Kevin Durant’s Newest Commercial
As first reported in The Oklahoman, Kevin Durant recently signed on as an endorser of Sprint. It’s one of three new sponsorships the Thunder forward has added to his expanding portfolio. And the telecommunications company already has thrown KD out there as a pitchman.
Here is Durant’s first Sprint commercial, which was shot two weeks ago at what looks like Lloyd Noble Center.
Enjoy.
-DM-
Five Things To Watch In The Second Half
If the Thunder can stay healthy and button up a few areas, there may be no cooling off Oklahoma City in the last half of the season.
The second half of the season is upon us.
With All-Star Weekend in the rearview mirror, the Thunder will now embark on its final 32 games of the regular season starting Wednesday at Philadelphia. Already sitting atop the Western Conference standings at 27-7, the Thunder has enjoyed some pretty smooth sailing thus far. Oklahoma City is on pace for 52 wins, which in a traditional 82-game season translates to 65 victories.
It’s scary to think this team can perform even better.
With that said, here are five things to watch as we prepare for what is shaping up to be a fantastic final half.
1) Injuries. Once upon a time, the Thunder was a team blessed with extremely good health. That period came to an end last year. This season, OKC quickly turned into the walking wounded. Already, the Thunder has seen eight players miss a combined 57 games to injury or illness. By comparison, in all of last season, seven players combined to miss just 53 games. Eric Maynor has been lost to a torn ACL. Thabo Sefolosha has the sorest foot in the history of mankind. Ryan Reid busted his nose. Lazar Hayward busted up his eye. And Nick Collison, James Harden and Kendrick Perkins have all missed at least one game because of nagging injuries. Thus far, the Thunder has withstood the storm. But can OKC continue to hold on? How the Thunder deals with the unavoidable injury bug from here out could determine how it finishes in this home stretch. Some even have said that the league-wide injury issue will determine this year’s champion.
2) Rebounding. It’s no secret that the Thunder has had trouble rebounding. Through the first half of the year, the Thunder ranked ahead of only Washington, Sacramento and Golden State in opponent offensive rebounding. That inability to consistently close out defensive possessions with a rebound has prevented the Thunder from truly capitalizing on its standout defense through the first shot. The rebounding problem also is largely to blame for opponents taking nearly seven more shots per game than the Thunder. It’s become problem 1-A for OKC, and it will now be the main area the team will look to clean up before the playoffs begin. If the Thunder can do it, we could see it transform into a dominant defensive team. (more…)
OKC Thunder Power Lunch Chat with Darnell Mayberry
Recapping All-Star Weekend
A bunch of random thoughts and observations from three days in Orlando.
- Russell Westbrook was one of two people who became the first to welcome me to Orlando. Take a look for yourself.
- Kevin Durant nearly ruled the weekend. He narrowly lost a tiebreaker shootout to Kevin Love in the 3-point contest on Saturday. And then he ran away with MVP honors in the big game on Sunday. The guy is a superstar. He never shrinks in the moment. The only time he’s even come close was last year in the 3-point contest in L.A. But that doesn’t even count because KD didn’t take the event serious.
- As coach of the West Celebrity All Stars, Durant did watch his team get drubbed by 29 on Friday. Said Durant: “It was bad. I won’t be the next Scotty Brooks, I know that.”
- Brooks on his experience this weekend: “I loved every minute of it. I will cherish it for the rest of my career.”
- At this point, I can’t fault LeBron James and Blake Griffin and any other big name you want to throw out there for turning down the dunk contest. It’s virtually impossible to impress anymore. Everything might not have been done yet. But we’re just about there. Besides, any star who signs up for the contest would only be setting himself up for failure. Everyone would go in expecting the greatest show since MJ and Dominique. And there would be no way they could live up to the expectations.
- With that said, LeBron’s left-handed half windmill dunk in the first half of the All-Star game was better than about seven dunks we saw in the dunk contest.
- In case you missed it, here was LeBron’s explanation on not joining the dunk contest. “It’s not me,” James said. “I’m not a dunk contest type of guy. I’m an in-game dunker.”
- Immediately after offering up that explanation, James was asked what he would do if a $1 million, winner-take-all pot was the prize? “Then I’d reconsider,” James said. “Wouldn’t you?”
