On today’s very busy NBA slate, there are two nationally televised games. The first will be a battle of Western Conference powers as the Los Angeles Lakers travel to Oklahoma City to take on the Thunder in a rematch of their epic first round playoff series from last year. The second game, which tips [...]
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I’ve already gone over the Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson trade for Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic on the Boston side of things so now it’s time to take a look at what the Thunder got out of this deal. The Thunder won themselves this deal, easily, and if we are taking into account [...] Of all of the teams in the top half of the Eastern Conference, the Boston Celtics were the club you’d least expect to make a move. The Miami Heat still need an extra piece or two on the bench at the point guard and center spots before their team can be considered complete, the [...]
And this isn’t one of those nine game winning streaks with a pair of games against the Warriors, a trip to New Jersey and home games against the Pacers, Pistons and Bucks. No, the Hornets have played against some of the league’s very best teams during this streak. They have three overtime victories in this stretch (over the Magic, Rockets and Grizzlies), a 41-point win over the Atlanta Hawks, a 24-point demolition of the division rival Spurs and close wins over the Bobcats, Raptors and Thunder. Their most recent victory over the Thunder was a thriller. Not to say this was a very entertaining game from start to finish, because, frankly, the first quarter of this game was nearly unwatchable. But the Hornets and Thunder went toe-to-toe for 48 minutes, with no team creating more than a five point lead after the first period. New Orleans, who lead the NBA in points allowed per game, gave up just 89 points to Oklahoma City. During the nine game stretch, the Hornets have allowed just 96.5 points per 100 possessions, which would be the number one mark in the NBA if kept up for an entire year. What’s more impressive is that, on the entire year, the Hornets have the third best defensive efficiency in the league, trailing only the Bulls and Celtics. The Hornets played stifling defense for most of the game against the Thunder, forcing Kevin Durant to take 18 shots to score 16 points from the field while holding Russell Westbrook to just 18 points. In crunch time, we saw what we have for many years. Chris Paul and David West took over the game. First it was Paul, knocking down a hero three to tie the ballgame and then it was West, raining in impossible jumpshots with the defense right in his face. With a minute left, following a Westbrook putback to give the Thunder a two-point lead, Paul orchestrated a beautiful play, resulting in a pinpoint behind-the-back pass to West, who promptly knocked down the 19-footer to tie it back up. Oklahoma City actually had a chance to hold the ball for the game-winning shot but their inbounds pass with 15 seconds left was stolen by Paul. On a set inbounds play, the Hornets put the ball in David West’s hands with nine seconds left and let him isolate. He wasn’t given any room but he still managed to hit a jumper in the face of Serge Ibaka with .5 seconds left. The Thunder threw away the ball on the last play of the game and the Hornets captured yet another victory. Paul finished the game with 24 points, nine assists, four rebounds and three steals (two of which came in the final half of the fourth quarter) and West overcame early foul trouble to add 20 hard earned points of his own, eight of which came in the final four minutes of the game. More on the Hornets and their play so far this season after the break… The Oklahoma City Thunder supplied the NBA with a welcomed contrast to the Miami Heat situation this summer when General Manager Sam Presti agreed to a five-year contract extension that was announced by Durant in a tweet. After going through the saga that was the Decision, anti-LeBron crowds were willing to declare Durant the new [...] With 25 seconds left in the game, Kevin Durant stepped to the free throw line looking to ice the game away for the Oklahoma City Thunder. As the ball was tossed to him by the ref, Durant heard chants of “M-V-P” come down from the rafters. He couldn’t help but crack a smile. And [...] Oklahoma City Thunder 2008-2009 Season Record: 23-59. Fifth place in Northwest Division. 2008-2009 Team MVP: Kevin Durant Key Additions: James Harden, Etan Thomas, Kevin Ollie, Serge Ibaka, B.J. Mullens Key Departures: Earl Watson, Malik Rose, Desmond Mason, Chucky Atkins, Damien Wilkins, Robert Swift Projected Starting Five: PG – Russell Westbrook SG – James Harden [...] For weeks and weeks, I have been watching Kobe Bryant mix videos on YouTube that were made with Kanye West’s “Amazing” playing in the background. I soaked it up as if he was the only player on the planet that would be as fun to watch despite playing the most fundamentally sound basketball that [...] The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to terms with free agent forward Joe Smith, according to a source close to the team. The deal is believed to be worth the league’s veteran minimum for one year. Smith was picked first overall by the Golden State Warriors in 1995, and has not lived up to first [...] |
     
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