Oklahoma City Thunder basketball ops; former ESPN reporter
Oklahoma City
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Prior to tip-off as the game was delayed, Chris Paul ran over to the Utah bench and said “what’s wrong with Rudy?” and they all yelled for him to get away. Now all the players are quarantined in their locker rooms, being tested for the virus.
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Russell Westbrook on the foul from Joel Embiid, and then asked if they are “cool.” (Warning: language):
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When it eventually ends, Chris Paul's career is going to be one that's heavily debated and discussed. But what he did over these last nine months, on the court for his team, off the court for his team, off the court for the league, off the court for the world, was iconic.
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First question for Gregg Popovich today was about Marco Belinelli's status for the game against the Grizzlies. This was his answer:
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Game 7 duo power rankings:
1. Jokic and Murray
2. Lillard and McCollum
259. Kawhi and PG
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Steven Adams on living in the bubble: "Let's be clear: This is not Syria. It's not that hard ... We're living at a bloody resort. Everyone is going to complain, everyone has their own preferences, nothing too serious. Just a bit of dry food here and there."
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“I started in cold gyms in small towns in Iowa and ended up playing more than 1,000 games in the best league in the world ... But it’s time to go.” After 15 years, Nick Collison is retiring from the NBA: espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2345…
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So LeBron goes for 51-8-8 but loses Game 1 because...
- An obscure rule allows a charge to be changed to a block
- An 80% free throw shooter hits 1 of 2
- A teammate doesn't know the score with a chance to win
Cool cool cool
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Damian Lillard: There’s been a lot a talk, a lot of back and forth, and that was the last word.”
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Steven Adams says he spent some of the hiatus in New Zealand on his farm, doing farm work. "Cows are doing good, mate," he says.
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I wrote something about the birth and death of my daughter, Eva Grace Young, and the difference she's gonna make: medium.com/@royceyoung/we-sp…
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I've been told that Rudy Gobert was never at the arena tonight, but he was in OKC. If he had been cleared of the virus, he was set to play.
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Russell Westbrook asked about Durant's recent comments about the Warriors having "selfless" players:
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I’m being told Paul George is on stage with Russell Westbrook at the party. “I’m here to stay,” George said. “We can bring it home.”
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Mark Daigneault has said before Isaiah Hartenstein is the man.
Isaiah Hartenstein is indeed the man.
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Russell Westbrook on not paying attention to criticism: “I’ve been blessed with the talent to not give a f—.”
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Russell Westbrook asked his thoughts about being picked on LeBron’s team, thought he was the last pick. Informed it was just an alphabetical list, he made sure to correct Melo who was heckling nearby.
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Seth Curry says Steph texted him after the game today and said, “I’ll see you Tuesday.”
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The Thunder are built on two stars in their prime that both grew up in Southern California as Laker fans. And they’ve decided to plant their flags in Oklahoma City. Amazing.
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Steven Adams hits a 3, Ben Simmons hits a 3, Boban hits a 3. Preseason is better than the real thing.
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Russell Westbrook left a family vacation in Hawaii this morning to fly eight hours to Oklahoma City today to host this party, by the way.
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Russell Westbrook has to be so confused right now with Steven Adams battling him for rebounds.
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With 21 points, Lu Dort passed James Harden for most points in a playoff game by a Thunder rookie.
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Russell Westbrook on Evan Turner using his “rock the baby” move: “I didn’t even see it. He can rock it right back to Portland.”
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On a personal note, it’s well documented what a great person Billy Donovan is, but wanted to share one quick story: When my daughter was diagnosed with a terminal condition, we had a benefit dinner to help pay for her funeral. Billy surprised us and came.
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Monty Williams: "The darkest moment of my life, Chris was right there. One of the highlights of my career, he's right there."
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Reporting with @wojespn: Nurses have finished testing Jazz players who were at the arena and will process it overnight. For now, players are staying at the arena and aren't permitted to fly home. They're exploring chartering buses to get team back to Utah.
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Russell Westbrook grabs his 16th rebound, locking up a triple-double average in back-to-back seasons, becoming the first player to ever average a triple-double more than once.
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Shouts out to the Thunder fan that was 100% certain of Isaiah Joe nailing this 3 and didn't need to see it go in
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When Russell Westbrook went on his original triple-double rampage in 2016-17, Oscar Robertson’s all-time record lingered out there as an unlikely career capper. There just didn’t seem to be enough time for Russ to catch him. But four years later, he did it. Because why not.
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Enes Kanter said he texted with Hakeem Olajuwon for some tips on playing while fasting for Ramadan:
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The Warriors have evolved in their illegal screening. Just straight pushing people now.
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Charlie Villanueva tried to get in the way of Russell Westbrook and Cameron Payne's pregame routine:
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Some personal news: After eight years, I am leaving ESPN. (My last day is Sept. 18.) I am so incredibly proud to have worked there and have shared a workspace with the absolute best in the business. The gratitude I have for my editors and colleagues is immeasurable.
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Russell Westbrook on the teacher walkout in Oklahoma: “I’m definitely all in for that.”
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You might think Russell Westbrook just stat-padded his way to back-to-back seasons averaging a triple-double. But if it were just as easy as that, he wouldn't have been the first guy in 60 years to average one, and the first ever to do it twice.
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The Jazz team buses just pulled out leaving the arena. Might be hard to see, but Donovan Mitchell was waving.
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The Thunder have still not won a game since Nick Collison retired. Really makes you think.
