Those past six days were fun. After months of darkness and doom and gloom rhetoric from both players and owners, there was finally a little reason for optimism. And it wasn’t just in the form of Roger Mason’s non-tweet. Pretty much everywhere you looked, there was reason to believe an NBA season could be starting on time.
The turn of the calendar to September ramped up the pressure to get a deal done. Backs are to the wall in terms of getting training camps and preseason in. Whether it was just unbridled optimism from the media or there was good reason for it, the buildup to Tuesday’s labor meeting in New York had people believing in something good. We all waited for reps to emerge and proudly proclaim, “Looking like a season! HOW U!!!”
Alas, that didn’t happen. In fact, quite the opposite. David Stern put it this way: “We did not have a great day.” Ken Berger of CBSSports.com has been all over the labor negotiations and he passed along some pretty unsettling news. A sampling: Read more…
It’s easy to forget that Reggie Jackson is even on the roster. A lot of people ask me, “So if James Harden starts, who comes off the bench and scores?” I think the obvious answer is, Reggie Jackson is supposed to. I’m not entirely certain of what his position or official role will be, but obviously he’s got some kind of place on this team. Maybe it means Eric Maynor (or Russell Westbrook) are expendable in the future, or maybe it’s just Sam Presti doing what he does and stockpiling talent.
Zach Lowe of SI talking about the Perk trade again: “Perkins is a nice asset when he’s 100 percent, but he wasn’t close to full strength last season after recovering from a knee injury (and then suffering another one after his return). And so Boston gambled — on Davis, on its team chemistry, on Green’s ability to provide badly needed depth behind Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, and on the idea that Perkins, unwilling to sign the biggest extension Boston could offer, was a replaceable long-term part. (And remember: Boston got the Clippers’ protected 2012 first-rounder in that deal, something that could be a huge asset down the road.) Shaq is right that the Perkins trade was a risky move, but it was much bigger than him.”
Shaquille O’Neal advised Danny Ainge not to trade Perk: “At 39, I wasn’t mentally on the down slope. But I used to feel really terrible after scoring eight points. This ain’t me, the Diesel scoring eight points. My mind was on winning the whole thing, and we had a chance to get the second spot (in the Eastern Conference), and we ended up getting the fourth spot. I even told (Boston General Manager) Danny Ainge not to do the Kendrick Perkins deal with Oklahoma City. I told them I might not be ready, and I’m definitely not coming back. Those guys did what they’ve got to do. I wasn’t surprised; I’ve seen it before. They say all that blah, blah, but you know it’s always going to be something different.” Also, he’s terrible at remember how many stars are in the league.
Derek Fisher told players to get ready for a season, via SI.com: “On the heels of Roger Mason’s now-infamous tweet in which the NBPA vice president wrote, “Looking like a season. How u,” but later claimed his account was hacked, one league source claims that union president Derek Fisher text-messaged numerous players last week indicating that some progress had been made and imploring them to be physically prepared just in case the season started on time.” Read more…
Morning Thunderers. Thank you for your support of DT. Say a little lockout prayer today.
NBA 2K11 was a pretty amazing game. So naturally you’d have to assume 2K12 would be fairly excellent as well. And judging by the trailer for it, I’d say it will be. What impresses me most about it is the attention to detail. Like Derrick Rose’s jab-step, step-back jumper really looks like Derrick Rose’s jab-step, step-back jumper. Notice Russell Westbrook’s dunk later in the trailer. It really looks like a vintage Russell Westbrook angry one-handed dunk. 2K12 looks so good that even if there isn’t a season, it’ll serve as a somewhat decent alternative.
Oklahoma City’s record versus the Hornets in 2010-11: 3-1 Average score: 96.3 – 91.3 Kevin Durant’s average and shooting percentage: 29.0 ppg, 45.5 percent Games against them in 2011-12: Four
How they match up: Maybe one of the most entertaining head-to-head matchups in the league is Chris Paul versus Russell Westbrook. Both are extremely feisty, emotional point guards and they don’t hold back one bit in going after each other. The Hornets rely so much on CP3 that in games where Westbrook played as well or better than Paul, Oklahoma City handled the Hornets. Because looking at the Hornets roster, there’s not a ton of help. The Thunder didn’t play them after the Perk trade but if anything, this current Thunder roster matches up much better with the Hornets than the old one.
