He was great tonight. We didn't lose the game because of the horrible non calls at the end, we lost it because Brooks is too stubborn to realize we can't keep Perkins on the floor against the Heat. The Thunder would be better off with me on the floor.

Forget all this... Did you catch him in the interview with Stu Scott? He looks beyond uncomfortable. I never noticed, is he a little anti social?

In what world is Durant better? Give me Lebron for the next 4 years still. Durant has the better cast around him, and I think it makes him look better.

The heat have led in this series for nearly 7 of 8 quarters. If they continue to defend the way they did for much of tonight, they have a good shot.

I was wondering why okc didn't go really small and throw a lineup of harden, westbrook, ibaka, durant and sefalosha. Ibaka has improved more than any player on that team year over year. It would seem they could do more with him.

How about lebron's post game?

You are nuts if you think that.

No, not really. Maybe Stu's eye was throwing him off.

I was thinking the same thing in regards to perkins. The matchups just don't work for him in this series.

Wouldn't okc be really good running the triangle? Their half court sets,especially with the talent they have, can get pretty stagnant for long stretches.

I think Lebron is the more complete player right now and certainly better from the defensive end.

The scary thing about durant is he seems to keep getting better. As a scorer, he is probably better already and he still doesn't have a go to move or any semblance of a post game.

I think I must have watched a different game.

Miami was fortunate that Brooks was slow to make the proper adjustments and Durant and Westbrook committed some bad fouls. OKC didnt rebound well at all and wasnt able to get points in transition until late.

IMO Miami played about as well as you could expect and was desperate to hang on.

Perkins needs to do a better job of rebounding, they cant let Miami outrebound them but the idea he played too much is puzzling. He played 19 minutes. Collison was a complete non-factor and Ibaka has to give them more on offense than 7 points and 4 reounds.

Derek Fisher was abysmal in 24 minutes. They should play Cook more as he is a far better shooter.

Miami made a lot of defensive adjustments. They took the dribble penetration away from Westbrook and Durant early in the game by doubling high and they also took away the pick and roll from Collison and Ibaka.

Harden kept them in the game in the 1st half but was very quiet in the 2nd.

On offense they posted James a lot while building the lead though they got stagnant in the 4th quarter and didnt attack the basket as well. Wade played well in the 1st half.

I'm sticking with OKC in 6

While I thought the refs called a pretty good game (outside of 2 big calls involving Durant late in the game) the foul trouble to Durant and to a lesser extent Westbrook played a big factor in this game. And Miami has continued to shoot a higher % than OKC from the floor, FT line and 3 pt line. That is unexpected. Harden, Westbrook and Durant all missed 2 Ft's.

Durant is a far better shooter than James.
James has better court vision.

I dont think either is going to get much better than they are now.

He played the very 19 minutes we couldn't score and couldn't stop Miami. Every time he was on the floor, the lead just grew and grew. Maybe you stepped out during those parts. 19 minutes is too much because he has no role against the Heat. He isn't a good rebounder, and he kills the Thunder offense against good teams. He is a low post defender, and they have no low post players. Even worse, he can't catch a pass to save his life. He has very small hands for a guy his size.

What happens is they put Lebron or Battier "guarding" Perkins, which translates to just roaming around and disrupting any semblance of an offense. I've watched every game, and it is the same every time we play a good team. We dig a hole while he fumbles the ball around, bricks up 3 footers, and clogs up the paint making it near impossible for Russ and KD to drive.

We will see. I think James has shown another dimension in these playoffs by playing in the lowblock. I don't remember ever seeing that from him.

Durant has plenty of room to improve. He doesn't have a go to move and he doesn't have a post game. Can you imagine what he could do with a turnaround or a hook?

I think James is a better ball handler, passer, defender and rebounder. Durant is a better scorer. Putting it that way doesn't give durant nearly his due. It's like calling dr Fager a one dimensional speedball. If I needed a score at the end of the game, durant is who I would want to have the ball.

Actually, Durant does have a post game, he just doesn't use it often.

Lebron has to be the best player in the NBA. He's led the regular season in +/- for four years in a row on two different teams.

2008-2009: James (CLE) +871 (tops in NBA by 178 points)

2009-2010: James (CLE) +650 (tops in NBA by 48 points)

2010-2011: James (MIA) +619 (tops in NBA by 4 points)

2011-2012: James (MIA) +474 (tops in NBA by 53 points)


Interestingly, James is almost never in the top 15 of that stat in the playoffs.

Hes the best player in the NBA, by FAR. Listen to Collin this morning or podcast it. He will be the best player for another 4-5 years. Maybe when hes 32 he will slow down a bit.

Collin Cowherd said it so it must be true.

If he were the best by far, they'd be a lock to repeat this year.

So if your the best player in a team sport you have to win every year? Come on, you dont believe that. Does the best horse always win? Whos the best NFL player? Ill tell you right now, the Giants dont have a top 15 player.

Collin is the best at his job, by far. A lot like Lebron.

Starved for attention again, huh?

