The Oklahoma City Thunder may have revenge on their minds. On Jan. 3, the Thunder took their only home loss of the season, a 103-93 setback to the Portland Trail Blazers. On Monday night, the Thunder visit the Trail Blazers in the NBA’s best game. There are just four teams with one home loss: Chicago (9-1), Oklahoma City (9-1), Portland (11-1) and San Antonio (13-1), which handled Oklahoma City in a 107-96 victory Saturday night. That was the opener of a five-game road
Although the Oklahoma City Thunder deserve the gushing praise that has been dispensed on their behalf, it would seem slightly premature to begin measuring for ring sizes. The Thunder are young and exciting. They have the youngest scoring champion in NBA history and he has a superstar guard as a sidekick. The third scorer has improved markedly from last season and unquestionably has star qualities. And none of those three – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden – has yet to
Fans who took part in All-Star balloting, take a bow. You got nine out of 10 right. Yes, you again chose with your heart instead of your head, as you have done on an annual basis for as long as we can remember. But unlike past years – when your infinite wisdom voted undeserving players such as A.C. Green, Dan Majerle, Steve Francis, Ben Wallace and an injured Yao Ming as starters – at least this time your choices won’t cost anyone
NEW YORK — LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have been named the Eastern and Western Conference Players of the Week, respectively, for games played Monday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 29. James paced the Eastern Conference in scoring (29.0 ppg) in leading the Heat to a 4-0 week. James eclipsed the 30-point plateau three times and averaged 7.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.0 steals. Miami defeated Chicago 97-93 on Sunday despite two poor possessions and two botched free throws by James in
Kevin Love got paid. So did Danilo Gallinari and Kosta Koufos – yes, Kosta Koufos – as the Nuggets dropped a cool $50 million. The rest of the 2008 draft class, including Eric Gordon, Brook Lopez and Nicolas Batum? Please take a number, young man. A dose of fiscal responsibility by owners – brought on by the new CBA – and a combination of trepidation and smarts by executives make it unlikely for most 2008 first-round picks to get some early financial
The Miami Heat were impressive in their win over the Los Angeles Lakers. What’s ahead for Kevin Love and his contract situation? And what are the best upcoming NBA games? CineSport’s Brian Clark and SheridanHoops.com’s Chris Sheridan discuss. //
Russell Westbrook is a max man. The Oklahoma City Thunder guard agreed to a five-year contract extension today, and a source tells SheridanHoops.com that Westbrook received the largest deal available to him: A 5-year, max contract that will be worth approximately $79 million. Under the new collective bargaining agreement, each team is allowed to designate one player to receive a five-year deal (players who signed under the old CBA, such as Kevin Durant, do not count). The max money will give Westbrook
One of these days, Kevin Durant will score 30 points again. It hasn’t happened in a while, but Durant doesn’t mind. One of these days, the Boston Celtics will win again. That also hasn’t happened in a while, but it will. Durant scored 28 points, his 10th consecutive sub-30 game, as the Oklahoma City Thunder handed the Boston Celtics their 5th straight loss – the longest losing streak since Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett have been teammates. Russell Westbrook scored 26