Kevin Durant and the Golden State Warriors are the basketball betting odds-for favorites to win pretty much everything this season. There is absolutely no denying that, any which way you slice it. Which is why it is curious that Durant told The Vertical that “you’re always going to have the ghost of your past, just always lingering around” after going out of his way to not only defeat – which is what every player should aim for – but humiliate the team that made him who he is and put him where he is now.
Now, most people who bet on NBA thought “the ghost of your past” referred to the eight years he spent – his formative years, so to speak – with the Oklahoma Thunder. But we know better about the skeletons in Kevin Durant’s closet. It’s like when Vincent Gallo called Roger Ebert fat, and Ebert said, “I can lose weight, but you will always be the director of The Brown Bunny.” Durant may have scored 39 points against Oklahoma, may have proved he’s better than Russell Westbrook, may be named MVP, may win the NBA championship – and basketball betting odds say he will – but no matter how many accolades he collects, he can’t change this little fact: Kevin Durant will always be the star of the Space Jam rip-off “Thunderstruck.”
That truly is “something that’s never going to go away.” Say what you will about Westbrook, but at least he doesn’t share credits with Jim Belushi. And one of the things that have been said about Westbrook is that he wanted a rivalry, and now that he has it, he can’t win it. It’s funny how the sportsball media has sided with Durant – and why wouldn’t they? After all, might makes right. As Fox Sports’ Dieter Kurtenbach writes, “Westbrook could have accepted that Durant wanted to go elsewhere this summer – he could have kept the relationship good-natured, as Durant has wished to do.”
Sure, and Julius Caesar could have kept a good-natured relationship with Brutus, or Othello with Iago. Durant drew first blood by joining the machine; Westbrook wants to bring down the machine, as should we all. It’s like that footage of the guy standing in front of the tank, and I don’t know of anyone who actually roots for the tank. History is full of people who picked fights they could not win. Now we call them heroes.
All things considered, there are only a few legitimate reasons to get behind the Golden State Warriors/Kevin Durant. One is if you’re into basketball betting and are fond of their straight-up winning/point spread-covering prowess. Other reasons include the following: you were born/currently live in Oakland in particular or California in general; you’re related to one of the players or coaching staff; it was the very first team you ever spontaneously supported when you were young and have stuck with them through thick and thin. Not a good reason: you’re a ship-jumping, turncoat, fair-weather fan who always backs the winner – regardless of whomever they happen to be.
