Houston Role Players Step Up Big Time In Game 2 Victory Over OKC (111-98)

by Travis Singleton | Aug 21, 2020 | Featured, NBA

The Oklahoma City Thunder made the proper adjustments after struggling in Game 1. Tonight you can tell the Thunder came out with a lot more energy and were locking up defensively. The addition of Lugentz Dort back to the starting lineup helped out big time. The defense that Dort played on James Harden was as good as it gets. Dort was able to defend Harden using his length and his body so he wasn’t giving up any position to Harden. On the night James Harden finished with 21 points on 5/16 shooting from the field. James Harden wasn’t getting the usual calls that would put him on the line as he only attempted 9 free throws. Dort was a huge boost to this team and you can tell that his presence helped other players to be able to get their offense going as well. One of the players that was able to apply pressure to the Rockets defense all night was Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as he finished with a playoff career-high 31 points. Shai was aggressive from the tip-off and didn’t look back at all. This was the most emotional that was seen from SGA in a long time. You can tell he made it a mission to be able to put the team on his back with his offense and it worked. Shai was hitting stepback 3 pointers and was going in for some of those tough finishes.

The Thunder played a great game overall as they played their pace throughout the game. In Game 1 the Thunder got caught playing Houston Rockets ball and through 3 quarters the Thunder were in the driver seat with the momentum. Both Gallinari and Schröder were able to contribute to helping SGA on the scoring end as they both combined for 30 points. The two biggest mismatches that OKC tried to execute on in the 1st half was Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari. OKC has the height advantage and they need to stick to their game plan and it seemed as though they got away from it in that 4th quarter. Chris Paul postgame said that he needs to do better heading into Game 3 and OKC will definitely need his big game. This OKC Thunder team is unstoppable when the 3 headed monsters of Chris Paul, Dennis Schröder, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander all play well. The Thunder will need to come out in Game 3 on Saturday and punch them in the mouth first.

The Thunder were able to slow down James Harden in this game. It seemed as though every time Harden went to the bench his teammates stepped up big time. Tonight Daniel House was able to drop 19 points and he added 9 rebounds. The Rocket’s small ball worked today as they were able to get a lot of second-chance points off offensive rebounds. It looked like each loose ball just bounced out to a shooter and House was one of those people that benefited. House was hitting 3 pointers and he was able to have his defense help his offense with some easy buckets. The Rockets had 7 players in double figures and they were able to hit big shots in big moments. Austin Rivers came out with some extra juice and had 11 big points during a moment in the game when Harden was in foul trouble.

Eric Gordon and Jeff Green have been playing out of their minds. Any time the Thunder miss out on a switch or get out to the player too slow it seemed as though Green and Gordon made them pay. Both of them combined for 30 points for the Rockets and they held it down for Harden as he was on the bench. The Rockets bench has stepped up in this series as they’ve been able to score points and hang with OKC with Harden resting. This victory just shows that type of confidence that Houston has been playing with and this has been without Russell Westbrook. James Harden got it going in the 4th quarter but his teammates were able to help him out big time. It was tough for Dort to guard Harden with foul trouble and late in that 4th it didn’t matter who was guarding him. The Houston Rockets had broken the record for most 3 pointers attempted and made in a playoff game. Tonight Westbrook was coaching his teammates on the sideline and encouraging them with unlimited energy. The Rockets small ball has been working but if OKC can get a game from all 3 of their star point guards at once this series can change real quick.

Game 3 will be on Saturday at 5 pm as the Thunder look to claw back into this series.

Kevin C. Cox/Associated Press

Aug 21, 2020 No Comments

2020 NBA Draft Lottery: The Information You Need To Know

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by Marcus Van Diver | Aug 20, 2020 | Featured, NBA

Amidst all the enjoyment that onlookers of the Playoffs have felt, it’s time to look to next season — whenever that’ll start — and declare who will officially hear their name called out for the grace of the first selection in this year’s NBA Draft during the NBA Draft Lottery, starting today, August 20, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. This lottery will begin just a half-hour before Game 2 of Laker-Blazers tips off at 9 p.m. ET.

While the teams inside the bubble are battling for a championship, the teams outside of it have been making the preparations for a better 2020-21 campaign than the one they had this season, evident in them not being one of the 22 teams invited to the Lake Buena Vista bubble in Disney Springs.

