NBA Basketball Sports News in Philippines: Kevin Durant

Showing posts with label Kevin Durant. Show all posts

Monday, October 29, 2012

NBA News 2012: Harden trade shows it’s all about the money

James Harden, Serge Ibaka, Victor Claver, and Pau Gasol (Photo credit: ctsnow)

In professional sports, it’s often about the money. And at the end of the day, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t have the money for guard James Harden.

So late Saturday, the Thunder, who lost to the Miami Heat in five games in last season’s NBA Finals, traded Harden to the Houston Rockets for guards Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and second-round pick. The Rockets received center Cole Aldrich, guard Daequan Cook and forward Lazar Hayward in the deal.

Harden, the 2011-12 sixth man of the year and a London Olympics gold medalist with Team USA, and the Thunder had been involved in talks about an extension, but the two sides could not find common ground. Instead of risk losing Harden as a restricted free agent after the 2012-13 season, the Thunder decided to make sure they got something in return.

“While I never like having to send out quality players like Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb, this trade gives us a chance to make an immediate impact on the future of our franchise moving forward,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said in a statement. “James Harden was part of Team USA’s gold medal team at the London Olympics and is one of the most skilled shooting guards in the NBA. James, along with the mix of young players we already have in place such as (guard) Jeremy Lin, (forward) Chandler Parsons and (center) Omer Asik give us a very solid group of young, talented players who will form the core of our team.”

The deal cuts to the heart of the plight of small- and mid-market teams such as the Thunder. Can they return all of their top players? Are they willing to have a payroll that surpasses the luxury tax and are they willing to pay the tax when they go over? The Thunder have more than $200 million tied up in salary for forward Kevin Durant, guard Russell Westbrook and forward Serge Ibaka through 2016-17.

Just before midnight ET, Durant tweeted, “Wow.”

http://www.hoopsworld.com/james-harden-trade-by-thunder-shows-its-all-about-the-money/

Sunday, October 28, 2012

NBA News 2012: Oklahoma City Thunder trade should benefit Lakers

English: James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets pulled off a late offseason trade on Saturday that sent James Harden, Cole Aldrich, Daequan Cook and Lazar Hayward to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb and draft considerations.

Harden was a major factor in knocking the Lakers out of the postseason last May.

The move for the Thunder was more about economics than basketball. The new collective-bargaining agreement includes increasingly punitive luxury taxes and Oklahoma City is already heavily invested in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka.

The move will probably benefit the Lakers should the two meet again in the postseason.

Harden is a capable shooter and defender. In the playoffs against the Lakers, he was able to drive into the paint to either score or draw a foul. Certainly the Lakers will have their hands full with Durant and Westbrook in the future, but Harden seemed to be the difference-maker in the series.

On paper, the Lakers have improved over last year, with the additions of Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Jodie Meeks and Antawn Jamison. Of course, the Lakers have to prove they can win even a single game after dropping all eight in the preseason.

Injuries have slowed the team's development, but the Lakers will round into form as they get healthy and grow more comfortable in Coach Mike Brown's offense.

The Thunder are still a major threat. Martin can also shoot and get to the line, but he's not close to Harden as a defender or playmaker. Lamb's game is actually similar to Martin's, although he's younger and more athletic.

In the short term, it would appear the Thunder have taken a step backward. If the Lakers can come together and stay healthy, the road through the Western Conference might have gotten slightly easier.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakersnow/la-sp-ln-thunder-trade-benefits-lakers-20121028,0,1924647.story

Sunday, August 19, 2012

NBA News 2012: Biggest Threats to Miami Heat Championship Throne

Image used at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dwyane_Wade (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Miami Heat do not have many challengers in the East. Well, perhaps they do if Derrick Rose makes a miraculous recovery or if Jeff Green somehow finally lives up to his draft status.

For now, it looks like a clear path to the NBA Finals for LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.

So our attention turns to the West, where a slew of possible Heat usurpers vie for the chance to try. The old-guard Spurs came up short last year, but they have a drive-and-kick attack that exploits some of Miami's weaknesses.

Oklahoma City got bounced in five games by the reigning champions, but it's a young team on the rise. Do we really think Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden will not improve going forward? Their collective growth can overtake the Heat at some point.

The Mavericks have beaten Miami in the finals (duh), and they feature a drive-and-kick, three-point-heavy approach reminiscent of San Antonio's offense. The Lakers also loom, especially when Dwight Howard might be in purple and gold the next time you refresh your Internet.

