SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #10 Oklahoma City Thunder

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by Jordan Scurry | Jul 20, 2020 | Featured, NBA, uncategorised

In Today’s breakdown, we are going to look at a very impressive Oklahoma City Thunder squad that sits at the 5th spot in the Western Conference but, could position themself as best as 3rd by the time the playoff comes around. For a team that most people expected to be at the bottom half of the western conference playoff picture when the year began, OKC has been fuel by its veteran leadership from G Chris Paul in addition to a bunch of hungry young and talented players.

Gone are the Days of the MVP talents of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook leading this team to the playoffs but The Thunder will not be experiencing any type of playoff drought because of this. The team has a new identity and they have only improved as this year has gone on and the team is able to build more chemistry. The new selfless identity of this team that displays some of the most balanced scorings of an NBA roster, has put the Thunder not only in a playoff position but serious playoff contention.

Oklahoma City Season in Review (40-24, 5th in West)

The Oklahoma City Thunder have an overall record of 40-24 this year to claim the 5th seed in the West. They are only 1 game behind the Utah Jazz who are in 5th place and 3 behind the Nuggets who are in 4th. With 8 games left I expect these three teams along with the Houston rockets who only sit a half-game behind the thunder to make the 3-6 seeding interesting. The Thunder’s success this season has a lot to do with their success on the road after starting off poorly.

After losing their first 6 road games the Thunder have won 19 of their last 24 games outside of Chesapeake Energy Arena. This has so much to do with G Chris Paul’s leadership role but also speaks to the maturity of the rest of this thunder squad. Leading Scorer for the Thunder, G Shai Gilgous-Alexander has emerged always been a talented multi-level scorer. It’s clear Shai didn’t want to be seen as just some guy in the Paul George trade he’s played aggressive all year long and it brought out the best in him and his teammates. The dynamic that he and Paul have been able to create for this team on a nightly basis has been incredibly fun to watch. They are both dynamic playmakers and have done a great job this year of getting the most out of the rest of the squad. Chris Paul has worked the pick and roll game with Steven Adams this year to perfection and their wings have shown the ability to be consistent enough from the field to keep the floor spaced. The 20 points per game that this team gets out of Danillo Gallinari and Dennis Schroder should also not go overlooked. Danillo has been a star in his role for this team mainly as a pick and pop guy all year long. The playmaking ability of all the guards whether it be Paul, Gilgous-Alexander, or Schroder has really unlocked part of Gallinari’s game. Schroder has always been a really underrated guy in my personal opinion. He’s always produced a great number over the course of his career no matter starting or coming off the bench. Like Shai, he can score on all levels and is always under control. This team is full of players that just don’t get rattled very easily so its no coincidence this team followed up their first 6 road losses with the second-best road record in the NBA behind the Los Angels Lakers.

The Thunder are a very smart team but they are also very young and athletic especially when you look deeper into the roster. With guards like Hamidou Diallo, Luguentz Dort, Darius Bazley, and Terrance Ferguson they have depth and athleticism from the wing position which will really help defensively down the stretch. The Thunder have been great with utilizing their young guys this year and it seems like their rookies especially have gotten more confident as the year has gone on. Despite the well-balanced scoring, the Thunder gets every night, the Thunder’s defense is the strongest part of this team’s identity.

The Value of Terrance Ferguson’s Reliability.

📝 | https://t.co/rSidm8NStL pic.twitter.com/unJSLUCwV1

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 20, 2020

The Oklahoma City Thunder surprisingly rank bottom-ten in the league in points per game, assists per game, 3-point percentage, field goals attempted, and several other offensive categories. The Thunder do the little things that result in wins. They rank first in the league in opponent free throw attempts holding their opponents to an average of 17.2 attempts from the line this year. OKC also is only letting up a 12.2 second-chance points per game that rank 2nd in the league. They are efficient and sound of defense this year and it hasn’t mattered whether its at home or on the road. Surprisingly enough the thunder has a better win percentage on the road this year than at home. I think this stat actually means a lot more than you think as the season restarts because this team has proven they don’t need to be home to win all year long and with no games, for the rest of this season being played inside the Chesapeake, this team looks certain to bring their defense to Orlando to make a deep run in the playoffs.

