Thunder vs. Pistons Live Chat
Come chat during the Thunder game tonight.
Durant Says No Thanks To Dunk Contest
Kevin Durant passed up a chance to take part in the 2010 Slam Dunk Contest at All-Star Weekend. The third-year forward wrote on his official Web site that he was offered a spot “but politely turned it down.”
“My agent came to me last week and asked me if I wanted to participate in the Slam Dunk Contest and I was like, ‘Nah.’ I’m just not a dunk contest dunker, you know what I mean? I don’t even do any good dunks in games. I can’t jump as high as those guys, either, so I’ll leave that up to the Rudy Gays and the Dwight Howards to show off in the dunk contest. I’ll pass on that.”
Durant went on to say he was honored to be asked but had to say no thank you.
“Besides,” Durant said, “I think it’s more fun to watch than to be in.”
-DM-
Power Lunch Chat Recap: Darnell Mayberry
Thunder vs. Mavericks Live Chat
Nuggets 102, Thunder 93
Observations, news and notes from Monday night’s game.
- A 30-17 second quarter was the difference in the game. The Nuggets used the period to open a 55-40 lead at halftime and the Thunder never could recover. Never even got close.
- Oklahoma City went down big early and couldn’t recover because no one could make a shot. The Thunder shot 36.4 percent in the first half. And the problem was OKC kept shooting from the outside instead of attacking the rim.
- The Nuggets had a 19-9 advantage at the free throw line in the first half, an indication of which team was the more aggressive ballclub early.
- The Thunder again had trouble on the defensive glass, allowing 14 offensive rebounds. Kenyon Martin and Nene combined for 10 offensive rebounds. The Thunder ultimately won the overall rebounding battle 41-40 but Denver’s early rebounding helped the Nuggets jump out to their lead.
- In the end, this was a game that came down to the better team simply outperforming an inferior team. Because when you look at the box score none of it really explains how this was a blowout for much of the game. Both teams shot right at 40 percent. The Thunder, as I mentioned, won the overall rebounding battle. OKC had three more turnovers, but the Nuggets scored seven less points off OKC’s giveaways. The Thunder made more 3-pointers, had more assists and finished with more points in the paint. Denver attempted nine more free throws and made eight more, the only stat that provides some sort of explanation. But even that is misleading because some of those attempts at the line came down the stretch.
- Carmelo Anthony made some tough shots. This game showed why he’s considered the league’s best all-around scorer. He puts the ball in the basket from anywhere and has a knack for scoring even when he’s tightly covered. Some of the baskets he made while Kevin Durant and Jeff Green were hanging on him made you feel sorry for Green and KD. There was nothing more they could do. Melo just makes shots. And makes them look easy.
- Durant, for the second time in as many days, stood toe-to-toe with one of the game’s best, matching Melo’s skills before coming up short because of a lack of assistance. Durant had a game-high 32 points with 10 rebounds, three assists and two steals. He was 9-for-20 from the field, but the only other Thunder players who shot a good percentage were Thabo Sefolosha and Nick Collison.
- Green got off to a great start but lost his rhythm when he needed stitches in his lip to control a cut he sustained in the third quarter while attempting to block a shot. He missed most of the third quarter but returned to play in the fourth. He finished with eight points on 3-for-9 shooting. Green made some nice hustle plays and smart decisions, though, and also had seven rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
- Pretty high praise from Nuggets guard Chauncey Billups after the game: “I love that team. They got a lot of young players that can really play. They play extremely hard. They were coming in on a back-to-back. We knew they’d be a little tired. But I got a lot of respect for that team. I like them a lot.”
- James Harden had some unreal set-ups. Although Shaun Livingston is currently the backup point guard it’s Harden who has been running the second unit of late. He had five assists in 24 minutes.
- Chris Andersen had a monster game off the bench. How he gets 15 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and three steals is a mystery to me. An even bigger mystery is how he got to the free throw line 10 times and made nine of them.
- J.R. Smith came off the bench to score 19 points and join Anderson to form a deadly one-two punch that the Thunder had no counter for.
- Of all things that the Thunder couldn’t or didn’t do right, the one thing that OKC did a great job of was limiting Denver in transition. The Nuggets had only five fast break points. This could have been a much more encouraging performance had the Thunder made more shots, boxed out better and turned the ball over less. Yes, that’s asking a lot. But for the most part, the strength of this team showed up tonight. The Thunder held the league’s highest scoring team, one that averages 116 points at home, to six points under its season average and hampered the Nuggets into only 40 percent shooting.
