csprtContainer(); Something you may not have known about the Oklahoma City Thunder: despite their relatively young age, they are about as tightly-knit of a group as there is in the entire NBA. They hang out at each others’ houses. They are as much of a team on the court as hey are of of it. Their core has been together so long, including the most unheralded big player in this series, Nick Collison, that they have been able to summon a collective
By now, most are aware of the similarities between the games of James Harden and Manu Ginobili, who play the role of sixth man for their respectively dominant teams. Both are crafty left-handed assassins that can cause havoc driving into the paint with one euro-step after another and knock down deadly three-pointers. They even flop the same way. The mirror-images of each other dominated Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, and while Ginobili had the better stat-line, it was Harden
SAN ANTONIO – For the longest time, the San Antonio Spurs seemed so full of precision, so superior, so . . . invincible. Fifty days. That’s how long the Spurs went without losing a game. Before them, only three teams in NBA history had winning streaks of 20 or more games. They became the fourth. Included in that streak was eight straight in the playoffs. That number stretched to 10 when the Spurs handled the Thunder without significant problems in the first
Paul Allen has a new general manager for the Portland Trail Blazers, and you may wager amongst yourselves as to how long Neil Olshey will last in what has been a revolving-door job for the past few years. Olshey left a similar post with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday to take the job with the Blazers, who have been using Chad Buchanan as their interim GM for the past year. Buchanan took over from the departed Rich Cho, who lasted only
Game 5 of the Thunder-Spurs series is set for 9PM ET tonight. In the meantime, check out some of the news around the league on Monday from possible player movements, game evaluations, and off-season activity from players that are in full vacation mode. Is the criticism on Russell Westbrook being selfish warranted? Darnell Mayberry discusses why it is not warranted: The point guard who continues to be a lightening rod for criticism for everything from his shot selection to his body language
Rajon Rondo sure had some intriguing moments with Doris Burke of ESPN in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Sunday night. During the half-time interview, Rondo was asked, “what holes are you guys exploiting in this defense?” His answer was a surprising call out against the Heat, saying “them complaining and crying to referees in transition”, as you will see in the video below. (via youtube user nbaus3030) Indeed, shots were fired. The Heat players will surely hear of this gem
