Feb 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) attempts a shot against Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer (5) and Bulls guard Nate Robinson (2) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder blew out the Chicago Bulls Sunday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena 102-72 to improve to 41-15 on the year.

It was the second straight win for the Thunder after losing a season-worst three in a row before that. The Thunder also sweep the season series with Chicago.

OKC led by 13 at halftime then doubled that lead after outscoring the Bulls 31-18 in the third quarter. The Bulls shot just 29.1 percent from the field for the game.

The Thunder will be off two days now before hosting the New Orleans Hornets Wednesday night.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 32 minutes, 19 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists – A-

Durant has been in distributor mode lately and that was the case again last night. He actually had an off shooting night as well starting the game 4-for-17 before hitting his last two jumpers. The 16 boards was really a testament to the blowout and how poor Chicago shot for the game.

Russell Westbrook – 32 minutes, 23 points, 3 assists, 1 rebound – A

Westbrook had his jumper going down once again and that meant a more controlled Westbrook who would dominate the helpless Bulls. When Westbrook shoots over 50 percent from the field, the Thunder are so tough to beat. Westbrook had it easy with Nate Robinson guarding him for most of the game and didn’t have a ton of assists because the Thunder frankly didn’t shoot all that well for the game.

Serge Ibaka – 30 minutes, 17 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks – A+

This was a great game for Ibaka and the more he starts having these games on a regular basis, the better for the Thunder. Ibaka had five offensive boards and was very aggressive all night. He was rolling to the rim hard and knocking down his jumper, including a three-pointer.

Kevin Martin – 20 minutes, 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists – C

Martin wasn’t needed to produce last night and that’s a good thing for OKC because he didn’t. He went 1-for-4 from downtown and never got going. Chicago’s defense was tough on him as a few times he tried to cut to the basket and passes for him resulted in turnovers.

Kendrick Perkins – 25 minutes, 0 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks – C+

Perkins didn’t score but he still played well. His defense was solid and he rebounded well which he needed to do knowing the Bulls would crash the glass like crazy.

Thabo Sefolosha – 23 minutes, 11 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist – A

This was a very nice game from Sefolosha who has been looking very solid on the offensive end as of late. With Martin not giving OKC much, Sefolosha really stepped out and contributed to the blowout.

Nick Collison – 14 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists – B+

Collison continues to build on his chemistry with Martin in the second unit. It wasn’t fully on display last night but you can sense it every now and then. Collison had a great moment in the third quarter diving to the ground for a loose ball that he shouldn’t have gotten and then passing to Ibaka from the floor for one of his assists.

Reggie Jackson – 16 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds – B+

Jackson had a couple of really nice drives and finishes. He keeps looking more confident in his game and he has the talent to be a real scorer off the bench in this league.

Hasheem Thabeet – 11 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 block – C+

Thabeet didn’t score at all but of course got a block.

Jeremy Lamb – 12 minutes, 9 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal – B+

Lamb only played in the fourth quarter and scored nine quick points. He hit a midrange jumper and a three and looked pretty good out there. He still isn’t sharp on defense which is definitely why he hasn’t been playing this year. He has a lot of talent though which is easy to spot even in limited minutes.

Feb 17, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Eastern Conference forward Luol Deng (9) of the Chicago Bulls drives past Western Conference guard Russell Westbrook (0) of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the fourth quarter of the 2013 NBA all star game at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will look for their second win in a row tonight as they host the Chicago Bulls at 9:30 p.m. EST.

The Thunder ended a three-game losing streak with a 127-111 win at home over the Minnesota Timberwolves Friday night.

This will be the second time this season that the Thunder play the Bulls. They beat them 97-91 in Chicago back on Nov. 8.

Kevin Durant led the way with 22 in that game and Russell Westbrook had 16 points and 12 assists. Serge Ibaka had a big game with 21 points, nine boards and four blocks.

That game was a long time ago and both teams are playing differently nowadays.

The Bulls remain one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference even without Derrick Rose, who still isn’t back from his injury.

Chicago has the fourth best defensive efficiency rating in the league but are just 24th on the offensive end.

The Thunder have dropped to second overall in offensive efficiency behind only the Miami Heat. OKC is eighth in defensive efficiency.

The Bulls are also the third best team in the league at hitting the offensive glass. OKC is sometimes susceptible to allowing their opponents to get a bunch of offensive rebounds but they won’t be able to do that and win tonight.

The Bulls pride themselves on defense, rebounding and not turning the ball over. It’s really a clash of styles tonight.

It will take an off-shooting night for the Thunder for the Bulls to really have a chance, something that is more plausible than usual because of Chicago’s stout defense.

Durant has been in playmaking mode of late while Westbrook is coming off a great shooting night. Durant will have to be careful not to turn the ball over too much trying some of the passes that have been working for him recently.

Westbrook will need to settle down a little too especially when it comes to attacking the paint.

If the Thunder are able to bring it on the defensive end then they should have no trouble pulling this one out.

Ronnie Brewer will not be making his season debut for the Thunder tonight and will likely play his first game for OKC Wednesday night.

The game will air nationally on ESPN at 9:30 p.m. EST.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder hit the road tonight to take on the Chicago Bulls at 8 p.m. EST. The game will be on TNT.

OKC hasn’t gotten off to the greatest start splitting their first four games but got back on track vs. the Toronto Raptors two nights ago with the win at home.

The Bulls are without Derrick Rose and will be for awhile but still have one of the best defenses in the league and are second in defensive efficiency so far this year behind only New Orleans. They will make things difficult for the Thunder especially in the pick-and-roll which is an area where the Thunder have not been performing up to their usual prowess this season.

Kevin Durant is doing more than just scoring so far this year only averaging 20.8 points per game but also 12.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists per game.

Russell Westbrook has had two good games and two bad ones so far. He’s averaging 20.8 points per game as well to go with 7.0 assists.

Kevin Martin rounds out the Thunder’s new Big 3 as he has scored at least 15 points in each game this season and is averaging 19.3 points while shooting 61.9 percent from beyond the arc.

The Bulls are led by their defensive anchor Joakim Noah who also is leading the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game.

While Rose’s absence hurts Chicago’s backcourt, their frontline consisting of Noah, Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng is still one of the best in the league. Nate Robinson has provided them with some scoring off the bench averaging 12.3 a night and shooting over 50 percent from the field as well.

The Thunder ran the Bulls out of the gym last year when they played each other while Rose was out. But the Thunder were rolling at that point in the season and right now, it’s Chicago who has been playing the better basketball.

This game will be tough for the Thunder just like how San Antonio was tough for them in their season opener. We won’t see the same open looks they got vs. Toronto and the Thunder will be tested to make smart decisions and be patient to get the best looks.

The litmus test for every Thunder game right now always seems to be Westbrook. If he can play well and hit his midrange jumper, that bodes well for the Thunder. Otherwise, Chicago should have a very good chance to win this one.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Free agent point guard Derek Fisher still hasn’t found a home this offseason. Fisher was traded from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets at the trade deadline last season and then was waived by Houston.

The Oklahoma City Thunder then signed Fisher, who was contemplating at the time signing with the Heat or Bulls as well.

Fisher fit in well with the Thunder for the most part. He has some big Fisher-like moments in the playoffs, hitting a few big shots and doing a better job than Reggie Jackson as Russell Westbrook’s backup.

