If you are looking for someone to bail on the Thunder because of their recent three-game losing streak, you are looking in the wrong place. The temptation around the country is to couple the return of Russell Westbrook and the three-game loss streak, and to draw a correlation between the two. And the other temptation when it comes to the Thunder is to bash Kendrick Perkins, the least-productive starting center, in terms of offense, in the entire Western Conference. Well, sorry to be
The Oklahoma City seem to be back on track after a rocky start when Russell Westbrook returned to the lineup after the All-Star break. [Read more…]
I’ve never been huge on the All-Star Game. Sure, the novelty is great. I mean, all the stars are there. But that wears off pretty quickly, and then I remember that what I really like about basketball is seeing players stand out above the rest, and that doesn’t usually happen in an all-star environment. I also like defense sometimes. Speaking of players standing out above the rest, if you haven’t seen John Wall’s dunk from last night, go do that right
This past week, NBA TV released excerpts of an extended interview with LeBron James (airing in its entirety Monday night) in which Steve Smith asked “The King” to name his Mount Rushmore of basketball. James offered a quartet of Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Oscar Robertson. But it’s really an unfair question, because in addition to those four players, there are at least three more – centers Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell – who are in the
With the trade deadline slowly approaching (next Thursday, to be exact), there are a specific group of players who should concern themselves with the possibility of being dealt. Whether it’s due to the team’s priorities or their own contract situations, there are eight specific players who will come up in plenty of rumors before it is all said and done, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com. Here are some of the most intriguing thoughts from the piece: Kyle Lowry was supposed to be
BROOKLYN – Kevin Durant treated the league like a game of NBA 2K14 on a nightly basis in January. Durant is a 7-footer with the handle of a guard, the shooting ability of a sniper, the leaping ability of a kangaroo and the rebounding ability of a power forward. Basically, he’s the player we all created from scratch in a video game as kids with the ratings boosted as high as possible. Recently, Durant added “Slim Reaper” to his list of nicknames
Kyrie Irving spent a piece of New Year’s Day having an MRI performed on his knee. He went down against the Indiana Pacers yesterday, and he said he “heard something pop.” That’s usually not good, although the MRI revealed a mere contusion, meaning 2013 did not end with yet another potential landscape-altering injury. Al Horford? Out for the season, joining Derrick Rose and Brook Lopez. Russell Westbrook and Kobe Bryant? See you after the All-Star Game — if your rehabs go according to
News broke earlier Friday afternoon that Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook has undergone yet another surgery on his right knee—his third procedure. Thunder president Sam Presti addressed the surgery in a recent statement. [Russell Westbrook has knee surgery again, out until after the All-Star break] “Russell has been playing pain free, but recently had experienced increased swelling. After consultation and consideration by his surgeon in Los Angeles, a plan was established to monitor the swelling that included a series of scheduled MRIs. “On