Category — Kevin Durant

We’re not sure if the writer tried to bait Kevin Durant into saying something negative, but the fact that he didn’t showed how this kid has media skills as good as his game.
Durant didn’t get invited to the much publicized pickup game over the weekend the president organized in D.C. for wounded war veterans. Though Durant should have been invited, particularly since he’s from the nearby neighborhood, his response enhances the class act that he is.
Kobe wasn’t there either, but who knows if he was invited or not. But this isn’t about Kobe. It’s about Durant and how he just continues to wow fans with him humbleness. You might want to make a note Mr. President.
FanHouse.com

We mentioned Sunday all of the stars hitting Vegas’ hottest spot, the Palms Casino Resort, over the weekend. Now we have a few images to share.
The lineup card included: Nick Cannon, Kevin Durant, Shawn Marion, Mike Bibby, Glen “Big Baby” Davis, Mekhi Phifer, Matthew Perry, Brian Cushing, Pete Rose, Wale, Rev. Run and his daughters Vanessa and Angela Simmons.
Also, Hillary Fisher, a 26-year-old model from Columbia, S.C., was named Miss Playboy Club for August on Sunday night.
Images courtesy of Shane O’Neil and Joe Fury

After putting on a show and scoring 28 points in Team USA’s exhibition in Vegas last night, Kevin Durant celebrated at the Palms Casino Resort. Durant and his party of 20 indulged in Ketel One cocktails at Moon Nightclub.
Shawn Marion and Mike Bibby continued to party the weekend away at the resort. Marion and Drew Gooden dined with a party of 14 at N9NE Steakhouse before capping the night off at Moon. We’re guessing Gooden, who just earned a big contract with the Bucks, picked up the check.
Bibby and a party of 20 had dinner at N9NE.
Also in the house: Brian Cushing and a female friend for dinner again at N9NE; Pete Rose at N9NE; actor Mekhi Phifer at Moon; and rapper Wale, who gave a brief performance, at Moon.

Oh hell nah. Heat fans might disagree, but a little food for thought when they sober up tomorrow. A little Left Coast perspective, if you will.
As I mentioned to my man Jimmy G, old hoop heads like me are all giddy about the endless possibilities of another promising NBA season that remains more than 4 months away. Still, unlike what Michael Wilbon inaccurately stated, the balance of power still resides in the West.
The Heat, C’s and Magic are the cream of the crop in the East, but the West still has the 2-time defending champs, the rising Thunder and their quiet assassin Kevin Durant, the Nugs, Mavs, Jazz, Spurs and the Blazers, health being the major factor for them and their noted flasher Gred Oden withstanding.
Some folks will laugh, but the Clip Joint has some nice pieces, enough of them they could become a playoff team.
But let’s get back to everyone’s favorite flavor and surely the preseason favorite to win it all, the Heat and all their new-found bandwagon riding fans.
My 1st question: Who’s your center? Freaking Jamaal Magloire? Or a fat-meat-is-greasy rook like Dexter Pittman? While Heat fans were wetting their pants tonight, their former center Jermaine O’Neal was wetting his and signing a deal with the C’s. If you don’t believe that’s significant, you need to get out more.
My point is this: Unless Miami finds someone to plug its glaring hole in the middle (please, Chris Bosh is a forward and Andrew Bynum would eat his lunch, as Coach Quinn was fond of saying), it might not come out of the East despite the All-Star threesome the Heat now employs. Though they have plenty of time to address their weakness, they will need to address it, which is required balling, particularly in the East.
Last time we checked, Boston still have some major beef inside and Dwight Howard is still the best center in the NBA. The Heat will have to deal with that.
As far as the Lakers go and if Miami ventures this far, LeBron already slipped. He provided some incentive in an innocent way, saying “If Kendrick Perkins doesn’t go down” the NBA Finals could have had a different result. Who?
Don’t think Kobe didn’t catch that. His eyes and brains almost popped out of his head.
And like us, he’s probably drooling already. Too bad we have to wait.

Kevin Durant didn’t need to style and profile for the cameras. Besides, it isn’t his style.
Unlike LeBron James, who will present his case to millions tomorrow, Durant, the NBA most promising upcoming superstar, quietly signed a 5-year deal worth an estimated $85 million with the Thunder. And true to his humble roots and personality, Durant offered a tribute to his youth league coach, the late Charles Craig, who is the reason Durant wears No. 35. Craig, who mentored Durant as a youth, was killed in a drive-by shooting at the tender age of 35 in the D.C. area.
Durant obviously is the real deal on the court, but his off-the-court gestures speak volumes of an outstanding individual. Props to him.
And unlike LeBron, Durant hasn’t kicked agent Aaron Goodwin to the curve.
NewsOK.com

Pau Gasol was right. Kevin Garnett obviously has seen his best days. Sunday was a good example. The Celtics did just fine without him in Game 2, when foul trouble limited him to only 24 minutes. He finished with 6 points and 6 boards, but Boston didn’t need them. With Ray Allen lighting up the Lakers in a record performance and Rajon Rondo faking and shaking defenders into the courtside seats at Staples, the Celtics evened the series at 1 apiece entering Tuesday’s contest in Boston.
Though there are plenty of questions of how the Lakers will respond or if they can avoid getting swept 3 straight in Boston, inquiring minds wonder about Garnett too. Repeat performance? Will his play dictate the outcome of Game 3? Or will he resort to the dirty tactics that got him suspended in the Miami series to prevent the Lakers’ dominance inside? Does it really matter what he does? Questions, questions, questions.
The Celtics are a 2 1/2 to 3-point favorite.
Pre-game coverage for Game 3 tips off at 5:30 p.m. (PT) on ABC.
Boston Herald