The Heat are the clear favorites, but nothing in life is guaranteed. A strong Western Conference presents a variety of formidable obstacles.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1281312-power-ranking-biggest-threats-to-miami-heat-championship-throne

Sunday, June 24, 2012

NBA News 2012: James Harden expects to stay in OKC

English: James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The reigning Sixth Man of the Year says he doesn't plan to be coming off anyone's bench but Oklahoma City's.

James Harden said Saturday that he "loves it" with the Thunder and expects a contract extension to be worked out between his agent and Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti.

"They'll do a pretty good job of working it out," Harden said. "I'm focused on several other things right now. But when the time is (right), they'll figure it out and it'll be done."

In his third season, Harden averaged 16.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists while coming off the bench for the Western Conference champions and proved to be a key piece for the young and talented Thunder.

Harden, 22, said he recognizes the Thunder are in a good place, as Oklahoma City features a nucleus of 23-year-old Kevin Durant who won the league's scoring title and 23-year-old point guard Russell Westbrook.

"This team is like a family," Harden said. "Like, we're really brothers. We hang out most of the time every single day. You won't find any other team like this. I love it here."

As of July 1, Harden, along with Serge Ibaka and Eric Maynor, will become eligible to negotiate extensions to their rookie deals. The Thunder already have signed Durant and Westbrook to long-term deals and some wonder if Oklahoma City will be able to keep all of its talent together. Harden, however, cites the unique togetherness of the team as a reason why he might take less money to stay in OKC.

"This is something special here," Harden said. "A dynasty is being built here. So we're winning, we're having fun and we're brothers. The other stuff, you can't buy it."

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8089834/james-harden-oklahoma-city-thunder-says-expects-sign-extension

Friday, June 22, 2012

NBA News 2012: Durant, Thunder still right on time

English: Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunders at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Kevin Durant was not just happy to make it to his first NBA Finals. He wanted to win, as he made abundantly clear after it was all over. He had done the things champions do. He had not just worked incredibly hard in the lockout, but rallied his teammates to do the same. He had embraced the NBA's smallest market. He had resolutely not caved to media pressure to criticize his teammate Russell Westbrook for shooting too much. He had stared down the barrel of an 0-2 hole against the formidable San Antonio Spurs. He had put up huge playoff numbers -- 28.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.2 blocks, 1.7 steals, 52 percent field goal shooting, 37 percent 3-point shooting, 86 percent from the line -- befitting the best scorer in basketball.

And it did not end, as he had intended, with a ring.

Durant says he was surprised how emotional Game 5's 121-106 loss to the Miami Heat made him. He said he could even see real strain in the faces of his parents. And he says he will take that experience and change … just about nothing.

And that's exactly how it should be.

"Whether we would have won or lost," Durant said, "I was going to come back this summer, everybody was going to come back this summer, and work extremely hard, win or lose."

Music to the ears of anyone who wants to see the Oklahoma City Thunder win -- because when you have things working like they are working in Oklahoma City, it's not about how mighty an improvement you can make to open the championship window. The window is wide open. Now it's about how long it can stay that way, how many consecutive days you can keep doing the right thing.

Just keeping it together, for these Thunder, will be enough, and Durant isn't making the slightest hints about flipping the script.

"I wouldn't want to play with anybody else," he says. "I wouldn't want to play for any other city. I'm just blessed to be part of this organization, and hopefully we can get back."

A scene that says a lot about the Thunder franchise: In the hotel gym the other day, a player was being coached -- loudly, boisterously, and with much loving attention -- through a workout. He didn't have one member of the Thunder training staff working with him, he had three. After all, it's the middle of the NBA Finals.

But here's the thing: The player was backup point guard Eric Maynor, who isn't set to play again until late summer after missing all but nine games of the season with a torn ACL. Even a player who didn't matter at all to the Finals was a huge priority in the Finals.

Maynor, who played 22 games with the Utah Jazz before joining the Thunder midway through his rookie season, says he can't imagine why anyone would ever want to play for another team, this being one that really cares about him as a person more than getting a win.

Who'd want to change that?

"Aggressively boring."

That's the phrase that has been rolling around in my head as the Finals coaches, Miami's Erik Spoelstra and Oklahoma City's Scott Brooks, meet the media day after day.

