Posts Tagged ‘russell westbrook’
Thursday, May 16th, 2013
We now know half the teams who have qualified for the National Basketball Association’s conference finals.
On Wednesday night, the Miami Heat advanced to the Eastern Conference Final with a 94-91 win over the Chicago Bulls to win the Eastern Conference semi-final series 4-1, while the Memphis Grizzlies advanced to the Western Conference Final with a 88-84 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder to win the Western Conference semi-final series 4-1 as well.
The Heat win over the Bulls I think I can safely say was expected. However the fact the Grizzlies beat the Thunder is significant. It just proves how much the Thunder were missing their point guard Russell Westbrook, who needed knee surgery after suffering an injury against the Houston Rockets in the Western Conference quarterfinal.
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Tags: chicago bulls, marc gasol, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, mike conley, oklahoma city thunder, quincy pondexter, russell westbrook, tayshaun prince, tony allen, zach randolph
Posted in NBA |
Sunday, April 28th, 2013
Russell Westbrook (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
A significant story in the 2013 NBA Playoffs isn’t who is playing, but who is not. Prior to the playoffs, it was well known the Los Angeles Lakers would not have Kobe Bryant, the Boston Celtics would not have Rajon Rondo and the Chicago Bulls would not have Derrick Rose.
However, the injuries continue to mount in the postseason as well. In the Western Conference quarterfinal, the Golden State Warriors lost their star center David Lee with a hip flexor for the postseason. Lee led the NBA this year with 56 double doubles. Then in game two of the Western Conference quarterfinal, Oklahoma City Thunder all-star point guard Russell Westbrook injured his knee after having surgery to repair a lateral meniscus tear.
Meanwhile, the injuries in Los Angeles continues to mount for the Lakers, with not only Bryant, but Steve Nash, Steve Blake and Jodie Meeks out as well. In game three’s loss to San Antonio, the Lakers were forced to play with their fifth and sixth ranked guards! Yikes!
Tags: boston celtics, chicago bulls, david lee, Derrick Rose, golden state warriors, jodie meeks, Kobe Bryant, los angeles lakers, oklahoma city thunder, rajon rondo, russell westbrook, steve blake, Steve Nash
Posted in NBA |
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012
Kevin Durant (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
- The Oklahoma City Thunder had a brilliant third quarter in the opening game of the NBA Finals on Tuesday.
Down 54-47 at the half, the Thunder outscored the Miami Heat 27-19 to take a 74-73 lead, and then played even better in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Heat 31-21 for a 105-94 victory.
Kevin Durant led the way with 36 points. It is still amazing to me how much the Thunder fans have warmed up to Durant over the years because he played for the University of Texas Longhorns as a freshman in the NCAA.
According to Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback Henry Burris, the Oklahoma-Texas rivalry is as hot as Edmonton-Calgary.
Another Thunder player who was exceptional in game one was Russell Westbrook. He recorded an impressive double double (27 points, 11 assists).
The fact that Oklahoma City was a game better in the standings in the regular season than Miami (47-19 vs. 46-20) might just help them win an NBA title. Their home court advantage is very significant as the Thunder fans deliver a college atmosphere throughout each home game.
Tags: kevin durant, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook
Posted in NBA |
Tuesday, June 5th, 2012
James Harden (Justin Smith, Wikimedia Commons)
A team playing away from home has finally won in the third round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs.
Last night in San Antonio, Kevin Durant scored 27 points as the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 108-103 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Western Conference Finals.
Even though Durant and Russell Westbrook combined for 50 points, I felt the best player on the Thunder in game five was James Harden. Playing with his hockey beard, Harden scored 20 points and was a +24 on the court.
So far in the conference finals, the home team had won the first eight games. In the Eastern Conference Final, the Miami Heat and Boston Celtics have each won their first two home games heading into game five in south Florida tonight.
Sunday night in Boston, the Celtics beat the Heat 93-91 in overtime as point guard Rajon Rondo scored 15 points and 15 assists for a double double. As Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are all getting up in age, this is becoming more and more Rondo’s team. Still for the Heat to win the series, they will need to do a better job defending Allen who had four three pointers in game four.