Though under different circumstances and not in person due to the whole COVID-19 thing, this will be the first-ever virtual draft lottery. As to how it will go, the league won’t fix what’s broken as NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum will announce the order of who will pick from 14th to 1st overall by plucking ping-pong balls from a bowl, just like he has every year.

For this season’s lottery draft, there are a lot of storylines left on the table awaiting their fate. Here are just a few:

Possible first-and-second-overall picks LaMelo Ball and Anthony Edwards’ potential destination, the sleeping giant Golden State Warriors who have a high probability of continuing their dynasty with the addition of a high first-rounder, the San Antonio Spurs having to hear their name announced as a lottery pick team for the first time since 1997, and shockingly unpredictable odds that leverage the opportunity to land the first overall pick for everyone.

The amenity of landing the first-overall pick is a franchise-changing experience for both fan and executive, and the golden ticket of a pick is known to bump the morale of an organization overnight. So what lucky franchise will be granted that chance tonight?

With that said, we’ll let you know about all of the information you need about tonight’s draft lottery, as well as the odds for each team and if they’ll be in the middle of the pack for picks, or at the top of the mountain with the first selection.

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How To Watch

As mentioned earlier, the draft lottery will begin at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on ESPN, 30 minutes before the Los Angeles Lakers look to tie the series against the Portland Trail Blazers at 9 p.m. ET on the same channel. You can also catch it on the ESPN App.

The show will feature a combination of players and organizational members posing as representatives from all 14 lottery teams, including two-time MVP and 3-time NBA champion Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors, former second-overall pick and All-Star D’Angelo Russell of the Minnesota Timberwolves and another former first-rounder De’Aaron Fox of the recently-outed-from-the-bubble Sacramento Kings.

The NBA Draft will be held on October 16 and will be shown on both ESPN and the ESPN app.

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This Year’s Lottery Odds

Last season, the NBA began drawing the top four selections in the lottery with new odds for each slot. These are some things to know about these odds:

The teams with the three worst records have the same odds for both the No. 1 pick (14%) and staying in the top four (52%).
The team with the worst record has a 47.9% chance to fall to No. 5. The lowest a team could fall under the old system was to No. 4 — there was previously just a 35.7% chance of that happening.
Teams in Slots 9 through 6 have a 20-37% chance of jumping into the top five. Previously, that range was 6-22%.

Here’s a quick look at the odds for every team with a chance to win a top pick this year, per ESPN and the NBA’s official odds:

1. Golden State Warriors

Average pick: 3.7
No. 1: 14%
Top three: 40.1%

2. Cleveland Cavaliers

Average pick: 3.9
No. 1: 14%
Top three: 40.1%

3. Minnesota Timberwolves

Average pick: 4.1
No. 1: 14%
Top three: 40.1%

4. Atlanta Hawks

Average pick: 4.4
No. 1: 12.5%
Top three: 36.6%

5. Detroit Pistons

Average pick: 5.0
No. 1: 10.5%
Top three: 31.6%

6. New York Knicks

Average pick: 5.5
No. 1: 9.0%
Top three: 27.6%

7. Chicago Bulls

Average pick: 6.2
No. 1: 7.5%
Top three: 23.4%

8. Charlotte Hornets

Average pick: 7.0
No. 1: 6.0%
Top three: 19.0%

9. Washington Wizards

Average pick: 8.0
No. 1: 4.5%
Top three: 14.5%

10. Phoenix Suns

Average pick: 9.2
No. 1: 3.0%
Top three: 9.9%

11. San Antonio Spurs

Average pick: 10.3
No. 1: 2.0%
Top three: 6.6%

12. Sacramento Kings

Average pick: 11.9
No. 1: 1.3%
Top three: 4.3%

13. New Orleans Pelicans

Average pick: 12.1
No. 1: 1.2%
Top three: 4.0%

14. Memphis Grizzlies

Average pick: 13.7
No. 1: 0.5%
Top three: 1.7%

Aug 20, 2020 No Comments

Harden’s 37 PT Performance Leads HOU To Game 1 Victory Over OKC (123-108)

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by Travis Singleton | Aug 19, 2020 | Featured, NBA