David West may or may not be back in New Orleans but substituting Serge Ibaka for 40 minutes on West instead of Jeff Green is a major help. Read more…
Noam Schiller of HP joins the KD debate: “Kevin Durant’s ceiling is incredibly high. In fact, it is so high, that it is almost invisible. If someone were to ascend to the top of the Durant Potential Tower, he would probably discover that the ceiling was made of glass – thus enabling us a perfect view of the sky above, and taunting us into believing that the ceiling wasn’t even there. But it exists. And while it shouldn’t prevent Kevin Durant from being one of the best ever, it should stop him from dominating his peers, just by virtue of them being so ridiculously good as well. This isn’t a knock on Durant as much as an ode to just how good basketball players have become and can still develop. Durant is an evolutionary step to be sure, but as far as the hierarchy goes, he still has a few links to look up to.”
Ziller brings Russell Westbrook into the conversation: “Among the top scorers in the NBA, Russell Westbrook is by far the top Creator. He doesn’t just lead the pack in Creation Ratio among top scorers: by our estimates of assisted misses and free throw opportunities, Westbrook created more shots per 40 minutes than any other player, with 29. Derrick Rose came in second with 26 shots created per 40 minutes, and LeBron James followed at No. 3 with 23 and change. (Kobe Bryant was just behind LeBron.) Westbrook fits all the criteria for a prolific creator: he racks up assists (9.4 per 40), he takes a lot of shots (19.5 field goals and 8.8 free throws per 40) and his makes are almost never assisted by a teammate (with an assisted percentage of just 17.4 percent). He’s a perfect storm of creation.” Read more…
Great Scott, Nike has done it. They’ve made the shoes from Back to the Future. And best of all, they’ve done it for great reasons.
Beginning, well, yesterday, 1,500 pairs of the new Nike Mag shoes will be auctioned off on Ebay with the auctions benefiting the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s research.
And to help promote it, Nike’s put out this little video featuring Bill Hader, KD and Christopher Lloyd. For a kid that pretty much knelt and worshiped Back to the Future and thought Marty McFly was the coolest kid ever to kiss his mother, this video basically has it all. KD, the DeLorean, actual shoes from Back to the Future II — it’s, well, heavy.
Then: Seventh-grader, Drew Freeman Middle School (Md.) Now: F, Oklahoma City Thunder
One of my friends heard a loud boom while he was walking to school. We never heard noises like that where we lived in Maryland, so I was kind of nervous. Our school dismissed us early. Only later, when I got home and saw the news, did I realize that the boom was the Pentagon being hit. Everyone was really scared because we didn’t know what else would happen, and as a kid, you really feel that intensity.
All the accounts are pretty incredible. Everyone has that moment etched in our brains forever. Ask me what I was doing when Lady Gaga’s debut album dropped and I have no flipping clue. But days like Sept. 11 are part of who we are. We remember.
Just three days until the 10th anniversary. Amazing it’s already been that long. But when you flash back to those memories, those thoughts of where you were and what you were doing, it still feels like it happened yesterday.
Roger Mason tweeted yesterday “Looking like a season” and it set off a firestorm. He then claimed he was hacked (yeah right). SLC Dunk did an awesome job of breaking it down: “If you reply to 40404, it goes live as a public tweet. If you prepend your text with the letter “d” and then the username of the person who DMed you, you will reply as a DM. Since his tweet doesn’t have a “d” in front (a common mistake), and he doesn’t mention any particular username, it’s likely that he just saw the DM message and replied as he would a regular text message. I’ve made this mistake a few times, tweeting something publicly that was either supposed to be a DM or to another phone number. It happens. That’s likely the case here.”
The Lost Ogle is looking for you to vote on the Thunder’s worst player: “Thunder GM Sam Presti is generally considered a genius in the world of NBA front office management. Unfortunately, that mental acuity has not made him immune to the sport’s cancer. Everyone believes that the simple genetic trait of being seven feet tall automatically makes a person a future hall of famer. Presti actually traded up to get Mullens who is a seven footer who wants to play on the perimeter despite an inability to shoot. Now, Mullens has cashed two seasons worth of NBA paychecks and very little time wearing an NBA uniform. That is not because he was hurt, he just sucked so much that he was sent to the D-League or on the inactive list. If Mullens had measured at 6’11″ at the combine, he would be unemployed right now.” Read more…
A look at the other 14 Western Conference teams to see who is, and isn’t, a major threat to the Thunder in the team’s quest to try and reach the NBA Finals. And yes, this is a rip-off of Mark Medina’s series for the LA Times. I am shameless. (Important note: This is of course before free agency so a lot of this could change.)
