Some Oklahoma City Thunder news before tonight’s game 2 at Chesapeake Energy Arena:
—Barry Tramel of the Oklahoman on the reactions to Russell Westbrook’s style from game 1:
Charles Barkley: “Well, at least we know they got a TJ Maxx in Oklahoma City.”
Kobe Bryant: “He wears weird s——. It’s a generational thing. I’m glad I didn’t grow up in his generation.”
Thabo Sefolosha: “Hopefully we’re not going to see it again this year. I don’t know where he got it from, but it was, uh, fun.”
Ernie Johnson: “Is this Sally Jessy Raphael?”
Lazar Hayward: “Sometimes I think he’ll wear something just to see what guys will say about it.”
Shaquille O’Neal: “It’s Toys R Us. I’ve got one word for you — Garanimals.”—Darnell Mayberry on the 5 ways the Lakers can attack the Thunder in game 2 tonight
—Y! Sports Marc J. Spears on Kendrick Perkins’ re-injured hip
—I guess President Obama likes the Thunder as title contenders (h/t Daily Thunder)
—Metta W____ P____ really likes Thunder coach, Scott Brooks
—Derek Fisher is much too kind to have sent a message with that late-game 3 and turn to the Lakers bench. OK, but he at least said some shit to Mike Brown right?
—Kendrick Perkins is day to day, so W2LC’s J.A. Sherman believes the Thunder should think about starting Nick Collison tonight and bringing Nazr Mohammad and Cole Aldrich off the bench. I agree with anything that says more Nick Collison. I love him with Harden, but if he has to start, it might even be an upgrade over a hobbled Perk.
AP Photo/Sue Agrocki
Paul Pierce has shot just 20 times since the Celtics began their series against Philadelphia. He’s only made a quarter of those shots, so everyone’s asking what’s the deal, Joe*?
First, he’s hobbled. Coach Rivers admitted as much after game 2, saying about Pierce “clearly, he’s not 100%.”
Second, the Sixers are pretty good defensively. Coming into the series, shutting down Pierce must have been a large part Doug Collins’ defensive gameplan (I’d call it scheming, but there’s a moratorium on that word for NBA coaches not named Gregg Popovich). The Sixers smell the blood in the water, and they’re attacking (Bob Cooney with a predatory shark metaphor right off the bat!).
Third, what does this mean for Boston going into tonight’s game 3? Specifically, what does Paul Pierce need to do? Gary Washburn at the Globe has the most well-rounded take. Others are going so far as to say he should sit.
Sitting Pierce doesn’t make any sense. They need his scoring and he won’t provide it on the bench. They need scoring of any sort, but a less than 100% Pierce is still better than the majority of their rotation. Now if only Rondo could consistently hit an 18-footer…
Elsa/Getty Images
*In Chicago parlance, “Joe” often serves as a logical choice over the more popular “yo.”
Congratulations to Larry Bird. He was just named the NBA’s 2011-2012 Executive of the Year. It was a no-brainer.*
PHOTO: Walter Iooss Jr. Porfolio
*Except R.C Buford of the Spurs, but he should really win every year.
The difference between the San Antonio and Los Angeles locker-rooms
This whole SAS-LAC series is rife with parody and satire.
![fuckyeanba:
I’ve tried to stay away from the LeBron at the end of the game discussion that was piqued after last night’s Heat loss.
But it’s been all over the place. Sam Amick mentioned it in his game 2 round-up; so did fellow SI writer, Zach Lowe; Stephen A. Smith took a turn with another joke about LeBron playing well for only 46 minutes; And Hang time blogger Steven Aschburner dived in too—accurately pointing out LeBron played 43 minutes in the loss, so maybe we should give him a break about tiring near the end.
As Shane wrote, I just don’t think the loss is as simple as LeBron’s disappearance down the stretch. Wade missed a lay-up and LeBron missed the easier set of free throws. Life goes on without Chris Bosh, which is the real reason the Heat are concerned. The Heat also have an awful supporting cast.
I get that LeBron’s the MVP and should demand the ball at the end, but a loss is almost never that simple, and it isn’t here either. As evidenced by the pick above, maybe Mario Chalmers should have taken 3 free throws to conclude the game because Darren Collison fouled him. Maybe he makes all 3 of them, and the game goes to overtime. If he misses any of those free throws does he get the blame for the loss instead of LeBron? There are any number of reasons a team losses a basketball game. It ain’t just LeBron.
Can’t we come up with better explanations for a Heat loss when LeBron is often the only reason the Heat are in the game in the first place?
[Pic Via]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m44r46YXWS1qbcs46o1_500.jpg)
I’ve tried to stay away from the LeBron at the end of the game discussion that was piqued after last night’s Heat loss.
But it’s been all over the place. Sam Amick mentioned it in his game 2 round-up; so did fellow SI writer, Zach Lowe; Stephen A. Smith took a turn with another joke about LeBron playing well for only 46 minutes; And Hang time blogger Steven Aschburner dived in too—accurately pointing out LeBron played 43 minutes in the loss, so maybe we should give him a break about tiring near the end.
As Shane wrote, I just don’t think the loss is as simple as LeBron’s disappearance down the stretch. Wade missed a lay-up and LeBron missed the easier set of free throws. Life goes on without Chris Bosh, which is the real reason the Heat are concerned. The Heat also have an awful supporting cast.
I get that LeBron’s the MVP and should demand the ball at the end, but a loss is almost never that simple, and it isn’t here either. As evidenced by the pick above, maybe Mario Chalmers should have taken 3 free throws to conclude the game because Darren Collison fouled him. Maybe he makes all 3 of them, and the game goes to overtime. If he misses any of those free throws does he get the blame for the loss instead of LeBron? There are any number of reasons a team losses a basketball game. It ain’t just LeBron.
Can’t we come up with better explanations for a Heat loss when LeBron is often the only reason the Heat are in the game in the first place?
[Pic Via]
