Tag: kevin durant

Categories
San Antonio Spurs

Around the Rim: The boys (and babes) are back in town!


1. Life is good in San Antonio
Sure, the Spurs got a new banner for the AT&T Center and, yes, they received some shiny new rings from the commish, but those weren’t even close to being the highlight of San Antonio’s day. That’s because Tim Duncan agreed in principle to sign the dotted line of a two-year, $40 million contract extension that will keep him sporting silver and black through the 2011-12 season. The Big Fundamental immediately paid dividends with team-highs in points (24) and rebounds (13) as San Antonio defeated Portland 106-97. All in all, that’s a pretty big day for the best power forward on the face of the planet, and his team.

2. You sure you want to get rid of this guy?

Remember all that talk about how Kobe Bryant just isn’t trying hard enough for the team? Well, you can nix that idea after one game because in the Lakers’ season opener, Bryant went off for 45 points against the Rockets in a 95-93 defeat. In fact, the Lakers could have possibly won the game if it hadn’t been for Shane Battier’s 3-pointer with under three seconds remaining. We know that the tension is reaching new heights between Kobe and Phil Jackson and between Kobe and the Lakers, but Los Angeles should probably do everything they can to keep their superstar at this point. First off, there is no way they can ever get equal value for someone that talented and secondly, he led the Lakers in every major statistical category last night. If this is how Kobe plays when he’s pouting, just wait until he has something to smile about…if he has something to smile about.

3. The Warriors pick up right where they left off
The Warriors are probably pretty sick of seeing the Utah Jazz at this point. After putting an end to Golden State’s playoff party last year, the Jazz opened this season with a 117-96 win over Don Nelson’s club. The dynamic duo of Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams paid off again for the Jazz as they combined 56 points, 19 rebounds and nine assists. Heck, even the disgruntled Andrei Kirilenko produced for the club as he just missed out on a triple-double with nine points, nine rebounds and eight assists. The Warriors made it interesting in the final quarter, but without Stephen Jackson in the lineup (suspended, of course), Golden State just didn’t have enough firepower to hang.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Houston 43 min, 45 pts (FG: 13-32, 3FG: 1-3, FT: 18-27), 8 reb, 4 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (0-0) @ Cleveland (0-0)

It would be awfully tough to find any teams with worse tastes in their mouths than either the Mavericks or the Cavaliers. Both teams had great regular seasons last year and then both of them got absolutely humiliated in the postseason. In case you’ve already forgotten, the Cavs managed to win the East but went cold against San Antonio in the Finals. On the other side of the map, Dallas virtually coasted to 67 wins before having their hopes smashed by Don Nelson’s small ball. Now, we can’t predict what’s going to happen after the regular season concludes, but we can pretty much guarantee these two are going to be major players in their conferences. Both teams will probably be a little rusty to start the year, but LeBron James and Dirk Nowitzki on the same court are must watch television any day of the year.

Buzzer Beater: The dream of dueling rookies was cut short after Greg Oden needed microfracture surgery before the season, but when the rookies are this good then having just one really isn’t all that bad. Kevin Durant sprained his left knee and his status for the season opener was up in the air until he had a good practice on Monday. Now it’s starting to look like the Nuggets should be more concerned about Durant’s health than the Sonics. Seattle coach P.J. Carlesimo basically said it’s the kid’s call; if he feels good, he’ll be starting the game. And should that happen, all the other rooks out there can basically kiss that ROY trophy goodbye.

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Kevin Durant might not stay in Washington for long


For all you northwestern NBA geeks out there who are thrilled over the prospects of a life-long rivalry between Portland’s Greg Oden and Seattle’s Kevin Durant, you had better enjoy these match-ups while you can (the first being on Christmas day) because if things don’t change you’ll start hearing about Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant.

The Sonics want a new arena and the threats of relocation continue to be the franchise’s main method of possible persuasion. In fact, a minority owner told an Oklahoma City paper that when the group of businessmen from Oklahoma City bought the franchise, their intentions were to move the club.

Aubrey McClendon told the Journal Record paper in Oklahoma City he knows the NBA franchise would make more money in Seattle, but if the city doesn’t help build a new arena the team will move.

However, now that Seattle has a cornerstone for the future and a serious chance to turn things around, the fans might be a little more accommodating and open to the idea of dishing out their share of the $500 million needed to fund a new arena. But you guys better think quick because those Okies are just itchin’ to take the greatest freshman to ever lace up a pair of sneakers out into the middle of nowhere.

