The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder were coming into tonight’s game after a previous loss. The Celtics were 2-2 while the Thunder were 0-3 on the young season. The Thunder came out clicking on all cylinders and was able to make anything it seemed that was going up. Paul George had his game rolling as he slashed to the basket and used his jumper to get the team going. Russell Westbrook was in quick foul trouble early and wasn’t allowed to be as aggressive when he attacks the defense. Jayson Tatum was the bright spot for the Celtics as he was able to get to the basket and find his spot on the floor automatically it seemed.
Paul George and Russell Westbrook combined for 35 points on the night and weren’t able to get a smooth rhythm offensively in that second half. The Thunder bench showed up and helped out in a big way to try to take some pressure off Westbrook and George. Dennis Schroder had 10 points and didn’t play the way he wanted too on the night. There was a couple of possessions where Schroder was able to find Noel or Patterson for some great baskets in crucial moments. The Thunder in the first half contained the Celtics and made it tough for them to score and capitalized on every opportunity to get their lead to 16 points.
The Celtics came out the second half looking like a brand new team and were able to get any shot they wanted on the perimeter. The comeback for the Celtics started when Al Horford got hot from the 3 point line hitting 3 out of 4 to bring the C’s within 10 points. After Horford got things rolling for the Celtics then the rest of the team followed as Kyrie Irving and Jayson Tatum started to facilitate and get other teammates involved. One of those teammates that got involved and was scorching hot was Marcus Morris who went off for 21 points off the bench. He was able to bring that energy and was knocking down big 3’s when the Celtics needed it. The Thunder were hanging in there as well getting a spark from Alex Abrines who hit some timely 3 pointers to help gain the lead. Some of the shot selection down the stretch may have hurt the Thunder and their chances to win but this is all apart of growth. This was only Westbrooks second game back and they still have to try and gel together.
The Celtics made some key baskets at the end and were able to knock down free throws something they didn’t do in the first half to seal the deal. The Thunder lost but this can be used as a motivational tool to get them over the hump for the next game. OKC will play against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday and need a win badly.
The Thunder had their annual Blue & White Scrimmage at the Chesapeake Energy Arena for the 1st time since the team relocated to OKC. It was a great experience and it was even better for the fans to be able to get a good look at the new OKC Thunder roster. This was the first time we were able to see Dennis Schroder play with Paul George and other starters. The White team was loaded with potential starters Paul George, Patrick Patterson, Steven Adams, Terrance Ferguson, and Dennis Schroder. The starters for the Blue team were Deonte Burton, Jerami Grant, Tyler Davis, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, and Abdul Gaddy. The White team dominated in this matchup but it was good to see the 2nd unit get some great run against the starters. Paul George was on fire early and was able to get to his spot as many times as he wanted to against Deonte Burton. Paul George led all scorers with 23 points on 50% shooting from the field and added 6 assists with 8 rebounds. The chemistry between Dennis Schroder and Paul George was on full display as they were able to connect on multiple plays that finished with 3 pointers or easy layups at the basket. Paul George looked confident and aggressive with his play on both sides of the ball on Sunday. If Paul George can continue to play like that OKC should be in good hands while Russell Westbrook is recovering from his knee surgery.
Dennis Schroder looked very comfortable in the lineup with Paul George and no plays were forced at all everything came naturally. Dennis was able to get to the basketball whenever he wanted and was blowing by Bryce Alford with ease. He displayed his scoop shot and Schroder also showcased his vision to find his teammates. The chemistry that Schroder and George were playing with didn’t happen overnight at all it started in LA. The Thunder players got together during the offseason and played pickup games at UCLA which helped big team. This Thunder roster already had a lot of chemistry coming into the season which was big for a player like Dennis Schroder who joined the team in July via trade. This is the first time Billy Donovan has a team that has already chemistry before training camp in his tenure as the Oklahoma City Thunder coach. Overall Schroder looked really good and played like a floor general and looked like he already knew a lot of his teammate’s hot spots on the court. Schroder brings that grit to the roster and someone that will find his teammates in the right moments to compliment Westbrook. Dennis Schroder finished with 22 points and 12 assists on the night and this is exactly what the Thunder will need from him until Russell Westbrook comes back.
Patrick Patterson was another bright spot in the Blue & White Scrimmage as he logged in 39 minutes and scored 22 points. Patrick Patterson looked really good and was hitting his jumper when given the opportunity. He looked in amazing shape and he was able to push the tempo with the White team. It was a good outing for Patrick Patterson as he was playing in midseason form on Sunday. It will be interesting to see what happens with Patterson and Grant on the season for the starting power forward spot on the team. In my personal opinion, it will be switched on a matchups basis and it depends on the hot hand for who will start in those moments. Jerami Grant had 6 points in 19 minutes in the scrimmage so we will find out more about the situation during the preseason.