Fisher averaged 4.9 points per game in 20 regular season games with the Thunder last season. In the playoffs, he averaged 6.3 points per game in 22.3 minutes. He shot .415 percent from the field and .375 percent from three.

SI.com’s Sam Amick is reporting that there is only a “remote” chance Fisher will be back in OKC next year. The Thunder not only have Westbrook and Jackson on the roster but Eric Maynor is returning from ACL surgery next season so there is really no need for Fisher. The Thunder also already have more than 15 players under contract if you include some of the training camp signees.

Amick also reported that Fisher turned down the Chicago Bulls before the Bulls signed Nate Robinson to backup Krik Hinrich while Derrick Rose is still recovering from his knee injury. This is somewhat puzzling because aside from Miami and OKC, the Bulls are one of the few teams out there who could compete for a title and that’s what Fisher wants to do now in the twilight of his career.

It seems unlikely Fisher would want to go somewhere like New Orleans or Cleveland at this point. Maybe there’s a chance he is somehow waiting on the Los Angeles Lakers and a possible return there. He has done it before. The Lakers are pretty set at point guard with Steve Nash and Steve Blake though so that is pretty unlikely too.

Fisher can still bring something to a team in limited minutes off the bench. But the point guard position has become very deep in the NBA and no team seems like they plan to reach for Fisher if they don’t absolutely need another backup point.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Chicago Bulls Team Overview

The Chicago Bulls had the best regular season record in the NBA last season before tragedy struck in the first game of the playoffs. Derrick Rose tore his ACL and the Bulls could not recover, losing to the 8-seed Philadelphia 76ers in the first round.

Rose battled injuries all year long and perhaps he came back too soon. Now, he may not even be ready for the start of next season and many are seriously downgrading the Bulls’ chances at competing for a title.

The Bulls tried not to make much noise this offseason but there will be some new faces next season. The Bulls will be reuniting with Kirk Hinrich. They also signed Nate Robinson, Vladimir Radmanovic, Marco Belinelli and Nazr Mohammed. In the draft, they snagged Marquis Teague late in the first round.

The Bulls are parting ways with Omer Asik, Ronnie Brewer, C.J. Watson and Kyle Korver, three key players from the team. Jerry Reinsdorf hates paying the luxury tax and that is essentially why the Bulls didn’t end up overpaying to keep any of these guys.

Their roster isn’t going to be too different from last year’s but on paper, they really didn’t do anything to improve. The team’s success almost entirely depends on the health of Rose.

Last year

The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Bulls just once last season and beat them 92-78 at home. Rose did not play in the game and the Thunder led by 29 after three quarters.

Kevin Durant had 26 points and 10 rebounds while Russell Westbrook had 27 points. James Harden had 11 in 23 minutes.

The Thunder shot 48.6 percent from the field for the game while Chicago shot just 33.0 percent. There was no semblance of an offense for Chicago without their MVP and they were absolutely no match for the Thunder who were really playing well at that point in the season.

The matchup

Despite their great record, the Bulls had just the 19th best offense in the league in terms of points per possession. That puts them at a pretty steep disadvantage vs. the Thunder in trying to find scoring.

The Bulls being one of the best “teams” in the league was very efficient in their spot-up shooting, fourth in the league. That is the one major advantage they had against the Thunder who were just 10th in the league defending spot-up shooting.

This makes sense as one way the Bulls would be able to beat the Thunder is with great ball movement and finding open shooters.

With Rose out for much of the season, the Bulls were less efficient in isolation and pick-and-roll settings than you’d think. Even with Rose though, the Bulls were always at their best playing together within the offense rather than relying on him to create everything himself.

The Bulls are really all about their defense which was the best in the league overall in terms of PPP. There may be no better team in the league more equipped to slow down the Thunder offense.

Westbrook would have a very tough matchup vs. a healthy Rose while Luol Deng has as good of a chance as anyone to slow down Durant. The Bulls pick-and-roll defense is something that would make it very tough for Harden to get going and we could expect to see Harden struggle similarly to how he did vs. the Heat in the Finals last year.

One area where the Bulls aren’t so great on defense is defending the post and that is the one area where OKC doesn’t look to get much of their offense from.

The Thunder would have a slight advantage vs. the Bulls in this matchup simply because they have more players who can get their offense. But the matchup is a very close one where home court would influence the outcome quite a bit.

Next year

The Thunder and Bulls will play twice next season with the first meeting coming early in the season on Nov. 8 in Chicago. They will play next on Feb. 24 in OKC.

Rose may not be ready for the first meeting but if all goes well, he should be playing in the next one. Expectations for the Bulls entering next season are less than they were last year. They surprised a lot of people having such a good regular season record despite Rose missing so many games.

The consensus is still that the Bulls are set to take at least a minor step back from the team they were the past two seasons, winning more games than everyone else. The Thunder are very much on the rise and really should extend the slight advantage they have over Chicago in this matchup.

For more Chicago Bulls coverage, visit Pippen Ain’t Easy.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder free agent Nazr Mohammed will sign with the Chicago Bulls, according to a report by Peter Vecsey.

Mohammed was reportedly meeting with the Bulls and Brooklyn Nets and will now choose the Bulls.

The Thunder filled out their roster shortly after free agency officially started. They are letting go of Mohammed, Derek Fisher and Royal Ivey and replacing them with rookies Perry Jones and Hollis Thompson and also Hasheem Thabeet.

The Bulls signing Mohammed all but assures they will not match the Houston Rockets’ offer sheet they agreed to with Omer Asik for three years, $25.1 million.

The Rockets will not have signed restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Asik this offseason to pretty heft contracts.

The No. 1 priority for Houston still is to trade for Dwight Howard. Having Lin and Asik on the books will give them less cap room but it shouldn’t impede their attempts to go after Howard. Lin and Asik at least will be something of a consolation if they do not get Howard.

The Los Angeles Lakers are still considered the frontrunner to trade for Howard. The rumored deal that could go down right now will include a third team in the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Andrew Bynum would be dealt to Cleveland although he has not been notified of this possibility and the Cavaliers would want Bynum to agree to extending with them beyond next season if they were to trade for him.

Howard will unlikely extend with anyone next season and instead plans to test free agency next summer. Whichever team he ends up with will be able to offer him the best contract to try and keep him however.

Thunder free agents Mohammed and Ivey have found new homes now this summer leaving just Fisher who is still in search of a new team. Fisher has also been rumored to have met with the Bulls and Nets as well as Dallas.

The Cavaliers can help facilitate the trade by taking on Kris Humphries in a sign-and-trade as well as possibly MarShon Brooks. The Magic would receive Brook Lopez along with three first round draft picks.

The deal for Orlando does not seem much better than the ones rumored between them and the Nets earlier that the Magic were not interested in. However, it is rumored that this deal could be done by the end of the day today.

Brooklyn would suffer harsh luxury tax penalties over the next four seasons if they do get Howard. The penalties could amount to over $100 million in four years but they still seem determined to get Howard.

“You can talk about the new (luxury) tax all you want, but if the Lakers get Nash and the Nets get Howard, then what did the new CBA accomplish?” one GM told ESPN. “You have to realize part of long-term planning is making sure you don’t help create teams you can’t beat.”

