Tag: Oklahoma City Thunder

Kerr expects Draymond Green to return Monday against Oklahoma City

Steve Kerr said on Friday he expects Draymond Green to return Monday after missing back-to-back games with a sore heel.

There are a lot of players on both sides that are going to be out of Monday’s game between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Golden State.

But the Warriors don’t expect Draymond Green to be one of them.

Green missed back-to-back games with a sore heel, but according to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, Steve Kerr told reporters prior to Golden State’s game against the Jazz on Friday that they expect Green to be back Monday in time to take on the Thunder.

“The expectation is he will be able to play,” Kerr told reporters in Utah. “To have two days off— the next two days is really important. Rather than chase our tail with this one, we’d rather just take tonight off— that will have given him five straight days by the time we play.”

The Warriors desperately need Green to return to the rotation. As noted by WarriorsWire, Golden State leads the NBA in games missed due to injury. Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, D’Angelo Russell, Kevon Looney, Jacob Evans III, and Damion Lee will all be out against Oklahoma City, per Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman.

Golden State not the only one dealing with injuries, however.

The Thunder announced Sunday that Hamidou Diallo will miss Monday’s game after suffering a hyperextended right elbow in Friday’s loss.

Steven Adams has also been hampered by a left knee injury, although he scored a season-high 22 points against the Lakers.

The Thunder and Golden State will tip-off inside the Chase Center at 9:30 p.m. CT Monday night.

Hamidou Diallo suffered hyperextended right elbow, out Monday against Warriors

Diallo’s injury occurred with 9:30 left in the fourth quarter of Friday night’s loss to L.A. There’s no immediate timetable for his return.

Hamidou Diallo is out for Monday’s game against the Golden State Warriors.

Diallo suffered a hyperextension of his right elbow, per the Thunder. Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman tweeted the update, adding that there is no immediate time table for his return.

The injury occurred during the fourth quarter of Friday’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

With about 9:30 remaining in the game, while LeBron James was driving to the basket, he seemed to extend his arm and push Diallo to the floor. As he fell, Diallo’s arm collided with Mike Muscala, who had moved over into the paint to try and help defend James.

Below is the clip of the play where the injury happened.

Diallo went to the ground in obvious pain and went immediately to the locker room after being helped up by the Thunder training staff.

The second-year guard has had issues with his right elbow before. He had arthroscopic surgery in April of 2018 that sidelined him for four weeks.

It’s a definite blow for the Thunder considering Diallo had just returned Friday after missing Oklahoma City’s three previous games with left knee soreness.

The Thunder have lost three consecutive games. After playing two games in Los Angeles last week, Oklahoma City returns to the West Coast Monday when they face the Warriors. Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. CT.

Latest Andre Roberson update isn’t particularly encouraging

Billy Donovan said recently there is no new news regarding Roberson’s return from a ruptured left patellar tendon suffered in January 2018.

There’s the old saying that no news is good news, but in the continuing case of Andre Roberson, no news is concerning news.

Roberson continues to sit as he works back from the ruptured left patellar tendon that he suffered in January of 2018. The injury cost him the rest of the 2017-18 season, all of the 2018-19 season, and more than a month into the start of the 2019-20 season, Roberson looks to be no closer to returning.

What’s particularly concerning, in this case, is that coming into fall training camp, Billy Donovan had given the indication that Roberson was nearing a return date.

Based on Donovan’s comments as of late, that return looks less and less likely.

Prior to Oklahoma City’s win over the 76ers on Nov. 15, Donovan was asked if he thought Roberson would return this year. As pointed out by The Norman Transcript, the Thunder’s head coach couldn’t give a definitive yes, saying instead “I hope so, for him.”

Donovan also indicated that there is still no timetable for Roberson’s return that’s been close to two years in the making.

And while “he’s better off today than he was a year ago,” Donovan told reporters, including Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman on Thursday, that Roberson would need to be ready to “provide quality minutes and be in a good place mentally and physically to be able to do that.”

“I know for him it’s been very frustrating because he’s so anxious to get out there and play. But I also think, too, is he really wants to feel like he’s capable of going out there. Like anything else, you’ve been out for going on almost two years now, you want to go out there and make sure you’re ready to play and you’re ready to provide quality minutes and you’re in a good place mentally and physically to be able to do that. I think he’s gaining confidence, he’s gaining trust. I think when we work him out, it’s an opportunity to help him get a little bit stronger. But I think for him, he’s really not quite all the way there from a comfort standpoint. I think that’s what he’s really trying to work towards.”

What does that mean about where Roberson actually is in his journey back to playing in the NBA? No one outside of Roberson, Donovan or the Thunder organization is likely to know.

But based on Donovan’s recent comments, don’t expect to see Roberson on the court any time soon.