The Thunder will start their preseason off against the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday in Oklahoma City.
NFL football means fantasy football. Where you can compete with friends or random people, and may even bet-obviously for entertainment purpose. The real talent is drafting the right players for the perfect team. The perfect team would obviously be the best players in each position but that is almost impossible. So the alternate route is to draft by importance, not by best available talent.
First focus on the WR position, because they bring in the most consistent points. This would mean players such as Antonio Brown and Julio Jones, but let’s say someone beat you to drafting them. The next choices need to be made in the thought of who is a threat but not double teamed every play. Who would be the best choice for you? Josh Gordon is your target. Alongside Jarvis Landry, he will be in a lot of 1v1 action. Not to mention, he is as athletic as they come in the NFL. Another player to get is Keenan Allen. He is the number one guy for the Chargers but the threat of second-year receiver Mike Williams will be enough for Allen to have a lot of man coverage. Keenan Allen is as talented as the top two talents earlier discussed. These two should bring in double-digit numbers consistently!
1. Antonio Brown – 2017 Stats (101 Rec, 1,533 Yds, 9 TD)
2. Julio Jones – 2017 Stats (88 Rec, 1,444 Yds, 3 TD)
5. AJ Green – 2017 Stats (75 Rec, 1,078 Yds, 8 TD)
Second focus should be the RB position. During this part of the draft, the best QBs will be gone and top WRs as well. Leaving the Runningback position. This is where you can draft the best talent of all positions. Focus on Saquon Barkley, Todd Gurley, Leveon Bell, Ezekiel Elliot and David Johnson. These guys will get a consistent workload every weak which means points.
Next prime focus will be at the QB position. The best would be Aaron Rodgers and Carson Wentz would be your choice, but the chances of them being available are slim to none. You do not need a HOF QB but a consistent one. Place your bet on players such as Mathew Stafford, Case Keenum, Tyrod Taylor, and maybe Drew Brees or Russell Wilson. The next part of your draft will be players whom other people are passing for big-name superstars. The WR/RB position or the swing position is a key part into a high scoring game for you. Get players such as Tyreke Hill, Kareem Hunt, Duke Johnson, The Broncos receiving core, and Sterling Shepard.
Finally draft the hardest position to get consistent points from, Tight End. The big name TEs will be gone by now such as Gronk or Jimmy Graham. The focus is to get someone who is on the rise or in a great fit. These guys would be Travis Kelce, who may be gone but also may have been forgotten. The players in a good fit would be Delanie Walker and Zack Ertz. On the rise would be Evan Engram and Jack Doyle.
Now step three in drafting your perfect team, the Defense/ST category. Get ahead in drafting this position with your top picks. This is usually the “sleeper” position which can either make or break a win for you. The Denver Broncos have been the most consistent of the best defense in the past 5 years. They will be your best bet into a perfect team. The next two teams are the next best options. The Los Angeles Rams and Minnesota Vikings are targeting two and three. They have some of the top defensive players in the NFL.
1. Jacksonville Jaguars Defense/Special Teams – Fantasy Points in 2017 (169.0)
2. Minnesota Vikings Defense/Special Teams – Fantasy Points in 2017 (83.0)
3. Los Angeles Rams Defense/Special Teams – Fantasy Points in 2017 (131.0)
4. Philadelphia Eagles Defense/Special Teams – Fantasy Points in 2017 (130.0)
5. Houston Texans Defense/Special Teams – Fantasy Points in 2017 (90.0)
This team you have drafted will not be the best players overall but together create the best roster overall. To put an exclamation point on your picks, draft your sleeper picks or bench warmers. Players people may not know about such as Patrick Mahomes, Cole Beasley, Devonte Booker, and Philip Rivers. This team should give you a great chance to win it all. However, this is football where nobody knows nothing so you never know. Except for this logic of mine has won my league three times in the past five years. Now go win your league!
The USA Basketball Mini Camp was underway in Las Vegas and the stars were out on full display. Some of the players withdrawn from the minicamp but it still was an amazing turnout. One of the players that stood out the most in the USA Basketball Mini-Camp was Oklahoma City SF Paul George. Paul George had his knee scoped earlier in the summer and was on the court for the first time in full contact. Paul didn’t look like he missed a beat and actually looked a lot more comfortable with his jump shot. Paul George was giving his all out there and loved the fact of competing against the worlds greatest athletes like Kevin Durant, James Harden, and Russell Westbrook to name a few. The fact that he was able to show his full arsenal at the camp with his shot-making ability, defense, and also showed no signs of fatigue or pain in that knee is huge. Russell Westbrook was at the camp as well and looked extremely fit and bigger on the court. Westbrook looked to be in rare form on the 1st day USA Basketball and was able to get involved with different drills. Russell was hitting jumpers and finding teammates in the right spot to get things going for the players he was teamed up with. Both Russell Westbrook and Paul George looked happy and were having fun while interacting with the other players. It was a beautiful sight to see both Westbrook/George cracking jokes especially after him signing with OKC for 4 years earlier in the month. Both Thunder players looked good and were displaying their chemistry for all of the media to see.