Russell Westbrook has been about as electric as a player can be in these Finals -- a walking storyline. Watch him fly around the court with an invisible jetpack, embarrassing all who would defend him. Watch him make critical errors, embarrassing himself. They say LeBron is "Hollywood as hell," but this guy is all plot.

And yet, to any question about Westbrook, Brooks rolls into a canned ham of a story about how he loves Russell, how Russell never misses a practice and about how the team would never be where it is without him.

Brooks and Spoelstra are as quotable as monks, and it goes beyond not wanting to provide bulletin board material to the other team.

By and large, what both coaches have to say is what Durant is already living: Do the right thing, even when it seems like the wrong thing. Eventually you'll probably get good results.

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/46332/durant-thunder-still-right-on-time

NBA News 2012: LeBron James, Heat dominate Thunder to win NBA championship

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JUNE 12: Serge Ibaka #9 of the Oklahoma City Thunder and LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat go after the opening jump ball in Game One of the 2012 NBA Finals at Chesapeake Energy Arena on June 12, 2012 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Music blared and confetti fell, the only celebration LeBron James really wanted in Miami.

Not that one two summers ago, the welcoming rally where he boasted of multiple titles, perhaps without realizing how hard it would be to win just one.

He dreamed of this moment, with teammates surrounding him and the NBA championship trophy beside him.

"You know, my dream has become a reality now, and it's the best feeling I ever had," James said.

James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Miami Heat in a 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the NBA Finals in five games.

Ripped and ridiculed for the way he announced he was leaving Cleveland and taking his talents to South Beach, it's all worth it now for James.

Best player in the game. Best team in the league.

And now, NBA champion.

"I'm happy now that eight years later, nine years later since I've been drafted, that I can finally say that I'm a champion, and I did it the right way," James said. "I didn't shortcut anything. You know, I put a lot of hard work and dedication in it, and hard work pays off. It's a great moment for myself."

And for his teammates, who watched the Dallas Mavericks celebrate on their floor last year.

James left the game along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a party he's been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft. James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and then soaked in the "MVP! MVP! chants during the raucous postgame.

"I wanted to become a champion someday," James said. "I didn't know exactly when it would happen, but I put in a lot of hard work."

He was a choker last year, the guy who came up small in the fourth quarter, mocked for "shrinking" in the moment while playing with what he called "hatred" in trying to prove his critics wrong.

He came to Miami seeking an easier road to the finals but found it tougher than he expected, the Heat coming up empty last year and nearly getting knocked out in the Eastern Conference finals this time by Boston. Facing elimination there, James poured in 45 points on the road to force a Game 7 and the Heat won it at home.

"It was the hardest thing I've ever done as a basketball player," James said. "You just put a lot of hard work into it and you hope that one day it will pay off for you."

This time, with a chance to clinch, the Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew the game open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=320621014

Thursday, June 21, 2012

NBA News 2012: Champs! James' triple-double lifts Heat to title

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - JANUARY 30: Forward LeBron James #6 talks with Dwyane Wade #3 and Chris Bosh #1 of the Miami Heat during play against the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center on January 30, 2011 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Best player in the game. Best team in the league.

LeBron James has found it all since taking his talents to South Beach two summers ago.

Add NBA champion to the list.

''Happiest day of my life,'' he said.

James had 26 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists, leading the Heat in a 121-106 rout of the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday night to win the NBA Finals in five games.

All that was left was a celebration nine years in the making.

''It means everything,'' James said moments after the win, moments before being named the playoffs MVP to go along with his regular-season award. ''I made a difficult decision to leave Cleveland but I understood what my future was about ... I knew we had a bright future (in Miami). This is a dream come true for me. This is definitely when it pays off.''

James left the game along with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh for good with 3:01 remaining for a round of hugs and the start for a celebration he's been waiting for since arriving in the NBA out of high school as the No. 1 pick of the 2003 draft. James hopped up and down in the final minutes, shared a long hug with opponent Kevin Durant, and then smiled as he watched the confetti rain down from the rafters.

''It's about damn time. It's about damn time,'' James said.

The Heat took control in the second quarter, briefly lost it and blew the game open again in the third behind their role players, James content to pass to wide-open 3-point shooters while the Thunder focused all their attention on him.

The disappointment of losing to Dallas in six games a year ago vanished in a blowout of the demoralized Thunder, who got 32 points and 11 rebounds from Durant.

