I hate the tragically overused word epic, but by all accounts, the Melo-Goodman game Tuesday in Baltimore was exactly that. Mainly because it featured maybe the best one-on-one showdown you could pick out in today’s NBA game. The King vs. The Durantula.
LeBron’s team got the best on the scoreboard, but KD got the best in the box score, lighting LeBron up for 59. There’s already some solid video of the face-off featuring two of the games biggest, baddest superstars, but via the indispensable Ball Is Life, here’s your definitive video from the night. Enjoy, two or three hundred times.
The Baltimore Sun’s recap of last night’s game: “The two superstars did not go out of their way to acknowledge each other, but when it was time to play ball, the two best players on the planet made it perfectly clear they would be guarding one another. It might not have been personal, but it certainly felt serious. Over the next 40 minutes, the pair exchanged a series of backboard-ratting dunks, 3-pointers and even the occasional glare. It wasn’t always great basketball, but it was often great theater. Durant scored 59 points to James’ 38, but James team, the Melo League All-Stars, held on for a 149-141 victory over Durant’s Goodman League All-Stars.”
KD after the game: “I have so much respect for LeBron .. He’ll go down as one of the greatest players to ever play the game. To have this opportunity against him, I’m just working on what I’ve been working on all summer. I had to take advantage of that. It was fun. He’s a great defender and a great scorer. I try to play my hardest on defense against him. I try to be as aggressive as I can offensively.” Read more…
If there was ever a place to be for a Thunder fan Tuesday night, it was in Baltimore for the Melo-Goodman game that featured Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, LeBron James, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony.
It pretty much came down to this: KD’s team lost 149-141, but Durant, with LeBron checking him, dropped 59 points, pretty much holding his team in the game by himself.
Actual competitive basketball being played in an actual arena with actual NBA players! No, this isn’t another Drew League versus Goodman League showdown — it’s better. It’s Eurobasket 2011 and if you’re completely starved for some quality hoops, then welcome your all-you-can-eat buffet of basketball.
You’re probably sick of people trying to convince you how quality the European game has become, and while no, it’s not the NBA, it is about as good of basketball as you’re going to get. And with the labor negotiations going about as well as Charles Barkley in a marathon, this might be one of your last chances to get competitive basketball.
The EuroBasket tournament features 24 countries all with the opportunity to put away an automatic bid to the 2012 Olympics in London. The top two finishers get an automatic bid while four bids to the Pre-Olympic qualifying tournament (for third through sixth) are at stake as well. But it’s not only about the Olympic bids. It’s about taking home a title for your country against the top competition in Europe. It’s a big deal.
It starts up Aug. 31 and runs through Sept. 18. It’s going to be a frantic few weeks of hoops with big names like Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowitzki, Luol Deng and Tony Parker. Other than it just providing a solid little basketball fix for us junkies, it also has a pretty decent Thunder connection in it. Read more…
KD and Brandon Jennings had a nice little East vs. West debate on Twitter last night. Highlight: “plus me jwall, Selby(who cooks u on the regular), cousins, Gary Neal, Rudy gay c’mon now.”
Matt Moore of CBSSports.com on what a hard cap will do to trades: “Trades won’t stop in the NBA. But the blockbuster, multi-team, multi-player trades that have come to define each February and draft night for fans could be a thing of the past if a hard cap is introduced, as the movement within the league becomes more stagnant and difficult to manage. And for teams who have committed money to marginal stars and were looking to clear the books with an expiring-contract trade, that could have long-term effects for the future.” Read more…
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KD’s movie will be shot in Baton Rouge, not OKC, partly because of the lockout: “Because of the lockout, as well as the small window before the start of the film’s production, the studio and other deal brokers were unable to communicate directly and effectively with key Thunder sponsors to gauge whether they’d be interested in supporting the movie. “With the NBA lockout,” Simpson said, “there are so many restrictions to what the NBA will allow and won’t allow that at the last minute we found out that some of the people we brought to the table would be unable to participate.”
Rob Peterson for ESPN.com on Serge Ibaka: “As Durant and Westbrook did with Team USA in its run to the 2010 world championship, Ibaka should gain invaluable experience that could help him turn OKC’s big two into a Great Plains version of the Big Three. Which, if you think about it, is a nice summer job if you can get it.” Read more…
It’s Oklahoma City’s turn in ESPN.com’s series analyzing each team in the 5-on-5 format. Covered in it was if KD will be basketball’s best player at some point, if the Thunder have the 4 and 5 spots settled, if they’re the Western favorites, if Harden should start and naturally, if the Thunder should look at trading you-know-who.
