It was Goodman League vs. Melo League in Baltimore, MD, and there were lots of dunks and not much defense. It looked like an NBA All-Star Game, only missing a few All-Stars. Enjoy:

Notice Kevin Durant standing there like a gentleman…

Later, it looks like Beasley comes over to apologize…

End the lockout, please.

That took place one night after Durant scored 66 points at Rucker Park. There is so much to love about this next video, from the two team’s jerseys (orange & red), to the guy on the microphone, to how no one respects the court’s boundaries. The key sequence starts at about the 2:50 mark.

Kevin Pritchard was the man in charge of the Portland Trailblazers when the team took Greg Oden with the #1 overall pick in the 2007 NBA Draft instead of Kevin Durant. Pritchard joined 95.5 the Game with John Canzano and discussed a wide range of topics, including that decision.

“I have never studied a person or players like I did Durant/Oden. It was every single minute of every single second of their entire careers. We were going back into AAU and the one thing that kept hitting us really hard was Greg Oden lost three games until he got to Ohio State, then he got hurt again and only lost a couple there and that was over hundreds and hundreds of games. The overwhelming thing that we got from everybody we talked to was the cat doesn’t care if he scores or does anything, but he’s about winning. We had been really trying to change our culture for guys who really put the team first, not care about stats, and really be about winning. We thought he was the pick at the time. We did the same thing with Durant. They said he’s gonna be the best scorer in the league, he’s going to be an amazing player, and he’s gonna win. We just felt like Greg was going to be that guy that just doesn’t lose basketball games. Right before he got hurt we were talking as a management group and we were like man doesn’t it feel like this is becoming a little bit like Greg’s team because in the locker room after a loss he would get really, really upset and he demands out of his teammates probably more than any other player I’ve been around other than Larry Bird. When he lost, he let his teammates knows what they have to do the next game. We were feeling so comfortable going into the rest of the second half of the season that we were going to be good because Greg was coming along.”

At the time, it was not easy to see that Durant was going to have the better career because it was impossible to know that Oden was going to have so much bad luck with injuries. Durant was definitely the better offensive player, but franchise centers don’t come around very often, and Oden was a major force on the defensive end (not unlike Dwight Howard). He also was capable on the offensive end, and already had a couple of post moves when he came out of Ohio State.

He may not be able to stay healthy, but the guy can play. His 36-minute splits over his first two seasons are impressive: 15.3 points, 11.9 rebounds, 3.4 blocks, 6.4 fouls…wait, ignore that last one. But seriously, lots of big men have trouble adjusting to NBA officiating.

Even if Oden can stay healthy, he’ll never overtake Durant in terms of overall value, but he can close the gap a bit…if he can just stay upright.

Give him credit — he answered the question honestly.

In the interest of full disclosure, I’ve been waiting to write this piece for the last couple of weeks. With the way that the Thunder had been closing games, I knew it was just a matter of time before they’d be eliminated from the Playoffs and I have been thinking about the different directions that the franchise can go from here.

After watching both the Memphis and Dallas series, I have come to this conclusion: Oklahoma City can not win a title with Russell Westbrook at the point.

It’s not that he’s not a good player. He is. He’s just not a point guard. People say that he has come a long way in his three seasons, but he sure didn’t show it in the last two series. Take a look at his numbers in the fourth quarter (and overtime) of all the games against Dallas and Memphis:

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After a Kevin Durant three-pointer with 5:05 to play in regulation, the Thunder led 99-84 and looked destined to tie the series up. But somehow they ended up in overtime — how did that happen?

It was a combination of two factors: 1) Dirk Nowitzki took over offensively for the Mavs, and 2) the Thunder had several poor possessions down the stretch.

Take a look at the Mavs’ final 10 possessions:

4:48 Shawn Marion makes two free throws
4:33 Dirk Nowitzki makes 1 of 2 free throws
4:09 Dirk Nowitzki turnover
3:48 Jason Kidd makes two free throws
3:15 Dirk Nowitzki makes 13-foot jumper
2:11 Dirk Nowitzki makes 24-foot three point jumper (Jason Kidd assists)
2:00 Dirk Nowitzki makes 14-foot jumper
1:25 Dirk Nowitzki makes 5-foot two point shot
0:39 Shawn Marion makes 1 of 2 free throws
0:06 Dirk Nowitzki makes two free throws

That’s 17 points on 10 possessions, or 1.7 points per possession, which is outstanding.

