Don't count K. Smooth out just yet...

This should've been posted yesterday but I have a real life and a big boy job that required too much attention for me to get it up (cue erection jokes) so go fuck yourselves.  K. Smooth had an absolute monster of a game on Sunday.  35 points on 13/26 from the field to go along with 15 boards.  The highlight came on a 20 footer with 11.2 seconds left that gave the Thunder the lead for good.  The Thunder trailed for the entire contest and had absolutely no business winning this game.  Ibaka had 5 points on 1/10 from the field to go with 5 boards.  For the Thunder to win this series, he has to be substantially better.  K. Smooth willed this team to the win.  He had 12 of his points in the final 8 minutes and put each one of his teammates in his backpack and carried them to the promised land.

I know it's only game one, but everyone that counted the Thunder out needs to rethink their prediction.

Larry is an Idiot

Just piling on the Durant hate for no reason.

If you switch LeBron and Durant in their current situations, you are going to get the same results as we are going to see.  The Thunder with LeBron and sans Westbrook get knocked out in the Western Conference Finals and the Heat with Durant, Bosh and Wade win the title.  Period.  There is no arguing that.  The number of 38, 10 and 7 games isn't saving the LeBron lead Thunder.

Durant is doing a ridiculous job leading a team that literally has no other offensive options.  Shooting 12/16 while putting up 38 points, 8 boards and 6 assists while getting double and triple teamed on every possession is a feat.  LeBron won't see that kind of defense consistently throughout a game because then D. Wade or Christopher Bosh would put up a cool 50.  The Thunder without Westbrook and Harden have no one else with that capability.  Ibaka made that abundantly clear last night.

Very questionable no call on Asik's aggressive chest bump on Jackson...

ESPN has impeccable design sensibility

Only reason ESPN did this was so all the pictures would match and everything would be symmetrical.  This IS NOT the way the actual MVP voting is going to go.

Credit: New Beantown Butt Boy

BronBron Done Did It Again

What more can you say?  Marquee matchup right before the All Star Break.  Finals rematch, with 2 of the 3 best records in the league.  Bron vs KSmoov.  And Bron steals the show yet again.  39 points, 12 boards, 7 assists, 2 steals.  Shot only 58%, missing out on continuing his 60% streak because he took a long 3 pointer with a minute left in the game as the shot clock wore down.  No way Durant would have taken that shot, lest his stats get affected. 

The Heat came out hard and put up a double-digit lead in the first quarter, stretching it to 23 points in the third.  Durant overcame a nasty fall and rough shooting start to finish with 40, and eventually (kind of) made a game of it in the 4th quarter, but no dice.  Every time the Thunder got close, LeBron answered.  Whether it was a long 3 right in Smoovs grill, dish to a teammate for a wide open 3, or throwing down a viscious dunk off the inbounds, Bron was all on his own tonight.  Completely owned the game, making it 6 straight wins vs Smoov and da fellas, dating back to those fateful summer nights in South Beach.  Miami has won 7 straight overall, and built a 4-game cushion over NY at the top of the East. 

I was really hoping Durant would win the MVP this year, partially because I like him and he completely deserves it, and partially so people would be off LeBron's back a bit.  But right now, unfortunately for Smoov, I don't know how you'd pick anyone but Bron.  You never know, but this could become the usual.

State of the Thunder Address: Really Just February 12 Review

The Thunder found a way to lose to the Jazz last night in a game that they shot 56% from the field compared to the Jazz's 48%.  In normal circumstances, I'd put the loss on Russell Westbrook's wild layup clinic, but he was a solid 8/14 from the field last night.  Next I'd move to turnover differential, which Russ Russ certainly contributed to abundantly, but once again, I'd be wrong.  Though Russ Russ did have 7 turnovers, the Jazz ended the game with only a +3 turnover differential.  That leads me to the real answer.  An answer that had Russ Russ noticeably upset after the game and a notion that shakes me to my very core.  You see in the video below, just off camera, sources close to OKC confirm that a reporter from the The Daily Oklahoman was holding up a cue card that read "where's James"?  Short and sweet.  Warm and nostalgic.  Love and loss.  As soon as Russ Russ saw it, it was game over.

The bench lost the game for the Thunder last night, which scares the shit out of me.  You know who else it scares shitless?  Fucking, Presti.  Kevin Martin was invisible, finishing with just 6 points on 3/8, and the rest of the bench combined for a skinny 19 points. Presti made this bed.  He cashed this check. He pumped this fist.  This was a prime game last year where Harden would put up 30 points on a ridiculous 12/16 from the field and carry the Thunder to a win.  They counted on that guy.  I'm worried what is going to happen in June when they don't have that guy.  I know Smooth J had a rough finals last year, but all signs pointed to a breakout this year.  He is having that breakout but not in OKC.

