Double-edged sword! It was revealed that Wei Shao and Gordon had a fierce quarrel after the first round of G2 matches, and his teammates said that Wei Shao was too immature

On May 14, Beijing time, ESPN's Shelburne wrote an article revealing some of the Nuggets' insider story, especially after the first round of the playoffs G2, Wei Shao and Gordon had a heated argument in the locker room, and an anonymous teammate called Wei Shao too immature at the time. However, Wei Shao is like a double-edged sword, his shortcomings are obvious, and his strengths are also outstanding. Here's an excerpt from Shelburne's report –

Back in February 2023, the Lakers traded Westbrook to the Jazz, and when he was subsequently bought out, the Nuggets discussed signing him. Sources told ESPN that there are insiders within the Nuggets who believe their hard-working, highly talented but somewhat quiet team needs someone like the one that Chairman Josh Kroenke recently described Westbrook as "a little passionate" to help the team get through the playoff hurdles that have been bothering them.

No one in the league brings as much energy to the team as Westbrook, but that energy is almost impossible to harness.

But the idea was still extremely appealing to the Nuggets at the time, as they believed Jokic was the best player in the world and was in his prime. They know that if they keep hitting the same wall, the window of chances to win an NBA championship closes faster.

Ultimately, the Nuggets decided not to sign him because they feared Westbrook would upset the team's locker room atmosphere and undermine point guard Jamal Murray's confidence, sources said.

The decision turned out to be wise. A few months later, the Nuggets won their first championship.

But this offseason is different. They failed to defend their championship last season. Their performance regressed, and after some key role players left the free agent market, the young players who were supposed to replace them grew slowly and ended up losing again in the second round of the playoffs. They felt that couldn't happen again, especially since Jokic was playing better than ever during his 30-year-old season.

So the Nuggets decided to take a risk, knowing that Westbrook was a man with both strengths and weaknesses.

His strengths are that Westbrook is passionate, focused, always competitive, and always ready to play.

His downsides are: he can be emotionally volatile, sometimes out of control on the pitch, stubborn, and immature when things don't go his way.

These characteristics have been on full display this season, if not more than ever. Westbrook is exactly what the Nuggets need at times, and sometimes it's a failure. He has single-handedly won games for his team and made his team lose games. He can both inspire strong loyalty and annoy his teammates – sometimes on the same day.

They were all well aware of how difficult it was to rely on such a volatile person – perhaps he himself understood it.

"I'm proud of my ability to be a force for nature on the court," Westbrook said after helping the Nuggets eliminate the Clippers in Game 7 of the first-round series, "no matter how well it performs — it could be a turnover, a missed shot, a steal, a dunk, a missed three-pointer or a three-point shot — it will be like that." You accept everything that happens, and you keep going no matter what happens. I've always been like this. ”

On April 2, the Nuggets experienced almost all of Westbrook's characteristics in 15 seconds.

With 14.2 seconds left in double overtime, the Nuggets led 139-138. Westbrook cut off Anthony Edwards' pass and then launched a fast break that would have sealed the win, and Jokic had a 60-point triple-double in the game.

But Westbrook missed a layup from close range — and to make matters worse, he gave the Timberwolves time to attack again.

In the next offense, Westbrook fell behind, didn't see Nichol Alexander-Walker in the bottom corner, and then fouled Walker as he tried to get back into the defense. Walker hit three free throws to help the Minnesota Timberwolves turn the tide of the game.

It was a brutal loss, and Westbrook didn't talk about his responsibility in it for days.

Eight days later, interim coach David Adelman indicated he would be taking stricter measures against Westbrook。 Former coach Mike Malone has given Westbrook the same freedom as Jokic and Murray on and off the court, much to the displeasure of some, according to multiple sources. Ironically, that's why Westbrook's situation changed after Malone and general manager Calvin Booth were fired with three games left in the regular season and Adelman was appointed interim coach on the verge of beyond.

He was allowed to spend a rest day with his family at his home in Los Angeles, prompting discussion among Nuggets decision-makers as they considered whether to return to Denver to meet with the team and realign or meet with the team in Sacramento the next day as originally planned. Eventually, he joined the team in Sacramento.

In Adelman's first game, at the beginning of the fourth quarter, after Westbrook attacked several times in a row, missing a three-point shot, missing a jumper, and missing a layup, Adelman replaced him with second-year point guard Jalen Pickett, and allowed Pickett to play the crucial minutes of the game, and finally the Denver Nuggets stopped a four-game losing streak. Westbrook played just 17 minutes in the game, a season low.

This substitution sends a clear signal.

This ups and downs continued into the playoffs.

In one of the first rounds, Westbrook was visibly unhappy when he was substituted at the end of the game.One player told ESPN: "It's crazy, [he's] changed the whole atmosphere and spirit of our team. ”

But after another game, an assistant coach told ESPN: "Russell is playing with all his might, and I can't believe he's still doing that in his 17th career."I hope we can have ten players like him。”

Minutes after the Nuggets lost Game 2 of their first-round series against the Clippers, Adelman ran into a problem.

Multiple sources told ESPN that when he spoke at his post-match press conference,Westbrook and Gordon got into a heated argument in the locker room。 Gordon questioned Westbrook's attitude.

Outside the dressing room, one player explained why Gordon did it."He's so immature," he said of Westbrook.

Their season was on the line, with the team sacking Malone and Booth with three games left in the regular season, and it seemed like a chaotic and dysfunctional season was about to end in a messy end.

However, this seems to be a sign that things are starting to improve.

The Nuggets won three of their next four games, eliminating the Clippers. In the pivotal Game 7, Westbrook scored 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting, along with five rebounds, five assists and five steals. In the decisive second quarter, the Denver Nuggets led the Los Angeles Clippers 37-21, with Westbrook playing the full 12 minutes, scoring 10 points on 3-of-4 shooting, along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals.

"The great thing about this team is that we dare to communicate openly and honestly," one player told ESPN about the quarrel in the second game, "and to monitor each other." ”

That's what people say when they win. For now, at least, Westbrook and the Nuggets are locked up in a tight matchup with the Thunder, who previously had the advantage. Every game is like a legend. Except for the guy who had more energy than a lightning charger, everyone else was exhausted.

"We've turned the page this year," Westbrook said after winning the first game against the Thunder, "and there have been ups and downs, but we've been well focused on mistakes and taken responsibility." Confront the problem and communicate. If you want to go far in the playoffs, I think you have to be honest with each other. ”

These words had never been said anywhere before by Westbrook.

In many ways, his superpowers are also his Achilles' heel – no matter how much pressure or situation he is in, he never changes. He scoffed at the idea of compromise. He'd rather have little to play than accept a bench role with the Lakers. His former agent even parted ways with him because of this.

"I can't imagine any other team signing him," a team source said of the Nuggets' signing of Westbrook. Westbrook had a decently undignified end on all four teams, "but I never thought we'd do that. ”

One thing is clear, though, and that is that they have no choice. And without him, they wouldn't have come so far.