One of the surprises at USA Basketball was Carmelo Anthony who showed up and greeted his old teammates, Russell Westbrook and Paul George. Melo was laughing with his teammates as they were hugging and joking around. Melo expressed that OKC was rushed and he repeated that they all felt that they could have won the title. There was nothing awkward about Melo being there as he was greeted by many players and coaches. USA Basketball brought everyone together and that’s all that matters because even KD & Russ were having fun. The media paints this picture of Russ and KD never getting back on good terms but what everyone found out is that time heals all. If there was a beef or problem that is long gone as both were joking and looked back to being Thunder Buddies. Kevin Durant was on the record for saying that OKC is home and the way he was interacting with Russ and PG it felt that way. Kevin Durant was in MVP of the Finals form as he didn’t miss anything whether it was in the 1 on 1 games that he won or the actual drills KD was unstoppable. Kevin Durant beat Paul George, Khris Middleton, Devin Booker, Victor Oladipo, and Myles Turner in the 1 on 1 games. It was all fun and games during the drills but KD turned into EasyMoneySniper extremely fast and didn’t take it easy on them. Kevin Durant was looking like a 7″0 shooting guard out there against the other competition.
Another player that looked really good out there was James Harden who’s been motivated to get back to the Western Conference Finals to revenge that Game 7 loss to the Warriors. James Harden was making shots and was looking like a true floor general during the team drills. James Harden was thriving off of all the tough play and was loving playing with Westbrook and Durant again.
DeMar DeRozan was able to play with his Head Coach Gregg Popovich watching for the first time. Both Coach Pop and DeMar looked happy and that’s all that matters. Now DeRozan has a chance to flourish under a coach that has stability and also a coach that will demand greatness out of him and his skillset. DeMar was all smiles at USA Basketball and was engaged in some serious competition against Devin Booker who also looked really good out there with the rest of the players. Both Booker and DeRozan exchanged in several shooting battles and both were nothing but net.
Overall this final roster will be special when everyone is healthy and ready to go. Players like Anthony Davis, Kyrie Irving, Mike Conley, and Isaiah Thomas watched the minicamp on the sidelines but still were active in huddles. Those type of players show true leadership and they will continue to help this country/team moving forward.
This past season the Oklahoma City put together a big 3 of Russell Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. The experiment didn’t work out the way OKC wanted it with the team exiting the playoffs in the first round. Following the season during exit interviews, Carmelo Anthony made it clear that he didn’t want to come off the bench again heading into the 2018-2019 season. The Thunder felt that Carmelo would have been great off the bench with the emergence of Jerami Grant in the playoffs. Once Carmelo Anthony opted into his 28 million dollars for the 2018-2019 season the Thunder needed to figure out how to make both sides happy. The Thunder could of went with the buyout option or stretched his contract to save money on the salary cap but they found a trade.
FULL TRADE:
OKC receives: Dennis Schroder (19.4 PPG), Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot (5.8 PPG)
Atlanta receives: Carmelo Anthony (16.2 PPG), Justin Anderson (6.2 PPG), Protected 2022 First Rounder
Philly receives: Mike Muscala (7.6 PPG)
This is a huge move for the Oklahoma City Thunder as they save money and get a quality asset in Dennis Schroder who’s only 24 years old. Earlier this year Schroder had a career-high 41 points against the Utah Jazz. The Thunder get Schroder for 3 years and if it doesn’t work out can use him as a trading piece moving forward. This can be perfect for the Thunder and that second unit adding a player on the rise like Dennis and Timothé to the mix. Dennis can play with and off of Russell Westbrook which gives them the flexibility to have more options in the backcourt.
Dennis brings high IQ and someone that can run with Russell Westbrook and Paul George while being able to create/assist toward shots. The Thunder were in the process of waiving Carmelo but instead, Sam Presti was able to pull off this brilliant move and bring in playmaking ability with youth. Timothé will be able to knock down shots and has the potential to grow into a player on the team that can make a huge impact. The Thunder definitely won this trade and were able to gain All-Star like talent for Carmelo Anthony. Check out both of the newest Thunder players highlights below.
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Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images, Steven Branscombe-USA TODAY Sports