Tags: boston celtics, james harden, kevin durant, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, rajon rondo, ray allen, russell westbrook, san antonio spurs
Posted in NBA |
Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012
Russell Westbrook (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
The Oklahoma City Thunder have advanced to the Western Conference Finals.
Monday night in Oklahoma, Russell Westbrook led the way with 28 points as the Thunder defeated the Lakers 106-90 to win the series 4-1. Their opponent will be the San Antonio Spurs in a series that starts Sunday.
There were two major turning points in this one. Late in the first half with the Lakers leading 51-50, Metta World Peace took a technical for a hard foul he committed on Thabo Sefolosha of the Thunder. Then Kobe Bryant took a second technical for arguing the call saying that Metta was only playing the ball. The Thunder went up by three after the subsequent fouls.
The second turning point came with the amazing shots made by Westbrook and Kevin Durant, who scored as the basketball went off the top of the backboard and into the net.
Meanwhile in Boston, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead with a 101-85 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.
Tags: boston celtics, kevin durant, los angeles lakers, oklahoma city thunder, philadelphia 76ers, russell westbrook
Posted in NBA |
Monday, February 20th, 2012
Kevin Durant (Justin Smith, Wikimedia Commons)
For the Oklahoma City Thunder to be considered an elite team in the National Basketball Association, Kevin Durant needs to simply have the ball as much as possible.
On Sunday, Durant recorded a remarkable 51 points in a 124-118 overtime win over the Denver Nuggets. Point guard Russell Westbrook also added 40 points.
With the win, the Thunder improve to 24-7, the best record in the Western Conference, and only half a game back of the Miami Heat for the best record in the NBA.
Durant, Westbrook, and teammate Serge Ibaka combined for 103 of the Thunder’s 124 points, made unbelievable history. Thy became the first trio to record 50 points, 40 points and a triple double in the same game. Ibaka had 15 rebounds, 14 points and an amazing 11 blocked shots.
One could argue and make the case that Ibaka is more valuable than Westbrook for the Thunder. Westbrook has been criticized for being a shoot first point guard, while Ibaka’s defensive ability was shown on the scoresheet Sunday when he was a +31– impressive when you consider the game went into overtime.
Tags: kevin durant, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook, serge ibaka
Posted in NBA |
Tuesday, May 17th, 2011
Tom Thibodeau (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
Ok folks. A quick apology. Normally I try to do a preview of each round of the playoffs before the series begins. But on Sunday, I only had a two hour window because Game Seven of the Western Conference Semi-Final between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Memphis Grizzlies only ended two hours before Game One of the Eastern Conference Final between the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat, and I was watching the final round/playoff of the Players’ Championship from Jacksonville at the time.
We know that the Heat were terrible defensively in game one against the Bulls. The Heat big three of Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade and LeBron James went a combined -51. Joakim Noah was strong along the glass, as he recorded 14 rebounds. So the question now is, can the Heat turn things around or do the Bulls have the Heat in a vulnerable mental state?
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Tags: chicago bulls, dallas mavericks, dirk nowitzki, jason kidd, joakim noah, kevin durant, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook, tom thibodeau
Posted in NBA |
Sunday, May 15th, 2011
Russell Westbrook (Keith Allison, Getty Images)
Triple doubles in the NBA Playoffs don’t happen very often.
But when it happens in Game Seven of a playoff series, it is very special indeed.
This afternoon Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder recorded his first career playoff triple double (14 points, 14 assists, 10 rebounds), as the Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 105-90 in game seven of the Western Conference Semi-Final.
Westbrook, who has been criticized by some, including me, for possibly taking too many shots throughout the playoffs, played an exceptional all-around consistent form of basketball, despite only going four for twelve on the floor. He knew he was struggling a bit offensively, so he did what a good point guard should do and that is to pass the basketball.
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Tags: chicago bulls, Derrick Rose, kevin durant, luol deng, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook
Posted in NBA |
Tuesday, May 10th, 2011
LeBron James (Getty Images)
The Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder both won in overtime Monday night.
To have two Stanley Cup playoff games is rare, but to have two NBA playoff games heading into overtime on the same night is more rare.
But that is what happened last night as the Miami Heat defeated the Boston Celtics 98-90 in overtime and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 133-123 in triple overtime.