Bosh and Wade, the other members of the Big Three who sat alongside James as he promised titles at his Miami welcoming party two summers ago, both had strong games. Bosh, who broke down in tears as the Heat left their own court after losing Game 6 last year, finished with 24 points and Wade scored 20. The Heat also got a huge boost from Mike Miller, who made seven 3-pointers and scored 23 points.

That all made it easier for James, the most heavily scrutinized player in the league since his departure from Cleveland, when he announced he was ''taking his talents to South Beach'' on a TV special called ''The Decision'' that was criticized everywhere from talk shows and water coolers straight to the commissioner's office. James has said he wishes he handled things differently, but few who watched the Cavaliers fail to assemble championship talent around him could have argued with his desire to depart.

He found in Miami a team where he never had to do it alone, though he reminded everyone during this sensational postseason run that he still could when necessary. He got support whenever he needed it in this series, from Shane Battier's 17 points in Game 2 to Mario Chalmers' 25 in Game 4.

In the clincher it was Miller, banged-up from so many injuries that he limped from the bench to scorer's table when he checked in. He made his fourth 3-pointer of the half right before James' fast-break basket capped a 15-2 run that extended Miami's lead to 53-36 with 4:42 remaining in the first half.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/heat-lead-thunder-59-49-022516449--nba.html;_ylt=AjDmeCADhZg.eSL3Sk6c3405nYcB

Monday, June 18, 2012

NBA News 2012: Thunder waste tons of chances in Game 3 loss

Russell Westbrook dribbling the ball during Oklahoma City Thunder vs Boston Celtics at TD BankNorth Garden. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For the next two days, the Oklahoma City Thunder will lament plenty of things.

Missed free throws. More foul trouble. Late-game turnovers. And perhaps above all else, four bad minutes that went a long way to costing them Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Miami Heat.

A 10-point lead coming down the stretch of the third quarter became a two-point deficit entering the fourth, and the Thunder simply couldn't keep overcoming mistakes in what became a 91-85 Heat victory on Sunday night. Miami now leads the best-of-seven championship series 2-1, with Game 4 back on its floor Tuesday night.

''We gave ourself a chance to win. That's what you want to do on the road,'' Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. ''The game was basically anybody's ballgame that fourth quarter.''

True. Except it probably should have not been that way.

Down by eight in the early going, the Thunder clamped down defensively to change the complexion of the evening, taking away the easy paths to the basket that Miami feasted upon in the first half and forcing the Heat to shoot from outside. It simply couldn't have worked better for the Thunder, with Miami missing 11 straight jumpers in one stretch and finishing 5 for 31 on shots taken from outside the paint for the game.

The Heat needed help to win. And the Thunder accommodated them, with mistake after mistake.

''This is not over,'' Thunder guard Kevin Durant said. ''It's not over.''

He repeated the words for emphasis. If the Thunder repeat the mistakes, then it might be over.

''Game 4 is crucial,'' Thunder guard James Harden said. ''It's the series. We don't want to be down 3-1.''

Durant finished with 25 points for the Thunder, who got 19 from Russell Westbrook and 10 points and 12 rebounds from Kendrick Perkins.

LeBron James led everyone with 29 points and 14 rebounds for Miami, which got a 25-point, seven-rebound, seven-assist effort from Dwyane Wade and 10 points and 11 rebounds from Chris Bosh.

''This team is not going away,'' Heat forward Shane Battier said of the Thunder. ''This is an evenly matched series. Literally every game has been decided by four or five possessions. We just want to be on the right side of those possessions when it counts.''

Like they were on Sunday night.

Derek Fisher's four-point play with 4:33 left in the third quarter capped an 18-5 run by the Thunder, who rendered most of the 20,003 people in the building silent during that stretch. Oklahoma City led 64-54, the scoreboard showing those numbers just 68 seconds after Durant went to the bench with four fouls and a mere 28 seconds after Fisher checked in to give Westbrook a rest.

So the best two Oklahoma City players were out of the game.

If the Heat were going to turn things around, it had to be in that moment. This is where that aforementioned help enters the picture. Battier and James Jones scored six Miami points 22 seconds apart - after both got fouled trying 3-pointers, on a night where the Heat could barely make anything from the outside.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/thunder-waste-tons-chances-game-030415538--nba.html;_ylt=An7xzqQjONDtv1wJSSYL5lW8vLYF

NBA News 2012: Kevin Durant sits idly by as Heat make comeback to win Game 3

English: Oklahoma City Thunder Forward Kevin Durant at the House of Hoops in Bronx, NY (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Kevin Durant stood stoically alongside an arena wall late Sunday as he waited his turn to explain the Oklahoma City Thunder's second straight NBA Finals loss. He was lost in his own thoughts until the frustration of the evening was finally too much for even him to contain. He belted out a choice expletive before making his way to the stage.

