Tag: Kevin Durant (Page 12 of 13)

      No Love?

      January 29, 2009 /

      The rosters for the T-Mobile Rookie Challenge have been announced and there are a few surprises.

      The rookie roster consists of Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, O.J. Mayo, Eric Gordon, Rudy Fernandez, Michael Beasley, Brook Lopez, Greg Oden and Marc Gasol.

      The sophomore roster includes Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Brooks, Kevin Durant, Wilson Chandler, Jeff Green, Al Thornton, Luis Scola, Al Horford and Thaddeus Young.

      Kevin Love isn’t on the nine-man roster for the Rookie Challenge, and it’s a big, glaring snub. ESPN’s John Hollinger agrees.

      For starters, the decision to select Eric Gordon ahead of Kevin Love for the rookies was completely inexcusable.

      Don’t get me wrong; Gordon is going to have a fine career, it seems, and in almost any other year he’d be a shoo-in for the team. But he made this squad mainly because the forlorn Clippers have no choice but to play him extensive minutes.

      As good as he’s looked, Gordon is the only rookie team member with a Player Efficiency Rating below the league average, while Love has a better PER than every player on the rookie team except Greg Oden. Love leads the league in offensive rebound rate, as I mentioned the other day, but his prodigious work on the boards has gone largely unnoticed because he plays only 23.2 minutes a game, far less than Gordon’s 32.2.

      Love’s absence is especially surprising considering how the rookie roster is loaded with four guards (Rose, Westbrook, Mayo, Gordon), one G/F (Fernandez) and only one true forward (Beasley). You’d think that if it were a tossup between Gordon and Love (which it isn’t) that they’d at least want to get another true forward on the roster to balance things out.

      Hollinger goes on to rail against the sophomore roster snubs, which included Wilson Chandler over Jamario Moon, Al Thornton over Carl Landry and the worst of all (he says) — Aaron Brooks over Ramon Sessions.

      Interestingly, seven of the top 11 picks of the 2007 draft — Mike Conley, Yi Jianlian, Corey Brewer, Brandan Wright, Joakim Noah, Spencer Hawes and Acie Law — did NOT make the sophomore roster. (I counted Greg Oden amongst the four since he made the rookie roster.) Conversely, six of the top 11 picks in the 2008 draft did make the rookie team.

      NBA

      ‘Melo: “Anything you can do, I can do better.”

      January 3, 2009 /

      Check out this finish from the Nuggets/Thunder game last night. Pay special attention to the pair of shots that start at the 1:45 mark.

      The big difference in Kevin Durant this season is his shooting percentages. Last season, he shot 43% from the field and 29% from long range. This year, he he’s hitting 46% of his shots and is deadly (44.4%) from three-point range.

      The big problem with the Thunder is their defense. Carmelo Anthony caught the ball too easily in the corner, and once he had it, I have no idea why Desmond Mason had his hands down at his waist. He should have extended his arms up to contest the shot — who cares if Anthony tries to dribble around him? There was barely any time left on the clock. That shot reminded me of Raja Bell’s game-winner over Daniel Ewing in the Suns/Clippers playoff series a few years ago.

      As for the Nuggets, the Chauncey Billups addition has been huge, but Nene is also playing great basketball. Over the last four seasons, he has missed 59% of his team’s games due to injury. This year, he’s finally healthy, is averaging 15/8 and is shooting 62% from the field. I’m still not sure that it makes sense to trade Marcus Camby away last summer, but Nene is doing his best to make up for that loss. He posted 27 points and 14 rebounds in last night’s win against the Thunder.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Television, Video

      Nets decline to match Krstic’s offer

      December 30, 2008 /

      Nenad Krstic is now a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

      The New Jersey Nets have declined to match Oklahoma City’s offer sheet to former first-round pick Nenad Krstic.

      The decision Tuesday gives the Thunder another 7-footer as they continue to look for a reliable center.

      Krstic was playing in Russia when the Thunder extended an offer sheet to him last week. The Nets had a week to match it but passed.

      Krstic is just 25 and was an above average big man over the last two seasons in New Jersey before an injury knocked him out for most of the 2007-08 season. If he can get back into an NBA groove, he could give the Thunder another option to ease the burden on Kevin Durant.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      The NBA’s Top 10 Young Shooting Guards

      December 5, 2008 /

      Here’s a quick list of the top 10 shooting guards under the age of 26, ranked in the order of a combination of current performance and trade value (regardless of salary).

