Oklahoma City Thunder's great start; Andrew Bynum is at last fit for the LA Lakers; and Dennis Rodman's plans for topless women's basketball
This week's NBA topics include Oklahoma City Thunder's great start; Andrew Bynum is at last fit for the LA Lakers; and Dennis Rodman's plans for topless women's basketball.
Yes, it's time to give the Oklahoma City Thunder Some Love
The Oklahoma City Thunder has officially joined the pantheon of teams "worthy" of nonstop media attention. It's not just because many experts are picking the team as the favorite to top the Western Conference, or that Kevin Durant is playing at a MVP level. It isn't even that the Thunder won a statement game against the defending champion Dallas Mavericks on a last second Durant bucket (denying veteran showboat Vince Carter's would-be game winner and thankfully snuffing a potential comeback of "Vinsanity"). (Click here to watch those ten seconds).
No, I know the Thunder has hit the big time because they've entered the Non-Stop Trade Talk Zone. Last Wednesday, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were involved in an altercation, leading to speculation that the two cannot peacefully coexist. The conflict between the Thunder's two best players has not exactly been secret, Westbrook's unwillingness to embrace his role as Durant's sidekick was an ongoing concern in last season's playoff run, but this public spat was enough to launch a thousand trade proposals. The fact that Oklahoma City is not obligated to trade Westbrook, which would be a risky in-season decision considering how well the Thunder has been playing, isn't really the point: Trade talk exists primarily for its own sake.
The media and fans alike love trade talk because it's something that everyone can have an opinion about. Very few people really feel qualified to give advice to a pro athlete, but nearly everyone, especially in the era of fantasy sports, feels like they could make player personnel decisions. Plus, it makes easy fodder for columns, ESPN segments and call-in radio shows. So, be prepared for countless "Westbrook to X for Y" proposals, or best yet, the thoroughly bonkers proposition that the Thunder trade Durant and rebuild around Westbrook.
So, congrats Thunder fans: people who didn't realize that Oklahoma City had a NBA franchise now believe they could successfully act as its GM. This means your team has arrived.
The Lakers have A Healthy Andrew Bynum. For now
In the comic strip "Peanuts", the character Linus waits every Halloween for a being called the Great Pumpkin, only to be continually disappointed by its failure to emerge. Los Angeles Lakers fans have their own fruitless autumn ritual, as they wait for the emergence of a mythical creature of great power known as A Healthy Andrew Bynum. A Healthy Bynum, the legend goes, could be the best center in the entire conference, or perhaps even the league.
Well, this year, Lakers have been treated to a tantalizing glimpse of their Great Pumpkin, Andrew Bynum (returning from a four game suspension earned during last year's playoffs) scored 29 points in his first game back and recorded his first double-double against Houston two games later. Considering how emotionally invested Lakers fans have been in Bynum, who has developed slowly but has performed well during the postseason, it's no surprise that their reaction to a Healthy Andrew Bynum's emergence has been slightly over-the-top.
A few weeks ago, Lakers talk revolved around how Bynum could be part of a package for Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard. Now, the argument seems to be between those who would rather keep Bynum and those who might, might, trade Bynum-for-Howard straight up. With Kobe Bryant showing signs of age, his wrist injury has already noticeably affected his shooting, and the days of him carrying the team to the NBA Finals are probably over, and production from the center position could be the key for the Lakers making another championship bid. Do the Lakers keep Healthy Andrew Bynum knowing that he could be replaced by his inferior counterpart at any time, or, with his trade value sky high, do they make a move for the established Howard at the risk of giving up on Bynum's best years?
Somebody in Sacramento isn't being entirely honest
Maybe the Sacramento Kings just want to get in on all this hot and heavy trade talk action. At first, the Sacramento Kings announced that disgruntled big man DeMarcus Cousins had demanded a trade and they would not let him travel with the team. Then, Cousins's agent, and who better to trust than a player agent, said his client made no such claim.
Maybe the Sacramento owners are just projecting, after all the Maloofs spent most of last season threatening to trade the Kings themselves to Anaheim (The Anaheim Kings of Sacramento?). David Stern intervened, as is his wont, ensuring that the Kings would stay a season, but this Cousins imbroglio provides an early sign that the present, never mind the future, remains murky for this hard luck franchise. For what it's worth, Cousins is now back playing with the team, so something has changed on one or both sides, but who knows what it was.
