Kevin Durant explained why he grew up a Toronto Raptors fan, from Mike Johnston of Sportsnet (via RealGM): “Despite growing up in Washington, D.C., NBA superstar Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors. On Thursday, during an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, Durant said: “Believe it or not, I wanted to play for the Toronto Raptors, that was my favorite team.” Durant cited that one of the main reasons he grew up cheering for the Raptors was because of the Raptors’ jerseys and the fact they were new to the league. “They were a new team when I was growing up, so I wanted to be a part of that,” Durant said. Another reason Durant cheered for the Raptors was because he was a big fan of Vince Carter, Toronto’s former franchise player.”
NBPA is contemplating on the idea of breaking ties with Billy Hunter, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. Here are some reasons: “As previously reported by Yahoo! Sports, Hunter “never told the union’s executive committee or player representatives that his current employment contract, which was executed in 2010, was not properly approved under the union’s By-Laws, even though by at least November 2011 outside counsel to the Union had told Mr. Hunter that the necessary approval had not occurred and remained necessary.”… As detailed in an April report by Y! Sports, Hunter “involved family and friends in union business as employees or vendors without full disclosure and the disinterested approval of the union’s officers and directors.”
Not surprisingly, Lillard thinks Irving is an All-Star, from Chris Haynes of CSNNW: “I think he’s an All-Star guard,” Lillard said. “I look forward to games against elite point guards. It was a challenge for me to guard him. I thought he made some tough shots and he made some really nice moves to free himself up. He had a nice night.”… “I wanted to guard him and if he made a tough shot or he lost me and ended up scoring, that’s part of me embracing my job,” Lillard said. “I’m not going to be that guy that runs away from somebody that can score the ball really well like him. I’m going to stand up to it and tonight he got some buckets.”
Eric Gordon missed his last game against the Boston Celtics due to a sore right knee, according to John Reid of The Times Picayune: “The Hornets also didn’t want to risk having him play on consecutive days for fear it could cause a potential setback involving his right knee. Although Gordon has averaged 29.3 minutes in eight games since returning Dec. 29 from a patella tendon disorder and bone bruise in his right knee, the Hornets and team doctors still don’t think Gordon is in the desired conditioning for his knee to take the pounding involved in playing back-to-back games yet. Gordon dressed for Wednesday’s game that featured rookie guard Austin Rivers playing against his dad, Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers, for the first time.
Stephen Curry could miss some games due to a freak ankle incident suffered during Wednesday’s shootaround, according to Marcus Thompson II of Mercury News: “Warriors point guard Stephen Curry is out indefinitely after spraining his right ankle. Yes, that ankle. “It was really a freak injury,” Warriors coach Mark Jackson said before Wednesday night’s game against Miami. “We don’t do much in shootaround — (he was) just chasing after a loose rebound. It’s unfortunate. We will shut him down. He’ll get treatment, and we’ll see where he goes.” Curry sat out the defending NBA champions’ lone trip to Oracle Arena this season, his first missed game of the season. He injured the ankle at the shootaround Wednesday morning when he landed on the foot of rookie Festus Ezeli.”
Jarrett Jack explained why the Warriors have lost four of their last five games, from NBA personality Ric Bucher: “They’re not the same teams,” he told me. “They’ve shortened their rotations, they’re playing their better players longer and they’re not experimenting anymore. They’ve figured out who they are.” I asked what the adjustment for the Warriors is and, essentially, he said that’s something they collectively have to learn: “We’re a really, really young ballclub. Going through it is really how you grow up. Every team, no matter who you are — except for the Spurs — go through peaks and valleys. This might be a valley for us. It just matters how deep it is.”
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Yesterday, while I was at work, my sister stole my iphone and
tested to see if it can survive a forty foot drop,
just so she can be a youtube sensation. My apple ipad is now broken and she has 83 views.
I know this is entirely off topic but I had to share it with someone!
Very interesting because the T-Mac / Bryant debate was one that my and my boys had – – back in 2001…2002. Back then, it truly appeared that T-Mac was going to be the more productive NBA player.
It was definitely a legitimate discussion. The one with a superstar’s mentality and work ethic obviously remained the better player.