Poppa Perk was not happy about the absence of Jeremiah (more so than Smooth J) and he took it out in an elbow to the side of Al Jefferson's dome that would've made Ron Ron proud.

K. Smooth can do no wrong.  LeBron.

Ho Hum, Just Another Night for Bron

As BronBron led the Heat to their 6th straight win, he coincidentally set an NBA record by scoring 30+ points on 60%+ shooting in his 6th straight game.  He is 60 for his last 80 shot attempts (75%).  Just let that sink in for a bit.  Going to be hard to deny him another MVP if his game stays at this level. 

K.Smooth tells CP3 to suck it

Though LeBron put together what will end up being the most complete game of the season yesterday, he was still overshadowed by the future MVP on an insane bounce pass to Kevin Martin.  For a guy who gets all his pub from scoring, Smooth can sure sling the rock.

Rematch, round 1

BronBron over KD in the Christmas Day showcase game, which lived up to all the Finals rematch hype.  Miami got out to a quick double-digit lead, which everyone knew wouldn't last.  The teams played a high level of basketball the entire game, providing some great highlights as seen above.  Brons putback is viscious, and KD's pump fake to bank shot is just bonkers.  The game got chippy, as you would expect, with RussRuss getting heated over a tough foul during the midst of his wild layup clinic.  I don't think there was as much to that as Russ made it seem; even small fouls will send you falling down when you're playing at 10,000mph.  It wasn't malicious, Battier got ball on the way up.  He also earned a stupid tech late for complaining about a missed foul call.  But they didn't lose because of him.  Miami (led by lots of surprise Chalmers baskets) stayed in control for the late portions of the game, wrapping things up with a Bron dime to our boy Bosh, while the Thunder missed a bunch of shots in the late goings.  Outside of maybe the Clippers, I don't think there's any doubt these are the best two teams in basketball, led by the best two plays in KD and Bron.  Hopefully there's another rematch in June.

In other notes:

• Boston bushwacked BKNY, complimented by the usual Garnett-Wallace scrum.  I don't know where their rivalry came from but it's great.  Would make a fantastic playoff series.
• Deron Williams, where are you? 
• Lakers over Knicks, with a near-triple double from Nash.  Surprise surprise, they play better with him there.  I'm not really sure what this says about either team, but the Lakers look like they could be rounding into form.  Hopefully not, but they might be. 
• Rockets over Bulls in a game that was over in the first quarter (20-18 from Asik?!).  Didn't watch. 
• Clips with win #13 on the hop.  Magic called them Showtime, and they have the best record in the L.  They are not to be taken lightly.  As I said, probably the only team challenging the Thunder and Heat for the top 2 spots. 

LeBron vs. Durant

Kemp's Nose Hoes needs to get his head on straight.  K. Smooth is playing out of his mind.  His all around game is miles ahead of where it was last year.  Just look at what he did to the Hawks last night.  60% from the field, 50% from 3, 90% from the line, 41 points, 13 boards, 3 assists and 2 blocks.

K. Smooth has to win a title, but when compared to LeBron, we are getting dangerously close to not only saying K. Smooth is a better scorer, but a comparable, if not better overall player.  Let's look at the 9 major statistical categories:

FG%           LeBron 53%      K. Smooth 51%        Small Advantage LeBron
FT%           LeBron 68%       K. Smooth 90%        Huge Advantage K. Smooth
PPG            LeBron 25.2       K. Smooth 27.7         Small Advantage K. Smooth
RPG            LeBron 8.5         K. Smooth 8.5          Push
APG            LeBron 6.9         K. Smooth 4.2          Advantage LeBron
Steals           LeBron 1.3         K. Smooth  1.5        More or Less, Push
Blocks         LeBron 0.9          K. Smooth 1.5         Small advantage K. Smooth
Turnovers    LeBron 2.5          K. Smooth 3.5         Small advantage LeBron
3 Point %    LeBron 42.3%     K. Smooth 43.5%    More or Less, Push

The numbers speak for themselves.  The categories LeBron used to dominate over Smooth, FG%, Rebounding and Assists are now either even or extremely close.  LeBron's Free Throw Percentage remains a stain on his game while K. Smooth really doesn't have a category that is overly weak.  I know statistics can't tell the whole story, especially defensively where you'd have to take LeBron over K. Smooth (based on 1-on-1 defense), but they can paint a pretty good picture.

PLUS K. Smooth has starred in a feature film.  What has LeBron done in Hollywood?  Nothing.

I have wet dreams every single night about a rematch of last year's finals.  Please, please, please, Stern, have your minions match us with LeBron and K. Smooth again in June.