Even though he plays for the Wizards, Nick Young’s circus layup is one of the best highlights of the season.
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The Thunder’s 90-87 loss to the Lakers on Sunday is a great example of why Russell Westbrook holds the championship keys for this young Oklahoma City team. He posted 22 points, six assists and six rebounds, but turned the ball over seven times, including two bad turnovers in the final minute when the Thunder were trying to complete a comeback.
He’s super-aggressive and supremely talented, but the bottom line is that he’s a scoring guard playing the point, and he has to learn to keep himself under control, especially when he’s attacking the rim and there are defenders in position to take the charge. Unfortunately, his turnovers are actually up this year (3.8 vs 3.3 last season) so it doesn’t look like the light is going to go on anytime soon. He’s actually tied with Rajon Rondo with the most turnovers per game this season.
Can the Thunder emerge from the West? I think they can, but they’re going to have to play better offensively than they did on Sunday. OKC took the Lakers to a Game 7 last year, and once they get Kendrick Perkins into the mix — he sat out of Sunday’s game with sprained knee — they’ll fare better against the Lakers’ big front line. Serge Ibaka looks more than capable of playing power forward, while James Harden and Nick Collison anchor a very capable bench.
Believe it or not — even with the best scorer in the league in Kevin Durant, the Thunder have trouble executing offensively. Westbrook is not a natural playmaker so when he’s penetrating he’s looking for his own shot. The Thunder will probably have to play Harden at the two down the stretch if Ibaka and Perkins are also on the floor. Otherwise, the defense will be able to focus on Durant and Westbrook.
If Westbrook can raise his game and increase his assist-to-turnover ratio from the current 2.2 to 2.8 or 3.0, the Thunder will be very, very dangerous come playoff time.
The quarterbacks performed throwing drills at the NFL scouting combine on Sunday and below are some quick-hit thoughts on how each of them fared. (Thank you NFL Network for broadcasting the scouting combine for those of us who are unable to go to Indianapolis, or have a restraining order that mandates we stay 500 yards away from Rich Eisen, whom all I wanted to do was party with.)
– For those that were concerned with the way the ball comes out of Cam Newton’s hand, there’s no need. Unlike Tim Tebow last year, Newton doesn’t have a flaw that needs to be fixed when it comes to his delivery, which is important seeing as how he played in the spread option under Gus Malzahn at Auburn.
– That said, Newton was awfully inconsistent on Sunday. His passes on the out route sailed on him and he also overthrew his receiver on one of his post-corner throws. His footwork is still a work in progress but hey, he’s learning. He has to transition from being a spread quarterback to a conventional drop back passer in the NFL, so it’s going to take time. At least at this point he has better mechanics than Tebow and Vince Young when they were preparing for the draft.
– Ryan Mallett was really impressive. He has a cannon attached to his right shoulder and the ball comes out of his hand rather effortlessly. He has the best physical tools of any quarterback in the draft and at 6’6” and 238 pounds, he has the size that scouts drool over. Of course, his physical tools have never been in question. His attitude and character are what some are concerned about. Personally, I think he has Oakland Raiders written all over him. He could thrive in a vertical offense and Al Davis can’t even spell character.
– Christian Ponder had himself a great day as well. He outshined Newton and all other quarterbacks in the second group, displaying very good accuracy and decent arm strength. I can’t see him going any higher than the third round, but he looked healthy and confident on Sunday. Depending on what team he winds up with, he could be a player to watch in a couple of years.
– For those who followed him at Washington, it’s not surprising that Jake Locker ran one of the fastest 40 times (4.52 seconds) of any quarterback in combine history. The guy was blessed with a ton of athleticism and he looked good throwing the ball, which had been a concern heading into the combine. He was a little inconsistent with his accuracy when throwing the dig route, but it’s hard to complain about his performance. Of course, most quarterbacks perform well when there are no defenders in their face. When teams watch film of him from last year, there will be plenty to pick apart.
– Ricky Stanzi, Jerrod Johnson and Andy Dalton all struggled with their accuracy. I don’t think anyone is surprised with Johnson, but I thought Dalton would put on a better performance. Of course, where he wins teams over is with his leadership, his football IQ and his instincts. You can’t measure those things in throwing drills. I will say this about Stanzi though: the kid throws a nice deep ball (at least when he’s not facing any DBs).
You have to appreciate Browns’ new coach Pat Shurmur trying to stay focused and positive in difficult times for NFL teams.
While recently speaking to the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Shurmur said that even though the Browns are one of a handful of teams that have changed coaches, they won’t suffer more hardships than any other team during a lockout.
“Whatever happens, 32 teams will be in the same situation. I’m not worried about it,” he said. “I feel as though we’ve hired some great teachers and the systems we’re going to teach and employ are proven. I trust and am confident that we’ll get it done.”
What is Shurmur supposed to say? That the Browns are screwed? They’re doomed if a lockout goes into September and he can’t meet with his players? That the Browns shouldn’t even bother playing if there does happen to be a season next year?
No, he’s not going to make excuses for himself or his team, nor is he going to cast any doubt in his first couple of months on the job. That would be extremely unwise and it would make him appear weak.
That said, I couldn’t disagree with him more. Teams like the Browns, Panthers, Broncos and 49ers are at a distinct disadvantage because they changed coaching staffs and are implementing new schemes. Sure, every team will be affected in some ways by a lockout, but Aaron Rodgers already knows how to run Mike McCarthy’s offense. The Steelers’ defenders already know their responsibilities in Dick LeBeau’s zone blitz scheme. Imagine running a five-hour marathon and you have to start an hour behind everyone. You could catch up, but it’ll be difficult and that’s what teams like the Browns, Panthers, Broncos and 49ers face if the lockout lasts months.
In that same article by the Plain Dealer, it’s mentioned that the Browns were one of several teams reminded this week by the NFL that players are not supposed to “meet” with coaches or be given playbooks during this time. Thus, Shurmur can’t even give his extremely young quarterback Colt McCoy his freaking playbook.
USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reports that the Yankees are keeping a close eye on Twins’ starter Francisco Liriano, while Minnesota is keeping a close eye on the Yankees’ prospects.
From Rotoworld.com:
Interesting. We heard earlier this month that the Twins’ front office could be open to the idea of dealing Liriano, and the Yankees, of course, immediately popped up as a potentially interested party. The southpaw is under team control through the end of next season, but if the Twins don’t think they’ll be able to lock him up on a long-term deal, exploring a trade does make some sense. Liriano, who had 201 strikeouts in 192 innings last season, would force the Yanks to give up at least one blue chip prospect.
The Yankees will need to make a move at some point because their starting rotation looks like a poorly constructed Jenga tower right now. CC Sabathia is the bottom holding everything together, while Phil Hughes, A.J. Burnett, Bartolo Colon, Ivan Nova and Sergio Mitre comprise the rest of the shaky tower.
But I wonder whether the Yankees and Twins are a match. The Bombers have two catching prospects in Jesus Montero (who is probably viewed as un-tradeable) and Gary Sanchez that would fetch them a major-league starter, but it’s not like the Twins need a catcher. It would be interesting to see what Minnesota would ask for in exchange for Lirinao.
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