- The next time someone nationally criticizes Westbrook or KD, Thunder heads should jump for joy. Because, clearly, all it’s doing is bringing the two players closer together. They’ve bonded extremely well in the face of outside negativity. More and more, they’re having each other’s back and making it a point to support the other on and off the court. That hasn’t been clearer at any point quite like their media sessions on Friday afternoon. Durant listed Westbrook as the best in-game dunker. Westbrook, meanwhile, named Durant as the game’s most clutch player, the league’s toughest cover regardless of position and the teammate whose couch he’d prefer to sleep on if he had to. Keep in mind they were on opposite sides of the room, far from an earshot of the other, as they supplied their answers.
- One of Westbrook’s best answers of the weekend came when he was asked what skills he would combine to form the ultimate point guard. “The skills I got,” Westbrook said.
- Dirk Nowitzki proved he didn’t belong in the All-Star game. If I’m a snub, I look at his seven-point performance on 3-of-8 shooting and I’m heated.
- Charles Barkley did nothing to taint his standing as my all-time favorite interview. I got a few minutes with the Round Mound of Rebound on Saturday night and he was once again a great interview, albeit in a much more condensed version. Think what you will about his opinions or his jokes. But I love that the guy speaks his mind and tells it like (he thinks) it is. It’s rare and it’s refreshing. (more…)
How To Coach An All-Star
ORLANDO — Scott Brooks is not a yeller.
He doesn’t subscribe to screaming at his players or cursing them for every miscue.
At times, it may look like Brooks is too easygoing, too laid back, too player-friendly.
But the Thunder’s biggest star, Kevin Durant, says that’s not the case.
“He coaches me up every single day,” Durant said. “He doesn’t let me slip up on anything no matter what. I’m the first guy he yells at and I really like that. That’s something that I grew up on. My mom was always strict on me, my dad, my coaches. So I didn’t want it to be any different coming from one of the best coaches in the NBA in Scotty Brooks. I don’t want him to baby me and that’s one thing he’s not doing.”
You’ve got to hear the story behind how Brooks became that way, how he learned to treat an All-Star the same as he does the 15th man.
During his media session on Friday at All-Star Weekend, Brooks began talking about his first NBA coach, Jim Lynam. He shared a story about his former Sixers coach to Dei Lynam, Jim’s daughter who is now an anchor and sideline reporter for Comcast SportsNet in Philadelphia.
“He gave me an opportunity,” Brooks started. “I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in if it wasn’t for your dad. He saw something that nobody dared to see, or put their job on the line to see it. But I saw how he treated Charles Barkley. And Charles was one of the toughest players to coach because he is so talented and so hard-headed and stubborn and ornery. But Jimmy challenged him. He challenged him to a fight! He threw his wallet on the floor. (He said) ‘Whoever wins gets the wallet. Put your wallet down, Charles. You’re not as tough as you think.’
“That always reminded me, ‘Wow, that’s how you’re supposed to coach an NBA player. You’re not supposed to coach him like he’s Charles Barkley the All-Star. You’re supposed to coach him like Charles Barkley, he’s a member of the 12-man team. I treat Kevin the same way as I treat a guy that doesn’t play. Kevin has to be a better defender, and I challenge him on that every day. He has to rebound, and he’s done a better job with that. He’s a tremendous scorer and I try not to get in the way in that area. I try to help him become better at that.”
Brooks is entering into a different phase of coaching, perhaps a tougher phase. Initially, he was charged with developing the bevy of young talent on the Thunder’s roster. Ask anyone in the business and they’ll tell you that can be a coach’s toughest assignment, taking players and making them better. And with 10 players on the roster 25 or younger, that task still isn’t complete. But now, Brooks must win. He’s got to get the best he can out of a flourishing cast that suddenly contains two perennial All-Stars in Durant and Russell Westbrook, as well as a burgeoning third All-Star candidate in James Harden.
Winning with a stacked roster seems easy. But it’s one of the hardest things in sports. And it’s largely because the coach has to manage egos while also motivating great talents to get the most out of their skills for the greater good of the team.
Brooks is quietly, yet quickly, proving to be quite good at it.
“I’m fair with all of our guys, but I think I’m demanding,” Brooks said. “If they go below a level, I think I address it. Sometimes you have to address it forcefully. Sometimes you address it kindly. But the bottom line is you have to empower your players to play hard and play together and find ways to motivate them to play for the team. I’m fortunate enough that we have a group of guys that believe in that.”
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The Best From Kevin Durant’s Media Session
ORLANDO — Kevin Durant has become so much better at interacting with the media.
