Westbrook dunks so hard that Durant’s scared he’ll hurt himself
The NBA is full of phenomenally athletic and powerful dunkers, but for my money, nobody slams quite as ferociously as Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook. The All-NBA point guard never seems to stop attacking the rim like it owes him money, as evidenced by his recent devastating displays in Sunday’s win over the Miami Heat:
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… and Tuesday’s victory over the Denver Nuggets:
The unrelenting fury Westbrook unleashes on the rim seems stunning from the comfort of your own couch; it must be downright epic up close and personal. Superstar running buddy Kevin Durant confirmed as much on Wednesday night, saying even he gets scared when Russ sets his sights on the rim, according to ESPN.com’s Royce Young:
It’s kind of like when you play dodgeball and you hit somebody in the face, and you throw the ball so hard at someone’s face, and it’s like, ‘BOOM!’ Sometimes I get a little nervous and afraid that he’s going to hurt his wrist at some point because he’s throwing the ball in the rim so hard. But that’s who he is, man. He plays with that aggression and takes it out on the rim. It looks amazing. Last night, the dunks he did, it was amazing. At the end of the day, it’s two points, but it’s a flashy two points.
No arguments here, KD. To be honest, though, while I wouldn’t necessarily be stunned to see Russ come away dinged up after one of these violent forays into the paint:
… I’m starting to wonder if it isn’t more likely that he injures himself during his largely improvised pregame dances:
Until he pulverizes a metacarpal mid-dunk or strains a hammy mid-Running Off on the Plug, though, Westbrook will continue doing damage to both the rim and the opposition with no regard for his or anyone else’s safety … and we’ll keep loving it. Please, Russ, do hurt ’em.
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Dan Devine is an editor for Ball Don’t Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
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