook bought himself a little breathing space. If he shows selfishness in Game 5, then reporters will not hesitate to put him in his place, beginning with Stephen A. Smith.