Isaac Baldizon/NBAE/Getty Images
KEVIN DURANT
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
On finishing runner-up to LeBron: “LeBron, that’s like unheard of for a guy to get three out of four MVPs the last four years. He’s a good friend of mine. I’m happy for him. Of course I would’ve loved to have the MVP but at the same time I’ve just got to keep improving, keep getting better and hopefully I have one soon.”
On any competition with LeBron: “I’m always motivated. Me not winning MVP doesn’t make me more motivated than I already was. It’s a great opportunity for us to have a chance to compete for a world championship, I just want to go out there an be me. I can’t think about it too much because I didn’t win it. Just go out there and be me and live with the results.”
On finishing second: “I’ve been second since high school man. Second drafted. Second best player in high school. Second in MVP votes twice. I’m over that being second stuff.”
On Perk: “He’s been looking good around here lately. Game 1, I expect him to be ready.”
DAEQUAN COOK
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
SCOTT BROOKS
Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.
Audio via Randy Renner of NBA.com.
This comment has been deleted
@Westbrookisapussy bro you are a moron your probably some fair weather Miami fan who only likes them because they have a shot at a championship! And to even put Westbrook and pussy in the same sentence is idiotic he is and always will be better than some pathetic free agent point the Heat pick up next and by the way lebrom took Mvp but Durants going to take his ring pal
@Westbrookisapussy Haha man, that's clever. World class athletes are pussies. You're smart. Let's be friends.
@Westbrookisapussy Yaaaaay more trolls!
PER is a metric with serious flaws but it can be handy. James' season was the 6th best all-time by PER. Durant's was 163rd. The gap by this stat measure- and others- was bigger than the voting gap.
Durant does not have a top 100 season all-time on PER yet. His best was just outside that.
james PER this season was 6th best all-time. durant's was 163rd.
@JamesChurch I'd disagree that it's a great attempt, but that's neither here nor there. I strongly prefer Wins Produced per 48 (WP48), developed by Dave Berri and the guys at Wages of Wins. It demonstrates an r-squared value of about 0.95, meaning it explains wins with a very high degree of accuracy. To make a baseball analogy, PER is batting average and WP48 is WAR. The first isn't exactly useless, but it doesn't explain nearly enough to deserve its esteemed status.
@ReallySeamus What metric is better? There isn't any perfect statistic to measure something non-arbitrary like sporting performance, but PER is a great attempt.
@Crow PER is a terrible stat that rewards volume shooting, not efficiency - it's been shown that so long as you can shoot a measly 33% from the field, more shots will increase your PER. It simply doesn't have a strong correlation to winning in any valid regression models, with an r-squared value around 0.35, meaning that it only explains 35% of wins.
LeBron had a great season and KD isn't at his level (though he's still a superstar), but PER is a bad metric to use to show that.
Thank goodness for trolls. Otherwise, we would all be bored out of our freakin minds.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/05/lakers-nuggets-game-7-open-thread/#respond *in kobe voice* your welcome
Is there any reason LA-DEN is at 10:30 tonight? What's wrong with an afternoon game?
@Jooseppi better yet why is the Grizz Clippers game at 12 central 10 pacific tomorrow
@OBoymuzik @Jooseppi ABC was planing on picking up either game 1 or game 7 but Game 7 happen
If Durant really wants to win the MVP - and I don't even think he should worry about it - he needs to improve in the one aspect of his game he can control 100% of the time: effort at both ends of the floor. While he was better in so many ways this year, he still tended to take too many possessions off for my tastes...from drifting around the 3-pt line on offense, to making half-hearted defensive rotations, there were several games where he appeared content to play on cruise control and let his teammates do all the hard work. If he fixes that, he will win multiple MVP's.
@courtsense his effort defensively in terms of closing out on the 3pters and not crashing boards are the two things i saw that he could straight away improve on. Durant seems to rather crowd the middle than care for the outside shooter, which isn't bad but it does seem to make our opponents all look like ray allen out there.
@courtsense he needs to get more assists, few turnovers and more offensive rebounds. those are the main areas that could push his rating higher.
@courtsense His one-on-one defense against the iso is very great, now if he can improve his overall defense and increase his steals he would be considered the best in the league. It would actually be 1a and 1b between the two of them.
@courtsense between him and Lebron
I think Perkins will be good to go for game 1 against Lakers/Nuggets. Didn't Chris Paul have similar injury and come back the next game?
@Thunderman and he wasn't in *good* shape. It was too early for him to come back.
Does anyone have a link to Dwayne Wade sampling a taste of Kendrick Perkins Adidas after his slam dunk on his face?