The Nets are not limiting themselves to Cleveland as the third wheel in a Howard trade and are shopping Humphries around the rest of the league as well.

The Magic agreed to another trade yesterday sending last year’s Most Improved Player, Ryan Anderson, to New Orleans in a sign-and-trade for Gustavo Ayon. Anderson will receive a 4-year, $36 million deal.

Anderson benefited greatly from playing alongside Howard as a spot-up four getting a ton of open looks from three. We will see if he can still be effective in a different landscape without Howard.

The Hornets are happy to get a good rebounder and shooter to put alongside No. 1 overall pick Anthony Davis for next season.

The Chicago Bulls also made moves yesterday bringing back Kirk Hinrich to a 2-year, $6 million deal. The Bulls now have to decide if they will match Houston’s 3-year, $25 million offer sheet for Omer Asik.

Derrick Rose may not be recovered from his torn ACL until well after next season has started for Chicago. The Bulls are likely parting ways with C.J. Watson so signing Hinrich here is a big move for them.

July 11 is the first day that free agents can officially sign. Teams will have three days to match offer sheets their restricted free agents signed elsewhere.

Jeremy Lin, Eric Gordon and Roy Hibbert are three of the biggest named restricted free agents that signed offer sheets with other teams. All three are expected to have those offers matched by their former teams.

Here are draft grades for every team:

New Orleans Hornets
No. 1 overall – Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
No. 10 overall – Austin Rivers, G, Duke
No. 46 overall – Darius Miller, G/F, Kentucky

The Hornets really couldn’t go wrong possessing the first overall pick in the draft and chance to take Anthony Davis. Davis has a chance to be a franchise changer and playing alongside Eric Gordon in New Orleans is a good start. The Hornets took Rivers 10th overall which is what they wanted to do. The Hornets believe Rivers can play some point for them although he is a scoring guard at heart. Gordon is a good playmaker himself though so the two may be able to share ball handling duties a la Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. The Darius Miller pick is nice too. He is an athlete that could make it in the NBA and was a teammate of Davis’ at Kentucky.

Grade: A+

Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 28 overall – Perry Jones, III, F, Baylor

To win a championship, sometimes it takes a little luck. The Thunder got the steal of the 2012 NBA Draft with the No. 28 pick. Perry Jones III we knew was going to fall because of concerns mainly surrounding his knee but sliding this far to a franchise that is perfect for him just seems unfair to the rest of the league. It was a Spurs-like snag for OKC and they know it already. Jones III has lottery talent and top-5 pick potential. One knock on him is that he never really stepped up and dominated and was more of a supporting role type of mindset and player. Well, come on down to OKC that sounds just fine!

Grade: A+

Charlotte Bobcats
No. 2 overall – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
No. 31 overall – Jeffrey Taylor, G/F, Vanderbilt

The Bobcats were supposed to either trade the No. 2 pick or take Thomas Robinson if they couldn’t. Instead, they shocked everyone selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist second overall. MKG is a player that will shine no matter where he plays, even in Charlotte. He has the potential to be the second best player in this draft class and it was a wise choice to make here by Michael Jordan. Jeffrey Taylor is a good pick too in the second round. Taylor was projected to go a little earlier in the draft and is a nice value find at 31.

Grade: A

Washington Wizards
No. 3 overall – Bradley Beal, SG, Florida
No. 32 overall – Tomas Satoransky, G, Czech Republic

The Wizards got the man they wanted at No. 3 but had to hold their breath and pray before doing so. As the Bobcats were shopping the No. 2 pick, any team that may have gotten it was probably going to take Bradley Beal second overall. The Wizards desperately wanted an elite shooter and wing to place alongside John Wall and they believe Beal is that guy. Beal measured just under 6-foot-5 so he’s not huge but he is physical and can do a lot of things on a basketball court. Tomas Satoranksy in the second round apparently is friends with Jan Vesely which makes that pick awesome too.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings
No. 5 overall – Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas

It was impossible not to fall in love with Thomas Robinson watching him break down after being selected fifth overall by the Kings. He won over a lot of fans with that reaction. Robinson is touted as one of the surest things at the top of this draft. The Kings wanted him bad too at No. 5, more than anybody else. Sacramento was going to pull off a trade with this pick with Houston if Robinson was off the board but obviously that didn’t happen. Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins are going to be able to get a lot of rebounds playing together.

Grade: A

Detroit Pistons
No. 9 overall – Andre Drummond, PF/C, Connecticut
No. 39 overall – Khris Middleton, SF, Texas A&M

The Pistons are extremely happy that Andre Drummond fell to them. Before the draft, they were hoping for this but planning to settle on John Henson. Drummond has as much upside as anyone in this draft. There are questions surrounding him but he is very young. It was the right pick here for Detroit without question. Khris Middleton isn’t someone that jumps out as a great pick here but at No. 39, there’s not a lot to expect.

Grade: A

Milwaukee Bucks
No. 14 overall – John Henson, PF, North Carolina
No. 42 overall – Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky

The Bucks were pretty happy to see John Henson at No. 14 especially after trading down from 12 with Houston. Henson is the kind of guy Milwaukee wanted and someone who will block a lot of shots and grab some rebounds but really needs to put on some weight first. Doron Lamb is another player they were happy to see at No. 42. He could have gone in the first round and is an irrational confidence guy who can shoot and play some D too.

Grade: B+

Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 4 overall – Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse
No. 17 overall – Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina

It wasn’t a huge shocker that Cleveland took Dion Waiters No. 4. They were planning on possibly doing so and after being unable to trade up to No. 2 and take Beal, Waiters was the next guy on their list, probably just ahead of Harrison Barnes. It wasn’t an overly popular pick but Waiters has an NBA-ready body and next to Kyrie Irving should do well. With Tyler Zeller sliding in the draft, the Cavaliers pulled the trigger on a trade with Dallas to get to No. 17 and take the North Carolina center. They gave up three picks for Zeller so they must really like him. Now with a core of Irving, Waiters, Thompson and Zeller, Cleveland’s future looks kind of alright.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers
No. 6 overall – Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State
No. 11 overall – Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois
No. 40 overall – Will Barton, SG, Memphis

Before the Draft, Portland was intent on keeping their 6th and 11th picks and they also loved Damian Lillard. Six may sound high for Lillard but Portland did something smart: picking their favorite guy and not caring where they did it. They then filled a need at 11 with Meyers Leonard, the center from Illinois. Portland was projected in some mocks to take Andre Drummond and either Austin Rivers or Jeremy Lamb. That sounds a little better than what they ended up with. They get Will Barton at No. 40 which is another solid value pick as he was projected late-first by many.

Grade: B

Golden State Warriors
No. 7 overall – Harrison Barnes, G/F, North Carolina
No. 30 overall – Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt
No. 35 overall – Draymond Green, F, Michigan State
No. 52 overall – Ognjen Kuzmic, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Despite his overall disappointing feeling, many still feel Harrison Barnes can be an All-Star in the NBA. Getting him at No. 7 was a pretty solid pick for the Warriors, who are starting new next year post-Monta Ellis and with Andrew Bogut. Festus Ezeli with the last pick of the first round is understandable too and he is a high-character guy who will work hard for them. Draymond Green is another good pick to get in the second round. The Warriors didn’t have a flashy draft but they made some value picks and that’s always a good strategy.