Durant had reason to be mad. Foul trouble limited him for the second straight game and sent him to the bench for the final five minutes, 41 seconds of the third quarter as a 10-point lead for the Thunder turned into a two-point deficit. Durant never regained his rhythm, and the Heat went on to win 91-85 and take a 2-1 lead in the Finals.

“He’s got to play smarter,” Thunder center Kendrick Perkins said. “Those were fouls. Maybe the charge was kind of questionable, but at the end of the day, they’re fouls. We need him on the court at all times, so he may have to give up a layup. He just has to play smarter, and I think Kevin will.”

Said Durant: “It was frustrating.”

For the game's first 2½ quarters, Durant played as dominant as he has throughout the series. After burying one jumper over Dwyane Wade, he turned to the Heat guard and said, "You're too small." He threw down a two-handed dunk in the third quarter then followed with a running bank shot to push OKC's lead to nine. The Thunder were in control, and Durant looked unstoppable.At least until he picked up his fourth foul as Wade baited him into contact with a fake. Durant went to the bench after Wade's first free throw and the Thunder never recovered.

“I knew he had three [fouls],” Wade said. “I knew this team was very athletic, so sometimes you go in there, you can’t leave your feet. So when I went in there and he jumped, I knew I had him for his fourth at that time.”

Not long after, Thunder coach Scott Brooks sat point guard Russell Westbrook for the rest of the third quarter because he was playing erratically. With Durant and Westbrook watching, the Heat outscored the Thunder 16-7 to close the quarter.

"I had a nice rhythm going on the offensive end," Durant said, "and for it to just stop like that by me going out of the game because of fouls is kind of tough."

Should Brooks have gambled and left Durant on the court with four fouls?

“That’s coach’s call,” Durant said.

Brooks put Durant and Westbrook back on the court to start the final quarter. Durant picked up his fifth foul on a three-point play by LeBron James that extended the Heat's lead to seven with 3:47 remaining.

“I saw KD going for the charge, so I kind of went away from him a little bit and was able to get the block,” James said.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--kevin-durant-sits-idly-by-as-heat-make-game-3-comeback.html;_ylt=AoxdpSNWmnlVfr7Lty9KKYm8vLYF

NBA News 2012: Thunder can't match the resolve or hunger of LeBron James and the Heat

LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers in action against the Washington Wizards at the Verizon Center on April 2, 2009 in Washington, DC. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The championship is waiting for LeBron James now, within his grasp, a confluence borne of configuring his mind and body with the scattered state of these Oklahoma City Thunder. He thinks about those Dallas Mavericks and the NBA Finals, the way the moment made him reluctant, afraid, and something’s hardened with him. He doesn’t cower. He doesn’t scare. Finally, LeBron James is coming.

All these mistakes, all these regrettable moments, belong to someone else now. James pushes for his destiny, two victories away, and a collapse now would be the most colossal of all. He is too wise to lose to the Thunder. He’s too great. Beyond James’ genius, Oklahoma City gave Miami Game 3 on Sunday night, an avalanche of AAU offense, inexplicable turnovers and foolish fouls conspiring in a 91-85 loss.

James delivered his 29 points and 14 rebounds for a 2-1 series lead, and he made Thunder star Kevin Durant miss everything on two telltale possessions late in the fourth quarter. He pushed Durant deep into foul trouble. James obliterated Durant the way his two trips to the NBA Finals, his three MVP awards, his successes and failures, demand he devour everything between him and the celebratory podium.

LeBron James has relentlessly attacked Kevin Durant and the Thunder in the Finals. (Getty Images)

"He’s just totally a different player," Miami’s Dwyane Wade said. "Up until the Finals last year, he was having an amazing playoffs. He had a game where he struggled and he kind of let that get into his mind a little bit – and he was thinking too much.

“Now he’s playing. He’s on attack. When he puts his head down to go to the rim, you have no other choice but to foul him or he’s going to finish."

