OKC - Five-peat! Final summary

5/2/12

2012 NBA All-Star selections announced



The teams for the 2012 NBA All-Star game have been announced by NBA commissioner David Stern today.
Unsurprisingly the team with the best record in the league has 3 representatives. Miami have their big three playing for the second year in a row.
Reigning NBA champions Oklahoma City only has 2 players involved this season, after having 3 in each of the past two seasons.
Perhaps the biggest surprise is that Golden State have 4 players selected. Amazingly only Andris Biedrins misses out from their starters.
Other teams with multiple selections include Boston, Detroit and San Antonio, both with 2 each. 8 other teams have a single selection.

Al Horford is a starter for the third succesive year. An amazing feat considering he's played for three different teams in that period.
Deron Williams is also a starter for the third time in a row. The first time was with Utah for the West team and the next two were for New Jersey in the East.

Brandon Roy and Kevin Martin miss out on selection because of injury. Both would have pushed Fernandez for the starting SG spot for the West team.
In form players unlucky to miss out include Carl Landry, Channing Frye, Carmelo Anthony, Joakim Noah, Tyson Chandler, Michael Conley and Rudy Gay.
Amare Stoudemire will have to be content will a place on the bench. He is unlucky after replicating his MVP-winning form from last season again.

Eastern All-Stars
Position	Player	Team	PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	SPG
C	Dwight Howard	Orlando	12.5	13.9	1.0	3.2	0.9
PF	Chris Bosh	Miami	33.9	13.2	2.0	2.2	1.1
SF	LeBron James	Miami	25.6	7.0	7.3	2.7	1.9
SG	Ben Gordon	Detroit	27.7	3.6	4.8	0.9	1.7
PG	Deron Williams	New Jersey	30.0	2.0	9.5	0.5	1.5
C	Nene	Boston	11.5	11.6	1.0	2.6	0.8
PF	Amare Stoudemire	New York	33.5	12.4	2.9	2.1	1.3
SF	Danny Granger	Indiana	25.7	7.0	2.0	1.6	1.5
SG	Dwyane Wade	Miami	19.2	3.5	3.6	2.0	2.4
PG	Rajon Rondo	Boston	23.7	2.4	10.5	0.3	2.2
PG	Rodney Stuckey	Detroit	25.8	2.0	8.4	0.4	1.7
PF	Carlos Boozer	Chicago	19.8	12.8	1.6	2.4	1.1

Western All-Stars
Position	Player	Team	PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	SPG
C	Al Horford	San Antonio	18.5	13.1	0.9	2.4	0.8
PF	David Lee	Golden State	16.7	11.8	2.0	1.9	1.4
SF	Kevin Durant	Oklahoma City	24.2	3.8	2.4	1.3	2.6
SG	Rudy Fernandez	New Orleans	29.2	3.8	6.8	1.1	1.6
PG	Stephen Curry	Golden State	25.6	1.3	9.9	0.3	1.8
C	Brook Lopez	Oklahoma City	14.5	8.3	2.2	1.8	0.7
PF	Paul Millsap	Utah Jazz	21.6	10.1	1.4	2.8	1.0
SF	Caron Butler	Golden State	21.7	6.4	3.8	1.6	1.4
SG	Monta Ellis	Golden State	22.1	3.7	5.5	0.7	1.9
PG	Tony Parker	San Antonio	26.6	1.8	10.3	0.2	1.9
PG	Tyreke Evans	Sacramento	23.6	3.1	10.1	0.8	2.1
PG	Chris Paul	Portland	24.0	2.0	10.0	0.3	1.8

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The line-ups for the rookie challenge game were also announced today. All eyes will be on the match-up between Vincenzo Carlos and Declan Giles.
The past two top draft picks have been standouts from their draft classes. Giles was the rookie of the year last season and Carlos looked odds on to win it this year.


High draft picks involved:
Rookies - Vincenzo Carlos (1), Cameron Hunter (2), Jesse Stearn (4) and Javed Abdur Salam (13).
Sophomores - Declan Giles (1), Chase Powell (2), Howie Murphy (4), Matthew O'Donnell (5), Ekpe Udoh (6) and Abram Baxter (12).