These days, he’s confident and comfortable in every situation. If he’s asked a controversial question, he deflects it but maintains respect for reporters. If he’s asked a question about himself, rather than brag he remains humble and insists it’s all about the team. And he’s learned how to have fun and joke when the time is right and turn serious when the topic requires as much. Three years ago, you didn’t see that from Durant.
But he was all that and more on Friday, when his media session drew the second largest crowd to only Kobe Bryant. If there was one thing we learned about KD during his 35 minutes of rapid fire questions ans answers, it’s that he’s gotten 10 times better at handling himself with the cameras on.
Here’s the very best of what Durant said at the start of All-Star Weekend.
ON ATTENTION TO DETAIL THE THUNDER NEEDS
I think for us, it comes down to turning the ball over. I average almost four turnovers a game. That’s unacceptable for a guy like me that handles the ball a lot. I can’t give the ball away to the other team that much. And rebounding and boxing out. We lost in the playoffs like that two years in a row against the Lakers and against Dallas. And execution. I think we’re doing a better job late in the game of executing. It’s only going to get better. But I think the turnover thing is something we can control.
ON GOALTENDING CALL AT PORTLAND
Stuff happens.
ON PLAYING IN LONDON
It’ll mean the world to me. I’m just excited to just get that opportunity to be on the finalist team and hopefully they pick me and I can help the team out as much as they want me to help. If they want me to come off the bench and be a great teammate, I’ll do that. If they want me to just shoot all 3s, I’ll do it. Whatever they need me to do I’ll do. Hopefully I’m there. I just can’t wait to play along with some of the greatest players in the world.
Kobe Bryant speaks out on Thunder
For 2½ hours Thursday night, every non-Lakers fan in a sellout crowd of 18,203 at Chesapeake Energy Arena seemed to boo superstar Kobe Bryant.
Roughly an hour after the Thunder’s 100-85 victory and well past local newspaper deadlines, Bryant showed OKC far more respect than he had just been shown himself.
Here are some of Bryant’s thoughts on the game and the Thunder: (or watch the whole interview here.)
- On OKC All-Star point guard Russell Westbrook, who at times has been heavily criticized: “I don’t know what the media is doing out here, but everybody just needs to lay off of Russell. That’s a bad little dude, man. That’s a bad little dude, man. You guys are fortunate to have him. You guys have got two explosive scorers here. I like how he’s playing. He just has to continue to improve and do his thing.”
- Does Bryant see any of himself in Westbrook? “He’s got the same type of dog that I had in me — that I still have in me — when I was coming up playing with Shaq (former teammate Shaquille O’Neal). He’s got the same fight and he’s just 6-4.”
- How has center Kendrick Perkins instilled his tough attitude into the Thunder? “Perk, in my opinion, he’s the best one-on-one post defender in the league. He’s that good in the low-post. That gives them an added presence. He’s also a very good help defender and a screen-and-roll defender. Boston really gift-wrapped them one (with the Feb. 24, 2011 trade that sent Perkins to OKC).”
- How has Kevin Durant developed? “He’s just going to continue to get better. He’s making great plays for other players. He’s obviously been a phenomenal shooter. He has a developing post game. They’ve got two, three of my favorite players in the league on that team, man. They’re fun to watch.”
- On the verbal altercation with James Harden with less than two minutes remaining: “The conversation was pretty brief. I mean, I was doing all the talking. There are certain things you can’t (share publicly) … Maybe one day they’ll be able to sit at my lunch table [laughing]. Right now, we’re at two different lunch tables, man. That conversation was pretty brief.”
- Western Conference All-Star coach Scott Brooks says you’re going to play a lot this weekend (to wear you out): “(Expletive). [Smiling] Let me tell you something, man, this is his first rodeo. This is my 14th, man. I’m pulling rank. … I told him, ‘Look, you can put me in the last two minutes, if you want.’ “
Thunder 100, Lakers 85
Nuggets from my notebook from Thursday’s win over the Lakers.
- Tons of credit goes to Serge Ibaka, Kendrick Perkins and Nazr Mohammed for the job they did on Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. That Lakers duo has been a perennial pest to the Thunder, but the way the bigs bodied them up and made them take tough shots set the tone and helped keep them relatively quiet.
- Led by Ibaka (game-high 13 boards) and Perk (nine boards), the Thunder out-rebounded the league’s best rebounding team 44-41 and held the Lakers to just eight offensive rebounds. Extremely big key to tonight’s win.