The Heat now lead the Eastern Conference semi-final 3-1 and the the Thunder and Grizzlies are now tied at two games apiece in the Western Conference semi-final.
The best athletic performances on Monday night came from LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
James posted 35 points, while Westbrook scored 40.
The Westbrook-Durant connection in Oklahoma City continues to be a top story in the NBA Playoffs. Kevin Durant, who seems to be the better player, continues to take fewer shots than Westbrook. On Monday, Westbrook took 33 shots, compared to Durant’s 20. But at the end of the day, Westbrook only had five more points than Durant.
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Tags: atlanta hawks, boston celtics, chicago bulls, kevin durant, LeBron James, memphis grizzlies, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook
Posted in NBA |
Thursday, April 28th, 2011
Kevin Durant (Justin Smith, Wikimedia Commons)
Last night in the National Basketball Association, the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder advanced to the conference semi-finals.
The Heat defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 97-91 and the Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Denver Nuggets 100-97.
Miami and Oklahoma City both won their respective series in five games.
The current talk about the Heat is that they have big three players– LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade, and not much of a supporting cast. While the talk in Oklahoma City is that their two top players– Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook aren’t really getting along too well, but are putting their personal differences behind them.
The Heat will now play the Celtics in a very intriguing second round matchup in the Eastern Conference. My big question right now is will LeBron James and Chris Bosh be mentally focused throughout the entire series. They have a history of not putting the necessary required effort in when the game is on the line the most.
As for the Thunder, I think they will be ok. Oklahoma City is definitely the team on the rise. I don’t question the ability of Durant and Westbrook, but question is can James Harden, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins complement the Thunder’s big two stars at a high level? I’m not so sure.
Tags: kevin durant, Miami Heat, oklahoma city thunder, russell westbrook
Posted in NBA |
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
Tony Parker (Keith Allison, Wikimedia Commons)
A lot of times when people analyze the NHL or NBA, they start with the East. But www.anysportanytime.ca is founded in the West, so I’m going to start with the West!
(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies–
Spurs Top Three–Tony Parker 17.5 PPG, 6.6 APG; Emanuel Ginobili 17. 4 PPG, 4.9 APG; Tim Duncan 13.5 PPG, 8.9 RPG.
Grizzlies Top Three– Zach Randolph 20.1 PPG, 12.2 RPG; Mike Conley 13.7 PPG, 6.5 APG; Marc Gasol 11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG.
Analysis: The Spurs come into the series as the hands on favourite, having won four NBA titles since 1999. The fact that 2011 is an odd year as well will help San Antonio because their four previous Championships came in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Gregg Popovich is as good of a coach as any in the entire NBA and has maximized the performance out of his players. The question in San Antonio is the health of Manu Ginobili, who injured his elbow in a meaningless game last night in Phoenix and is doubtful for Game One. This will be the fourth playoff appearance in franchise history for Memphis since moving from Vancouver in 2001. They have yet to win a playoff game, going 0-12 in the process. The X factor in the series is Randolph. The tenth year power forward has a criminal past dating back to his days in Portland, but seems to have everything under control now. Still the Spurs have the three best players and will win in six.
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Tags: andrew bynum, Brandon Roy, carl landry, carmelo anthony, caron butler, chauncey billups, chris andersen, chris paul, dallas mavericks, danilo gallinari, david west, denver nuggets, dirk nowitzki, emanuel ginobili, george karl, gerald wallace, gregg popovich, j.r. smith, james harden, jason kidd, jason terry, jeff green, kendrick perkins, kenyon martin, kevin durant, Kobe Bryant, lamar odom, lamarcus aldridge, los angeles lakers, marc gasol, marcus camby, memphis grizzlies, mike conley, nate mcmillian, Nate Robinson, nenad krstic, nene hilario, new orleans hornets, oklahoma city thunder, pau gasol, peja stojakovic, portland trailblazers, ray felton, russell westbrook, san antonio spurs, shawn marion, tim duncan, timofey mozgov, tony parker, tyson chandler, wesley matthews, wilson chandler, zach randolph
Posted in NBA |
We now know half the teams who have qualified for the National Basketball Association’s conference finals.
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