Rookies
Position	Player	Team	PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	SPG
C	Justin Billups	Denver	1.5	4.3	0.3	0.7	0.3
PF	Dorgan Nicolas	Charlotte	1.7	5.0	0.3	1.1	0.3
SF	Vincenzo Carlos	Cleveland	15.9	4.9	2.0	1.2	1.4
SG	Cameron Hunter	San Antonio	6.3	1.3	3.1	0.3	0.5
PG	Frank Holding	Chicago	1.6	0.5	2.8	0.0	0.4
SF	Jesse Stearn	Houston	3.4	2.3	0.6	0.4	0.6
PF	Javed Abdur Salam	Cleveland	2.3	5.1	0.5	1.1	0.6
C	Keenan Shannon	Detroit	0.8	6.2	0.3	0.9	0.4
C	Victor Carlos	Detroit	1.2	4.7	0.3	0.5	0.2

Sophomores
Position	Player	Team	PPG	RPG	APG	BPG	SPG
C	Abram Baxter	Portland	2.1	5.3	0.4	1.1	0.5
PF	Ekpe Udoh	Golden State	2.5	6.0	0.3	1.1	0.6
SF	Declan Giles	Los Angeles	14.1	6.2	4.5	1.4	1.2
SG	Theodore Coxon	Dallas	2.8	0.9	0.6	0.1	0.4
PG	Chase Powell	Philadelphia	1.6	0.3	2.9	0.0	0.3
C	Frank Palmer	Cleveland	1.5	5.3	0.3	1.1	0.5
SF	Matthew O'Donnell	Golden State	3.7	2.9	1.2	0.6	0.3
C	Gabriel Alexander	Los Angeles	1.8	5.1	0.2	1.3	0.6
C	Howie Murphy	Cleveland	2.2	3.3	0.4	0.5	0.2

4 Golden State Representatives?
The Sophomore squad sucks, and so does the Rookies.
The Phoenix Suns might be your worst nemisis

It was a bit surprising that they had 4 guys picked, but they are second in the West and those guys are putting up good numbers.

And I'd say Phoenix are probably 5th behind the Heat, Lakers, Blazers and Clippers in term of my greatest rival over the three years.
Nash always plays well against me. At least until Brooks took over from him.

Weird to see Wade coming off the bench to Gordon, but not surprising given the way Bosh's big season eats into his numbers somewhat. Good to see you're represented with a couple of players in the big game.

CP3 coming off the bench??

I'd say the game has chosen Curry as the starter as he's got the higher points per game average.

7/2/12

Oklahoma City Thunder [38-9] vs Milwaukee Bucks [18-28]

Williams plays well off the bench as Thunder fall short in shoot-out against Bucks



OKC - 24 27 39 35 125
MIL - 28 30 40 32 130

Player of the Game: Andre Iguodala




Video Highlights
Williams spins around Iguodala and lays it in.
Flash
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I was down by 17 in the third quarter. Managed to get back to within 3 points but they were too good.

CP3 coming off the bench??

I'd say the game has chosen Curry as the starter as he's got the higher points per game average.

I guess there are no reputations on this game, only stats. Which is good because it ensures the best players are playing in the all-star game.

I've got some news to post later about the Bulls that may or may not please you Andrew. (I had nothing to do with it)

Seeing Rose on the Bucks already bums me out, so I guess it can't get much worse.

8/2/12

Bulls send Noah to Nuggets for Smith



Denver today completed a deal with Chicago that will see them acquire forward Joakim Noah in exchange for guard JR Smith.
The Nuggets get a much needed rebounding big man. Something that they have sorely lacked since Nene left for Boston last season.
This deal means Danilo Gallinari can now play in his favoured SF now. He had been playing center due to a lack of big men in Denver.
It also means that Arron Afflalo now has a chance to prove he is worth the 4-year $40m contract Denver signed him to two seasons ago.
Denver are struggling in their first season post-Melo. They are currently second bottom in the West and looking likely to miss the playoffs.

Chicago are also having an indifferent season. They too are having to cope with the loss of their star player, after Derrick Rose signed for Milwaukee.
They get a proven scorer in this deal. A player that can make his own shot and get his team mates involved. Something they've missed since Rose left.
It is interesting that they chose to make this deal considering that Noah and Boozer had formed a fearsome front court partnership this season.
They are both averaging double-doubles in scoring and rebounding. Taj Gibson will now have to fill the void as he will now be a starter for the Bulls.
Bringing in Smith could also be an insurance policy in case CJ Watson and Ronnie Brewer decide not to re-sign with the Bulls next season.