McClendon told the Journal Record the Seattle leadership has 60 days to make some decisions, and if they don’t meet Bennett’s requirements the Sonics may be headed for Oklahoma.

Hey, no matter what, you’ve still got Nirvana and Starbucks to call all your own.

Links:

[KOTV.com]: Sonics Minority Owner Says Team Destined For Oklahoma City

Categories
Seattle Supersonics

Kevin Durant almost made people forget Greg Oden wasn’t there


The top two picks from this year’s NBA Draft were supposed to hook up in the first of a career filled with battles on Sunday night when the Seattle Sonics played the Portland Trail Blazers in a summer league game. However, with Greg Oden out of commission thanks to the removal of his tonsils on Saturday, the stage was set for the kid who has been playing second fiddle to take center stage. And Kevin Durant didn’t disappoint in his solo performance.

Durant impressed the crowd with several monster dunks en route to putting up 28 points in the 84-78 loss that kept the Sonics winless in the summer league competition. But despite the team’s woes, Durant was named to the all-tournament team after averaging 23.7 points in his first four contests.

He’s a very special player that has a lot of skills,” Seattle summer coach Ralph Lewis. “Playing games is on the job training and he is growing as a player and we are growing as a team.

While Durant is undoubtedly the face of the franchise for the next decade, Seattle is still pretty excited about their other big catch on draft night. Jeff Green was Seattle’s high-scorer with 32 points. So, even with a 0-5 record, a 60 point outburst from the two kids expected to carry the Sonics out of the slums can brighten the outlook of any coach, GM or fan; even if it did little to impress Durant himself.

I wouldn’t say that this was my best game, but I got better,” Durant said.

Links:

[Chron.com]: Durant scores 28 against Oden-less Blazers

Categories
NBA General

2007 NBA Draft: The Northwest Division gets a serious facelift



The future is now for the NBA’s stars of tomorrow.

Wow! It’s been a long time since the NBA has seen that much action in one night; we’re talking about Wilt Chamberlain on a Saturday night type of action here. The night got kicked off when David Stern spoke those magical words that every kid grows up dreaming about:

With the first pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, the Portland Trailblazers select Greg Oden from Ohio State University.

Okay, so scratch the Portland Trailblazers part out because no kid is ever going to dream about going there, but other than that it’s a shooting star’s wish come true. That, of course, was followed by the easiest pick in the history of draft picks as Seattle scooped up the scraps left by Portland and selected Kevin Durant with the second overall pick. And by scraps, we mean the most polished freshman ever! But that was all pretty common sense stuff for the most part after rumors starting spreading on Thursday that the Blazers were committed to Oden. The real fun started after the no-brainers were off the board.

Seattle continued to change the Sonics guard and promptly shipped off Ray Allen and the rights to Big Baby Glen Davis to Boston for the fifth pick which turned out to be Jeff Green, Delonte West and Wally Szczerbiak. We’re guessing that Paul Pierce would rather have Kevin Garnett on his team, but Allen will make a nice compliment to Pierce. And in the East, there’s no telling who’s going to be making the postseason anymore.

Then there’s the evolving Portland squad that kicked the troublesome Zach Randolph out the door as soon as Oden’s name was read. And of course, Isiah Thomas was the sucker that took on the talented but troubled semi star. But we have to commend Zeke for finally getting rid of Steve Francis who has been nothing but a pain for the team since arriving. The Blazers also sent Dan Dickau and Fred Jones in the deal and New York shipped Channing Frye along with Francis. Now, Portland has a fierce front court with Oden joining a hopefully healthy LaMarcus Aldridge.

Then there are the Bobcats who are desperate to get their hands on an All-Star caliber player and ended up trading off their eighth pick in Brandan Wright for Jason Richardson. Charlotte also picked up Golden State’s second-round pick Jermareo Davidson. Warriors fans are probably pissed that they got rid of a huge part of their recent only playoff success, but it was a great move financially as Richardson is owed $51 million over the last four seasons on his contract.

But even after all that; the real thing that we’re going to remember this draft for is the gosh awful outfit that Joakim Noah wore to the big show. We’re sure Chicago must be so proud.

The rest of the results from the 2007 NBA Draft, broken down by team, can be found after the jump.