@Thunderman brilliant
@Thunderman He's sampled more than that from grown men, if you catch my drift.
@MiamiVice ....says the guy with the Miami Vice moniker lol
@MiamiVice @Thunderman Not in my house, not anywhere.
@MiamiVice HATER/HOMOPHOBE IN THE AREA. ANTIHATERBOT LOVES ALL NONE HATERS.
@MiamiVice @Thunderman Not in my house, not anywhere.
@MiamiVice @Thunderman Not funny.
@GrantHill Please reveal who created the GrantHill account just for this so I can like every post you ever make.
@GrantHill hahaha that is awesome
@GrantHill @MiamiVice @Thunderman and not creative...and you're better than that
OKC Thunder 103 Miami Heat. 87
Darnell Mayberry says that sounds like good news to me.It says Perk is healing well and the team doesn't think Perk is at risk of a long term injury
@tydude The only thing Perk injures is souls.
guys ignore the trolls they will leave if we ignore them
@tydude Remember to capitalize the first word of a sentence and use periods to end your sentence.
@SpellingAndGrammar Might want to go back and reexamine that sentence...
@tydude You can ignore me, but you cant ignore the fact that the heat are better than the thunder
HATER IN THE AREA. PROCEED AT OWN RISK.
@TheHEAT @tydude
If it was 7 games on a neutral court I would give the Heat a slight advantage, but with the Thunder having home court advantage the Thunder have a slight advantage in the series.
So Miami's slight advantage is more then offset by our homecourt advantage. The Thunder win in 7 games.
Spurs > Heat
@MostJadedGamer @TheHEAT @tydude ewww no. 5-6 games max man. We just seem to want it more. if miami was any where near us they would of swept the knicks and not let them sneak in a win. Id be thoroughly pissed is we beat dallas by 40, then again by double digits only to let them sneak a game lol.
@TheHEAT we killed you guys at our place this year
@tydude @TheHEAT Facts don't matter to trolls.
@TheHEAT @tydude based on what FACTS?
@Legendary_dork @TheHEAT @tydude sorry dude a little off topic but can you tell me what Ross or Marshalls location your team got those shiny all black jerseys at?
just don't wanna end up shopping wherever those monstrosities were purchased
@tydude or keep posting ignorant trash like they seem to do.
The thunder or whoever comes out of the west cant even touch the heat. The heat will win this years championship. Dirk isnt in the way this year. James is the better player than durant, wade is better than westrbook and bosh is better than harden. Our role players are also much better. Chalmers, battier, jones, haslem and miller will crush your terrible bench. I think you guys will come out of the west, but youll be very disappointed, as i cant even see the thunder pushing the series to 6 games. HEAT IN 5
@TheHEAT
Didn't it take an other-worldly performance from Lebron just to barely beat the Thunder in Miami after getting crushed in OKC?
Didn't the Thunder win the regular season series?
Didn't the Thunder have a better record in a superior conference?
Don't the Thunder have three closers instead of two?
Miami better hope they get to play Timmy Duncan.
@TheHEAT HATER ALERT. MOVE ALONG. NOTHING TO SEE HERE.
@TheHEAT I will say though, congrats on being our first fan of an opposing team to have correct grammar. Most of our usuals are horrendous.
@TheHEAT your welcome by the way on dirk not being in the way this year...I understand why you're scared of him...a team with a clutch player vs a team with none is always a tough matchup. Oh wait you have Shane batter now
@TheHEAT lol at your delusions. Bosh better than harden ...oh dear my sides are gonna burst. I seem to remember us crushing you the first time we played you this year. I can see the thunder winning this in 5. The heat are a very emotional team so if we beat them 2 times at home they will get all sad and start crying. I mean you did blow out the knicks in one game by almost 40 points, then lose one so....yeah your not very consistent. Plus you gotta make it past the pacers AND the boston *im assuming* .
@TheHEAT Don't underestimate yourselves. Heat in 4. No... Heat in 3. The Thunder will probably quit after three straight 50 point humiliating losses. Honestly, I don't even know why we pretend to play basketball when there are so many much better teams around.
@todayisbananas @TheHEAT no no if it comes to us and the heat, i think brooks just throws in the towel at the beginning, thus preventing the inevitable lol
@Legendary_dork @todayisbananas @TheHEAT Remember to use a capital I when using it as a word to describe yourself. Example: I am happy.
All of these troll novelty accounts are made by the same guy...
@ILikePancakes I have inside knowledge that the guy is going to make a bobcat troll account next
@EatSleepThunder @ILikePancakes If that's the case, lets remember to thank them for taking Byron Mullins off our hands.
@ILikePancakes Or gal. Let's not be sexist.