Oklahoma Thunder should have more shooters than only 4 players doing the shooting. The Denver Nuggets had 7 double digit shooters, which are harder to guard than two or three players. Besides, the Thunder are not working harder than their opponents and shoot too much jumpers and 3′s that don’t find the mark. That’s an example of lazy plays, by not getting to the hoop!

Revised version.

“I gotta either find the right combination or the right guys, or we’re going to get some guys out of here,” said a visibly upset Rivers after the Celtics lost their third straight game. “That’s the bottom line. This group right now, they’re not playing right. It’s in them to play right. But right now they haven’t been either because I’m not getting to them, or they’re not getting to each other.”

“I’m clearly not doing my job with this team,” Rivers said. “I ain’t trying to take a bullet for the team. I told them that, ‘we gotta find something every night all 12 guys play the same way.”‘ [...]

“I don’t think guys are honest with each other,” Rivers said. “I just don’t think we have committed to being a good basketball team. I think this team wants everything easy; they want the easy way out. They just want to win easy. And I told them, ‘the only way you’re going to win easy is you’re going to have to play hard. The harder you play, the easier the game becomes.”‘

That’s a coach telling it the way it is and not succumbing to his players!

Another story of failure are the Lakers and here is what’s going on.

Kobe Bryant’s frustration with Lakers’ struggles grows: ‘This isn’t working’
It isn’t working for Pau Gasol, who has lost his starting job to Earl Clark. It isn’t working for Dwight Howard, who grumbled privately in the locker room over the truths on the stat sheet. Most of all, it isn’t working for the Los Angeles Lakers, on course to be remembered as one of pro sports’ biggest debacles.

On the issue of coach Mike D’Antoni stripping Gasol of his starting job, Bryant responded with a long, telling silence and smirk when pressed on whether he believed Gasol’s benching made these Lakers a better basketball team.

This speaks to D’Antoni’s inability to cultivate an identity for these Lakers. Bryant wouldn’t come right out and declare D’Antoni’s system a failure, but he did speak to a need for the coach to find ways to flex everyone’s strengths. D’Antoni has a long, stubborn history of forcing talent to fit into his system, and right now that is clearly playing a part in the unraveling of this season.

From the NBA news in Yahoo.

I think you are a dreamer that the Thunder cannot be beat. The Thunder has lost to; Denver, Brooklyn, Miami, Minnesota, Boston, Memphis, Atlanta and San Antonio, with only three favorite teams to have top chances to win it. The other 5 teams were suppose to be beaten, but beat the Thunder instead. Who do you think is responsible? The Thunder coach and players and its not the other team wanting to win, its the Thunder wanting to lose.
In any given situation, there are causes and effects, that is what is logical and not because they are winning, its nobodys fault.

Postseason stats aren’t counted in career numbers. Weren’t for LeBron or anyone else. They are a different entity entirely.

”He gave me the ball and said, ‘Go to work,”’ Faried said. ”They weren’t going to come double me, and I said ‘I’m going to score on this.’ There were no ifs, ands or buts about it. I was going to score.”
Faried’s driving layup gave the Nuggets a one-point lead they would not relinquish with 46.5 seconds remaining in overtime.

”He made a big-time play,” said Nuggets guard Ty Lawson, who finished with 11 points and nine assists. ”He took two dribbles, and the little jump-hook he’d been working on, he hit.”

Faried is a 6’8″ power forward who just made the last second shot and won the game for the Nuggets and with the Thunder, it is alwaysDurant or Westbrook. There is no other choice but the two and other teams already know that strategy for a long time.

Brook, develop your big men and have plays for them. You only depend on Durant and Westbrook, it’s a giveaway!

That makes the average a bit easier. If Durant only plays in 4 playoff games each season until the cutoff point, he only needs to average 29.08 ppg. If he plays in all 112 (an exceedingly unlikely possibility, mind you) he only has to average 22.09 ppg. If we say that number falls somewhere in the middle of that spectrum at 48 additional playoff games before the cutoff, that’s 26.31 ppg.

With Durant to hit 20,000 points at age 28, he will need about 30.4 points per game average for the next 4 years starting now.

Right now; 1. Kobe Bryant has 30,667 points, 2. Kevin Garnett-24,856 points, 3. Dirk Nowitzki-24,342 points, 4. Ray Allen-23,355 points, Paul Pierce-23,352 points, 5. Tim Duncan-23,268 points, 6. Vince Carter-21,653 points, 7. LeBron James-20,046 points, 8. Antawn Jamison-19,505 points, 9. Tracy McGrady-18,381 points, 10. Jason Kidd-17,351 points.

Dwayne Wade is still down there, with Howard, Gasol, etc.