The next Thunder possession, he sauntered down to the same spot the floor, drifted left off of a high screen from Ibaka, and neither Phoenix defender even considered doing anything but trying to follow. He flung a quick pass back to Ibaka for an easy jumper. Serge is one of the best shooters in the NBA at long, open two-point jumpers—this was a defensive screwup, but this is also the reality-distorting field of Russell Westbrook. It's the kind of panic OKC struggles to inflict on defenses without him, even with Durant creating.

Steph Curry rearranges the physical laws of basketball; Westbrook simply overpowers them. He blows by help defense that, for most other guards, would have arrived on time. He attacks defenses at angles—and speeds—that others don't because they aren't strong or fast or brave enough to get to the spaces, like in that run along the right baseline at the 35-second mark in the video above. It's the unpredictability of a truckload of talent and confidence, like a rocket-armed quarterback jamming a laser beam pass into quadruple coverage and making it work. Sometimes it will make a turnover, or just an inefficient play. But damn if it isn't fun to watch.