-DM-
Thunder vs. Nuggets Live Chat
Get LeBron James A McDonald’s Deal
LeBron James like french fries and that’s all good.
But what I want to know is why this wasn’t a travel.
-DM-
Cavs 102, Thunder 89
The scowl on Kevin Durant’s face said he was serious.
But the significance of his issue wasn’t illustrated until the soft-spoken star parted his lips to confront his concern.
Durant had seen enough of the LeBron James love festival in his home arena and this was his attempt to squash it. He started with a stare. It grew into a scolding.
The courtside fan didn’t know what hit him.
With his exploits, James had transformed the gentleman seated in the high-priced seat from fiery foe to friendly fan. For three quarters, the man offered his best Jack Nicholson, mercilessly heckling Cleveland’s superstar forward. No. 23 in the wine and gold even jawed back, on one trip down court appearing to annoyingly mouth the words, ‘Sue me.”
But the fan slowly became a witness.
James ended the first half by scoring each of the Cavs’ final 12 points. He had two three-point plays, a jump hook off the glass from the right block and two rim-rocking dunks. Twelve minutes later, James ended the third period in even more spectacular fashion, burying a barrage of deep 3-pointers en route to scoring Cleveland’s final 10 points of the period.
By then, James had the middle-aged man fawning over his feats.
Just before James inbounded the ball near the fan at the start of the final period, the man extended a closed fist. James graciously bumped knuckles. Durant, noticing the exchange while wrangling with his shoe laces, furrowed his brow then took exception.
“You supposed to be on our side,” Durant said, pinching a piece of his white Thunder jersey. “What kind of fan are you?”
Durant had made his statement — although it would have rung louder had he not gone 0-for-6 with two turnovers in the decisive fourth quarter. With the concise confrontation, one that was not completely caught on camera and certainly unclear to much of the sold out crowd of 18,203, Durant sent a subliminal message that he’s sick of playing second fiddle and tired of his Thunder taking a backseat.
Imagine it from Durant’s viewpoint. Here he is, standing toe-to-toe with one of the game’s best, matching the league’s reigning MVP shot-for-shot, scratching and searching for yet another statement victory, and he can’t tighten up his shoe laces for the stretch run without seeing what’s supposed to be a supporter fist-bumping Bron Bron.
That’s why the reprimand was as encouraging of an act as we’ve seen from Durant, who slowly is shedding his shell and growing before our eyes and learning how to lead.
It said Durant is holding everyone accountable, from himself to his teammates to his home fans.
It said the Thunder’s budding star wants more responsibility and has prepared his scrawny shoulders to bear the blow should that desire backfire.
It said the face of the franchise is now ready to play the part, willing to speak up when needed and offer his opinion on the direction of the organization — even if it means starting with simple instructions on how to properly root for the home team.
“He just needed to kind of go through the league and get bumped and bruised a little bit to figure out how not only he can be effective as an individual, but how he can help his team be effective and have success in the win-loss column,” said Cavs coach Mike Brown of Durant. “The maturation process that he’s going through is evident not only in his numbers but in the team’s win-loss record. Because that’s what superstars do.”
Thunder-Cavaliers live chat
Shaq questionable
Cleveland center Shaquille O’Neal is questionable for tonight’s game against the Thunder at the Ford Center.
O’Neal left Friday’s game with a left eye contusion after getting hit in the head by the Trail Blazers’ Joel Przybilla. It will be a game-time decision whether O’Neal plays.
Asked at the morning shootaround about his eye, O’Neal said: “It’s all right. It’s cool.”
Coach Mike Brown said the team will be cautious.
“We’re always are, especially at this point of the season,” Brown said. “We’ll see how he feels tonight. If there’s any reason at all that we think we should hold him out we will.”
Since an eye injury is different than a shoulder or ankle, what is Brown’s biggest concern?
“It’s up to the doctors,” Brown said. “I don’t hold them out because I have a concern. Obviously if you get scratched there (in the eye) again it could make it worse. If you have a bum knee and get here there again or a bum finger and you get here there again it can make it worse. That’s the only thing.
“Early in the season it doesn’t hurt that if you do err to err on the side of being cautious.”
Because the injury was serious enough O’Neal had to undergo tests at the hospital, was Shaq scared?
“A little bit,” O’Neal said. “But the Cleveland trainers have done a great job of checking out everything.”
Cavs guard Daniel Gibson also is questionable with a sprained right pinkie he injured last week at Houston. Gibson sat out Friday’s game against Portland.