Continue reading “2007 NBA Draft: The Northwest Division gets a serious facelift”

Categories
NBA General

Kevin Durant was born with 11 toes?!?! No wonder Portland might pass.


So, apparently there is a “FakeDurant” out there somewhere who is posting on Yardbarker as if he was the real Kevin Durant. Why is this news? Well, it looks like the NBA bound Durant’s peeps are requesting that the post be removed because FakeDurant is saying some pretty odd things and they don’t want their meal ticket getting a bad rap. The idea is good, but who the hell is going to believe that stuff like this would be written by the sickest freshman of all time (oh, not to mention it’s posted by FakeDurant!!!):

I met with the fine folks of the Seattle Sonics this week. They asked me what number I wanted to be and I said “69!” I mean DUH LOL.

I HAD A SIXTH TOE ON MY RIGHT FOOT WHEN I WAS BORN AND THE DOCTOR CUT IT OFF!

People are always interviewing me and they all want to know whether or not I think Joakim Noah is ugly. I DO! Sorry bro BUT YOUS HIDEOUS lol!!! But I think everyone agrees with me when I say I’d love to team up with the MilfHunter and hunt down his mom! I mean OMG good thing I’m wearing compression shorts right now!

I took a poop today and the inside of the toilet looked like a smiley face…does that mean i might be gay? FREE BRITNEY (aka MILF)!!!

Well, now that we think about it, that does totally sound like something Durant would say. It might happen. Yeah, and monkeys might fly out of our butts.

Links:

[Awful Announcing]: Fake Durant Causes Yardbarker To Get Contacted By Real Durant’s People

Categories
NBA General

Odds and Ends: Kevin Durant gets Gilbertized

Gilbert Arenas is a great talent on the court, but it’s pretty well known that he’s a bit cuckoo in the head. And Kevin Durant is a superstar in the waiting who is a human sponge waiting for the proper teacher. Basically what we are saying is that if we were the GM at Portland or Seattle, we would get our cornerstone of the future the hell away from Agent 0.

In other news…

[USA Today]: Jockey gets a slap on the wrist for kicking a horse.

[SI.com]: It’s up and down for Chicago Bears fans.

[ESPN]: Chris Benoit murdered his wife and son; the ugly truth unfolds.

[ABC13.com]: Yao Ming is getting married!

[AZCentral.com]: Stephen Jackson is gone but the Pacers are still going to court.

And finally, Tank Johnson, Pacman Jones, Michael Vick and a slew of other might be on the outside looking in at the moment, but we think that we might have found a kid who is working on filling those empty NFL holes one day. He definitely has the off-field behavior down.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: The NBA Draft wars have begun


1. Kevin Durant didn’t do himself any favors
Kevin Durant was unanimously chosen as the best player in college basketball last season but it certainly looks like he’s going to be playing second fiddle to Greg Oden when the draft comes rolling around at the end of the month. While Oden impressed the heck out of some scouts, Durant couldn’t even bench 185 pounds and finished 78th out of 80th prospects who showed up to Orlando last week. Oden did significantly better in the vertical leap, an agility drill and finished with a better time in a three-quarter court sprint. Looks like Kevin better get used to idea of playing in Seattle. Wait, didn’t this happen to a Longhorn once before? Ah, yes; some guy named Vince Young blew the nonexistent roof off the Rose Bowl and then everyone started questioning him after a pathetic Wonderlic score. Last we checked, V.Y. was the R.O.Y., but only time will tell if Durant can do the same.

2. Ladies and gentleman, Steve Kerr

Steve Kerr made his debut as the Suns’ general manager on Wednesday and his first order of business was to crack up the media with a sarcastic answer to a question of his plans for the Suns. “I’m going to shop Nash immediately,” Kerr said. Not a bad start; but what does the reporter think he’s gonna say. What’s up with all these people saying that teams like Phoenix and Dallas should be blown up because they didn’t bring home the trophy. Obviously these guys came up short in the postseason…again, but teams that win 60+ games don’t need to be blown up. Tweaking is all that’s needed for these guys; tweaking of expectations that is. Just because you win the regular season doesn’t mean your gonna win the postseason; sometimes it’s just a few tough breaks that can cost a series or even a championship. Listen, disappointment is tough but the West is even tougher. But don’t forget that persistence pays you guys, it took San Antonio over a decade of David Robinson disappointment before their big break came.