Grade: B

Houston Rockets
No. 12 overall – Jeremy Lamb, SG, Connecticut
No. 16 overall – Royce White, F, Iowa State
No. 18 overall – Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky

The Rockets were stockpiling draft picks with one thing on their mind: Dwight Howard. That hasn’t happened yet and now feels like it won’t. They were hoping to move up to No. 5 to take Andre Drummond but since Thomas Robinson fell to the Kings there, they weren’t trading that pick. The Rockets will settle for three pretty solid players starting with Jeremy Lamb at No. 12 who has a lot of pro potential as a scorer. When they took Royce White at No. 16, you knew they weren’t trading their picks anymore. White has gotten a lot of buzz this draft as a more athletic Boris Diaw who plays a little like Charles Barkley too. Terrence Jones two picks later is another talented forward that can do a variety of things. You always feel players Daryl Morey drafts are guys who can find a spot in the NBA. The Rockets just had bigger sights for this draft than this.

Grade: B

Phoenix Suns
No. 13 overall – Kendall Marshall, PG, North Carolina

It’s just about official now that Steve Nash is on his way out in Phoenix. Kendall Marshall is their point guard of the future. Marshall was one of the best assists men in college the past two seasons and has drawn comparisons to Mark Jackson and Andre Miller so yeah, he’s not quick. He’s fun to play with and will make the players around him better. They like that in Phoenix.

Grade: B

Chicago Bulls
No. 29 overall – Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

The Bulls were either going backup point here or combo-guard shooter. Marquis Teague is a talented player with this pick and someone who may be able to play alongside Derrick Rose some. It’s nothing special for the Bulls but a good pick nonetheless. Bulls fans were dying for Perry Jones III to slip one more pick into their laps.

Grade: B

Toronto Raptors
No. 8 overall – Terrence Ross, SG, Washington
No. 37 overall – Quincy Acy, PF, Baylor
No. 56 overall – Tomislav Zubcic, PF, Croatia

The Raptors would have loved to see Harrison Barnes fall one more pick into their laps. They would have loved even more to move up and snag Dion Waiters. They settle for Terrence Ross who can do things that will make him have a solid NBA career: shoot threes and defend. Quincy Acy in Round 2 could be a Reggie Evans type which is something this franchise has experience with. Tomislav Zubcic will not come over right away. If Toronto gets Steve Nash, a lot of their problems will appear solved.

Grade: C+

Orlando Magic
No. 19 overall – Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure
No. 49 overall – Kyle O’Quinn, C, Norfolk State

The Magic are in a weird situation and have been ever since Dwight Howard started pouting. Howard ran their head coach and GM out of town and still wants out himself. He hasn’t gotten it yet but it’s really only a matter of time. Orlando’s picks of Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn may have been logical, but they won’t make their fans feel better yet

Grade: C+

Boston Celtics
No. 21 overall – Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State
No. 22 overall – Fab Melo, C, Syracuse
No. 51 overall – Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse

We knew Jared Sullinger would drop, we just didn’t know how far. The Celtics are in a rebuilding stage now and looking to bulk up their front court with Sullinger and Fab Melo. The Celtics were hoping for Royce White here or to trade up and take Doc Rivers’ son Austin Rivers in the lottery. The best case scenario for Kris Joseph (taken No. 51 overall) is Gary Forbes, according to DraftExpress.

Grade: C+

Philadelphia 76ers
No. 15 overall – Maurice Harkless, SF, St. John’s
No. 27 overall – Arnett Moultrie, PF/C, Mississippi State

Philadelphia fans are not happy with the decision to take Maurice “don’t call me Moe” Harkless 15th overall. When you draft a guy who plays the same position as your best player at No. 15, it never feels like it makes sense. Harkless came out after just one year at St. John’s and is said to have some pro potential but he’s nothing special. The 76ers traded up with Miami to get Arnett Moultrie at No. 27. It’s just another lateral move here for Philly. Their fans want more than that.

Grade: C

Denver Nuggets
No. 20 overall – Evan Fournier, SG, France
No. 38 overall – Quincy Miller, G/F, Baylor
No. 50 overall – Izzet Turkyilmaz, PF, Turkey

The Nuggets surprisingly went with Evan Fournier at No. 20 despite some talent sitting on the board. Fournier will not come over to the NBA next season but was the highest rated international prospect of the draft. The Nuggets clearly weren’t looking to try and strike gold with late first round picks this year. They’ve already accomplished that with Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried. Their pick at No. 38 felt a little better. Some fans wanted Quincy Miller with the 20th pick so getting him this late is a win in that sense. Miller is young with a ton of potential but has the usual question marks. Denver went with another international product late in the second round that we won’t see in the NBA right away.

Grade: C

Atlanta Hawks
No. 23 overall – John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt
No. 43 overall – Mike Scott, F, Virginia

Nothing special here for Atlanta. John Jenkins could be decent but he won’t turn any heads. He can really shoot it though and might get some run for the Hawks where Josh Smith is on the way out. It would have been great if Atlanta had decided to draft Marquis Teague here and run an all-Teague backcourt with his brother Jeff. Love the Mike Scott pick.

Grade: C

Dallas Mavericks
No. 24 overall – Jared Cunningham, G, Oregon State
No. 33 overall – Bernard James, C, Florida State
No. 34 overall – Jae Crowder, F, Marquette

It doesn’t seem like Dallas was trying to do a ton in this draft. They dealt their 17th overall pick to Cleveland probably because there was no one they were in love with. They got three picks back for it and didn’t do anything crazy with them. One of the cooler moments in the draft though was Bernard James having his name called and walking to the podium. The crowd started chanting “U-S-A” because James served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dallas’ main priority this offseason is wooing Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard.

Grade: C

Memphis Grizzlies
No. 25 overall – Tony Wroten, Jr., PG, Washington

The Grizzlies wanted a point guard and a lot of mocks had them going with Marquis Teague but they choose Tony Wroten, Jr. instead. Jay Bilas calls Wroten, Jr. a taller Rajon Rondo. That means he’s a good passer and can’t shoot a lick. Maybe it’s what Memphis needs and there is some upside there.

Grade: C

Utah Jazz
No. 47 overall – Kevin Murphy, SG, Tennessee Tech

Utah has enough young players from the last few drafts that they didn’t care too much about this year. Kevin Murphy is the only player from this draft to score 50 or more points in game last year in college. Why not?

Grade: C

Miami Heat
No. 45 overall – Justin Hamilton, C, LSU

Miami could have had Perry Jones III at No. 27 and it would have been just as scary as OKC getting him if not more so. They just didn’t want to have to pay a first rounder this year. Their cap space will be tight the next few seasons. They trade down here and get a 7-footer which they need. Something tells me we won’t see a ton of Justin Hamilton playing for the defending champs.

Grade: C

San Antonio Spurs
No. 59 overall – Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri

The Spurs drafted him so he’ll be an All-Star in four years. Marcus Denmon feels a little Patty Mills/James Anderson. The Spurs probably aren’t expecting too much from Denmon though.

Grade: C

New York Knicks
No. 48 overall – Kostas Papanikolaou, F, Greece

Not doing anything here. The home crowd really loved this pick at least.

