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There are all sorts of storylines heading into the playoffs, especially in a Western Conference that seems totally wide open. One of them is that Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, long-time teammates and short-time enemies, will square off in the first-round series between the Phoenix Suns and Los Angeles Clippers. 

While that may be interesting for fans and the media, Westbrook said the matchup won't be a big deal from his perspective. 

"It'll be normal for me," Westbrook said. "I think people still think there's some beef or something. There's no beef. That's a good narrative for media and people to talk about. I got nothing but respect for him and things he's done with his career. Happy to see him back from injury. There's no beef at all. He knows I'ma compete and I know he's gonna compete and that's all it is."

Durant and Westbrook played together for eight seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and enjoyed plenty of success. They made the playoffs in six consecutive seasons, advanced to the Western Confernce Finals four times and made the NBA Finals in 2012, where they were defeated by the Miami Heat. 

But after falling short of a championship time and again, Durant grew disillusioned with Westbrook and the Thunder, and made a stunning decision in the summer of 2016 to sign with the Golden State Warriors. His departure, and the way he handled it -- he reportedly told Westbrook via text message -- opened a wound that took time to heal, and the two were not on speaking terms for a while afterward. 

Time heals all, though, and as the two have grown older and are now multiple teams removed from their Thunder days, things are normal between them again. Earlier this season, Durant even publicly came to Westbrook's defense when the veteran guard was facing considerable criticism for his start with the Los Angeles Lakers. 

"I understand that there's certain points where you don't play well and you are open to criticism when you don't play well -- we get that, Durant said. "But it's like now you're making him the butt of your jokes. It's getting to a point where it's like alright, I get the criticism for what he did that night, but now it's starting to reach a different level with some shit that I don't understand right now... The dialogue around our game is just so toxic at this point. I get criticism, but it's starting to turn into something else right now."

The Suns and Clippers will begin their first-round series on Sunday with Game 1 in Phoenix.