Notes from All-Star Weekend: Bosh on KD’s fake tough guy line
LOS ANGELES — I asked Chris Bosh today at All-Star availability if it’s been awkward seeing Kevin Durant this weekend and Bosh joked about the two getting together for an NBA Cares event, kind of rolling his eyes as he said it. But when I asked if things were smoothed over, Bosh kind of sidestepped that and took the high road.
“His comments after a game, I’ve made bad comments after a game before,” he said. “Or I’ve made comments that I wanted to take back or just something that I felt very strongly about and just said it the wrong way. Sometimes after a game, especially a close one, it can be the wrong time to ask a guy something like that but it’s the nature of the business.”
Interesting that Bosh called KD’s line a “bad comment.” But I actually thought he handled it rather diplomatically. Durant didn’t take it back when he was asked about it, but he also didn’t really feel the need to stand up and re-affirm it. All in all, probably something best to forget about.
Where’s the spoiler alert, James? KD has mentioned it sort of, but I asked James Harden about what Serge Ibaka had in store for Saturday night. Harden talked about how Serge can jump high and all of that, but when I asked if Serge was using a prop, Harden said, “Oh yeah.” Then as if he messed up, he got worried he let the cat out of the bag. So who knows what Serge has planned, but something extra is going to be used.
Thunder taking over LA. With Harden now in the Rookie game plus Durant, Ibaka and Russell Westbrook taking part, Oklahoma City is well represented. “Thunder up, Thunder up,” Harden said. “That was the whole objective, that was key. We didn’t really worry about the individual statistics because we’re all a family over there but it’s great to be rewarded for your accomplishments so I’m excited for everyone to be here. As for a Thunder sweep? “That would be a good look,” Harden said. “We could go back to our city with something to carry home.”
Lunch with Chuck. Personal story here. Ben Golliver and I went and grabbed lunch at a nearby sandwich place and as we were standing in line, Charles Barkley (and someone else who was evidently famous, though neither of us recognized him) walked up behind us. Pretty random.
Not exactly starstruck. Being in Los Angeles, I expected to see some serious Hollywood stars. So far, the only one I’ve seen is the black guy from Reno 911! who was by himself wandering around during the Jerry West statue unveiling. Kind of cool, but I might have been the only person that recognized him.