      I’ll also list the player’s age and his Player Efficiency Rating.

      1. Brandon Roy, Blazers
      Age: 24
      PER: 22.93
      How do you like Roy’s smooth 21.1 points and 5.3 assists? He’s the cornerstone to a resurgent Portland franchise.

      2. Kevin Martin, Kings
      Age: 25
      PER: 18.90
      His line is a little thin – 2.9 assists, 2.8 rebounds – but boy can he score.

      3. Kevin Durant, Thunder
      Age: 20
      PER: 17.26
      His FG% is three percent higher this season and he’s hitting 47% of his treys. I’d rather see him play small forward, but he’s listed as an off guard.

      4. O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies
      Age: 21
      PER: 17.13
      It’s tough to argue with Mayo’s 21.3 points per game, especially when he’s shooting pretty well from the field (46%) and long range (39%). The Grizzlies have something going with their core of Mayo and Rudy Gay.

      5. Andre Iguodala, Sixers
      Age: 23
      PER: 14.56
      It has been a down year for Iggy, who has seen his scoring drop by 6.0 points per game since the arrival of Elton Brand. His FG% is down and his 3PT% is brutal (23%), but his rebounds and assists are up. Think the Sixers would trade him for Mayo or Durant straight up? I do.

      6. Rudy Fernandez, Blazers
      Age: 23
      PER: 18.35
      He’s been better than advertised. He’s only playing 26 minutes a game, but he’s scoring well (11.6 ppg) and is shooting the long ball often (2.3 made threes per game) and accurately (44%).

      7. Ronnie Brewer, Jazz
      Age: 23
      PER: 16.32
      Brewer is building on last year’s breakout season. He’s not a great three-point shooter (32%), but he’s improved in that area of the game. His contributions elsewhere – 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals – make him valuable.

      8. Ben Gordon, Bulls
      Age: 25
      PER: 17.77
      Gordon is playing for a contract and while his points are up (20.4), his three-point accuracy is down (37%).

      9. Delonte West, Cavs
      Age: 25
      PER: 14.52
      West has settled in nicely with the Cavs. He’s averaging 11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists, and is shooting 50% from the field and 41% from long range.

      10. Nick Young, Wizards
      Age: 23
      PER: 15.03
      His line is thin, but he’s averaging 11.8 points in 24 minutes, and basketball is (mostly) about putting the ball in the hoop.

      Other lists:

      Top 10 Young Point Guards
      Top 10 Young Small Forwards

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      2008 NBA Preview: #30 Oklahoma City Thunder

      October 14, 2008 /

      Offseason Movement: The team acquired forwards Desmond Mason and Joe Smith as part of the three-way trade that sent Luke Ridnour to the Bucks. Basically, it was a salary dump, as Mason and Smith are both in the final years of their contracts. They’ll back up Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox, respectively.
      Keep Your Eye On: Russell Westbrook, G
      Westbrook is a terrific athlete who saw his stock rise before the draft. He’s lightning quick and is a decent scorer, but he didn’t play much point in college, so the idea is for him to play behind Earl Watson for a while until he gets the hang of it.
      The Big Question: How long will this rebuilding job take?
      It will probably take a while. Kevin Durant is the franchise centerpiece, and while he won Rookie of the Year last season, he still has a ways to go before he’s ready to carry the team. The franchise has done a nice job of acquiring draft picks and cutting salary, and they project to have a ton of cap space next summer with just six players currently under contract for the 2009-10 season. It’s going to be interesting to see if the team will be able to land a dominant big man in the next two years. If so, that will certainly accelerate the turnaround.
      Outlook: For this season? Dire. For the future? Reasonably bright. Durant looks like a future franchise player, and while Jeff Green struggled in his rookie season, the team has all the ingredients for a turnaround in the next 2-3 years. They have a young core, a ton of draft picks, and oodles of cap space to work with. The upside is that they’ll be playing in front of the patient Oklahoma City fans who will be grateful to have a NBA team in town, even if the horribly-named Thunder don’t win very many games.

      Check out our NBA Preview page for a look at every team. We’ll be posting three previews per business day, which will take us up to the start of the season on Tuesday, October 28th.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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