During the NBA lockout there were several — and you know who you are — basketball writers and so-called experts who said the NBA was headed for a dark spring because no one is going to watch a bunch of spoiled athletes paid by a bunch of greedy owners. Well, guess who’s watching? The hype … [Read more…]
The Oklahoma City Thunder drew first blood in the 2012 NBA Finals after defeating the Miami Heat, 105-94, in Game 1 Tuesday night. Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 36 points in his first Finals game, and he got plenty of help from Russell Westbrook, who nearly had a triple-double. The Thunder point guard had … [Read more…]
The San Antonio game plan for Game 4 of the Western Conference finals was simple. Crowd Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, and James Harden and put the onus on the offensively challenged Oklahoma City big men. In theory it’s an excellent well-conceived idea by Gregg Popovich and the Spurs coaching staff. But what Popovich didn’t anticipate … [Read more…]
Kevin Durant may be Oklahoma City’s best player, but make no mistake about it Russell Westbrook is the fire that ignites the Thunder. Whenever the Thunder needs to shift into high gear, head coach Scott Brooks points to his 23-year-old point guard to give the team a major boost. Whether its a steal, a 3-pointer, … [Read more…]
There is no clear cut front-runner in the race for the most valuable player award, which creates a real interesting finish this month. Five candidates have surged in the forefront (in no particular order): Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Love, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. With the exception of Love, each MVP contender is in … [Read more…]
The highly anticipated game between the Miami Heat and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday had the look of a NBA Finals series, as both teams went at it so hard that all the participants should feel a little battered and bruised. But one hard foul not only changed the complexion of the game but … [Read more…]
Oklahoma City Thunder GM Sam Presti should have traded Russell Westbrook for Rajon Rondo when he had the chance. Boston Celtics GM Danny Ainge was willing to trade Rondo for Westbrook, but Presti declined. Now, a lot of people would say why make a deal? The Thunder are 29-8 and the top seed in … [Read more…]
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are arguably the best 1-2 combination in the NBA. But whenever you have two headstrong 23-year-old superstars on the same team playing for the same goals chances are they’ll have some disagreements. That ugly scenario played out in a game against the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, Dec. 28, as Durant … [Read more…]
The Dallas Mavericks celebrated their 2011 NBA title with a spectacular ring ceremony and unveiling of the team’s first championship banner on Christmas Day. Then, they got their bell rung by a Miami Heat squad that looks extremely motivated and primed for a huge run in 2012. Here are five observations from opening day in … [Read more…]
Kevin Durant has been one busy dude this summer and fall. He has been involved in seemingly every exhibition game since the NBA lockout started on July 1, showing up in player-organized events in Baltimore, Miami, New York’s Rucker Park, Long Beach and Philadelphia. The beat goes on for the Oklahoma City Thunder all-star and … [Read more…]