Rajon Rondo fined $35k for ‘unsportsmanlike physical contact’

Rajon Rondo was fined by the NBA after getting ejected in Friday night’s win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Los Angeles Lakers are in pretty good shape as they are riding a six-game winning streak heading into Saturday night’s game against a Memphis Grizzlies team that shows promise but is very inexperienced. However, one of their players was hit in the pocketbook after a moment in Friday’s win over Oklahoma City.

The NBA announced that Lakers guard Rajon Rondo has been fined $35,000 for “unsportsmanlike contact” with Thunder guard Dennis Schroeder, which resulted in a flagrant two foul for Rondo and an ejection, as well as the “verbal abuse of a game official” and “failing to leave the court in a timely manner upon his ejection.”

Video of the offense is available on NBA.com as it looks like Rondo hit Schroeder below the belt with a knee before arguing with the officials on his way out.

Rondo is expected to play for the Lakers tonight against the Grizzlies but he will be doing so without a significant chunk of change in his pocket. Rondo made his debut a earlier this month after missing about a month of time with a calf injury.

The Lakers are set to play the Grizzlies for the second time this season in about two hours at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

LeBron James on Anthony Davis: ‘We want him to take more 3s’

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James believes that Anthony Davis must continue shooting 3-pointers with confidence.

The Los Angeles Lakers are once again on a winning streak after reaching the six-game mark with Friday night’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder as they kicked off a four-game road trip. The defense has rightfully gotten the majority of the attention for the Lakers as they’ve spent most of the season as the NBA’s top-ranked unit although they’ve currently fallen to third in defensive rating.

However, the Lakers are looking like a more balanced team these days as their offense has climbed from being ranked as low as 19th early in the season to the No. 6 ranked offense after Friday’s win. A huge reason for that jump has been a more efficient and more aggressive outside shot from Anthony Davis.

Over the last four games, Davis is shooting 41.2% on 3-pointers and has taken his personal percentage up to 34% on the season after a dismal start from the outside. LeBron James says that the uptick in shooting by Davis is not an accident, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

“We want him to take more 3s,” LeBron James said after Davis went 4-for-7 from 3-point range against the Thunder. “Teams are playing off of him, and he’s too damn good of a shooter not to shoot them. And he’s been doing that the last couple games.”

The Lakers built their team this offseason with outside shooting in mind, but their two superstars had struggled from the 3-point line to begin the season. Davis is providing a remedy to that while James has been a solid 34.5% on 3-pointers. James also made six 3-pointers in Sunday’s win over the Atlanta Hawks, so it looks like he also might be finding his outside shot to go with his league-leading assist numbers.

After a season in which shooting was a struggle, the Lakers have no worries about letting it fly and it’s resulting in some of the best offense the franchise has seen in years.

 

 

Anthony Davis hits clutch free throws to seal Lakers win at OKC

LeBron James had 23 points and 14 assists as the Los Angeles Lakers extended their current win-streak to six games.

Anthony Davis iced the game at the line with 3.8 seconds left up 130-127 and the game was sealed by a late steal by LeBron James as the Los Angeles Lakers won their sixth straight game on Friday night over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In addition to Davis, LeBron James had another excellent night in both scoring and assisting. James finished with 23 points, 14 assists and six rebounds while Davis had a game-high 33 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists.

The Lakers led for most of the night in their game against the Thunder, but never where they comfortable. Davis was making plays with the pass and shooting well while James was scoring and assisting in the dominant way he does. But the Thunder stayed with the Lakers all throughout the night.

The Lakers had six players in double figure on the night while the Thunder matched that while also having a host of other scorers in their nine-man unit on Friday. The Lakers also had a great night from the outside as Danny Green, Davis and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope each made four 3-pointers apiece.

The Lakers took care of business on Friday night but as their longest road trip of the season continues, they’ll have to fight through fatigue as they visit Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies tomorrow night in Tennessee.

LeBron, Anthony Davis and KCP combine for epic gamebreaker

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers may as well have been in a video game during a moment in Friday night’s game.

The Los Angeles Lakers likely got more than they bargained for as they were pushed to have a very competitive game against the Oklahoma City Thunder for the second time in the same week. To Oklahoma City’s credit, they didn’t backdown against what has been the best team in the Western Conference and a bonafide championship contender.

But nobody would have faulted them if they had wilted midway through the third quarter of Friday night’s game when a trio of Lakers combined for a play more usually apt for a video game than a regular game that’s only televised on NBA League Pass. The steal from KCP, the pass ahead to a stumbling Davis over his head to a dunking LeBron looked more like a scene from NBA Street than a game between professionals.

James set the tone early on in this game and Anthony Davis says he’s getting healthier, creating opportunities for his teammates while he’s also shooting better than he has all season over the last few games.

The Lakers must remain tight to close Friday night’s game out but without a doubt, they continue proving on a nightly basis that Showtime is really back in purple and gold.

LeBron James comes through with powerful dunk early vs. OKC

The Los Angeles Lakers star looked like he had plenty of energy to start their longest trip of they young season against the Thunder.

LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in a little bit of an old west shootout early on against the first game of their four-game road trip against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night, but James did not lack the firepower early on.

James had eight points during his first quarter shift for the Lakers as the Thunder matched them basically bucket for bucket in the first quarter. But there was no bucket that set the tone for the Lakers in their first road game better than LeBron James and his thunderous slam dunk for which nobody on the Thunder wanted to be a part of.

In addition to the eight points, James had two assists while Anthony Davis led the team in assists with three assists to go with four points in the early going. The Lakers bench managed to make a small run at the end of the quarter to give them a 34-33 lead at halftime but make no mistake, the tone for their longest trip of the season was set by LeBron James, a trend of this young season for L.A.

Paul George praises value of Russell Westbrook as a teammate

Paul George, who played with Russell Westbrook for two years, isn’t surprised that Westbrook’s partnership with James Harden is succeeding.

Friday’s matchup between the Rockets and Clippers in Los Angeles will be the first time that former Thunder teammates Russell Westbrook and Paul George have played against one another since their offseason departures from Oklahoma City.

Though the Clippers and Rockets faced off last week in Houston and also in Hawaii during the preseason, George did not play in either game as he continued his recovery from offseason shoulder surgery.

When asked at Friday’s pregame shootaround about Westbrook’s new All-Star partnership in Houston with James Harden, George said he had no doubt the pairing would be successful.

His comments, via ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk:

I knew it was going to work. Russ is a winner. Russ wants to win, Russ does whatever it takes to win. My time playing with him, Russ doesn’t really have an ego. He puts his ego to the side.

He allowed me to be myself, he allowed me to be comfortable. And I had one of the best career [years] I had while playing alongside him. Russ is a heck of a teammate.

George makes a great point in the analogy to his own situation with Westbrook in Oklahoma City last season.

From the 2017-18 season to 2018-19, George took on a much larger role in the Thunder offense. His average shot attempts per game rose from 17 to 21, while his scoring and assists had corresponding jumps from 21.9 and 3.3 in 2017-18 to career-highs of 28.0 and 4.1 last year.

By contrast, Westbrook had fewer shot attempts and points, but had no complaints over his reduced usage — even though he was less than two years removed from being named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP).

It’s a similar story this year in Houston, where Westbrook’s average points and shot attempts are down slightly from a year ago. Harden leads the entire NBA with 38.4 points per game, and he’s clearly the top option for Mike D’Antoni. But Westbrook again doesn’t seem to mind, especially since the Rockets (11-4) are winning games at a high rate.

Back in July, George leveraged his way out of Oklahoma City and onto the Clippers, where he formed a new All-Star duo with reigning NBA Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard. Both are Southern California natives, as well.

The George trade also cleared the way for Westbrook’s move to Houston, which occurred less than a week later.

But in the immediate aftermath of the offseason blockbuster, George made it clear that his exit from the Thunder had nothing to do with his feelings for Westbrook.

Friday’s nationally televised game on ESPN between Westbrook’s Rockets and George’s Clippers tips off at 9:30 p.m. Central time.

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Celtics’ Danny Ainge is the master of trades in the NBA

There is no exact science to measuring the success of an NBA executive, though re-evaluating trades is common practice by basketball media.

There is no exact science to measuring the success of an NBA executive, though re-evaluating trades is common practice by basketball media.

As part of this, we looked at how many All-Stars seasons the traded players have had after the deal. The executive who did the best in this mark is Boston Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge and it’s not even close.

Ainge has had 16 seasons of All-Star campaigns from players he has traded for during his tenure with the Celtics. Perhaps most notable is that he landed Kevin Garnett (who was an All-Star five times with Boston) without giving up any in return. Ray Allen also made three All-Star teams and the Celtics surrendered none in return.

Even more impressive: none of the players he has traded has ever made an All-Star team after leaving the franchise. That also includes offering Isaiah Thomas (who made an All-Star team with Boston but has not since) in a deal for superstar guard Kyrie Irving.

The only other active executive in the NBA who has netted more than two All-Star seasons without giving up any is Portland Trail Blazers president of basketball operations and general manager Neil Olshey – who acquired Chris Paul while he was working for the Clippers.

Houston Rockets executive Daryl Morey has given up five All-Star seasons in exchange for seven. His trades have clearly been the most high-risk, high-reward of the executives around the league.

This study also looks at folks who were formerly executives for other teams (e.g. Mitch Kupchak with the Los Angeles Lakers as well as the Charlotte Hornets) before arriving at their current destination.

Overall, the basketball exec who fared the worst in this research was Sam Presti. This is mostly from trading James Harden, who has been an All-Star seven years in a row since getting moved to the Rockets. It also includes two All-Star nods from Victor Oladipo, who was acquired in exchange for Paul George.

HoopsHype’s Alberto de Roa contributed research to this report

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