This series has a lot of storylines coming into Game 1 but the biggest one was Russell Westbrook being out. Westbrook was out with a quad injury that forced the Rockets to put Eric Gordon in the starting lineup. The Houston Rockets came out in this game faster than a Ferrari on an open highway. The pace that the Rockets played in that first half had the Thunder on their heels all night. Everyone wanted to see how the small-ball lineup of Houston would fair against the Thunder big lineup and we got our first glimpse. The Rockets make it tough on defenses with that small lineup because you get caught either trying to cover the 3 point shooter or crash the middle for the slasher. Tonight James Harden was able to take advantage of that as he finished with 37 points and was able to score anywhere on the court. James had the stepback working, crossovers to the rim, and free throws working all night. The aggressiveness of James Harden made it easy for the other players on the Houston Rockets to get their games going as well. The Thunder put multiple bodies on Harden all night but it didn’t matter tonight with the confidence he was playing with.

Eric Gordon looked like the Gordon of old as he was hitting some long-range 3 pointers and was attacking the rim hard. Gordon replaced Westbrook in that starting lineup and didn’t disappoint as he finished with 21 points on the night. Another player that had a huge game was Jeff Green who played some center and power forward as he made the Thunder pay from downtown. Jeff Green was open as Thunder players got caught being in the wrong spot on the court and he made the most of the moment. Jeff Green looked like he was back in his OKC days himself with dunks and crossover drives as he finished with 22 points on the night. When James Harden gets help from the bench like he did tonight from his teammates this team is very tough to beat. In this game, there were multiple times where Harden was getting rest while his team was up by double digits. If OKC’s going to win this series they need to make it a point to take advantage of the Rocket’s second unit and defend better.

The Thunder usually plays off their defense as it helps create offense but that wasn’t the case tonight. Tonight the Thunder played a lot of isolation ball which didn’t work throughout the game. This OKC team is known for their ball movement and getting everyone involved with touches and they need to get back to that in Game 2. The Thunder need to take more advantage of the mismatch with Steven Adams in the paint and let the offense flow through the big man. Adams was a walking bucket when he was able to get the ball and looked extremely dominant. The Thunder got sucked into the 3 point contest at times with Houston and got away from Thunder Basketball. Steven Adams finished the game with 17 points and 12 rebounds tonight and we should continue to see numbers these numbers from him in this series. Chris Paul was having a tough outing in the first half of the game but managed to get his offense going as he finished with a near triple-double with 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. This Thunder team will go as far as CP3 brings him and if they’re going to win Game 2 CP3 will have to get his game going a lot earlier.

The bright spot for the Thunder tonight was the shooting from Danilo Gallinari as he was able to get his shot any time he wanted on the court because the Rockets couldn’t guard him. Gallinari was able to finish the game with 29 points on the night. When Gallinari plays like this he’s a special talent but the other players like Dennis Schröder and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander will need to help out big time in the next game. The Rockets punched the Thunder in the mouth but Game 2 on Thursday OKC has a chance to punch back. The Thunder were playing at the Rocket pace and they will need to play their game in order to be successful.

Photo Credit: Kim Klement/Associated Press

Aug 19, 2020 No Comments

Kicks Through the Lens (Last Week Before Playoffs)

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by Brendon Schunck | Aug 18, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers

The NBA playoffs kicked off last night with a slew of games that garnered much attention. But before we even get to sneakers worn during the playoffs, there was one last week of the ‘regular season’ which we must highlight. Devin Booker did all he could do to will the Suns to an 8-0 record in the bubble, but fell just short in Phoenix’s bid for a playoff spot. Looks like this will be the last week we’ll see Booker’s sneakers on our countdown until the 2020-21 season. The ever-so-honest and non-apologetic, Jimmy Butler, dipped into his bag and brought out an old pair of Jordan XXX1’s. Luka Doncic debuted what appears to be his new logo drawn up by the team over at Jordan Brand.

Veteran PG, Chris Paul, also had a debut of his own. Paul donned his 13th signature sneaker with Jordan Brand, the CP3.XIII. Carmelo Anthony continues his run of nostalgia with his true fans, bringing out a P.E. colorway of his Melo 5.5’s wrapped in Blazers black and red. Paul George is rewinding the clock back 3-4 years, as we continue to see him break out his Nike PG 1’s in numerous color schemes. Will the NBA players’ feet heat up during the playoffs along with their games? What colorways and models do you want to see from your favorite superstars?

