John Schuhmann of NBA.com on Team USA: “You get the feeling that Durant, who scored 24 points against the Dominican Republic on Thursday, is going to be this team’s leading scorer, even though he’s got more talent around him than he did in 2010. But most of his shots are coming off feeds from his teammates. He doesn’t need to control the ball much, and can be that weak-side shooter that makes defenses pay for loading up on James or the point guards.”
Michael Lee of the Washington Post on Team USA: “Krzyzewski was honest and direct with Durant, who was the breakout star and leader of the gold medal-winning world championship squad in Turkey two years ago. After the United States thrashed the Dominican Republic by 54 points, with Durant scoring a game-high 24, the District native joked with his Oklahoma City and U.S. teammate James Harden, the NBA sixth man of the year last season, that he was going to ask Thunder Coach Scott Brooks to come off the bench next season in the NBA.” Keep Reading…
For the Thunder, a chance to bounce back in London
The sting of losing in The Finals is still pretty fresh but there are the Thunder’s three main players, all suited up again and trying to win a different kind of championship all over again. And it’s a good thing too. The Olympics roll around at a good time for the Thunder as a way to hopefully move past a disappointing end to the 2011-12 season. Reader Brandon emailed in his take on it.
By Brandon Buckner
Special to Daily Thunder
By now, you’ve probably come out of your Thunder-induced coma to brave the harsh reality of life after the 2012 postseason. The absence of Charles Barkley’s voice is oddly depressing. Your brain needs time to assume its default state of Oblivious to Skip Bayless. Mainly, it’s hard to understand how things went so wrong after starting off so right. To even try would require you to relive it all in your mind, and right now it just seems too soon. Keep Reading…