WTLC Daily Loud Links: Tuesday, December 31, 2013

It's the end of the year. Get ready for tonight's game vs the Blazers with today's links!

By J.A. Sherman Dec 31, 2013, 2:28pm CST

It's the end of the year as we know it. Are you feeling fine?

About an hour before the start of Sunday’s Houston-Oklahoma City NBA game, Thunder All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook was spotted in a hallway near the OKC locker room at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

He was outfitted in a gray jacket, gray sweat pants and a pair of Nikes – and he was on crutches, having undergone a third right-knee surgery on Friday.

While he did use the crutches, Westbrook was walking on two legs. The affected leg was not elevated off of the floor. His mobility was surprising. His reliance on crutches seemed far less than one might expect, considering that the surgery occurred only two days earlier.

Bethlehem Shoals has something insightful to say about Russell Westbrook, so we'd better pay attention. Shoals starts by stating that the basketball gods do not exist, and then spends 8 paragraphs pleading with them to leave Russell alone. For some random reason it reminds me of that great monologue from "The Usual Suspects."

In yesterday's links, we highlighted some potential trouble for Spurs guard Tony Parker and an apparently anti-Semitic hand gesture. Our buddy Wilco at Pounding the Rock gives us the most important thing - context - and examines the details.

Matt Moore writes that with this Westbrook setback, the Thunder appear to be better prepared to weather the storm. Goodness that's awful.

Berry Tramel answers a few questions in his mailbag. I'm not sure if they intentionally choose specific ones because of what they reveal about readers, but without a doubt there is some Perk-hate going on.

Is there a Rudy Gay effect going on in Sacramento? The Kings defeated the Heat, and now nearly beat the Spurs. Coach Nick takes a closer look.

This is a tremendous play by a tremendous player, to be sure. LeBron James does it every single night, this time volleyballing a 3/4 pass to an open Mario Chalmers. As great as the play is though, I can't help but think that it's just another excuse to yell at Mario.