In our best Nappy Roots imitation, “Aw nah.”
On Sunday, Lebron James was awarded his 2nd consecutive MVP by a wide margin over second-place finisher Kevin Durant and the rest of the field (Kobe finished 3rd for you Laker fans scoring at home and didn’t receive any 1st-place votes). Durant received 4 of the 1st-place votes that should have gone to Lebron, while Dwight Howard, who finished 4th overall, got the other 3 votes. What’s wrong with this picture?
We like Durant’s game as much as anyone, but picking him MVP over LeBron is ludicrious. Howard? Please. That’s even worst. Some writers must have been listening to the nonsense Charles Barkley has been barking. “Let me tell you something, Dwight Howard…”
We can tell you Durant didn’t get his 1st-place votes from 2 writers at the Oklahoman. But 2 of Howard’s came from writers who couldn’t hide their biases. Aw nah.
Deadspin

When they needed a win most, the Thunder couldn’t shoot straight. With their backs to the wall, they needed to capture Game 6 in Oklahoma City to force a Game 7 in L.A. against the Lakers.
But the Thunder shot a dismal 36.5% at home, with their big gun Kevin Durant suffering through a horrible shooting display, missing 18 of his 23 shots, as the Lakers clinched the series in a 95-94 victory tonight in Oklahoma City.
Durant led the way for the Thunder with 26 points, but 14 of those came on free throws. Russell Westbrook, who had a superb series, finished with 21 points, but managed just 7 of 20 from the field.
Pau Gasol, who finished with 9 points and 18 rebounds, followed a Kobe Bryant miss with a basket with 0.5 second remaining to boost the Lakers into the 2nd round, where they will meet the Jazz, who bounced the Nuggets from the playoffs tonight.
Bryant had 32 points, 16 of those coming in the third quarter. He and Derek Fisher, who had 11 points, were the only Lakers to finish in double figures. Reserve guard Shannon Brown chipped in 11.
Both the Lakers and Jazz are banged up entering their series. Deron Williams suffered a wrist injury near the end of Utah’s series-clincher over Denver. The status of his injury is unknown.
Laker center Andrew Bynum hyperextended his right knee tonight. His status for Sunday’s contest isn’t known either.
Hawks 83, Bucks 69: Milwaukee missed a chance to score a major upset, losing at home tonight against Atlanta. John Salmons and Brandon Jennings combined for only 20 points as the Hawks went on a third-quarter run to key the victory. Game 7 is Sunday in Atlanta.

It says plenty when Etan Thomas scores in double figures. For the record, he finished with 10 points.
Back to school, boys and girls. Do you remember our lesson on size matters? And do you remember us telling you the Lakers love drama, particularly when many in L.A. are predicting their demise?
The Lakers didn’t fall into the ocean tonight. They might fall into Lake Hefner in Oklahoma City Friday and lose (or maybe they won’t), but if they do, the question will be whether the Thunder can handle the pressure of a Game 7. The Lakers are used to it since L.A. is the drama capital, but for now, it’s back to OKC with the Thunder cast as drama kings.
There was no drama in tonight’s contest as the Lakers handed the Thunder a similar ass-kicking like they suffered Saturday night. They buried the Thunder early (31-16 after the first quarter) and continued to pound them for the rest of the contest and won in a 111-87 rout.
Shooting was a problem for the Thunder early as the Lakers’ defense clamped down and helped it jump out to an early lead. They also countered by putting Kobe Bryant on Russell Westbrook, limiting his effectiveness and forcing Scott Brooks to come up with an answer in Game 6.
Bryant took only 9 shots, but he was as effective as he has been all the season as a facilitator, dishing to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, who killed the Thunder inside. Gasol finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds in only 29 minutes, while Bynum added 21 points and 11 rebounds in only 27 minutes. Bryant managed 13 points and 7 assists, but he set the tone and the Thunder never recovered.
Game 6 is Friday at the Ford Center in OKC.

The Lakers got their noses bloodied early on and they never recovered. Unlike the initial 3 games, when the Lakers got out to early leads, the Thunder smacked them from the start and hammered away.
With the delirious Thunder crowd, including No. 3 NFL pick Gerald McCoy courtside, in a frenzy again, host Oklahoma City evened this best of 7 series at 2 games apiece with a 110-89 rout Saturday night.
This was an epic beatdown and a stunning meltdown by the Lakers.
“They took it to us,” Phil Jackson said.
No shit Sherlock.
“We just wanted to come out strong,” Kevin Durant said. “Like I’ve been saying, a lot of people didn’t expect us to be here. Then when we got here, a lot of people were saying we’d get swept. But we just have to keep working hard.”
The Thunder worked up a 55-42 halftime lead before burying the Laker in the third quarter. The lopsided manner in which they did so was convincing enough that Jackson parked Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest on the bench in the fourth quarter.
Bryant, who desperately tried to get his teammates going in the first half, managed just 12 points and 4 assists in one of his worst playoff games in recent times. Gasol and Andrew Bynum led the Lakers with a measly 13 points each. In addition to the Thunder’s smothering defense, the Lakers also were hurt by another disappearing act by Lamar Odom. He finished with 12 points, but much of that came when the contest was already settled.
Durant and Russell Westbrook, who also sat out the final quarter because of the blowout, led the Thunder with 22 and 18 points respectively. Westbrook also had 8 rebounds and 6 assists.
The Thunder also got a lift from Jeff Green, who had played poorly for much of the series, and rookie James Harden. Both chipped in 15 points.
“It was a great feeling, but we have a lot of work to do,” Westbrook said. “We have to find a way to win in L.A.”
Game 5 is at 7:30 (PT) p.m. Tuesday in L.A.