- Thanks to a solid defensive rebounding effort by the Thunder, as well as just 12 OKC turnovers, the Lakers attempted only one more shot than the Thunder. This thing had the potential to get ugly if the Thunder allowed L.A. to play volleyball at the rim. But that didn’t happen largely because of the big boys.
- Said Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “Our bigs, you know, you’re so proud of them every night. They come and give you everything they have. They defend, they rebound, they set screens. They are the unsung heroes of our team.”
- No Nick Collison tonight. He missed his third straight game with a quad contusion. I don’t know for sure, but I assume he’ll be ready to go Tuesday at Philadelphia. The fact that the Thunder controlled the middle without the help of Collison was impressive in itself.
- Ibaka did some serious work boxing out Gasol at the free throw line. Ibaka didn’t seem to care one bit about actually getting the rebound. His sole mission was to keep Gasol from getting it by any means necessary. Gasol didn’t want none of that.
- The Lakers are far from an offensive juggernaut right now. But you’ve got to be impressed that OKC held L.A. to 38 percent shooting.
- A big part of that poor field goal percentage was Kobe Bryant was held to 24 points on 24 shots. Who needs Thabo Sefolosha? (Kidding). Daequan Cook, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and even Kevin Durant did a great job of tag-teaming on Kobe and using their length to force him into some tough, tough looks and prevent him from getting anything but contested shots.
- Harden actually played through a wrist injury. Apparently it happened in Wednesday’s game against Boston. He had his left wrist heavily tapped and had some sort of contraption on it while he was on the bench. He finished with 16 points, four rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, a steal and five turnovers. Gritty effort by Harden.
- Harden doesn’t seem to like Kobe. Every single time they meet there is jawing and pushing. Tonight, they had to be separated late in the game. It looked like Harden took exception to something Kobe said. Harden wouldn’t let it go. He just kept getting in Kobe’s face. Neither guy looked like he really wanted to fight. Kobe was even smiling and laughing while talking to Harden and KD at the other end while the refs reviewed a shot by Derek Fisher.
- While the antics by Harden did have a slight stench of a guy just trying to make a name for himself, it did show some of what this Thunder team has become about. Oklahoma City is a confident group of young guys that is on its way to taking over the league, and they don’t care one bit who they have to run through to do it. Rarely will Thunder players put that mentality on display like Harden did in the final minute and a half. But rest assured it’s in them. Said Brooks: “I don’t coach the perfect players or the perfect team, and they’re not coached by the perfect coach. But one thing we don’t do is we don’t back down.” (more…)
Thunder 119, Celtics 104
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday’s win over Boston.
- Welcome back, Daequan Cook. You were sorely missed. Cook made 5-of-11 shots tonight went 3-of-8 from deep to match his season high of 17 points. His first 3-ball that dropped was only his second in the past five games. And when he splashed in his second with 3:14 remaining in the opening period, the crowd erupted, partly because it pulled the Thunder within one after a sluggish start led to a 10-point deficit, and partly because seemingly everyone in the building knew Cook had been struggling and that bomb was a sign that he was back.
- Cook doesn’t like passing up shots. If he touches it, there’s a 92.4 percent chance it’s going up.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he wasn’t worried about Cook, who was just 4-for-34 from deep in his previous six games. “He really hasn’t shot the ball well, and I wasn’t concerned with it. Obviously, I would like for him to make some shots. But with Daequan, I’m happy he does this, last year I looked at him as a guy that can give us a 3-point threat. But this year I look at him as he can defend, he can rebound and he can make plays for us. He’s not just a 3-point shooter.”
- Led by Cook, the Thunder made nine of 19 3-pointers tonight and used the long ball to get back in it when the Celtics took that early 10-point lead. In the last couple of games, the Thunder took a ton of 3s but didn’t make enough to warrant that many hoists. Tonight was a great night from behind the arc.
- Celtics guard Avery Bradley started the game for the suspended Rajon Rondo. And Bradley began the game by pressing up on Russell Westbrook and trying to play aggressive defense. As soon as I saw that, and Westbrook’s initial attack on offense, I thought ‘Uh oh. Here we go.’ It looked like Westbrook was about to turn the game into a personal battle. And on a couple a possessions he did. But Russ stayed under control and turned in a solid, solid performance with 31 points, five rebounds, six assists and just two turnovers.
- This was the third straight game Westbrook has scored at least 30 points. It’s kind of hard to believe, but that’s the first time he’s done that.
- Controversy alert. Westbrook took two more shots than Kevin Durant.