15. Jordan React Elevation P.E. – Luka Doncic

14. Nike KD 13 “EYBL” – Ja Morant

13. Adidas Harden Vol. 4 “Camo” – James Harden

12. New Balance KAWHI – Kawhi Leonard

11. Jordan XXX1 “All-Star” – Jimmy Butler

10. Jordan CP3.XII (Savannah State) Custom – Chris Paul

9. Pharrell x Adidas Crazy BYW 2.0 – Austin Rivers

8. Nike PG 1 “USA” – Paul George

7. Adidas D.O.N. Issue #2 – Donovan Mitchell

6. Nike Kobe 9 Elite “Brave Blue” – Ja Morant

5. Jordan CP3.XIII – Chris Paul

4. Jordan Why Not Zer0.3 – Russell Westbrook

3. Nike Kobe 5 Protro P.E. – Devin Booker

2. Jordan Melo 5.5 P.E. – Carmelo Anthony

1. Nike LeBron XVII P.E. – LeBron James

Aug 18, 2020 No Comments

Here are the “Top 5 Most Questionable Booking Decisions Made By WWE In 2020 So Far:”

#5 Burying Ricochet

Super Showdown: February 27, 2020

Ricochet has always been a unique performer who had support from many WWE fans. As this support continued to grow, Ricochet received a significant push from the WWE with him starting to win more matches. Unfortunately, when Ricochet was booked to face “The Beast Incarnate” Brock Lesnar for his first WWE Championship match, most people knew that Ricochet wasn’t going to win the title. Ricochet lost all momentum losing to Brock Lesnar in a match that only lasted a couple of minutes. Ricochet’s inability to get any offense in the match and being the victim of what many would call a “Squash” match was sad and humiliating. Unfortunately, Ricochet’s career has never seemed to recover from the loss of that match. This booking decision raised many questions on why he was booked against Brock Lesnar in the first place.

#4 Making Shayna Baszler Wait So Long In The Elimination Chamber

Elimination Chamber: March 8, 2020

Many were looking forward to the Women’s Elimination Chamber match. This match consisted of six superstars fighting in a chamber for the right to challenge Becky Lynch for the Raw Women’s Championship. Shayna Baszler was already seen as a favorite to win the match, but it wasn’t expected that she would just run through the competition in the manner that she did. Baszler eliminated every single opponent in sight. While this was an excellent build for her, the match wasn’t booked quite well, which resulted in Shayna awkwardly waiting for a long time until another pod opened. The awkward waiting slowed down the pace of the match. WWE could have made her take her time to destroy her opponents, maintaining her dominance and the match’s pace.

#3 Ending Rhea Ripley’s Momentum

WrestleMania 36: April 5, 2020

Rhea Ripley was one of the fastest rising stars in WWE who had a lot of momentum. This momentum had been stopped short when she lost the NXT Women’s Championship to Charlotte Flair. Some fans blamed NXT booking for slowing down this momentum of Rhea Ripley. Some fans also believed that Flair could’ve used that opportunity to help make Ripley look good by losing to her. With so many opinions about how the match between Charlotte Flair and Rhea Ripley should have been booked, there’s no debate that Ripley needed to recover from it.

#2 Continuing Becky Lynch’s Championship Reign

Wrestlemania 36: April 4, 2020

“The Man” Becky lynch had an incredible reign as the Raw Women’s Champion. However, many believed that it was time for Lynch’s reign to end. With Shayna Baszler beating the entire Raw women’s division, it was only right in many of the WWE fan’s eyes for Becky Lynch to lose to her. It very underwhelming for Lynch to defeat Baszler, retaining her Raw Women’s Championship. As expected, WWE received a massive backlash from WWE fans, which made some fans slowly turn on Lynch.

#1 Making “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt Drop The WWE Universal Championship To Goldberg

Super Showdown: February 27, 2020

When the match between “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt and Goldberg was first booked, the WWE had already put themselves in a tough situation. Goldberg was a 53-year-old part-timer, but making the “hero” lose at Super Showdown may not have gone well with the “feel good” narrative the WWE was trying to paint. On the other end, “The fiend” Bray Wyatt was red hot and gave much relevance to the WWE Universal Championship. Wyatt losing the Universal Championship to Goldberg in a less than two-minute squash match was seen as a significant mistake on the WWE writers from the WWE fans. Even though Goldberg is incredibly athletic for his age, many WWE fans believed that he shouldn’t have won that match. Goldberg is a part-timer, so the momentum was needed more for Wyatt than Goldberg.