Practice views 📸 #ThunderUp | #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/fOdwj5XLQE

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) July 17, 2020

Looking into the Bubble:

Looking into the bubble the biggest news for the thunder seems to be that G Dennis Schroder may not be able to play. Schroder announced to the media last week that his wife is pregnant with their second child and that she should be giving birth sometime during when the completion of the regular season. Schroder has made it clear to the organization and media that he intents to be there for his wife and is trying to work something out with the team where he can return to the team in the safest way possible.

“I’m not going to leave my wife by herself while she’s having her second baby.. I’m for sure going to go there and support her”

It sounds like Dennis Schroder may have to leave the team for a period of time in 3-4 weeks.

— Nick (@CrainNBA) July 15, 2020

While this might be tough to hear from a fan perspective, this is the right thing for Dennis Schroder to do during these crazy times. The man should be with his wife and newborn before all else and it’s good to see Coach Billy Donavan and the rest of the Organization are fully behind him.

“He’s got to make decisions that are best for his family and I’m fully supportive of that.”

-Billy Donovan on Dennis Schroder and potentially leaving the bubble for the birth of his second child in the next few weeks

— Nick (@CrainNBA) July 19, 2020

With this being said, without Schroder this team is taking a massive hit at a time they will need him more than ever. Schroder’s scoring off the bench is crucial for this team. We are talking about a potential 20 points a game missing for 3-4 weeks in which cold be first-round playoff series. I don’t think this team will be able to replicate what they have done for most of the regular season without him but they have had players step up countless times this year but not quite for what seems to be an extended period of time.

Without Schroder, they will still have to make sure their defense stays as strong as its been. Schroder provides playoff experience for this team so losing him even though in different playoff circumstances hurts them even more. The young guys are really going to have to step up defensively to give these guys a boost and the scoring from Shai, CP3, and Gallinari with having to increase by volumes for this team to produce in the same way. The good news though is that they are capable. They are healthy they have the talent and now if they can just execute they could potentially get hot enough to really compete in the Western Conference playoffs.

Schedule for Thunder in Orlando.
ᴬˡˡ ᵗⁱᵐᵉˢ ᶜᵉⁿᵗʳᵃˡ
8/1 vs UTA 2:30p
8/3 vs DEN 3p
8/5 vs LAL 5:30p
8/7 vs MEM 3p
8/9 vs WAS 11:30a
8/10 vs PHX 1:30p
8/12 vs MIA 7p
8/14 vs LAC time TBD

📺 All games on @FOXSportsOK

— OKC THUNDER (@okcthunder) June 26, 2020

Jul 20, 2020 No Comments

SR-NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #13 Indiana Pacers

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by Jordan Scurry | Jul 18, 2020 | Featured, NBA, uncategorised

Today we look at a fascinating Indiana Pacers squad that has one of the most unique situation as play returns. A team that had players have to step up this year has put themself in a decent playoff spot. The status of G Victor Oladipo is a situation that could have a huge impact on the Pacers, especially in the playoffs. Oladipo initially reported he would not be playing in the NBA’s return due to concerns over the quadricep tendon he ruptured a season ago. Oladipo only has played in the past 13 games of the Pacers season before the season’s suspension. The Pacers currently are in a tie for 5th place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadephia 76ers. With only 8 games left the Indiana Pacers will need to look to do a lot of things they have done all year long, just at an accelerated rate. Indiana will look to their major rotation guys to produce more and their deep bench to continue to find a way to ultimately just help this team win as many games as possible.