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Just from the epic shots, the clutch performances, the confidence without arrogance, the ice cold candid interviews, the loyalty to the Blazers ... forget what even happens the rest of his career — Damian Lillard is going to go down as absolute NBA icon.
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The good news is there’s only a 39.2 percent chance it actually hit Damon Jones.
JR Smith was suspended for throwing a bowl of soup at Cavs assistant coach Damon Jones, sources tell @mcten & me: espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2262…
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Nike and the NBA are doing away with home and road jerseys. Each team will have four uni options and home team picks, road team contrasts it
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Sam Presti just officially put a bow on one of the greatest summers ever in league history for an executive.
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Chris Paul in the series: 25.5 ppg on 61.8% shooting, 58% from 3, 100% from the line, 41 assists to 5 turnovers.
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I will say, I enjoyed as the game went along the boos for SGA got quieter and quieter as he dropped 40-9-10 on them.
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Paul George had some pretty interesting things to say to @Rachel__Nichols today about Russell Westbrook's reaction to his All-Star snub: espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2220…
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The Thunder get a 10/10 on these. Absolutely fantastic. They'll wear them the first time on Nov. 14 against the Knicks.
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Round 1:
Thunder vs. Rockets
Harden vs. Chris Paul
Westbrook vs. OKC
Seems like an interesting series.
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Gordon Hayward broke his ankle completely in half and showed about 10 percent of the pain Neymar just did.
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I feel for Enes Kanter. Really made a strong connection in OKC with the city and the organization. Absolutely a super guy to be around.
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Russell Westbrook has arrived. (Of note: One of Kevin Durant's hobbies is photography):
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Russell Westbrook asked how much the outcomes of regular season matchups matter when going into a postseason series: “They don’t.” (Takes sip, walks away)
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Watching Harden just blow by Laker defenders makes you appreciate how great of a job Lu Dort did on him even more.
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The first tribute video in Thunder history was definitely a good one. And when Westbrook heard his name called, it was a massive, massive ovation with fans chanting "MVP" as the rest of the Rockets starters were called.
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Steven Adams on his screen on Damian Lillard and the conversation after: “That was just a weird situation. It might’ve hurt but it’s not my problem really. It’s his big man to let him know there’s a screen there but he got upset with me.”
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Russell Westbrook on waving goodbye to Joel Embiid after the buzzer: “I told him to go home.”
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The Thunder have the best lineup in basketball, and it came about from a bold vision, necessity, sacrifice and some good fortune. How OKC’s endgame lineup makes them the most dangerous close game team in the league: espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2875…
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So what’s next? I will be joining the Oklahoma City Thunder, working in basketball operations, contributing content to their various platforms (podcasts, TV, website and other things). I will also probably be getting @nickcollison4’s coffee and stuff.
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Russell Westbrook went off a bit on the idea he stat-pads rebounds: “If you don’t want it, I’m gonna get it. Simple as that.”
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This game had such a familiar feel that I wouldn’t be shocked if the Warriors win in seven and then Kawhi Leonard joins them.
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Records since Thanksgiving:
1. Bucks 35-5
2. Thunder 31-11
3. Lakers 29-10
4. Raptors 29-12
5. Celtics 28-13
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Russell Westbrook called it “outrageous” that Paul George was not named an All-Star:
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Stretcher coming out immediately for Nurkic. This is a tough scene. Nets players saw it and immediately sprinted away from him.
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Carmelo Anthony says it's inaccurate that Westbrook has a triple-double against everyone except OKC: "He had one against us in practice."
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Ty Lue on Steve Kerr letting the players coach last night: “I wouldn’t do that. They already say LeBron’s coaching the team anyway, so if I give him the clipboard they’re really gonna say that.”
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By the way, Grant is a great addition for Denver. He shot 39.2 percent from 3 on 3.7 attempts and can guard three and sometimes four positions. Probably won't start over Millsap, but may be in a lot of closing lineups.
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Last thought: There was this narrative around Westbrook that players perform better when they get away from him. Except this season the four other players that start alongside him are having the best seasons of their careers.
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Sneak preview of my first team All-NBA ballot:
G: Steph Curry
G: James Harden
F: Andrew Wiggins Against The Thunder
F: Giannis Antetokounmpo
C: Nikola Jokic
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Pretty excited to be that guy in 20 years or so that when some new amazing NBA player is dominating I’m gonna say every 10 seconds, “Not as good as LeBron tho.”
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And KD, man. Legendary. Two years ago he suffered basically the worst injury he could, then comes back to play almost 300 minutes in this series — including two full games — and drops 49 in Game 5 and 48 in a Game 7. What a comeback. Absolute greatness.
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Just to confirm it all: It's Paul George for Domantas Sabonis and Victor Oladipo. No picks.
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And before you even ask, SGA has done it on the fewest amount of free throws of the four.
Iverson. Kobe. Harden. Shai.
SGA has joined an elite group of players in last 25 years to score 30+ PTS in 35 or more games for 3 straight seasons!
Gilgeous-Alexander and the West-leading Thunder visit the Nets tonight at 7:30pm/et on NBA League Pass.
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Chris Paul is sitting tonight’s game out (personal reasons), his first missed game of the season.
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Maybe the toughest, grittiest, most resilient playoff win I’ve ever seen from the Thunder.
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Did you know: KD actually wears a full size bigger in games than his actual shoe size. From @Herring_NBA’s 2018 story about why KD’s shoes fall off all the time:
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Paul George on breaking out a windmill down two in overtime: “That was a statement. Just letting them know, my legs is fresh.”
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