Rumor was you had me blocked on here, nice to hear from you again.
Not at all. Im into a lot of things on this nice Friday. Plus work at 3. Its the truth. Collin is the best on the radio.
On another note....
Can anyone post a pic of Westbrooks outfit from post game last night? Im trying to buy the exact same thing for opening day Saratoga.

You said BY FAR! That is far different than being the best player. You act like he is still in Cleveland with Mo Williams and Anthony Parker. He is playing with two great basketball players and some good role players.

This OKC has the better "team" stuff is a bunch of crap. The rosters actually match up very well. They are very close, just as KD and Lebron are. Everyone is heaping praise on Lebron for last night, and he was very good. Still, in the end, he bricked a three when up two and a chance to seal it after going strong the whole game, then fouled the hell out of KD and got away with it. Color me unimpressed at his 4Q again.

I feel that way CJ. Durant is great and me saying this is no shot at him. Durant is the second best player in the NBA and IMO thats not even close anymore. And when he is 26 or 27 he will be the best in the NBA until the next great comes along. I just feel Lebron does more better. Everything except shoot.

No one cares about your opinion other than to mock it or bet against it.

I think you should stick with the jorts at Saratoga. They are more your style Bubbasparxx1985.

He's the majority. It's one of the reasons why the rich are leaving this country at an alarming rate.

He's consistent. Kind of like Five Guys. The burger is good but the cajun fries piss me off. They're stupid and don't go well with a dressed burger.

Rocktard you have to get that weight under control or you're going to die. Any man with an iota of testosterone NEVER wears shorts to a premier track. You get a pass at the smaller venues but even then it's looked down upon.

Get your s.hit together. Go for a walk right now before work.

I dont think Russ had shorts on.

You don't wear those real baggy jorts either. The ones that are really capris but look like a Pentecostals dress when fat people wear them.

Don't do it. You aren't Nadal.

Also look at yourself in the mirror at least 5 times a day for 5 minutes each time. Condition your mind that what you see in front of you is unacceptable. The FUBU jorts with the Roc-A-Wear clearance isle big & tall eye sore doesn't hide those b.itch tits and turkey neck. Look at that gobbler! LOOK AT IT!!

Yeah but who are they gonna play? You cant start playing guys 45 minutes who are used to playing 28. 19 minutes = approx 1 1/2 quarter

Collison did nothing on offense and Ibaka didnt do a whole lot either. Who else is there?

What is a go to move? He is a jumpshooter with a huge first step. Posting him is going away from his strengths.

I think comparing players like James and Durant is folly. They are both unique talents who use their physical abilities at the highest level. It is like comparing Magic and Bird.

Durant is a better scorer because he is a great shooter combined with extremely long limbs which allows him to get his shots off. But he is a pretty good defenser in a T. Price way.

+/- is a pretty useless stat

Colin Cowherd and most national guys have no idea what they are watching when it comes to baseball and NBA basketball.

It's not so much a stat -- it's just a running score of how the team did when the player was on the floor.

For instance:

'11-12 Miami Heat with James on the floor: ahead by 474 points
'11-12 Miami Heat without James on the floor: outscored by 80 points

'10-11 Miami Heat with James on the floor: ahead by 619 points
'10-11 Miami Heat without James on the floor: Outscored by 4 points

'09-10 Cavs with James on the floor: ahead by 650 points
'09-10 Cavs without James on the floor: Outscored by 117 points

'08-09 Cavs with James on the floor: ahead by 871 points
'08-09 Cavs without James on the floor: Outscored by 142 points


So, over the last four years...

When James is on the court... his team wins by 2,614 points.

When James isn't on the court ... his team loses by 343 points.


That simply tells me he's more valuable to his team than any other player.

Just watched the game. Don't want to get into all of it but a few things I wanted to touch on:

That was a foul on James at the end. That part is not in question. Is it a call that is usually made? Maybe not. Thunder fans will complain that they didn't get the call but will fail to mention that it was a similar judgement call that went their way when I thought Durant charged into Battier and should have fouled out. The non call didn't cost them the game.

Durant was awesome in the second half. James was strong again. Hit a big shot with under 90 seconds to go and of course those two free throws. Going 12-12 (19-21 for the series) was huge.

Westbrook has got to understand that he plays with Durant. Durant has 42 attempts, Westbrook 50. For the playoffs, it's Westbrook 337, Durant 321. I can't ever remember a situation with a league leading scorer not even getting the most shots on his own team. Not good Russell.

That tells me he plays a lot of minutes on a good team. It is a team stat because good players on bad teams are unfairly punished and bad players on good teams are unfairly helped. I don't know how his team being worse when James is off the floor (meaning a substitute is playing in his place) is a meaningful stat. Stats w/o context are a waste of time

http://www.nba.com/playoffs/2012/fin...ls=st&g=2&t=bs

Last night Derek Fisher was terrible. He couldnt hit open shots, had no assists, 1 rebound and was no factor on defense except for maybe 1 or 2 plays. He was +13. Kevin Durant was Kevin Durant and he was a -9.

Isn't your value to your team determined by how much better you are than your replacement?