Because of some duties in fulfilling my requirement in being an American male, I chose to watch the Super Bowl yesterday and not write a recap of the game. And like I told my wife, had we won, I probably would have happily skipped into the office to crank out 800 words, but because of the outcome, I thought using the Super Bowl would be a good excuse to just ignore a really disappointing loss. But here’s all you need to know: Durant, Westbrook, Green = good (95 points). Rest of team = not good (23 points). Well, Nick Collison had a nice game, but geez, what a stinky loss. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “make the first, miss the second and get a tip-in” work live and I was impressed with Jeff Green’s execution there. Anyway, to the Bolts…
The Durant v. Oden debate is finally able to gain some traction: “Fair or not, Oden and Durant are destined to be linked in history. Like Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, without the gunfire. And a look back at the 1984 draft offers both worst-case and best-case scenarios. Oden and Durant could be remembered as Michael Jordan and Sam Bowie, as a mismatch of a comparison that highlights Portland’s blundering. Or they could be remembered as Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, who combined for eight championships, eight Finals MVP awards, and six regular-season MVPs.”
Le Basketbawl’s midseason report: “We now know that the Thunder will not have the worst record in the history of the Association. Scott Brooks while an improvement over P.J. still has not shown that he is more than an interim coach.”
Hardwood Paroxysm sums up yesterday’s game pretty nicely: “The Definition of Awesome Futility: Kevin Durant; 33PTS 5 RB, 2 AS, 1 BL, Russell Westbrook; 34 PTS 6 RB 8 AS 1 ST, Jeff Green; 28 PTS, 13 RBS 5 AS 3 ST. And they lost.”
BDL Behind the Box Score: Timed up against a Cavaliers/Pistons game on national TV, this contest between two of the NBA’s worst teams was blacked out on the dish, and I gotta say, I’m a little cheesed off. Blackouts are something we have to live with every Sunday afternoon; they’re all over the pace as the NBA wants all basketball-watching eyes on what’s happening on the major network of its choice, but an overtime close one with 240 combined points? I’d like to know how, and why? Even the gamer is a little messed-up. Kevin Martin had 37 points on 24 shots, turning it over only twice in 49 minutes of play (that’s a tremendous accomplishment), Jeff Green had 28 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, one turnover, and three steals for Oklahoma City, and Thunder rookie Russell Westbrook got to the line 22 times (making 20), helping to overcome seven of 18 shooting and five turnovers. He had eight assists, and all six of his rebounds were on the offensive end. Keep Reading…
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Could we use Green a little differently?
Jeff Green has had a tremendous sophomore season, especially compared to his rookie year. He is a very real candidate for most improved player with his huge jump in production. He moved into the starting lineup in the middle of the season last year, and through the coaching change, he has never relinquished it.
His skill set is unique: he is a sweet shooting big man who isn’t afraid to go inside. So often we see big men who kind of do one or the other. Either they camp outside and bomb away and avoid the paint (Andrea Bargnani?) or they do the dirty work inside and don’t have the jumper (Collison). Every team out there would love to have the true inside/outside big man, but there just aren’t that many to be had. The guys that are able to pull it off are the matchup nightmares that every coach dreams of having, guys like Nowitzki, Bosh and Stoudamire. Keep Reading…