Indiana’s Season In Review (39-26, 5th In East)

The Starters for Indiana have been good but will really need to step up for this team to not only in their fight to hold the 5th seed in the East but come the first round of the playoffs. The Backcourt of Myles Turner and Domantas Sabonis has been one of the few places this roster has found a constant this year. Sabonis is a walking double averaging 20 points and 13 rebounds a game and Turner pitches in an additional 13 points and 7 rebounds per game. They are leaders in the backcourt by G Malcolm Brogdon who was averaging 16.2 points 7 assists and 4.6 rebounds a game this season. He has been supported by the play of both TJ Warren who was averaging 20.5 points per contest as well as Jeremy Lamb who contributed 14.4.

The Pacers were a team that was only going to get better as this season went on. Largely due to the absence of Victor Oladipo and that he would only return after the midway point of this season due to his season-ending injury from a year ago. The Pacers competed at a high-level none the less, this year even without him. Winning 26 games, only a game shy of the 27 they won in 2019 when they had Oladipo the year before, the Pacers got production from their deep into their bench. Of the 9 players in this team’s rotation, they combine for 38 missed games in just the first half of the season. The Pacers have had some refreshing players step up in the wake of the injury problems they have had this year. Players such as JaKarr Sampson and Edmond Sumner have been just a few of the guys that have been able to help step up for the Pacer second unit. Sampson has been a pleasant surprise for this team, averging a team-high in field goal percentage and providing strong interior defense in 13 games played. Goga Bitadze, T.J. Leaf, and Naz Mitrou-Long are among some of the others that have also definitely helped this Indiana second unit reach as many wins as they have.

Pacer’s head Coach Nate McMillan has done a great job of playing different rotations all year long for this team to be in a position to win games. He’s found success with whoamever was available but when Oladipo returned it seemed hopeful he would finally be able to find some stability with the roster this year.

Now they are faced with the same type of problems with the teams rotation they have faced all year long with Oladipos status still up in the air. In recent days it has seemed more probable that Oladipo will return in Orlando but the rest of the roster has to improve regardless if they hope to win their first-round playoff series.

Getting stronger every day 💪 pic.twitter.com/KBRY6ahqCO

— Indiana Pacers (@Pacers) July 16, 2020

Looking into the Bubble:

Hopefully, even with Victor Oladipo, the guys on this roster that will really need to step up are in the backcourt with Brogdon and Lamb. We’ve seen that TJ Warren can successfully create his own shot and get a bucket this year but come playoffs some of these guys are going to have to be able to do the same. It looked hopeful that Oladip was going to come back to fill that void. He was averaging 15 points per game in his 13 games back from injury. He was feeling better physically and it showed statistically as he scored a season-high 27 in the game right before the season was suspended. Brogdon and Lamb specifically need t step up because they are guard who finally possesses the ability they just have not consistently demonstrated it in terms of really scoring the ball this year. If they can find more consistency scoring from this part of the lineup to help the team along with some solid shooting from Doug Mcdermott, and Just and Aaron Holiday off the bench then the team will have the offensive weapons to compete with a first-round playoff series.

Strength of schedule for the NBA restart: pic.twitter.com/uha6fDWNF4

— Jacob Goldstein (@JacobEGoldstein) June 26, 2020

The Pacers have the 4th easiest schedule coming back to play but that doesn’t mean too much. They are still technically tied with the 76ers who have underperformed this year and are getting a healthy Ben Simmons after having time to heal a back injury. Pacers have a chance to be competitive in the playoffs depending where they do finish out in the eastern conference standings they will need a favorable matchup, lots of their roster to step up and a little bit of luck to get beyond the first round of the playoff this year.

Jul 18, 2020 No Comments

SR – NBA Bubble Breakdowns: #14 Memphis Grizzlies

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by Jordan Scurry | Jul 17, 2020 | Featured, NBA, uncategorised

Another day closer to the return to the NBA means yet another team on our NBA Bubble Breakdown. The return of the NBA is now exactly two weeks away. As the #14 team on our breakdown the Memphis Grizzlies have control of the valued 8th seed in the Western Conference.