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Clippers
No. 53 overall – Furkan Aldemir, PF, Turkey

Love this pick. He may never play in the NBA but he is a great rebounder and can only score on putbacks, according to Fran Fraschilla. What’s not to love?

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Lakers
No. 55 overall – Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette
No. 60 overall – Robert Sacre, C, Gonzaga

Darius Johnson-Odom plays the wrong sport. He’d be an awesome football player and used that to his advantage in college for Marquette. He will look a lot smaller in the NBA. If Robert Sacre is playing for the Lakers next season, it won’t be a good thing.

Grade: C-

Brooklyn Nets
No. 41 overall – Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas
No. 54 overall – Tornike Shengelia, PF, Georgia
No. 57 overall – Ilkan Karaman, PF, Turkey

Brooklyn not trying to go crazy here. They are just praying for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to hookup in their new city. Tyshawn Taylor might make it as a backup point in this league but nothing more. Tornike Shengelia goes by “Toko” and is a 6-foot-9 scorer who is good at attacking and can score around the rim well but has no jumper. Ilkan Karamen has a ton of tattoos and may “never play in the NBA” according to Fran Fraschilla.

Grade: C-

Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 58 overall – Robbie Hummel, SF, Purdue

Kevin Love, Chase Budinger and now Robbie Hummel. Good luck rest of league.

Grade: C-

Indiana Pacers
No. 26 overall – Miles Plumlee, PF, Duke
No. 36 overall – Orlando Johnson, SG, UCSB

This may have been the worst draft pick ever, worse than Sam Bowie. With names like Perry Jones III, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli on the board, Indiana elects to take the worst Plumlee brother, Miles. If they weren’t Indiana and known for their white hoopsters, this would be an even worse pick. It’s still so horrible though words can’t describe it. There’s nothing that could make this pick ever make sense. They get Orlando Johnson from UCSB in the second round who was a 20-point scorer last year and might do something for them.

Grade: F

Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are clearly the “clues” we can take from the cover that 2K has given us so far.

We see a tarantula representing Kevin Durant for his nickname of “Durantula.” Then we see roses clearly hinting at Derrick Rose and then the gryffin which points to Blake Griffin.

Last year, NBA 2K12 focused more on the past and the legends with Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird being on their covers.

This year it’s about the future of the NBA with Durant, Rose and Griffin.

NBA 2K13 will be released October 2, 2012.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have found themselves in a tough spot. Being down 0-2 in an NBA Playoff series is not a good place to be.

In the history of the NBA, only 14 teams have comeback from a 0-2 deficit to win a playoff series. Three times it happened in the NBA Finals, three times it happened in the Conference Finals and three times it happened in a 5-game series.

The Thunder will have to do just that against the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals if they don’t want their season to end.

The problem is that the Spurs are playing like the best team in the NBA right now. They’ve won 20-straight games, which is tied for the third most ever in the NBA, and haven’t lost since April 11.

But it has happened before and if there is one thing you can say about the Thunder it is that they never give up and stop fighting.

How do teams come back from a 0-2 deficit? What usually happens?

The Thunder can look at a couple of teams that may show them a possible blue print.

2007 ECF: Cavaliers beat the Pistons 4-2

LeBron James and Cleveland lose the first two games 79-76 each time in Detroit. Those weren’t fun games to watch.

Then LeBron makes the leap. He has the memorable 48-point game five and it feels like the NBA will never be the same because LeBron is becoming the most unstoppable force ever.

The Cavaliers would lose to the Spurs in the NBA Finals but LeBron gave us a glimpse of just how talented he could become.

Kevin Durant has a chance to do exactly what LeBron did in 2007 in this series. It’s time for him to step up and have a huge playoff series. Only once in his career has he averaged more than 30 per game in a playoff series.

Durant may need to suddenly jump to another level of greatness for the Thunder to win.

2006 Finals: Heat beat Mavericks 4-2

Dallas proves why they are a much better team than Miami in Games 1 and 2 then Dwyane Wade and the referees take over the rest of the series.

Wade shoots 739 free throws in the final four games of the series and puts up historic NBA Finals numbers.

The Thunder are a team with a ton of bogus-foul calls potential. Couldn’t you see Durant, Westbrook and Harden start flailing their bodies into the Spurs over the next four games and getting every call?

Doesn’t David Stern and the NBA want to see LeBron vs. Durant in the Finals? Let’s make this happen.

1993 ECF: Bulls beat Knicks 4-2

The Thunder are reminiscent in many ways of the late-80’s, early-90’s Chicago Bulls teams. They may not have a Michael Jordan but overall they look comparable from time to time.

The Bulls lost the first two games on the road to the Knicks in this 1993 series. Those games were physical and the Bulls were not in their usual rhythm until they returned home and showed why the more talented team won the series.

The Thunder and Spurs games haven’t been especially physical but the Thunder have been out of rhythm so far in the series and haven’t been playing to their potential yet.

There is a ton of potential for this series to look a lot different when it gets to OKC on Thursday and that could propel a Thunder comeback.

Conclusion

It is possible but very unlikely for an NBA team to come back from a 0-2 deficit in a playoff series. It is even harder when you are playing a team as good as the Spurs.

But if you were going to pick a team to do this wouldn’t it be a team like this Thunder team? A team on the rise who shows tons of potential but not all the time? A team with the best player in this series who is on the verge of “making the leap?”

There’s still hope.

You can also download the podcast here.

Andre Iguodala made two free throws with two seconds left to put Philadelphia ahead.

The Bulls led 78-75 with 25 seconds left following an Omer Asik dunk. Thaddeus Young scored for the 76ers on the next possession then Asik was fouled at the rim with seven seconds left and would miss both free throws.

Iguodala rebounded the second miss and immediately pushed the ball back up court and drove hard right at Asik to the rim and was fouled to set up the game-winning free throws.

The Bulls were obviously not the same without Rose despite having success during the regular season when he was sidelined.

The series was very low-scoring for both teams but the Bulls simply did not have enough people step up with their injuries. Carlos Boozer scored three points in Game 6.

The 76ers win their first series since 2003 and will meet the Boston Celtics in the second round.

The Boston Celtics survived at home in Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks 83-80 to win the series 4-2.

The Celtics led by two with two seconds left and Al Horford was fouled attempting a layup. He would miss the first and make the second and the Celtics hung on to win.

Kevin Garnett came through with a classic performance. He scored 28 points to go with 14 rebounds and five blocks.

The Eastern Conference second round matchups are now set with the Celtics having homecourt against the 76ers and Miami with homecourt versus Indiana.

The Los Angeles Lakers lost 113-96 in Game 6 to the Denver Nuggets. There will be a Game 7 in this series now.

The Nuggets got off to a great start while the Lakers looked sluggish. Denver scored the first 13 points of the game and never looked back.

Kobe Bryant missed the shootaround before the game but still played of course. He looked sick but still scored 31 points on 13-for-23 shooting.

Kobe was the only Laker with anything going. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol for the second game in a row were not their usual selves. Bynum scored 11 points and Gasol was 1-of-10 fro the field with three points.

Ty Lawson led Denver with 32 points and made five threes in the game including four in the first quarter. Lawson has been the key for Denver in this series but hasn’t played too well on the road yet.