- In the last two games, KD and Russ have gotten to the line at the rate we grew accustom to seeing them get there last year. Westbrook has attempted 24 foul shots in his last three games. Durant has attempted 28.
- James Harden returned from a one-game absence and scored 17 points with seven assists and four rebounds. Only two of his points came in the second half, though.
- With the win, the Thunder is now tied with Miami for the league’s best record at 26-7. Pay no attention to whatever you hear Thunder players and coaches say. The record is important and it matters to them. If OKC finishes with the best record in the league, it will get home court advantage throughout the playoffs. If you ask me, if the championship is a battle between any combination of Miami, Chicago and OKC, the determining factor in which team hoists the trophy this year will be home court advantage.
- Most encouraging thing tonight: two first-half turnovers, both coming in the second quarter.
- Second most encouraging thing tonight: three offensive rebounds for the Celtics. A lot of that had to do with Boston’s 18 turnovers preventing them from getting up shots and a 48.6 percent shooting clip from the field that didn’t lend itself to many second chance opportunities. Still, when you’re one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the league, you take it how you can get it.
- Least encouraging thing tonight: another big lead was blown. The Thunder allowed the Celtics to erase a 27-point, deficit midway through the third quarter and pull within six in the final 3 1/2 minutes. That’s now two straight games we’ve seen that. Said Royal Ivey: “We got complacent. They were in attack mode because they were down and they were needing a win. We were playing on our heels. But we closed it out and we got the win and that’s all that’s important.”
- Complacent is the operative word. The Thunder is simply taking its foot off the gas and letting teams back in it. Someday, that’s going to bite at a bad time. Gotta clean that up now.
(more…)
Some Perspective On Russell Westbrook Shooting More Than Kevin Durant
Skip Bayless was at it again this morning.
The renowned talking head on ESPN2′s First Take continued his personal campaign against all things Russell Westbrook, ignoring last night’s gritty win by the tough-minded Thunder and instead focusing more on how the team’s All-Star point guard took one more shot than Kevin Durant.
Debating Stephen A. Smith (not pictured above), Bayless unleashed a tirade while attacking Westbrook. I’ve transcribed his entire opening statement, but I’ve also included the audio so you can hear just how venomous Bayless was about Westbrook.
Skip Bayless rips Russell Westbrook
It happened again, right on schedule for you to sit across from me today. I’m going to say it again. I’m going to be very clear about this. My Oklahoma City Thunder are now blessed to have the man, I think, who has turned into the best player in the NBA, Kevin Durant, who is not blessed to be partnered with a “point guard” who routinely brings up the ball and then routinely chooses to shoot more shots than the superstar standing over on the wing saying “Do I get to play today? Do I get this ball this time? Maybe I will, and if I do I better force a shot because I know I’m not going to get the ball back.’ I’m going to say it again, this is a postseason recipe for disaster. I love the Thunder because it’s my hometown team. But I’m not going to sit idly by like some blindly-loyal fan and say nothing about something that is getting to be a bigger and bigger issue on a nightly basis. He did it again last night. ‘Well they both scored 31. What a duo.’ They both had four assists. The point guard had four assists. That is asi-fifteen.”
Rather than roll our eyes at Bayless, or revert to calling him everything but a child of God, how about we dig deeper and examine whether there is any truth to his now well-publicized opinion.
Research shows that Westbrook has attempted more shots than Durant in 12 games this season. In those 12 contests, Westbrook has shot a total of 44 more times than Durant, giving him 3.6 more shots on average than the reigning two-time scoring champ in the games in question. Westbrook’s largest shot differential with Durant was 10, when Westbrook attempted 20 shots to KD’s 10 at Utah on Feb. 20.
In the other 11 games, Westbrook attempted one more shot three times, two more shots once, three more shots three times, four more shots twice and five and seven more shots once each.
In other words, out of 12 games in which Westbrook has out-shot Durant, only three times has Westbrook finished with more than four more attempts than Durant.
But why stop there? In fact, you can’t.
It’s important to note that in those 12 games, Durant has attempted 18 more foul shots than Westbrook, 90 to 72. In Westbrook’s second largest shot attempt disparity over Durant, seven on Feb. 9 against Sacramento, KD attempted nine free throws to Westbrook’s three. Additionally, in the third largest margin, five against Dallas on Feb. 1, Durant struggled with an off night from the field but shot two more foul shots than Westbrook. Those are critical numbers in accounting for what the box scores show under FGA.
There’s more.
