ORLANDO — Kevin Durant definitely redeemed himself.
So he didn’t win the 3-point contest, but compared to his seven-point, 5-25 performance last year in Los Angeles, Durant certainly bounced back. He finished second to Kevin Love in a shoot-off after the two tied with 16 in the final round.
Durant didn’t see it that way though. He wasn’t happy with the outcome.
“Nah I’m not man. Because I had an opportunity to win,” he said. “I can’t do it three years in a row so maybe sometime down the line I’ll have another chance.”
KD was cooking in the first, scoring 20. He hit 16 and then in the shoot-off, had just 14. He started hot but slowed down at the end. Entering the last rack, he needed to hit all five. He only hit two. Still a quality effort from Durant.
Russell Westbrook finished fifth in the Skills Challenge thing with a time of 33.8. I was actually pretty surprised Westbrook did not go for a massive dunk on his last finish, and promptly doink it. Which would been so very Russ to do.
KD will avenge the 3 pt loss by taking the ASG MVP crown. I see 35+ pts for Durant in this game.
We were talking the other day about possible D-league PG standouts if necessary. Blake Ahearn definitely impressed in the D-league all star game and no one has his rights.
@The_Beard_Knows Also another d-league all-star, Jerome Dyson out in Tulsa is pretty good. He has been in our system and knows the offense. He's averaging over 18 ppg in the D-League.
@Old Man Game dyson is a sg
@Lost Ones Not anymore. From Slam
"Former UConn Guard Jerome Dyson, currently leading the Tulsa 66ers in scoring, is making the best of his three years in the D-League. Dyson is working to become an NBA-caliber point guard and floor general after playing shooting guard throughout his career, an extremely difficult transformation. Furthermore, he says that this time has helped him develop as a person, on and off of the court. Transitioning from the national spotlight in Storrs to the D-League underground grind was humbling, and he has learned the value of hard work and preparation toward achieving one’s goals."
Read the rest here:
http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/all-star-2012/2012/02/no-days-off-nba-d-league-all-star-recap/
A good weekend for OKC and the Thunder so far. Win or lose, we're getting some decent visibility...and that's good.
@TaoMaas yeah when KD's name was announced he got a good pop for the 3 point contest. to bad sir charles had to jinx him :P
@NathanHurley Besides KD in the 3 pt. competition, we had Russ in the Skills Competition...KD and Mo Cheeks coaching teams...lots of shots of Serge on the sidelines... It's all good, IMHO. The Heat are getting good exposure, too, but how many shots have you seen of Lakers or Bulls folks? Not many. The All Star weekend isn't about anything expect publicity...and I think the Thunder are doing very well in that department.
I'm in Orlando right now, i saw KD and Iggy chilling out downtown 3 hours ago.
@ILikePancakes awesome, do you live in FL? or did you just go for ASW.
Anyone else find it odd that there are 6 people in the 3-point contest and somehow the heat had 2 players? I mean the NBA 's lovefest of miami is really beginning to go to far
nice article comparing harden and wall's seasons so far
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/18260/checking-in-on-james-harden-and-john-wall
This dunk was the best of the weekend by far: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFq_5291U4A&feature=player_embedded
Serge sighting.
@JBDW Call me crazy, but I think if we can't get a slam dunk contest with marquee names like Lebron and Russ, then I would prefer that they just allow the amateurs to compete. Kenny Dobbs is a dunker, He likes to dunk, to put on a show and he's good at it. Why not give him and his compatriots a proper stage to show this off if just for one night.
@Old Man Game That's exactly how I feel about it.
@JBDW Wow, his dunk mix tapes are ridiculous.
Thanks for posting Royce.
Hope they will win a MVP tomorrow.
@shiki lets hope KD just keeps shooting tomorrow, Screw KOBE!!