Now, the Thunder’s final possessions:

5:07 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
4:33 Serge Ibaka misses 6-foot jumper
4:20 Russell Westbrook misses 17-foot jumper
3:48 Russell Westbrook lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
3:32 Kevin Durant misses 22-foot jumper
2:49 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:32 Russell Westbrook makes two point shot
2:11 Russell Westbrook misses two free throws
1:38 Russell Westbrook misses 15-foot jumper
1:07 Kevin Durant lost ball (Shawn Marion steals)
0:40 Russell Westbrook misses 16-foot jumper
0:20 Thabo Sefolosha misses 23-foot three point jumper
0:01 Shawn Marion blocks Kevin Durant’s 30-foot three point jumper

That’s two points on the Thunder’s final 13 possessions, or 0.2 points per possession. They went 1-for-11 from the field with two turnovers. Westbrook went 1-for-6 with a turnover and zero assists in the final 5:07. OKC was just unable to get good shots when the Mavs tightened up the defense in crunch time. Durant was getting pushed around while Westbrook was doing his usual dribble-around-and-fire-up-a-shot act.

Overtime was more of the same for OKC. Take a look:

4:26 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
3:54 Thabo Sefolosha makes jumper (Kevin Durant assists)
2:51 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
2:31 Russell Westbrook step out of bounds turnover
1:54 Serge Ibaka makes 17-foot jumper (Russell Westbrook assists)
1:01 Kevin Durant lost ball (Jason Kidd steals)
0:26 Russell Westbrook misses 5-foot running jumper
0:09 Kevin Durant misses 24-foot three point jumper
0:01 Kevin Durant misses 25-foot three point jumper

Over the final 10 minutes, Russell Westbrook went 1-for-8 with two turnovers and an assist. The turnover in overtime was inexplicable. The ball was tapped back on the Mavs’ end of the court and it hit Jason Terry’s hand as it headed over towards the Dallas bench. Westbrook should have let the ball go, but instead tried to save it. It’s what I like to call “dumb hustle.”

It’s no surprise that Westbrook struggled down the stretch; it has been a common theme in these Playoffs. But Durant was pretty awful too. Here’s his line for the final 10 minutes: 0-for-6 from the field (0-5 3PT), one assist and two turnovers. Combined, the Thunder’s two stars went 1-for-14 from the field with four turnovers and two assists.

And that’s how you blow a 15-point lead with five minutes to play, only to lose in overtime. In total, they were outscored 28-6 over the final 10 minutes.

The NY Daily News has a quote from an unnamed Thunder vet that is bound to stir up some controversy.

As one Thunder veteran said, privately, “He thinks he’s better than Kevin Durant.”

Not only that, but Westbrook has the backing of Thunder GM Sam Presti, who made a name for himself with his drafting of Westbrook with the fourth pick in 2008. Presti’s micromanagement behind the scenes has caused some friction between the head of the front office and his coaches, but Brooks didn’t pay any attention to that when he saw that Maynor was his best option to even the series.

Who is this veteran? And why is he dropping nuggets like this while the Thunder are in the middle of a knock-down, drag-out playoff series with the Mavs? Perhaps it’s a former player, not someone currently on the roster.

The thing that interests me about this story is the take of CBS writer Royce Young, who had this to say about Westbrook’s belief in his ability.

But when you’re an All-Star, a second-team All-NBA player that’s as confident in yourself as Westbrook, would you really not think you’re better than Durant. Not us in the general public here. We all know Durant is better. In terms of Westbrook, is it really so bad to think that? In fact, isn’t it probably a good thing?

No, it’s not a good thing. The best teams usually have players that know their roles. Pau Gasol doesn’t think he’s better than Kobe, and Kevin Garnett doesn’t think he should be shooting the ball instead of Paul Pierce. The last really great team to have a pecking order issue was the Shaq/Kobe-era Lakers, and look what happened to them. When Kobe accepted his role, the duo was able to win three straight titles. As soon as he started to try to take over alpha dog status, they crashed and burned in the Finals against a much more cohesive Detroit Pistons team.

If Westbrook does in fact think he’s better than Durant, then there’s trouble brewing in OKC. This isn’t the case of a young upstart trying to take the mantle from an established vet. These are two young players that will be playing with each other for a while, and if Westbrook can’t accept his role as second fiddle, then there are going to be problems down the line.