Buzzer Beater: And we are finally less than 24 hours away from the NBA finals between the Cavs and Spurs and it’s a good thing because we’re getting ready to pop at the seams. For as much hate as the NBA gets, this should shape up to a pretty good series. On one side you’ve got the future of the league in LeBron James and on the other side you’ve got the best player of his generation in Tim Duncan; unfortunately for James, in addition to having a ton of championship experience and some of the toughest defense in the league, Duncan also has another pair of All-Stars on his side of the court. Cleveland has some solid players but there shouldn’t be any doubt in any fan’s mind that the Cavs are completely outclassed. Well, those Cavalier fans might not agree with that but they know it’s true deep down inside. That’s not to say that we’re going to have a sweep on our hands; LBJ is good enough to single handedly carry his team to victory on any given night, but the question is can he do that four times? Probably not; once or twice is more likely. San Antonio knows how important these first two games at home will be because with a Golden State-esque electricity running through the building in Cleveland it’s gonna be really tough to grab more than one victory battling that type of emotion.

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Sorry Detroit; "No soup for you!"



She’s no Jessica Alba, but it’s not
bad for Cleveland.

1. Now it’s a best of three
After falling down 0-2 to the experienced Pistons, the Cavs looked like they wouldn’t be in this conference finals series for long, but there’s a good reason that people say a series doesn’t truly start until the home team loses. Now, that same Cavs team has evened up the best of seven at two apiece and LeBron James is looking like a true leader on the court after Cleveland won Game 4 91-87 on Tuesday. Larry Hughes wasn’t even expected to play but he ended up starting the game; however, it would be his replacement that grabbed the spotlight. An aggressive Daniel Gibson put together another great performance as he finished with 21 points by getting to the foul line 12 times, converting on all 12. But it doesn’t matter if the Cavaliers win all of their home games because they can’t advance to the finals without grabbing a victory in Detroit and there is no better time than Thursday night for Cleveland to do just that.

2. Buss-ted!

So what do you do when you’re old, rich and have a lot of free time on your hands? Well, if you are Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss you stay up way past your bedtime, get wasted and drive your gold station wagon the wrong way down the street. Buss blew at least a 0.08 when pulled over by the cops around 1 a.m. on Tuesday morning and was arrested on suspicion of DUI. The old geezer apologized for his actions but we gotta give him props cause when the 74-year-old Buss was pulled over he had some 23-year-old piece of ass in his Mercedes-Benz. Now, we don’t know what the relationship between these two was, but we’re guessing that she wasn’t his granddaughter which makes it a little suspicious. Its amazing how billions of dollars can make that creepy 51 year age difference just disappear.

3. Hey! I’ll trade ya’!
The rivalry between Kevin Durant and Greg Oden has been limited to their on-court skill so far, but now that they are about to become professionals it’s time for their head to head competitions to extend off the court. Because there is more to being an All-Star baller than just points, rebounds and blocks; there’s also basketball cards and shoe deals. On Tuesday Oden signed a three-year deal worth at least $3 million with Topps while his soon to be division foe recently inked a deal with Upper Deck. Both guys will be great spokesmen for their companies but Oden is already getting some serious hype and in his new campaign the youngster is going to be featured with Hall of Famer Bill Russell. Not a bad way to start off your career if you ask us.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: LeBron James vs. Detroit 44 min, 25 pts (FG: 8-19, 3FG: 1-5, FT: 8-9), 7 reb, 11 ast, 3 stl

Buzzer Beater: The games are coming fast and furious in the Western Conference finals with the Spurs and Jazz making a quick one day turnaround after San Antonio took a 3-1 lead on Monday. SA would love to get this series over with so they can rest up for whoever ends up making it out of the East and it’s going to be pretty tough for the Jazz to stop `em considering that the last time Utah won in San Antonio Karl Malone and John Stockton were wearing notoriously short shorts. OK, so it wasn’t that long ago but 1999 was still quite a while back. The wildcard in the series continues to be Manu Ginobili as his play off the bench is overwhelming whoever Utah decides to throw at him. And the Spurs also have another pair of players who know how to put the final nails in playoff coffins. Since Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Ginobili became a trio in 2003, San Antonio is 12-4 in series clinching games.

Categories
NBA General

Why is Jon Barry behind a mic again?