All these Heat stars have come to embrace the failures of a year ago, come to let it wash over, coat them with resolve. The Mavericks taught them about poise and treating the Finals moment with the respect it deserves. The Mavericks were the perfect storm to beat the Heat a year ago: Stars understanding this was a final chance, replete with a rim-protecting center, spectacular shooting and a great coach.

"We’ve got to understand that over there in the locker room, there’s a team that really wants it," Perkins grumbled. "They’ve got a couple guys over there who want this. … They want it. Nothing’s going to be given to us, we’ve got to go take it. We were just careless and sloppy. … We’ve got to know that we are in the Finals.

"We’ve got to trust each other. Tonight, we got back to 'I' basketball, the individual shooting over two and three people."

James has transformed his game to take advantage of these unfocused Thunder. He is in perpetual attack mode, unabashedly assaulting the rim, daring mere mortals to step between the basket and his 6-foot-9, 270-pound locomotive. Once, he played the part of the contrarian, refusing to use his Karl Malone physique in the low post simply because, well, everyone told him he should use it.

As one former member of the Cleveland Cavaliers staff texted, "We tried to post him and he had great success at times, but he wouldn’t commit to it." He used to live on the perimeter in isolations and pick-and-rolls for the Cavaliers, but his championship destiny was forever following this blueprint. He had to take the path of most resistance, a fitting completion to his jagged journey to glory. The Dallas debacle lingers for these Heat, but mostly for James. He was the reason Miami lost a year ago, and he’d be the reason that they win this time. In the way James backed down a year ago, he’s hurtling himself forward now. In the way he shrunk, he’s rising now. Chris Bosh insisted, "We carry that pain with us. We think about it every day."

And that’s so important for these Heat, so much a part of why for the sluggish intervals – the wildly up-and-down performances of everyone but James and Shane Battier in these Finals – they’re fueled with a ferocity that ultimately manifests itself into execution and performance. James has come out of a place of accountability, out of the realization that it wasn’t his teammates, his coaches, his critics responsible for flaking out in past pressure situations. It was him, and it will be on him to elevate himself into something more, into the kind of champion that his talent demands he become.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--thunder-can-t-match-the-resolve-or-hunger-of-lebron-james-and-the-heat.html;_ylt=AsRHzekRxU6vKiolMIwdMPw5nYcB

NBA News 2012: The Russell Westbrook Project

Russell Westbrook as a member of the National Basketball Association's Oklahoma City Thunder during the 2008-09 NBA season. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)OK, so Oklahoma City point guard Russell Westbrook does not literally steal the ball from superstar teammate Kevin Durant, as this hilarious piece of Internet humor would suggest.

It only seems that way to a vocal legion of critics that recently added ESPN analyst Magic Johnson. The patron saint of point guards said Westbrook’s performance in Game 2 against Miami, in which he missed his first seven shots as the Thunder fell behind by as many as 17, was the worst display of floor generalship he’s ever seen in the Finals.

Criticism is definitely warranted. Westbrook has taken eight more shots than Durant through two games (50 to 42) despite shooting 17 percentage points worse (40 to 57).

But some fascinating research by ESPN shows that the Thunder are actually more successful, not less, when Westbrook has a bigger role in the offense than Durant. That might seem counter-intuitive in light of Durant’s status as the league’s three-time scoring champion. But one of the best features of Durant’s game is his efficiency, and efficiency almost always drops as usage (plays that complete a possession) increases. So letting Durant pick his spots while encouraging Westbrook’s aggressiveness, instead of outright deferring, is actually the best strategy for OKC.

Especially considering Westbrook does know when to throttle back. Durant has taken almost five times as many shots in the final minute of close games this season.

The key for Westbrook, as with so many other young players, is to strike the right balance. While the Thunder thrive when he’s asserting himself, they’re also just 12-12 during his career when he takes at least 24 shots, as he’s done in both Finals games.

Westbrook has three things going for him as his development unfolds:

* He’s really, really good. You’d be hard-pressed to find five more athletic point guards in recent NBA history. Not even Tony Parker, as speedy and quick as they come, can match his raw explosiveness. And far from being a raw athlete, Westbrook also proven to be exceptionally hard-working. In addition to adding a deadly mid-range pull-up to his arsenal, he’s cut his turnovers almost in half during the playoffs. (Another sign of maturity: He hasn’t posted on Twitter in months.)