Correct answers if you’re scoring at home: No you don’t trade Westbrook, LeBron’s still the best, yes the 4 and 5 are settled (as much as they can be for now), no the Thunder aren’t quite the Western favorites yet and finally yes, you start Harden. Would you look at that — I got all five right!
Have a look and make sure everyone points out at once that yes, in fact you CAN win a title with Perk as your center because, you know, it’s already been done.
Happy Saturday. Thank you for your support of DT. Basketball, please.
You probably already watched “State of Nate,” the new little web series featuring crap about Nate Robinson. Well now from the people that brought you “State of Nate” comes a new web series about everyone’s favorite hoopster. It’s not officially out yet, but enjoy a teaser to KD’s new web series, titled “35th Hour.”
How about some Friday trivia with absolutely no reward for the winner? Sounds awesome right? I’m totally ripping this off from TrueHoop brother Raptors Republic and while the Thunder doesn’t have nearly as many surprising answers as the Raptors, there are a few interesting notes to take out of this. Like do you know who actually led the Thunder in Offensive Rating last season? Wait, don’t answer that yet. That’s one of the questions.
So check out these 15 questions and then see if you got them right with the answers below. And if you got them all correct, just keep it to yourself because no one’s going to believe you anyway. Read more…
Royal Ivey to Grantland: “Grantland: Complete this sentence: The Thunder would have beaten the Mavericks if … Ivey: “The Thunder would have beaten the Mavericks if it was 2013. It’s experience. Those guys have been there before. They tasted a little bit losing in ’06 against the Heat, and experience goes a long way. They got that savvy and they played with it. It was their year, and they won and went through everybody and they played well. That goes to show: Experience does win championships.”
The Smoking Section on KD and hip-hop: “This brings us back to Kevin Durant, who happens to regularly speak about music on his @KDTrey5 Twitter page and even appeared on Wale’s More About Nothing mixtape. Already widely considered a top five player in the league, and the world’s best scorer, KD’s visibility still trailed behind the likes of Kobe Byrant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. What a difference one summer can make. Durant seems to have adopted Hip Hop’s method of creating a buzz by releasing a maelstrom of viral videos that show him touring the world and hooping at different spots forming a genuine frenzy around his name. He’s not just a superstar seen on TV for a few months out of the year anymore. This guy could literally show up in your city, ball at your court and blend right in. As fans, we appreciate stuff like that. We love it, actually.” Read more…
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com with an interesting column: “Better yet: If I were the players? I’d seize control of the bettering-the-game dialogue and become the lone voice in the wilderness talking about issues fans care about. Clearly, the average fan doesn’t want to hear about owners and players griping about money. But what if the players, as part of their September pro league in Las Vegas, convened a committee of All-Stars, mid-level players, Hall of Famers and other legends for a meeting of the minds on how to make the game better? It might result in some viable ideas, and would put the players in the position of discussing the game instead of their opposition to a hard cap and the elimination of guaranteed contracts.”
KD’s going to be in a movie. All we know is it’s a Warner Bros. joint, Durant is in it and it’s going to have a basketball subplot. It’s supposed to start production in September in either OKC or Baton Rouge.
At this point we don’t have any information as to what the movie will be about. Judging by the above picture, I think we all can agree KD would be a pretty solid Clark Kent or maybe Malcolm X. But right now, it’s all up in the air. It could be anything from a 10th Air Bud movie to Space Jam 2 to a feature length version of “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper”. (Is that two “Hangin’ With Mr. Cooper” jokes in the last month? I need new material.)
Since we don’t know yet, I figured it was a good idea to exercise the creative power of the DT nation to see what some of you’ve got. Trey Kerby of The Basketball Jones had a few, but let’s see what you fine people came up with. Consider everything sic’d. Read more…
Jeff Green admitted to Yahoo! that joining the Celtics was rough: “They’ve been together for a number of years,” Green said of the Celtics. “They’ve already won a championship, they’ve already have a system, they already have their chemistry and that bond on that team. It was tough to go into that situation.”
Holly MacKenzie of TBJ on KD’s movie ventures: “To be clear: In no way do I think Durant is suddenly going to turn into a different person or player than the one he’s been for his NBA career thus far, but there is a lesson to be learned here. It’s the same lesson we’re supposed to learn every time we build someone up like this. I’m not saying Durant doesn’t deserve to be praised and applauded for his professionalism and affability. I’m glad he’s getting his shine. I just hope we all recognize that he’s not perfect. He of the otherworldly talent and superhero skills is still human.” Read more…
Nick from 