Oklahoma City’s record versus the Timberwolves in 2010-11: 4-0 Average score: 114.3-107.5 Kevin Durant’s average and shooting percentage: 32.0 ppg, 45.9 percent Games against them in 2011-12: Four
How they match up: The Thunder only played the Wolves once after the Kendrick Perkins trade and that was late in the season with OKC winning 111-103. The Wolves are really athletic with Anthony Randolph, Michael Beasley, Wes Johnson and now Derrick Williams on the wings. Then there’s Kevin Love down low who had one 30-20 game and another 20-20 against the Thunder (pre-Perk, though). Read more…
Ethan Sherwood Strauss pooh-poohs the Summer of KD: “Think about it this way. KD struggles to create his own shot, relative to other superstars. He still manages to lead the league in scoring on mostly assisted jumpers. While some score easily on layups and dunks, he rakes in points by lofting difficult attempts over the best defenses. Durant somehow fills it up while only averaging 3.6 shots at the rim (73rd in the league). So when the game comes easier–as it does in these summer days–he’s Harrison Bergeron unbound. Kevin’s one dimension is absolutely crushing when it faces no rebuttal. Durant’s shaky handle and lack of court vision mean nothing when his scoring brilliance is free to flex and shout. KD’s inability to create should hold him back from becoming the league’s most effective player, though. I hope I’m wrong, because Durant is so fun to root for. But it’s a bit odd to predict “best” for a wing who has never tallied more assists than turnovers through four years in the league. “Consistently great” seems like a more realistic expectation. In the meantime, Kevin Durant is creating a groundswell of enthusiasm, divorced from NBA context, divorced from an operating NBA.”
Holly MacKenzie of The Basketball Jones on KD’s new tats: “It’s definitely a huge tattoo, but it’s one filled with a lot of meaning. From his coach to his hometown, Durant continues to make it clear that he isn’t about to forget where he came from or who helped him get to where he is today. Read more…
KD, along with Chris Paul, John Wall, Carmelo Anthony and others, played in Ludacris’ charity basketball game in Atlanta over the weekend.
Also there: The Bieber.
KD flashed the type of highlights were kind of accustomed to in his Summer of Hoops, tossing a self-alley-oop off the backboard and downing a few dunks. So enjoy. That is if you can take your eyes off Bieber.
On Saturday, he got married. (He’s also on Twitter. I did not know this.) And then on Monday, via HoopsHype, Mullens reportedly signed to play with Panionios in Greece. Here’s a rough translation of the article:
The center has been offered to several teams this season. Lagun Aro and Alicante is interested in their services, while the option of Panionios is that it seems to have more options to move forward, by just an economic issue. It is difficult to see what decides on the player’s own, whose preference is to follow in the spanish competition. The interest shown by the coach of Panionios Giorgos Bartzokas, which has recognized its desire to have with Paulao, you can be a factor in determining that the pivot brazilian decides to change of aires and try their luck abroad for the first time in his career.
It is true, the Panionios will not wait forever to Paulao and yesterday joined the center B. J. Mullens (2.16 and 22 years) from the Oklahoma City Thunder of the NBA. This movement can cause a shift in negotiating with the Unicaja by Paulao. The club of the Beagle Channel has already warned the player that if it stays in Malaga will do so with all the consequences and it will play in the discipline of the Clinics Corner, because it does not account for Chus Matthew, in addition to not have a place in the first template by issues of quotas.
So there you go. Congrats (and congrats?), Lord Byron.
Ben Golliver of CBSSports.com on KD’s new ink: “Home, God and hoops. That’s a fairly winning formula for an NBA player, and this design, despite its size, is almost mild by the league’s standards. It’s not a giant tree like the one owned by Golden State Warriors Monta Ellis and it’s certainly not the creepy World of Warcraft design sported by Utah Jazz forward Andrei Kirilenko or the skull-eating woman abominationMiami Heat forward Chris Bosh put on his back. Of course, like Durant’s other tattoos, this green mural will be covered by his jersey while he’s playing.”
Kurt Helin of PBT on it: “Maryland, know that Kevin Durant loves you. A lot. So fond is he of his native Maryland that he got this new back tattoo (at the bottom of the post). Which is an impressive piece of work, first off. And we might suggest that he is now seriously committed to the number 35.” Read more…