We’ve been laughing at Jon Barry since Tuesday night for his stupid comments after the draft lottery and now we have the proof that Barry is a complete idiot. You have to be patient but at the end of the clip (4:35 mark) Barry actually says that Portland should trade away their number one pick for some veteran help after they won the rights to Greg Oden or Kevin Durant by turning chicken s*** (5.3% chance of winning) into chicken salad. Barry should be fired for simply thinking that the Blazers should get rid of one of the brightest talents to come into the league since LeBron James, whether it’s Oden or Durant. But then again, Barry had already humiliated himself once that night by guaranteeing that the Celtics would win the lottery so, why not make it a double dip.

Looks like Jon is attempting to make his broadcasting fame by going for the outlandish comment approach made famous by his ESPN colleague Bill Walton. So, we’re gonna guess that Barry was totally behind the Blazers’ Sam Bowie pick in 1984 as well.

Links:

[Blazers Blog]: You so crazy Jon Barry!

Categories
NBA General

Around the Rim: Portland gets a breath of fresh air



The next Jail Trail Blazer?

1. The West just got even better
It was one of the more shocking lotteries in recent history, as neither Memphis nor Boston grabbed either of the top two picks, a.k.a. Greg Oden or Kevin Durant, despite being the worst teams in the league, but instead it was a pair of Northwest Division clubs who changed their fortunes. With just a 5.3 percent chance of winning the whole shebang, the Portland Trail Blazers grabbed the top pick while Seattle ended up with a heck of a consolation prize. The beauty of this is that these two kids will grow as rivals for at least the beginning of their careers as they compete for the same division title every year. Unfortunately they will have some stiff competition for the crown as Utah, Denver and Minnesota all reside in the Northwest. But the real losers in this year’s lottery are those pathetic Grizzlies, Celtics and Bucks who put up some horrid regular season records but still had the statistical advantage slip through their fingers, giving their fans no reason to attend any home games in the next few years. That really sucks for those guys but our “kick to the crotch award” goes to Atlanta who came so freakin’ close to grabbing a franchise cornerstone but instead is going to have to settle for the La Toya Jackson of the draft. (Full lottery results)

2. Spurs dominate again

Like in Game 1, the Jazz put together a late run but they couldn’t escape from San Antonio with a victory as the Spurs grabbed a 2-0 lead in the West finals behind a 105-96 Game 2 win. Tim Duncan continued his run of playoff domination as he finished with 26 points and 14 rebounds while Tony Parker dished out a career playoff-high 14 assists to go with his 17 points. Utah had better hope that their home crowd gives them some added umph because the Spurs are starting to make this look way too easy. Sure, Carlos Boozer (33 pts, 15 reb) and Deron Williams (26 pts, 10 ast) are getting it done on the blue team but at this point it is a two man show against a cohesive unit. Sorry, but without some help from the role players, this is going to be a quick and easy series for the West crown.

3. Another Denver delinquent
Ron Artest might have found a new home after pretty much wearing out his welcome in Sacramento by being involved in several incidents with the law since arriving. So, what whacked out coach would possibly be willing to take a ride in the Artest demolition derby? Why, George Karl of course. Yup, the Denver Nuggets are looking to add rapper extraordinaire “Tru Warier” Artest to their bad boy lineup of Kenyon “Microfracture” Martin, Allen “Practice” Iverson and Carmelo “Sucker Punch” Anthony. We’re guessing that Artest would fit right in with this crew and we’re also guessing that in typical Karl fashion he wouldn’t be able to handle his malcontent cast and end up blaming the Nuggets management for his poor compilation.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Utah 38 min, 26 pts (FG: 10-15, FT: 6-8), 14 reb, 4 ast, 2 stl, 5 blk

Buzzer Beater: Well it sure didn’t take the Rockets very long to find a replacement for Jeff Van Gundy after the front office decided to give him the boot on Friday, because Rick Adelman is expected to be introduced as the new coach on Wednesday. It should be a good fit; Houston definitely needs a veteran coach who can properly utilize his tools and Adelman has proven that he can win. Hey, this guy got some great mileage out of Vlade Divac for cryin’ out loud; surely he can turn Yao Ming into a beast. And if you don’t think Adelman desperately wants to win a ring then just remember that he has the highest winning percentage (.610) of any coach who doesn’t have a championship.