Article content by @wrestleposts/Edited by Deshaun Ferguson @theprowrestlingreporter

All photos accessed August 17, 2020,https://www.wwe.com/Featured photo accessed and modified August 17,2020/No copyright infringement is intended

Aug 18, 2020 No Comments

Top 20 Players in the NBA Bubble Playoffs

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by Jordan Scurry | Aug 17, 2020 | Featured, NBA

We made it NBA fans the 2019-2020 NBA playoffs have finally arrived! Its been a season unlike any other and getting to this point is an accomplishment in itself. The NBA has handled this season the best they could and credit to them because now we are in for what will be a great postseason. With the matchups set and games tipping off later this evening let’s take a closer look at the top 20 players that will be must-see TV as the journey to the finals begins.

The 2020 NBA Playoffs begin TOMORROW (8/17) with games ALL DAY starting at 1:30 PM ET on ESPN! #WholeNewGame
Full Schedule: https://t.co/qmJ2KbzYSe pic.twitter.com/hwfAcYBaPA
— NBA (@NBA) August 16, 2020

Lebron James

Without a doubt, King James is number one on the list of the top 20 players in the bubble. Bottom line is his statistics speak for themselves, and if all you had to go by was his on-paper performance, there are very few to ever compare:

4th all-time in total points at 32,543 (1st overall in the playoffs)
10th all-time in assists at 8,662 (3rd overall in the playoffs)
1st in overall playoff minutes played at 10,049
1st in overall playoff steals at 419

Year 17 and league assist leader for the first time 👑 @KingJames pic.twitter.com/tC9nq4WoUE
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 13, 2020

King James has the most impressive playoff stats of anyone in the bubble in terms of career achievements in the playoffs and doesn’t seem to be slowing down. Although he didn’t seem to be as aggressive as we all know him to be I expect Lebron to turn it up another level come playoffs as he always does. The King is eager for the playoffs to start and what separates LeBron from a lot of other greats is his will to win and his level of focus come playoff time. Ecpetd Lebron to be locked in and poised to put up big numbers in his first playoffs with the LA Lakers.

Giannis Antetokounmpo

Another player with an incredible will to win is the reigning league MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo better know as the Greek Freak. Giannis Averaged 30 points 13 rebounds and 6 assist this season for the Bucks leading them to first place in the East. He has improved statistically in every category to follow up his MVP season and is now attempting twice as many threes as a year ago and shooting 5% better from distance. The Bucks matchup with the Magic who don’t seem to pose any real threat to the loaded Bucks. I expect Giannis to try to make a statement in the first round to set the tone for the playoffs that he is determined to get his team to the NBA finals.

Damian Lillard

Dame has easily been the best player in the bubble. Putting up back to back 50 + point games and achieving an accomplishment that only the great Wilt Chamberlin had done before in history speaks for itself. He’s also had the most pressure since entering the bubble because Portland wasn’t even in the playoff picture coming into the bubble. Dame led the Blazers to a 5-2 record in this restart and as if his determination and attitude in these games leading up to the playoffs we not enough now he gets to match up with the great Lebron James. This series will be a good one and even if the Blazers do go down one thing is for sure, Dame Dolla does not go down easy …

Kawhi Leonard

Kawhi hasn’t quite had as impressive of a season as last but similar to Lebron, his playoff rep speaks for itself. He’s spent a large portion of this year managing his minutes after playing so much in last year’s NBA playoffs and Finals. I’m confident that Leonard will return to his MVP caliber performances when these playoffs start because not only is he now much recovered from any nagging injuries because of the NBA’s hiatus but he’s also on the best team he’s ever been on and are the favorites to win it all. Kawhi doesn’t even have to do as much as he’s done in years past in trying to get to the finals but he’s defiantly going to need to be effective in the moment ts that the Clippers do need him to come up big and he’s shown in multiple playoff series that he can be relied on when he’s called upon in the playoffs.