Memphis has had quite the season, with the year being centered around the young and talented Ja Morant and getting him comfortable playing in the NBA and seeing how he and teammate Jaren Jackson mesh as the future core of this Memphis team. Few would have predicted that this team would be in control of the 8th seed in the Western Conference over a more veteran team in the Portland Trailblazers and arguably deeper roster in the New Orleans Pelicans. Both Blazers and Pelicans are 3 and 4 games behind the Grizzlies, respectfully. However, with a more limited number of games to finish off the regular season in the Orlando bubble the Grizzlies have a much better shot just keeping that 8 seed and looking to a first-round playoff match with the LA Lakers.

👀 @JaMorant's flashiest dimes of the season for the @memgrizz!

NBA Restart begins July 30th. #WholeNewGame pic.twitter.com/UGPGSPBOSr

— NBA (@NBA) July 16, 2020

Memphis Season in Review (32-33, 8th in the west)

Memphis has come a long way since the Grit and Grind era. With a phenom in Ja Morant and lots of young talent around them, I’m not sure anyone expected this team to be this good this quickly. It’s no doubt Ja Morant has had an exceptional transition to the NBA. Morant, who in his rookie season is averaging 17.6 points per game and about 7 assists per contest, has led his team with tons of highlight plays this year yet he’s also leading with such solid and efficient play. At the beginning of the 2019-2020 NBA season, it was a bit far-fetched to think that the Grizzlies would hold a playoff spot over the Portland Trailblazers who reached the western conference finals just last year. This is credited to guys like Dillon Brooks who quietly averages a very effective 15.7 points per game and is shooting 37% from beyond the arc. It’s important to also consider the consistency this team has been able to get out of their center Jonas Valanciunas who also in contributing a solid 15 points per game but more importantly has been very effective in ball screen citations with Ja Morant. Another player on this roster who has had an impact this year off the bench for the Grizzlies is Brandon Clarke. Clarke who averages 12 points and about 6 rebounds in his 21 minutes a game off the bench has been a very important piece for them. He can defend at every position for the most part which must make it easy for coach Taylor Jenkins to keep him in games late down the stretch. He’s just a very high motor guy and you can see the level of intensity he brings on defense for this squad as well as another level of offensive tenacity fighting for rebounds and catching lobs.

Looking into the Bubble:

To finish out the regular season Memphis will take on Portland, San Antonio, New Orleans, Utah, and OKC in their first 5 games. They have the 5th most difficult schedule of any NBA restart. It will be fun to see if they can hold on to the 8 seed or if they will end up in a play in with the rest of the teams competing for the 8 seed since the NBA has the new playoff format for the bubble where there will essentially be a play in for the last playoff spot. If it does end up going to a four-team play in for the 8 seed meaning all the teams finished out the season at least all within a game of each other it is the most experienced team, Portland will be the favorite in that to get the 8 seed. With this being said, if Memphis wins at least 6 of their remaining regular-season games they have a great chance of keeping that 8 seed and taking on the Lakers without any type of play in. The combination of teams fighting for the spot from the Grizzlies is going to be determined so it will be all more important for them to finish out strong so that they leave less of their playoff hopes up to chance.

Strength of schedule for the NBA restart: pic.twitter.com/uha6fDWNF4

— Jacob Goldstein (@JacobEGoldstein) June 26, 2020

The rest will serve the Grizzlies well. Although very young, when the season was suspended earlier this year the grizzlies were 4-6 in their last 10 games and were just banged up. Lots of nagging injuries were starting to catch up to the young roster after playing one of the toughest schedules in the first half of the 2019-2020 season. The rest will help their young core get back to being able to perform at their highest level. They will be very interesting to watch in the bubble because in having so many games in so many days teams with younger rosters are going to have even more value. Memphis just needs to get back in their rhythm as quickly as possible because their chance at the playoffs this year has largely to do with if they will be able to get back to winning quicker than the other 4 teams in the hunt. They seem poised to do so, and so long as they can be solid defensively and get production out of their top offensive guys like Ja and Jaren and hoping teams like the Pelicans or Trailblazers don’t get hotter than them they would have the same control over the 8 seed when playoffs come around.

