Westbrook and Adams go At It During a Timeout in Game Four

Russell Westbrook has always been intense and it showed on Monday when he and Steven Adams went back and forth on the sidelines. We'll tell you what their kerfuffle means to the big picture of the Western Conference Quarterfinals.

Russell Westbrook hasn't played in a single minute of the Western Conference Quarterfinals, but that doesn't mean he's not a factor. During a timeout in the first quarter of game four, Westbrook walked toward the Thunder bench for a little trash talk with former teammates. 

The TNT cameras picked up the action, and while it's not clear what Westbrook was saying, Dennis Schroder and Steven Adams were having none of it, telling Russ to get back to his bench.  Terrance Ferguson, on the other hand, seems unfazed even laughing at what Westbrook had to say. 

Billy Donovan says "I don't know all that was said or what happed there, it was a timeout so I had my back turned towards it and turned around as it was going on, but it was kind of at the end of it, so I didn't hear too much." 

Maybe the scariest part of the whole kerfuffle was the look on Adams's face when guiding Westbrook back to where he was supposed to be. Not that Westbrook couldn't hold his own in a scrap, but, that's 6-11 255 pounds of solid muscle telling you to shut up. 

Westbrook and Adams are incredibly competitive, and in a series that is riding high on emotion, something like this was bound to happen. Westbrook will always be a part of the Thunder, and he'll be welcome back any time he chooses to step foot in team facilities.

All series long Westbrook has been on the sidelines cheering on his teammates, and now he's trying to get in the Thunder's head. In other words, he's doing his job. 

James Harden says, "He better be cheering; he's got nothing else to do."... "Russ is our leader."... "His communication, his voice matters to us."

What will matter more to the Rockets is Westbrook's return. At worst, Houston has to feel they should be up 3-1. In games, three and four Houston blew fourth-quarter leads, and Oklahoma City is seizing momentum.  

Maybe Westbrook wants the Thunder to know he's coming back for game five, if so, this series, which has already been intense is about to get nasty. 

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With more than 20 years of experience hosting local and national radio shows, Erik Gee is a fixture of Oklahoma sports media. He has covered the Oklahoma City Thunder for the past six seasons. He is also the co-host of the Pat Jones show on 97.1 The Sports Animal in Tulsa.