sports will NEVER be as important as music or any other art. everyone can run and kick balls. a FEW can write and produce songs. being creative and expressing yourselves is something no football player can do successfully and win awards for that
Billy Donovan says when he walked into the Bulls locker room tonight, players were already in heated conversations.
He asked if they wanted him to leave to handle conflict. Players said yes, so he did.
Donovan emphasized that embracing conflict is key for this year’s roster.
ESPN Sources w/
@BobbyMarks42
: NBA and NBPA agreed to eliminate restrictions limiting a team to two designated super-max players. This would have a huge impact for Cavs, who have Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland on super max deals and Evan Mobley approaching rookie extension.
One of the most underrated parts of this season is how good of a teammate Tre had become. Great locker room guy with continuous high spirits. Hard not to pull for a guy like that
Chet Holmgren is going to score easier come regular season. He’ll have guards hitting him in his spots and taking pressure off him. Not to mention, he’ll be much closer to in game shape by then. The important note from Summer League has been his consistent defense.
Jalen Williams scored 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting while pulling down eight rebounds and dishing five assists.
With his 14th 20-point game, he continues to build his ROTY case.
The Thunder’s newest additions will allow SGA to take plenty more catch-and-shoot 3-point looks like this. He’s going to be able to play even more efficiently.
Josh Giddey has hit 44.4% of his 3-pointers in December while shooting 3.9 a game. He’s looked much more comfortable and confident in his looks. Something to watch going forward.
SGA and Giddey both had 28 points tonight. The duo becoming increasingly more impressive. Incredible to see their growth within this season.
Thunder sit at 21-23 on the season and a Play-In push come March/April becomes much more reasonable.
The perfect big man to pair with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a lob threat and shooter, which they didn’t have this past season.
Chet Holmgren is both of those things and more.
Sure, the defense will improve, but don’t underestimate how much the offense will open up for OKC.
Pre-game read: I got the chance to talk with both Mike Muscala and Aaron Wiggins about their experience playing with a team that’s focused on development and rebuilding. I wrote about it for
@BoomtownHoops
:
Adding more and more depth around Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is going to continue and open then game up for him.
The team is built around sharing the ball and letting everyone eat. However, the All-NBA First-Team guy knows when and how to take over a game.
Some personal news:
@Rosslovelace
and I are starting a new Thunder podcast, the Inside the Thunder podcast. We’ll be filming a pilot episode soon explaining our goals and content, and we hope you guys will join us on this journey!
SGA is more than likely done for Canada’s first group stage game.
He finishes with 27 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists on 9-of-18 shooting. He was a +31. Played just over 27 minutes.
Kevin Durant on his 2016 Free Agency decision:
“I always knew that I wanted to end up in Golden State even though I had to go through the process of all those meetings.”
via
@BleacherReport
’s ‘Chips’
Canada’s head coach on Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s leadership:
“It’s cool because it doesn’t feel forced. It comes natural. I think the guys have that relationship where they know each other, they like each other. Shai always has a smile on his face.”
Cason feels like he could enter this conversation sooner rather than later, too. A lot of talent and depth on this team. And decisions to be made in the future.
Not necessarily calling for anything specific, but Isaiah Joe feels like he's entering NBA starter territory.
Clearly elite shooter, has improved on defense more than almost any player in the NBA in the past few seasons and closes game because of it.
Impact would justify it.
Very, very hard to leave SGA out of the All-Star game. Numbers are there, All-Star moments are there, generating wins on a team that’s not expecting wins.
Josh Giddey just played his 82nd last night, and is starting to see his season to really come together.
Reminder: He’s barely 20 years old and has plenty of growing to do.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has had an incredible start to this season.
28.1 PPG
7.0 RPG
6.4 APG
51% shooting
5-3 record
(Only 6.3 FTA/game, his lowest since 2019-20)
The Oklahoma City Thunder wins a postseason game, and they’ll play the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday.
They defeated the Pelicans 123-118. Each of Josh Giddey, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Lu Dort were huge tonight.
The biggest issue around the new downtown arena plan in OKC has been how much the Thunder is kicking in. But if the franchise moves, many cities that will woo it will ask the them to pay much less for a new arena. Like, $0. (via
@JenniCarlson_OK
)
More:
Confirming the reporting out there that the Oklahoma City Thunder could be a trade destination for Cleveland Cavaliers guard Collin Sexton.
A source says the Thunder like the pairing of Sexton with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and have the draft picks in order to make a deal happen.
Vasilije Micic said he didn’t ask for a promise when making the decision to jump over to Oklahoma City. Said he wanted to earn any role or playing time.
Vegas is showing Shai Gilgeous-Alexander respect as he leads the MIP odds early in this season. I took a look at his case and the players around him, for
@OKCThunderFN
:
@Rosslovelace
Maybe all these guys coming in is to help push Tre Mann in training camp so OKC can reach his untapped potential…
It’s so clear Presti has a long-term vision that no one can predict. Not sure why people are writing him off so soon
The epitome of Thunder basketball. So much resilience. 16-8 and on to the next one.
Also, that was the Nuggets’ second home loss. They’re 10-2 in home games.
Shai, asked if he ever thinks about past great Thunder teams and how this team compares: “I don’t think about them at all. They’ve done amazing things for this game, this city. Pioneers clearly. But trying to compare or draw comparisons doesn’t help us. … none of them are on