Kevin Durant has had one of the most prolific seasons we have ever seen, and he will run away with the MVP award for his efforts in 2014. Part of what has made him so great is the efficient way in which he has totally dominated the competition. He averaged a whopping 32 points on 50.3 percent shooting from the field. His true shooting percentage (including field goal, 3-pointers and free throws) came out to 63.5 percent, which is truly ridiculous. When
The Oklahoma City Thunder lost to the Memphis Grizzlies 111-105 in overtime in Game 2 of the first round of the playoffs, but they only managed to get that far because of Kevin Durant, who hit the most ridiculous shot of the year in the fourth quarter. With 13.3 seconds left in regulation and down 98-93, Durant found himself in the corner to catch a pass from Russell Westbrook. With Marc Gasol draped all over him, Durant lost balance and was
A certain someone made a bold prediction prior to the season that the Memphis Grizzlies would be facing the Indiana Pacers in the NBA finals. OK, it was me. Which means you can guess which way my prediction is going to go, for better or worse. You do not get to divorce yourself from your preseason predictions unless something crazy happens along the way, such as a team trading away its best player of something similar (that was the case last
In a break with tradition, I am casting my NBA awards ballot after the 81st game, not the 82nd. It’s a rarity, but this season I will not hem and haw and sleep on it until the afternoon after the final day of the season. You’re welcome. I have been an official NBA postseason awards voter for nearly a decade, and it would have been longer if not for a rule at the Associated Press, where I worked from 1987-2005, forbidding
Transparency is a two-way street. For years, NBA media members – echoing the sentiments of its passionate fan base – wanted more transparency from Commissioner David Stern and his executive staff. Whether it was a lottery drawing, a suspension in the playoffs or a referee scandal, folks felt like they were entitled to an explanation. And they were. Stern grudgingly came around. He arranged for the media to meet with referees prior to the season about rules changes. He allowed the media
Now for the annual post-season awards no one else has, by whatever means necessary. Kill this page if you’re looking for the Blue Plate Special featured everywhere else with Michael Carter-Williams as Rookie of the Year, Gregg Popovich as best coach, DeMar DeRozan as Most Improved, Joakim Noah as Defensive Player of the Year, etc. All are deserving… but it’s not as if the other candidates are chopped liver, as it seems these days when everyone compares picks over the internet and—
Dirk Nowitzki recently moved past Oscar Robertson to take the 10th spot for all-time scoring in the NBA. Think about that for a second. 10th all-time! It puts him ahead of legends like Larry Bird, Charles Barkley, Jerry West, and the list goes on and on. It’s a surprisingly impressive feat, and it helped put into perspective just how great of a player the power forward has been to reach such a milestone. So with his career somewhat starting to wind down
My ballot will be e-mailed to NBA headquarters late at night one week from today, and I will then publish all of my picks for postseason awards — as is my standard practice. But not every one of the 126 voters makes his/her selections public. At least that is the way it has been in the past. But this year, transparency rules. The Pro Basketball Writers Association and the NBA media relations office have come to an agreement under which all of