Game 7 will be Saturday between these teams meaning the Thunder won’t play Game 1 of the second round until Monday. With the Lakers up 3-1 it looked like they would easily move on but now Denver surely has momentum and could easily win this series.

Metta World Peace will return for Game 7 after being suspended for elbowing James Harden. I don’t think anyone looks at this series and says the Lakers could use World Peace and they’d be fine.

You can also download the podcast from iTunes here.

Debby Wong-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks will not be swept by the Miami Heat in the first round of these playoffs. The Knicks won Game 4 89-87 to send the series back to Miami.

Carmelo Anthony scored 41 points in the game and was 15-for-29 from the field.

LeBron James led Miami with 27 but went 9-for-21 from the floor.

Amare Stoudemire returned to the Knicks starting lineup after missing Game 3 because of the fire extinguisher incident. He looked good despite wearing a pretty large bandage on his left hand and scored 20 points to go with 10 rebounds in the game.

The Heat haven’t looked their best in the last two games in New York in this series and that’s kind of been their thing this year playing much worse on the road.

You can’t imagine the Heat losing a Game 5 at home but if they do and they have to go back to Madison Square Garden the series will become interesting if nothing else.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bulls are missing Derrick Rose. A lot.

The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Bulls 89-82 in Game 4 Sunday to take a commanding 3-1 series lead over the team with the best regular season record in the conference. After losing Game 1 in which Rose played, the 76ers have gone on to win the next three games.

They’re doing it with defense too. The Bulls scored 103 points in Game 1 but scored just 92 in the Game 2 blowout, then 74 and 82 in Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia.

Luol Deng was the player who needed to step up the most in Rose’s absence but has scored just 24 total points in the last three games of the series.

Rose’s greatest value that he brings to this Chicago team is being able to create his own offense and in the regular season that’s not as important but it evidently is huge in the postseason for this team.

Matthew Emmons-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are so far the only team to sweep their opponent in the first round this year as they did so last night in Dallas behind a huge fourth quarter from James Harden.

The Thunder are certainly playing excellent basketball right now and look as much like title contenders right now as they ever have.

Harden has really taken his game to another level and that’s what was going to need to happen for the Thunder to take that next step as a team.

The Spurs are up 3-0 in their series against the Jazz and look like they will sweep Utah by all accounts. The Spurs still seem to pose the greatest threat to the Thunder in the Western Conference.

The Lakers are up 2-1 against the Nuggets and lost Game 3 in Denver. Los Angeles should still win the series and if they do so, Metta World Peace will be returning to the lineup in Oklahoma City.

That should be interesting.

You can also download the podcast here.

I look back at the games from the weekend and give my thoughts on all the series. I look at the Miami Heat and their now easier path to the NBA Finals and I explain why the Spurs should be the favorites to win the NBA title and how the Thunder could beat them.

You can also download the podcast here.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

Now that every playoff team has played a game, we can all re-predict what is going to happen. The game always changes once the playoffs start and that has certainly been evident so far.

There haven’t been a ton of surprises so far but I think my mind may have changed on a few of the series.

Here are my current Playoff Power Rankings.

1. San Antonio Spurs

The Spurs looked the best to end the regular season and looked the best in their Game 1 win over the Utah Jazz. They should easily win this series and they’ve yet to show a reason to bet against them.

2. Miami Heat

The Heat dominated the Knicks in Game 1 which came as somewhat of a surprise. The East just got much easier for them and as long as no one gets injured, they should cruise to the Eastern Conference Finals.

3. Oklahoma City Thunder

Game 1 was a test for them and they passed. They’ll get better as this series goes on and that’ll be a good thing for them in the long run. They’re a better team than they were last year.

4. Los Angeles Lakers

Their win over the Nuggets was impressive and the all-around play of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol is what’s going to take them far in the playoffs this year.

5. Memphis Grizzlies

Sure, they blew Game 1 but they looked amazing before the fourth quarter. That had a lot to do with shooting so well from three but it was a weird game too leading by so much, so early on. I think they get their act together in Game 2 and show us why they’re contenders this year.

6. Los Angeles Clippers

The comeback was impressive and this team has talent. Chris Paul can win them a few games but I don’t think it’ll be enough to get by Memphis. But if they do they might be poised to make a run to the West Finals.

7. Atlanta Hawks

With the Bulls losing Derrick Rose and a possible Rajon Rondo suspension looming, the Hawks jump to the second best team in the East. As the four seed they have a solid chance now of making it to the East Finals.

8. Dallas Mavericks

They looked like the defending champs in Game 1. The only problem is they have to play the Thunder now. If they can play the entire series like they did the first game they will have a very good chance of pulling off the upset.

9. Boston Celtics

Rondo may miss Game 2 and the Celtics may go down 0-2 but this team isn’t scared of that. If Rondo and Ray Allen return for a Game 3 in Boston, they could turn this series around and win it.

10. Chicago Bulls

With the Rose injury, they lose any title hopes they had coming into these playoffs. They are still a very good team without Rose. They just don’t have any chance of winning it all now. So sad.

11. Indiana Pacers

They were supposed to sweep the Dwight Howard-less Orlando Magic in round one and instead blow the first game at home. This team is good but has issues. We can’t take them serious until they win a game in this series.

12. New York Knicks

Game 1 was embarrassing but all they need to do is win one in Miami. They have a chance tonight and definitely didn’t get the best performance from Carmelo Anthony in the first game.

13. Philadelphia 76ers

With Rose injured the door is suddenly open for the 76ers to comeback in this series. I just don’t think they do.

14. Denver Nuggets

They should have looked a little better in Game 1. We saw why they aren’t to be taken seriously. The Lakers are just too big for them.

15. Orlando Magic

That was a great rallying victory in Game 1 but let’s be serious here. They aren’t go anywhere without Dwight.

16. Utah Jazz

The Spurs are just too good.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

Derrick Rose injured his knee late in the fourth quarter of the Chicago Bulls’ 103-91 Game 1 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers Saturday.

Rose scored 23 points on 23 shots in 37 minutes before the injury and this is now the sixth injury Rose has suffered this season. Rose will have an MRI on the knee today.

It is amazing how good the Bulls have been despite Rose’s injuries this season but if they are to lose him in the playoffs, they would surely fall short of their expectations which are to win an NBA championship.

When you look at the injury it does look similar to those that result in ACL and MCL tears. An injury that sever would leave Rose sidelined for the rest of the year.

Considering the force and torque that Rose plays with, I have a feeling the injury will be a bad one. I lump Rose into the same class as Blake Griffin and Tiger Woods: they can do incredible things athletically but the wear and tear from playing the way they do makes it seem like injuries are inevitable.

The Bulls win Game 1 nonetheless and with or without Rose should have enough to get by the 76ers in this series.

Update: Rose now done for the season with torn ACL

It has been confirmed now that Rose is done for the year. The Bulls still played great this season without him and finished with one of the best records in the league but they definitely will need him to get past Miami in the playoffs and Boston.

It is very unfortunate that a great season by the Bulls and a team that had the potential to win an NBA title with their star healthy may now be wasted.

The road for Miami just got a lot easier.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat led by LeBron James destroyed the New York Knicks 100-67 in Game 1 of that series.

