"Whatever magical equation you use to rate an NBA player's worth, the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to point guard Russell Westbrook. Yet as the spotlight zooms in a little tighter each day on the Oklahoma City Thunder, national media continue to portray that the bad far outweighs the good.

The latest case-in-point came Thursday night when Westbrook never left the bench in the fourth quarter of Game 2 at Dallas. In the process, a 106-100 road victory over the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference Finals somehow got lost, almost ignored.

Who won the game inexplicably became the second-most important story. Westbrook not playing somehow mattered more.

"The series is tied 1-1, you come home and you've got to deal with Russell Westbrook getting benched in the fourth quarter," Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said, shaking his head.

Skewed reporting frequently pops up every postseason. In this case, some who barely witnessed OKC during the regular season pontificate as though they've been camped inside the Thunder locker room all season long.

Suddenly, Westbrook and Kevin Durant don't get along. There's a rift inside the locker room because of a selfish Westbrook, and it's getting wider each day.

Westbrook has selfish moments, as does almost every athlete, but that doesn't necessarily make him a selfish person. One easy way to tell is by the way Westbrook handles interviews.

Ask Westbrook about himself, and he'll give stock answers that have been repeated incessantly since training camp. Ask Westbrook about a teammate, and his replies are thoughtful and insightful. This is not a trait of a selfish person."