* His coach, Scott Brooks, believes in him. Much like Gregg Popovich has done with Manu Ginobili, Brooks realizes that Westbrook needs a healthy dose of leeway. If you want the game-changing plays –like this – you’re going to have to tolerate regular flights of fancy. ”We need Russell to score,” Brooks said on Saturday. “I know some of you don’t like that, but Russell is a very, very gifted, talented player, and we would not be in this position without Russell.”

* Durant’s lack of ego. The two don’t always get along. Witness their alleged altercation during a game against Memphis earlier this year in which Westbrook shot 0 for 13 from the floor. But for the most part they’ve meshed exceptionally well, on and off the court. That’s in large part because Durant, despite being no worse than the second-best player in the world, simply doesn’t care about petty trivialities like sharing the spotlight.

Indeed, he readily shares it, refusing to participate in postgame press conferences without Westbrook at his side.

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2012/06/17/the-russell-westbrook-project/

Sunday, June 17, 2012

NBA News 2012: Three things to consider before Game 3 of the NBA Finals

English: Lebron James: Dunking Washington Wizards v/s Miami Heat March 30, 2011 Italiano: Lebron James Camera: Canon EOS-1D Mark IV License on Flickr: CC-BY-SA-2.0 Flickr tags: LeBron James (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat will tip off Game 3 of the 2012 NBA Finals on Sunday night, in the midst of an evocative and entertaining series that is knotted at 1-1. In quick-hit format, here are three things to dig as we head into Game 3:

1. Oklahoma City "quick start"

Be quick, but don't hurry. And don't press. But come out aggressive. But not too aggressively. Remember what we talked about, but play freely. Understand that the first quarter means as much as the fourth quarter, but don't try to win a game in just 12 minutes of playing. Concentrate on utilizing your strengths, but don't let that stop you from hitting the open man and sharing the ball. It's now or never, but we've got a long way to go.

After holding their own in the opening minutes against the Heat in the regular season, the Thunder have been badly outplayed in the opening stanzas of both Games 1 and 2. Five days into this series, they've no doubt had their ears rung about the slow starts, and you can bet the focus will be there as the team attempts to make a point early in Game 3. Of course, too much focus can give you a pounding headache. It's a delicate balance, as the Thunder attempt to adapt to the pressure that they're about to put on themselves in Game 3's first quarter, and while it won't decide the series it will be fascinating to watch.

2. Miami, playing favorites all over again

The Heat don't do this very well. The team, especially in its second-year incarnation, has only played its best when either behind or faced with talk of impending elimination against the likes of the Indiana Pacers, Boston Celtics and, in a way, these Thunder. Kevin Durant's fourth-quarter play in Game 1, mixed with LeBron James' "struggles" down the stretch even had some who had picked the Thunder in six or seven games thinking sweep with this series, and yet the Heat roared back to convincingly take Game 3 and the home-court advantage in one significant (and impressive) swoop.

And now what? Besides those damned expectations.

The Heat are ahead, the should-be favorites considering they've now turned this into a five-game series with three to play in Miami. And though we're not particularly enjoying pretending to be inside this team's collective head, the postseason results (and iffy play while working from ahead) speaks for itself. None of this will matter, though, if the Heat's offense returns to quick cuts, quick shots before the Thunder defense realizes that it only has a few players to guard.

3. 2-3-2 to 4-1

We know the history behind the 2-3-2 format. That in 27 years only five teams (two home squads and three road teams usually working with a distinct advantage after a close home loss in the opening two contests) have swept the middle three. We know, as sportswriters like yours truly endlessly tell you, that it's incredibly tough to beat any team three games in a row, much less a great team that is matched quite well up against your talent level.

That doesn't mean it can't happen. And this doesn't mean that the Miami Heat, after keeping things close early and attacking with passion and (most importantly to me) fearlessness in a way that doesn't translate to a home run three-pointer in the fourth quarter, can't pull out three close wins in a row. This is quite do-able, should Miami's focus stay on one contest at a time, and not the series at a whole. Plenty of clichés in that last paragraph? You bet. You also know they're right, though.

This is an evenly matched series that I still believe will go the distance in spite of the 2-3-2 format. Evenly matched series can also end after four or five close games, though, with a batch of close wins belying the eventual 4-0 or 4-1 final tally. The Heat probably won't pull off a run like that, but they could. You know they could.

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-ball-dont-lie/three-things-consider-game-3-nba-finals-175528444--nba.html;_ylt=AnN1XYaCXPI0WY2SQTJ2tiu8vLYF

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