Jul 17, 2020 No Comments

Top 15 NBA All-Star Weekend Sneakers (Part 2: 2000-2019)

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by Brendon Schunck | Feb 14, 2020 | Featured, NBA, Sneakers, uncategorised

All-Star Weekend 2020 is officially here. A couple of days ago we previewed our “Top 15 NBA All-Star Weekend Sneakers (Part 1: 1980-1999).” Today we showcase another 15 models, dating from the years 2000 to 2019. This list from the 21st century was much harder to compile than the list spanning from the 80’s and 90’s. The new millennium brought fresh ideas to All-Star Weekend when it came to marketing, fashion, and sneakers as a whole. Brands started to make All-Star specific releases to coincide with their athletes that represented them. Most sneaker aficionados would have to agree that the 2012 Nike All-Star pack was, and is, the best All-Star pack to date. This “Galaxy” themed pack could not miss and every player’s signature shoe sold out and immediately went for high-ticket resale. Nike had a good 4-5 year run when basketball sneakers were king and those were the models demanded by both the public and sneaker resellers.

The 2000’s saw Michael Jordan’s last two All-Star games, high-flying dunks by young Vince Carter and Nate Robinson, as well as mismatched shoes by Tracy McGrady. With the demand high, All-Star packs from each brand became the norm and every city hosting All-Star Weekend had enormous release parties. With Kobe, Lebron, and KD carrying the load from the late 2000’s and into the 2010’s, Nike just couldn’t be topped when it came to ASW. Will we ever get back to the good ol’ days of can’t-miss All-Star signature releases? Will the 2012 “Galaxy” themed pack ever be topped? Look below to see what our top picks were for the best sneakers worn during All-Star Weekend from 2000-2019.

15. Jordan XVIII “White/Sport Royal” (2003) – Michael Jordan

14. AND1 Tai Chi “White/Red” (2000) – Vince Carter

13. Jordan XVII Low “Lightning” (2002) – Michael Jordan

12. Nike Air Foamposite Lite “Kryptonate” (2009) – Nate Robinson

11. Adidas T-Mac 3 “ASG” (2004) – Tracy McGrady

10. Nike Shox VC III “All-Star” (2004) – Vince Carter

9. Nike Kobe 3 “All-Star” (2008) – Kobe Bryant

8. Jordan XX3 “All-Star” P.E.’s (2008) – Carmelo Anthony & Ray Allen

7. Nike Kobe 7 “Galaxy” (2012) – Kobe Bryant

6. Nike KD 4 “Galaxy” (2012) – Kevin Durant

5. Nike Kobe 6 “All-Star” (2011) – Kobe Bryant

4. Nike Lebron VII “All-Star” (2010) – Lebron James

3. Nike Air Foamposite One “NRG Galaxy” (2012) – Rajon Rondo

2. Nike Lebron 9 “Big Bang” (2012) – Lebron James

1. Nike Lebron IV “All-Star Graffiti” & “All-Star Metallic Gold” (2007) – Lebron James (All-Star Game + Skills Challenge)

Feb 14, 2020 No Comments

MENS STYLE GUIDE: HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT COLOR FOR YOUR SKIN TONE

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by Akeem Ivory | Jan 9, 2020 | uncategorised

Okay, guys let be honest here have you ever wondered why certain clothing looks good on you and others don’t, maybe there’s a shirt or jacket that gets you a ton of compliments when you wear it and now that has become you go to whenever you go out on a date. While here at Sneaker Reporter the mission of our Lifestyle section is to help with self-improvement in the year 2020, and the best way to do that is to give styling tips to Men and Women that will set you apart from others.