Luka Doncic

Luka Doncic is must-see TV. I’m very excited to see him perform in a 7 game series. In arguably the best sophomore NBA season ever Luka plays with the poise of a 10 year NBA veteran. He has put up big numbers all year long and this year with an improved Mavericks roster they have found themselves in the playoff picture. He plays the game with such finesse and we just haven’t seen a player like him in the modern era. He plays so aggressively but is always under control. He’s a tough guard because he’s so good at getting his teammates involved that he’s not just a threat scoring-wise. I think the most impressive stat that stems from Doncic’s playmaking ability is the fact that this season they became the Most Efficient offense in NBA history, even ahead of the 73-9 Warriors team.

James Harden

The Beard has been sensational this year. The questions surrounding if he and Russell Westbrook could gel in their primes and get the Rockets into a position to make a run to the finals have been answered. Harden has shown that playing alongside a dynamic athlete like Westbrook again actually enhances his playmaking ability. The former MVP is really getting buckets this year and has even shown tremendous improvements with his ball-handling ability that was at a high level, to begin with. Harden has always gotten buckets in the playoffs but his play is cause for concern in the playoffs just because he has a history of going cold for a game or two. That cannot happen in the bubble if the Rockets hope to finally advance to the conference finals. He’s been shooting at a high volume but we all know the playoffs are about efficiency and that every possession matters.

Without Westbrook in Game 1 vs the Thunder expect Harden to go off! is he establishes some high volume scoring early in this series and can consistently put up his league-best 34 a game then The Beard and the Rockets will be really dangerous in this year’s Playoffs?

Nikola Jokic

Jokic is the best point-center in the league. Averaging 7 assists a game this year he is the reason for so much of the Nuggets success this year. Much like Doncic, he plays so under control and at such a controlled pace that he’s so difficult to guard. He’s a 7 footer with great touch around the basket, runs the floor well and can knock down the 3 ball consistently. There are not many like him in the NBA and far fewer as effective as he is. He’ll be a great asset in the playoffs because as I mentioned we know that in the playoffs every possession matters and Jokic already understands that. Jokic seems to try to get the easiest possible basket for the Nuggets every time down the floor and in their matchup with the Jazz which could really go either way having a star like Jokic is going to go a long way.

Paul George

There is no denying that Paul George is a top 10 talent in this league and no denying that he is a top 10 player in these playoffs but now its time for PG to really show that he can perform come playoff time. George has looked great when active this year for the Clippers. Although he’s doesn’t have to carry the load as much as he once did in Indiana and OKC because this Clippers team is so deep George will still have to perform at an all-star level on both offense and defense if this team is going to get to the finals. I expect big games from George early if the Clippers are going to establish they are truly a contender this year. He’ll need to have the type of playoffs he once had in Indiana when he was just a rising star for this team to advance. He’scapable of scoring in bunches and making it look easy and if he establishes this sooner than later the Clippers are going to be lethal.

Russel Westbrook

Westbrook will be out for the first game against his former team the Oklahoma City Thunder with a strained quad. There is no doubt that Houston will need him to be at his best for The Rockets to even advance past a talented OKC team that has found ways to win some big games this year. Hopefully, he returns after only one game without any lagging effects from the strain so that this team is at full strength in their quest for a championship.

The most impressive part of Westbrook’s play this year is his offensive rebounding. A highly underrated part of his game he has now capitalized on since the Rockets play small-ball lineups. He attacks the glass like an energizer bunny, its actually really cool to watch. He times up put back dunks like LeBron times up chase-down blocks. Looking forward to Westbrook getting back on the floor and giving it his all in his first playoffs with his new team.

Chris Paul

Chris Paul has shown that he’s still got a lot left in the tank and he’s still one of the best point guards in the game today. Putting up an impressive almost 20 a game this year isn’t even the best he has done for this young and talented Thunder team. What makes CP3 so great is his ability to give the players around him confidence and get the most out of everyone he plays with. He’s helped balance this Thunder team that was not predicted to do as well heading into this season. He’s solidified his role as the leader of this team but he’s also left room for the young and talented pieces of this team like Shai Gilgous- Alexander to flourish in his role. I expect CP3 to really come up big for this Thunder team and Matching up against the small ball Houston Rockets is something I can really see him exploiting.