Scratch that — there might be problems right now.

Thanks to Kevin Durant’s 41 points and Serge Ibaka’s defense down the stretch, the Thunder won Game 5 and closed out the series against the Nuggets, 100-97.

There’s no doubt about it — OKC won in spite of Russell Westbrook’s play. He went 3-of-15 from the field and turned the ball over three times while posting just four assists on a night that Durant hit 14 field goals. He nearly turned the ball over twice in the waning minutes, once dribbling the ball off of his foot after crossing half court and then again nearly whipping the ball out of bounds while attempting to pass the ball to James Harden. Ty Lawson beat him to the hole repeatedly because he kept getting stuck on ball screens set by Nene. He should thank his lucky stars that his teammates were there to protect the rim. (How about Serge Ibaka’s line? One point, eight rebounds, two assists, two steals, NINE BLOCKS and five turnovers. Wowsers.)

Westbrook made a three-pointer with 8:11 to play to cut the Nuggets’ lead to four, but was pretty dreadful down the stretch. Here’s a look at his play-by-play:

6:56 Russell Westbrook misses jumper
6:13 Russell Westbrook misses 25-foot three point jumper
4:20 Russell Westbrook misses 5-foot two point shot (this was a force)
3:53 Russell Westbrook offensive rebound
3:50 Wilson Chandler blocks Russell Westbrook’s 4-foot jumper
3:03 Russell Westbrook makes free throw 1 of 2
3:03 Russell Westbrook misses free throw 2 of 2
1:15 Russell Westbrook shooting foul (Ty Lawson draws the foul)

So in the last seven minutes, he went 0-4 from the field, 1-2 from the free throw line, with one rebound, one assist and one foul. Plus, he nearly turned the ball over twice because he was sloppy with the ball. He also contributed to the defense that allowed Ty Lawson and Ray Felton to combine for 26 points on 8-of-17 shooting.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, the thing that really worries me about the Thunder is the lack of heady play at the point. There’s no doubt that Russell Westbrook is a great player, but he’s not yet a great point guard.

I’ll give him some credit for Game 5 though. Coming down the stretch, he recognized that it was not his night, gave the ball to Durant and got out of his way.

When I originally debuted this list almost two years ago, I took some (surprisingly angry) flack for not settling on a 10th player and for ranking a few guys too high.

The idea for the list sprung from a conversation that I regularly have with a buddy when we are tipping back a few adult beverages: If you could have one current NBA player to build your franchise around, with the goal of winning a NBA title in the next five years – who would it be?

Here’s who I had almost two years ago:

10. Dirk Nowitzki, Carmelo Anthony, Carlos Boozer, Chris Bosh, Kevin Garnett, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker (A reader named “all” was very upset that I couldn’t pick a #10 guy. He’s probably still upset about it.)
9. Derrick Rose
8. Brandon Roy
7. Deron Williams
6. Chris Paul
5. Kevin Durant
4. Dwight Howard
3. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwyane Wade
1. LeBron James

I took some heat for including Rose, but obviously he has panned out very well and is likely to win the league MVP this season. Roy’s knees have killed his stock. The other seven picks look pretty solid.

So let’s take another stab at this. Remember, we’re trying to win a title in the next five years, so youth and health is paramount.

Honorable Mention: Carmelo Anthony (defense), Amare Stoudemire (defense, age, knees), Pau Gasol (age), Tyreke Evans (regressing) Tim Duncan (age), Dirk Nowitzki (age), Paul Pierce (age), Rajon Rondo (moody, in a funk since Kendrick Perkins trade) and Kevin Garnett (age).

NOT QUITE WORTH MAX MONEY…YET

12. John Wall (20 years-old)
All right, I’m projecting a little bit here, but it worked with Derrick Rose and I think Wall has a chance to be in the same league. Check out his month-by-month stats over the course of his rookie season:

So he burst into the league with a good October and November, but struggled a bit over the next two months as teams had a chance to game plan for him. Then in February and March, he’s able to counter that and get back to his early-season numbers. Great sign.

He’s an outstanding playmaker (9.1+ assists in 2-of-5 months) and is lightning quick. His rookie numbers are very similar to Rose’s, only he’s averaging 2.4 more assists per game. He’d likely be the Rookie of the Year if Blake Griffin hadn’t blown out his knee last season. In three or four years he might be vying for best point guard in the league honors.

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