LeBron played some of the best basketball he has in awhile scoring 32 points in 32 minutes, going 10-of-14 from the field and 11-of-14 at the line and the Heat were plus-35 when he was in the game.

Carmelo Anthony was the complete opposite of LeBron shooting 3-for-15 in the game and scoring only 11 points.

Shane Battier did the most impressive job in the first half denying Anthony the ball when the Knicks tried repeatedly to get it into him in the post.

The defense overall was very impressive by Miami and the Knicks simply were not ready to match the intensity combined with execution.

I do feel that the blowout loss isn’t as bad as it looks for the Knicks in this series. Sometimes I feel that it can be more demoralizing to lose a close game than a blowout. Now, this was a huge blowout and I don’t feel the Knicks have a good chance of coming back in this series but I do think it can still go six games.

Tyson Chandler was noticeably not himself and had flu-like symptoms before the game. He is as crucial as any Knicks player to beating this Heat team.

With the Rose injury and Knicks no-show, the road to the Finals looks as bright as ever today after the first two NBA Playoff games of 2012.

If I had to rank the best chances that the Heat do not make it to the Finals this year it’d go something like this:

1. They meet Boston in the ECF and Rajon Rondo goes to another level and completely dominates four games of the series.

2. LeBron or Wade gets seriously hurt.

I think that’s it…

I was always afraid that by joining forces in Miami, LeBron and Wade would have too easy a time of making it to the Finals and winning championships. They had to go through a lot last year beating Boston and then Chicago but this year it may become a much easier path.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder will cap off the first day of playoff games tonight when they host Dallas for their Game 1.

We’ve seen some potentially severe injuries so far today so hopefully that can be fully avoided tonight.

We’ve also seen the style of play picked up a notch by the top teams, Miami and Chicago. Oklahoma City needs to replicate this and send a statement to Dallas tonight. That is their next step to becoming a great team.

James Harden and his health will also be very interesting to see when he checks in roughly six minutes into the game.

You can read my preview of the Dallas series here. Also check out Pippen Ain’t Easy for the latest on the Rose injury and All U Can Heat and Buckets Over Broadway for more analysis on the Heat-Knicks series.

I am joined by Sir Charles in Charge editor Chris Walder to discuss the opening round of the NBA Playoffs and give our thoughts on each series.

You can also download the podcast here.

The Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Indiana Pacers will also play on Saturday, hosting their respective Game 1’s. The Spurs and Lakers will host their Game 1’s on Sunday and the Clippers-Grizzlies series and Celtics-Hawks series will also start on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant may have a little extra incentive to go for the scoring title tonight since he will have an extra day of rest before the playoffs start for him. He needs 38 points tonight to pass Kevin Durant.

Denver is currently one game ahead of Dallas for the six seed in the Western Conference standings. The Nuggets play at Minnesota tonight and Dallas plays at Atlanta. If Dallas wins and Denver loses then Oklahoma City will play Denver in the first round. Any other scenario and the Thunder will play Dallas.

LeBron James was the best player in the league for the first few months. He seemed in shape while everyone else was still trying to get in shape and his numbers were the best of his career.

Kevin Durant then started to make his case for the MVP when Oklahoma City and Miami played with the Thunder winning and Durant outplaying LeBron. Durant too is having a career-season in terms of efficiency and it was clear that everyone was still kind of looking for an MVP candidate not names LeBron.

With a week left in the regular season you can look at this and say LeBron is clear and away the best player this season had to offer.

But numbers are clearly not everything. I know everyone likes to think there is a definitive definition for what constitutes an MVP but there just isn’t. It’s not always who the best player in the NBA is or who had the best numbers? Michael Jordan would have won the MVP every year if that was the case.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t come up with a system for finding out the MVP but let’s just not act like there is one already in place. In the 1961-62 season Wilt Chamberlain averaged over 50 points per game and Oscar Robertson averaged a triple-double. Bill Russell won the MVP that season. LeBron’s having a great year but he has nothing on Wilt and Oscar.

There have been moments this season that would make someone feel LeBron isn’t necessarily the MVP. Like when he basically took off the month of March (25-8-6 but averaging only 6 free throw attempts per game when Miami needed him to turn it up in that month) or the few times he seemed to not show up for big games when we all thought he would (at OKC most notably and then vs. Boston).

And why don’t the Heat have the best record in the East? How is a Rose-less Chicago team outplaying them? Don’t act like it’s cool to not try until the playoffs and then expect an MVP to be handed to you.

That’s why people are looking for someone other than LeBron. He leaves a little gap for guys like Durant to emerge and Rose last year.

Durant has moments when he looks like the MVP too, like last night scoring 20 points in the second half against Phoenix or when he scored 20 in the fourth quarter against Minnesota a few nights ago. There is a case to be made for Durant, it just might be easier to make one for LeBron.

There actually is still time for one of these two to separate some more from the other. The Thunder (45-17) have four games left and the Heat (44-17) five games left. Tonight LeBron will have a big matchup at home against the Bulls on national television to make some noise. Durant could still throw up two or three more 40-point games.

LeBron might have the better overall numbers when it’s all said and done but let’s not act like Durant doesn’t deserve a few extra points if the Thunder finish with a better record than Miami and get the top seed in the West.

I interviewed our Chicago Bulls editor Josh Hill and Miami Heat editor Westley Monell about the big matchup in the NBA tonight between the Heat and Bulls. We talk about the current state of both teams and the potential of a Heat-Bulls Eastern Conference Finals.

You can also download the podcast here.

In the first ever FanSided NBA Podcast I interview our very own editor of Sir Charles in Charge Chris Walder. Chris came on to give his thoughts on Dwight Howard and his fallout with the Orlando Magic, the chances of Boston and New York making playoff runs, who the MVP of the NBA is so far this season and who the favorites are to win the NBA title.

Be sure to listen to the podcast here or you can also download the podcast.

Follow Chris on Twitter @WalderSports

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRERobert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder and the Miami Heat played twice in a recent 10-day span with both teams protecting their home courts and both teams’ stars outplaying the other at home.

Kevin Durant and LeBron James each had great games when their team won and struggled in the losses.

With three weeks left in the regular season no two teams have looked better than the Thunder and Heat and a meeting of the two in the NBA Finals would be nothing short of epic. No other teams can throw out the talent that these two have and it’s looking like there may be some bad blood brewing between them.

In the most recent meeting that Miami won, the Thunder committed two hard fouls on Dwyane Wade and LeBron James. Russell Westbrook’s flagrant foul on James in the open floor from behind could have been perceived as dirty by some and Perkins’ foul on Wade was simply no surprise.

The chippiness goes back to last season too when Durant called the Heat “fake tough guys.” Even though they are, that rubbed Miami players the wrong way and they definitely haven’t forgotten as Wade referred to the comment in the post game after Sunday’s matchup.

Now both teams have obstacles in their way toward making it to the NBA Finals. The Chicago Bulls still have the best record in the NBA and if Derrick Rose is healthy will be no slouch for the Heat. The San Antonio Spurs may be playing better than any team in the NBA right now but their advantages in this regular season will lesser in a 7-game series against the Thunder.

So if the Thunder and Heat play in the NBA Finals, who will win?

Both teams have enough star power that you wouldn’t immediately question either winning. Both teams are also among the best defensive teams in the NBA especially when they are locked in, which both should be during the playoffs.