Chicago receive

JR Smith - 26 years old - SG - $39.69m - 3 years (86)
23.3 PPG - 3.8 RPG - 10.0 APG

Projected line-up
Taj Gibson - Carlos Boozer - Luol Deng - JR Smith - CJ Watson
Bench options
Ronnie Brewer - Tim Duncan - Kyle Korver - Rasual Butler - Omer Asik


Denver receive

Joakim Noah - 26 years old - PF - $33.73m - 3 years (87)
11.4 PPG - 12.8 RPG - 1.2 APG

Projected line-up
Al Harrington - Joakim Noah - Danilo Gallinari - Arron Afflalo - Raymond Felton
Bench options
Ty Lawson - Wilson Chandler - Julian Wright - Chris Andersen - Timofey Mozgov

Love that trade. Denver definitely need someone like Joakim Noah and the Bulls need another wing scorer. Tim Duncan on the Bulls as well? Yikes!

Pretty much a well balanced trade

Wow, forgot that Rose left the team and signed for the Bucks. I guess its an OK deal for both squads.

9/2/12

Oklahoma City Thunder [38-10] vs Chicago Bulls [22-28]

Thunder put on shooting clinic in Chicago



OKC - 26 33 39 42 140
CHI - 25 34 32 23 114

Player of the Game: Kevin Love




Video Highlights
Durant makes an open three.
Flash
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I made my last 19 shots of the game. 19-22 fgm/a in the fourth (86%),
81 point second half is probably one of my best ever too.

Fire Paxson.

10/2/12

Rookies vs Sophomores

Giles saves the day for Sophomores after poor start



ROOK - 33 21 22 17 93
SOPH - 20 25 29 21 95

Player of the Game: Cameron Hunter


ROOK _______ SOPH
40-87 - FGM/A - 43-85
6-18 - 3PTM/A - 2-4
7-15 - FTM/A - 7-10
34 - Rebounds - 44
22 - Assists - 21
8 - Blocks - 6
19 - Steals - 6
17 - Turnovers - 24
10 - Fouls - 8


Top Scorers
Vincenzo Carlos - 28
Chase Powell - 28
Cameron Hunter - 23
Abram Baxter - 14
Ekpe Udoh - 14
Theodore Coxon - 14
Jesse Stearn - 14
Frank Holding - 11
Declan Giles - 10
Dorgan Nicolas - 8
Justin Billups - 6
Frank Palmer - 6

Assists
Frank Holding - 6
Chase Powell - 6
Matthew O'Donnell - 5
Theodore Coxon - 4
Javed Abdur Salam - 4
Justin Billups - 3

Rebounds
Ekpe Udoh - 11
Abram Baxter - 10
Jesse Stearn - 6
Keenan Shannon - 6
Frank Palmer - 6
Matthew O'Donnell - 5
Javed Abdur Salam - 5
Vincenzo Carlos - 5
Howie Murphy - 4

Video Highlights
Carlos begins the game in style.
Flash

Hunter slams it home on a fast break.
Flash

After having a quiet game, Giles comes up the the game winner with 1.3 seconds left.
Flash

More drama than you'd normally expect out of the Rookie Challenge. Good stuff.

I had a chance to tie the game with Cameron Hunter right at the death, but I didn't get a foul call and his shot missed.

Sophomores got lucky

12/2/12

East All-Stars vs West All-Stars

Durant stars as West narrowly hold off East



EAST - 27 30 26 28 111
WEST - 25 35 28 28 116

Player of the Game: Kevin Durant


EAST _______ WEST
44-86 - FGM/A - 47-88
2-1 - 3PTM/A - 4-18
21-24 - FTM/A - 18-18
31 - Rebounds - 26
26 - Assists - 31
13 - Blocks - 7
7 - Steals - 17
24 - Turnovers - 22
11 - Fouls - 17