Rajon Rondo is Scary Good, Scary
Boston Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo rang in the New Year with a triple double against the Wizards. Unless traded, say for Westbrook, Rondo is going to be the key for the Celtics to make a deep playoff run. To put it mildly, Rondo's an enigmatic player to build a franchise around. When pressed, coach Doc Rivers often makes two observations: Rondo is both the "smartest player in the NBA" but also "the most stubborn".
"Stubborn" isn't exactly the right word to describe Rondo's play, but during his off games you can grasp what Rivers is trying to say diplomatically. Rondo's biggest strength, his remarkable basketball IQ, can also sometimes double as his fatal flaw. Rondo can think of plays in a split second that no coach could draw up during timeouts of infinite length, but he also has a knack of overthinking and making things more difficult for himself, for example giving up easy scoring opportunities in order to make a more difficult pass, to say nothing of his struggles at the free throw line.
It's this intelligence, however, that makes Rajon Rondo scary on the court. He's not an imposing figure and he's not prone to schoolyard bullying like teammate Kevin Garnett, but he's so focused that he's unnerving. Watch Rondo's face when he's on, those extended periods where he dismantles other players' games with clinical precision, you'll notice that his expression rarely changes. It's absolutely unnerving. I don't want to imply anything about Rondo, but if Sports Illustrated ran a poll among current NBA players who they would most likely suspect to be a serial killer, well, I have my suspicions on who would win.
One liners
? San Antonio Spurs top scorer Manu Ginobili is out indefinitely with a broken left hand, a huge blow both to the team as well as anybody who makes a bet that they could watch an entire Spurs game without falling asleep.
? Miami Heat supervillain LeBron James proposed to his long-time girlfriend on New Year's Eve, in the process crashing Twitter with an onslaught of "Finally someone in the James family will have a ring" jokes.
? Also undershirt spokesperson and dictator-style mustache aficionado Michael Jordan, who apparently spent some time in the NBA, got engaged over the weekend as well.
? The Portland Trail Blazers, despite former franchise face Brandon Roy's early retirement and Greg "Benjamin Button" Oden's 19th season-ending injury, are competing for the top spot in the Western Conference against the Thunder, fighting the former Seattle Supersonics in honor of the Pacific Northwest.
? Flip Saunders, coach of the winless Wizards, got himself ejected after two minutes on Tuesday night's game against the Celtics, sparing himself the pain of actually watching his own team.
? It has been a rough season so far for current and former Kardashian husbands. Dallas Maverick Lamar "Mr. Khloe" Odom has admitted to starting the season out of shape, while New Jersey Nets power forward Kris "Kim's Ex" Humphries, the newly crowned "most hated player in the NBA", is indefinitely out with a shoulder injury.
? Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman is returning to the sport, in his own way, by starting a topless women's basketball league. There is no possible punchline that could do justice to this setup.
? Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose? Still good at basketball.
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And five things you, the reader, learned in week one
Thunder for the Finals
RAJNJ argued: "Along with the Heat, the Thunder are the two teams to start out 3-0. The Thunder has the deepest bench in the NBA. ... All seven of Sports Illustrated basketball analysts had a Heat - Thunder match up in the NBA Finals. Two of seven selected the Thunder as winning the NBA Finals."
Kevin Durant for MVP
Million21 said: "As much as i think Miami are downright scary this year, i think KD35 can make his case for MVP this year."
Where is the seventh day of Christmas?
Busfield highlighted this Budweiser ad celebrating the Christmas start to the season. But where is seven?
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NBA Forever
Dtown preferred the NBA Forever ad
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Ricky Rubio's Euro skills
peporis from Barcelona offered a European perspective: "He's a formidable passer and defender (he usually makes a lot of steals), however he is a very bad scorer. In Badalona and Barcelona he was a great team player but his numbers did not reflect his quality. He needs to improve his shooting as Calderon did in Toronto in order to succeed in the NBA."
Thanks for all your comments last week. Please share your thoughts below.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2012/jan/05/kevin-durant-dennis-rodman-topless-basketball
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