t’s tough for them. They are stars. They rightly carry themselves as such. But with Durant shouldering the load on offense, these two guards were left to play defense, bring the ball up, and maybe score in transition once in a while. When they did those things, Team USA was excellent. But every now and again, they just had to make sure everyone remembered that they’re scorers, dammit. And then there were jacked 3s with way better options, midrange Westbrook pull-ups that were doomed before they were even released, and some one-on-five forays to the rim.

Sometimes I wonder if this is our fault. We reward scoring so much. With highlights. With bigger salaries. With cheering. It’s just pummeled into players that scoring is the only way to be cool. Meanwhile, in reality they were cool the whole time except when they were determined to be scoring.

“”And Westbrook was drafted fourth overall and even that high it was a steal. His team needs him! But isn’t it enough to play great defense, to score in transition, and to pound little guys like Tony Parker and Steve Blake by getting into the lane? To be a real man must he also force the action my dribbling into misses? “”"

Ibaka is learning how to play outside for the first time in his life. and at 21 still learning the game. If you can’t picture him as a dominant player in a year or two, you should move to Boston and get a job with the Globe.

The main problem right now with the Thunder is RW’s inability or refusal to pass more quickly or often. I know there is a guy on the bench who looks like Mo Cheeks, one of the great point guards. Is he working with him? The two of them should watch some game film of DWill, Nash, Paul and Parker and maybe Russell’s light bulb will go on.

So the dailythunder commentators have now infiltrated newsok. Maybe Darnell should just join our club.

Darnell, I liked that they made mention of DJ returning. I think the thing was, there wasn’t a chance to intro him since he started the 2nd quarter, and the Thunder wanted to give some props to a guy who had been on the Thunder team since Day 1. For me, it was a nice moment, and DJ got a warm ovation. Great job on your notes as always. Keep up the great work.