Top Scorers
Kevin Durant - 36
Deron Williams - 32
Chris Bosh - 31
Dwight Howard - 22
Al Horford - 22
Monta Ellis - 17
LeBron James - 17
Brook Lopez - 16
Rudy Fernandez - 11
Chris Paul - 8
Dwyane Wade - 7

Assists
Chris Paul - 12
LeBron James - 8
Chris Bosh - 7
Deron Williams - 6
Brook Lopez - 6
Monta Ellis - 4
Dwyane Wade - 4

Rebounds
Dwight Howard - 10
Al Horford - 7
Dwyane Wade - 6
Monta Ellis - 6
Chris Bosh - 5
LeBron James - 5
Amare Stoudemire - 4
Kevin Durant - 4

Video Highlights
Fernandez sinks an open three to end the first quarter.
Flash

Lopez and Horford enjoyed playing together again.
Flash

Looks like a good one. Good stuff bringing home the MVP trophy.

Durant was a beast

15/2/12

Thunder complete deal to bring Griffin home



Oklahoma City general manager Sam Presti has today pulled off a major coup by agreeing a deal for Clippers phenom Blake Griffin.
In return the Clippers will get Kevin Love, Serge Ibaka and Shannon Brown. Ryan Gomes and Eric Bledsoe also join Oklahoma City in the deal.
This seems to be another example of a team choosing to make a deal for their star player before he leaves for nothing through free agency.
A similar situation to that which Denver, Utah and New Orleans faced last season and which Orlando faced this season with Dwight Howard.
Interestingly though, Orlando decided to hold firm in the hope that a strong late season run could convince Howard to stay with them.


Thunder fans get new hero

Blake Griffin was born and raised in Oklahoma City. He attended Oklahoma Christian School and the University of Oklahoma.
Following two impressive seasons at university, he was drafted by the Clippers with the first pick of the 2009 draft.
If a few ping pong balls had fallen differently that May night, the Thunder would have drafted him with the first pick.
Instead they ended up with the third pick and selected current starting shooting guard and beard aficionado James Harden.

Now Griffin returns to his hometown to play with the two-time defending champion Thunder team alongside superstar Kevin Durant.
There is no doubt that he will be a fan favourite. In fact he even got loud cheers when he was playing for the Clippers in Oklahoma City.
He was delighted about this deal and in an interview with ESPN had the following to say about this new career path:
"As someone from OKC it's been exciting seeing my hometown team winning championships. Now I get to be a part of it myself."
"Getting to challenge for NBA championships with a team from Oklahoma City is really a dream come true for me. I'm really excited."
"I learned a lot from my time with the Clippers. I'm very thankful to everyone there and hope they can achieve what they want in the future."

Undoubtedly it seems that Griffin will now become the poster boy for the franchise alongside reigning scoring champion Kevin Durant.
The merchandise department will be in overdrive over the next few weeks as demand for Griffin jerseys is expected to be high.
Obviously this deal was made first and foremost for basketball reasons, but it will definitely yield a two fold windfall for the Thunder.
It's a very smart move on the commercial side of things too. The extra revenue he'll bring in will help them remain competitive off the court.
Oklahoma City are a small market team. It's always going to be harder for them to attract the big name stars that teams like the Lakers can.
So why not bring in the one big name who, being from the area, would actually be perfectly happy living in Oklahoma City for the long term?
Add to that scenario Kevin Durant. He's a humble guy who likes the city and isn't the type that needs to be in the spotlight in a big city.
They now have two young genuine superstars who will likely be more than happy to play out the rest of their careers with the Thunder.

No one really saw this deal coming. There were internet rumours about Griffin leaving LA as his contract was expiring next season.
Betting agencies had even received big amounts of money on him leaving the Clippers. But the link with the Thunder was never established.

The Clippers have missed out on the playoffs every season that Griffin had played there. They came close last season though.
They were unlucky as they finished in 8th spot in the West, but the Hornets took their spot because they were Southwest division champions.
In 2009-10 they won 22 games and finished last in the West. They subsequently got another number one pick and drafted Declan Giles.
In 2010-11 they performed better with Giles named the rookie of the year. They finished 8th with a 40-42 record, but missed the playoffs.
So far this season they are 19-27 and in 11th place. Unless Love and co. can turn things around, it looks as though they will miss the playoffs again.