While today I’ll be focusing on the men because this styling tip is something most women already know and that is to find your skin undertone. What do I mean when I say undertone while according to Kourtney Willis, aesthetician of Downtown Dermatology in Columbus, Ohio, added that undertones [as the name suggests] are the colors underneath the surface of your skin.

Most of you guys may be puzzled as to why you should know what your skin undertone is but by knowing this can give you a leg up on the competition. Think about it the more esthetically pleasing you look to the eye the better you chance of attracting the attention of that woman you think is cute. So if that got you interested, continue reading to find the perfect color for you to complement that skin undertone.

So apparently there are three undertone colors: warm, cool and neutral. In order for you to find out which category you belong to take a blank piece of the white paper head outside in natural light and have a friend take a photo of you hold the paper in front of your chest. After the picture is taken if you see more olive, yellow, or brown colors reflected off the paper you have a warm undertone. If you see more pink, red, or blue colors you have a cool undertone. If you see more gray/ash or can’t decide you have a neutral undertone.

Now if this test is too embarrassing for you, these two you can do on your own, first check out your veins, for example, if your veins look greenish, then you may have warm undertones. People with blue or purplish-looking veins usually have cooler undertones. If you have neutral undertones, then your veins may appear colorless or match the color of your skin. If that doesn’t work try the watch test, place a gold and silver watch against your skin, whichever watch gives your skin more of a vibrant pop than you’ll know your skin undertone. Gold is warm, Silver is cool, and if both look good than your a neutral.

Okay now that we have determined your skin undertone here are some colors you should wear to stand out as well as some colors to avoid so you don’t look washed out.

Warm undertones want to wear rich colors that are reflections of nature. Color on the warm side of the color wheel, should as red, peach, coral, orange, amber, gold, and yellow. You’ll also look great when you wear “warmer” versions of cool colors, like olive, moss, orchid, and violet-red. Avoid chilly colors like icy blues or jewel tones like sapphire or amethyst because they can wash you out and make your skin look gray.

Cool undertones want to wear colors that are on the cool end of the spectrum and are inspired by winter and the depths of the ocean. So your Bright blues, emeralds, deep purples, lavender, royal blue, or pink. When wearing colors on the warm side, ruby, bright rosy red, or super-pale yellows are great colors to turn to. Try to avoid orange, tomato red, and strong yellows, which can clash with your skin completely.

As a Neutral undertone, you can wear anything on the color wheel but be careful it’s typically best to go for softened or muted versions of colors instead of the brighter ones. Look at colors that fall in the middle of the color spectrum colors like dusty pink, light peach, jade green, off-white,mid-range grays, and black. Oversaturated colors like magenta can overwhelm your neutral skin tone, but there’s one big exception to this is bright, true red.

Guys putting a little more effort into your look every morning could make the world of difference, it shows the opposite sex your willing to focus on the small details to good. Don’t worry women follow the same guidelines when searching for make-up and these tips are used by stylists to make should their celebrity client looks good at any red carpet event. Like that old saying goods look good, feel good, play good.

Jan 9, 2020 No Comments

SR NFL 2019 Playoff Power Rankings

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by Brandon Jefferson | Jan 3, 2020 | Featured, NFL, uncategorised

After 17 weeks, the second season is finally upon us. We have a weekend full of Wild Card round games–Saturday: Bills vs. Texans (4:35 PM EST) and Titans vs. Patriots (8:15 PM EST), Sunday: Vikings vs. Saints (1:05 PM EST) and Seahawks vs. Eagles (4:40 PM EST)–on the docket and before they kickoff let’s go through all 12 teams that qualified for the 2019 NFL Playoffs and do what we do best, rank them.