Eric Bledsoe returns to the team that drafted him at #18 in the 2010 draft. He was traded on draft night to the Clippers for a 1st round pick.
His quickness and passing ability will allow him to fit in well with the Thunder's game style. He will provide good backup for Westbrook.
Gomes was likely added to the deal as filler. At 29 he doesn't really fit the Thunder's philosophy and is also on an expiring contract.


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Clippers get a beastly front court

The Clippers got a very good deal in the end considering that they could have lost Griffin to free agency and got nothing in return.
They lost Griffin, as well as backup players Gomes and Bledsoe, but got a potentially lethal new front court pairing and a handy bench scorer.

Former Minnesota forward Kevin Love returns to the region where he was born and where he went to college at UCLA for one season.
His arrival in Oklahoma City was intended to provide a strong rebounding presence alongside their inconsistent center Brook Lopez.
However he has struggled to replicate his previous good form this season and is only averaging about six rebounds per game.
Russell Westbrook was a little bit disappointed after hearing the news that his best friend had been traded to the Clippers.
"Obviously it's sad that he is leaving, but it's part of the game," he said. "We'll still keep in touch and I wish him all the best."

Serge Ibaka has spent the majority of his time at the Thunder behind the likes of Jeff Green, Al Horford and Love at the PF spot.
He will now get the opportunity to be a starter for the Clippers. Current center DeAndre Jordan looks likely to be sent to the bench.
The 6 ft 10 forward from Congo will join forces with Love in the Clippers' front court. He had this to say about the deal:
"I'd like to thank the Thunder organisation for everything they have done for me. I'm really excited about the next chapter of my career."
"Getting the opportunity to be a starter for an NBA team is something all players dream of. I will do my best for the Clippers."
It is believed that part of the reason the Thunder made this deal was because they didn't want to pay big money to two bench players.
Both Ibaka and guard James Harden are coming off contract this season. Being a small market team, the Thunder need to keep costs down.

Shannon Brown returns to the city where he won a championship with the Lakers in the 2008-09 season. He will likely be backup to Eric Gordon.
He will add a good scoring option off the bench for the Clippers. He also brings championship winning experience, winning 2 rings with the Thunder.

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Both teams are set up to challenge for top seed in the West for the next decade. Although the Clippers have work to do to make the playoffs this year.
The Thunder's core players like Brooks Lopez, Blake Griffin, Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook are all under 23 years old.
Meanwhile the Clippers have Serge Ibaka, Kevin Love, Declan Giles, Eric Gordon, CJ Miles and DeAndre Jordan all under the age of 24.



Oklahoma City receive

Blake Griffin - 22 years old - PF - $6.11m - 1 year (85)
15.7 PPG - 12.0 RPG - 1.0 APG

Ryan Gomes - 29 years old - SF - $4.00m - 1 year (74)
4.4 PPG - 4.6 RPG - 0.2 APG

Eric Bledsoe - 21 years old - PG - $5.34m - 3 years (67)
0.3 PPG - 0.2 RPG - 1.0 APG

Projected line-up
Brook Lopez - Blake Griffin - Kevin Durant - James Harden - Russell Westbrook
Bench options
George Hill - Andrea Bargnani - Marvin Williams - Ryan Gomes - Shaquille O'Neal



Los Angeles receive

Kevin Love - 23 years old - PF - $22.16mm - 4 years (84)
13.2 PPG - 5.7 RPG - 2.7 APG

Serge Ibaka - 22 years old - PF - $1.33m - 1 year (81)
6.2 PPG - 4.0 RPG - 1.4 APG

Shannon Brown - 26 years old - SG - $14.98m - 3 years (74)
8.6 PPG - 0.9 RPG - 1.1 APG

Projected line-up
Serge Ibaka - Kevin Love - Declan Giles - Eric Gordon - Mo Williams
Bench options
Shannon Brown - DeAndre Jordan - Chauncey Billups - Antoine Wright - CJ Miles

Looks like a good one. Good stuff bringing home the MVP trophy.

Durant was a beast

Second in a row for him. I didn't really favour him. I just know his shots better than all the other guys'.

Another blockbuster. Nice deal, hope you can keep Griffin around for a while as the hometown hero. Should keep things exciting with plenty of alley-oop opportunities with Westbrook.