Both teams also have questions surrounding them like the high usage rate of Westbrook and James’ knack of shrinking in big moments.

The Thunder are relatively young and inexperienced as far as their best four players go but they are also the one team that can match the Heat’s strengths.

Miami is soft inside and gets beat on the boards a lot and the Thunder have the tough guys inside to exploit this. Rebounding can be as important as anything when it comes to winning a championship and the Thunder have the edge in that department.

For the most part both teams are belt similarly. They each have three players that they rely on to do most of the scoring and their two best don’t exactly fit perfectly in either case.

The Thunder has one more win than the Heat this season and they have the same number of losses. Home court will be a big deal. The Thunder have the best home crowd in the NBA and their young players play better at home and drop off more than most on the road.

The Thunder can pretty much count on the first one. They should dominate inside and the only thing that would stop this from happening would be an amazing effort from James and Wade of getting to the line in the series.

Home court is a close one right now. The Thunder have one less game left than the Heat and have lost their last two. Oklahoma City also has a 5-game road trip left on their schedule. Miami also has the advantage of having to deal with the much weaker Eastern Conference opponents for the rest of the regular season.

When it comes to Durant and LeBron so far it’s 1-1. You’d have to think that James has the edge over Durant in this matchup. He’s been in the league much longer and has been to the Finals twice. He is a better matchup defending Durant because he can be physical with him.

The odds seem to stack against the Thunder more than they do the Heat. This makes sense and again it is really just amazing how far the Thunder have come as a team so quickly. That they are in the same class as the Miami Heat.

We saw last year a different LeBron James in the NBA Finals. That’s really the Thunder’s best chance if they have to play the Heat this year and they saw that LeBron the first time they played the Heat in the regular season this year. Durant is a sneaky good matchup on defense against LeBron and the bright lights might change LeBron from the MVP to some guy who doesn’t want to be on the court.

One thing is certain if this series happens and that is that it will be the most entertaining NBA Finals possible this year. It will have everything and should go six or seven games. Legacies will be on the line. There might be a new “best player in the NBA” when all is said and done.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Chicago Bulls did not have their MVP and looked like it as the Oklahoma City Thunder made another statement win Sunday beating the team with the best record in the NBA 92-78 for their sixth straight win.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant led the way as both were extremely hot from the floor. Westbrook had 27 points, five assists and four steals and Durant 26 points, 10 rebounds and four assists.

There was no slow start for the Thunder in this one as the Bulls defense was irrelevant considering the touch Oklahoma City displayed on their perimeter jumpers. When the Thunder are hitting their jump shots it can be very demoralizing for their opponents such was the case today for the Bulls who seemed to not have much fight in them to come back.

The one advantage Chicago did expect to have with the Thunder was their front line but that wasn’t the case either as Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka continued their strong play today. The Thunder had nine blocks as a team in the game with Ibaka leading the way with five.

Carlos Boozer and Luol Deng each scored only eight points apiece and went 8-of-21 from the floor combined.

The Thunder up against the top defense in the league shot 48.6 percent in the game while holding Chicago to 33.0 percent.

Oklahoma City also continued with their improvement on not turning the ball over with just 13 in the game to their 20 assists.

The game was a potential NBA Finals preview although not the Finals we would see because of no Rose. It does seem however that the depth of Oklahoma City’s talent is far greater than Chicago’s and the problem of the Bulls relying too much on Rose would be an issue if indeed these two teams meet in the Finals.

The Thunder (40-12) have now won six straight games and will play again tomorrow night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies (28-22).

The Oklahoma City Thunder lead the Chicago Bulls 80-51 through three quarters thanks to some great play from their stars Kevin Durant and especially Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook leads the Thunder with 27 points and five assists while his jump shot has looked just as nice as it has during the Thunder’s five-game winning streak. While he was lighting the Bulls up with his jumper he decided to take out some anger on the rim as well with the highlight above.

Durant has scored 26 points to go with 10 rebounds.

The Thunder defense has been most impressive holding the Bulls around 30 percent shooting and sucking away any life they had going into this game. The Bulls are playing without Derrick Rose of course and the Thunder are taking advantage of this.

The matchup is a potential NBA Finals preview minus Rose of course and the Thunder are looking like the best team in the NBA today.

You can also download the podcast here.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (5-game winning streak)
108.0 Offensive Efficiency (1st)
100.3 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
95.7 Pace (6th)
57.3 True Shooting % (1st)
51.6 Rebound Rate (4th)

Bulls (2-game winning streak)
105.7 Offensive Efficiency (4th)
96.1 Defensive Efficiency (2nd)
91.9 Pace (26th)
53.0 True Shooting % (11th)
53.5 Rebound Rate (1st)

This would be a potential NBA Finals Preview but it looks like Derrick Rose will not be playing so we can’t really call it that. Either way, the two teams with the two best records in the league will be playing in the early game Sunday in one of the best arenas in the league.

The Thunder are playing some of the best basketball they have all season right now having won the last five games most recently beating the Lakers convincingly.

Russell Westbrook has led the way and is shooting the ball extremely well during the stretch. He will likely not be matched up with Rose so expect him to be aggressive challenging the lesser defenders Chicago throws at him.

It’s no secret that the Bulls have one of the best defenses in the league and will make things hard for the Thunder on Sunday. They will surely try and take the ball out of the hands of Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden in the pick-and-roll and make them passers.

The Thunder have shown an ability to accept this challenge lately and thus has been the rise in production from Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka. Those two will get the opportunities to step up again on Sunday and expect another big game from the duo if Oklahoma City is to win.

The Bulls also are one of the best in the league at hitting the glass. The Thunder have trouble keeping teams off the glass but with no Rose, solid perimeter defense will be key in helping win the rebounding game.

At home the Thunder bench plays much better and is going to have to show up against a formidable second unit from Chicago. Harden will likely enter the game with the score close and even possibly a deficit if the Thunder have one of their typical slow starts so it will be up to the bench to bring the energy and playmaking.

The great matchup that is tomorrow has luster some of its luster without Rose but still will be a game between the two best teams in basketball. The Thunder should get the edge because they are at home and Chicago without their MVP.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

Last year’s MVP, Derrick Rose, thinks that this year’s MVP is Kevin Durant.

“KD is playing great,” Rose tells ESPN Chicago. “I’m hearing about what he’s doing, hearing about how he’s playing. The numbers speak for itself, how he’s working out this summer, and he’s playing great basketball.”

Up until the Thunder played and beat the Miami Heat last Sunday I think that the consensus was that LeBron James was the MVP. Then Durant outplayed James in a head-to-head matchup catapulting himself ahead of him in the race.

James has put up career numbers and so has Durant. James’ are a little bit better but we know there’s more than numbers that decide the MVP, whether those things make sense or not.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The fact is that there are games that are more important than others throughout the regular season. Durant outplaying James when they are matched up and the Thunder winning that game weighs much heavier than simply the two’s season statistics.

No one ever considers things like James is playing in a weaker Eastern Conference and alongside another elite player that is so similar to him in Dwyane Wade.

The Thunder will play the Heat one more time this season and that matchup will definitely largely influence the MVP voting.

For now we get to look forward to a Bulls-Thunder matchup Sunday for the first time this season. Rose hopes to be back for the game in what will be a great matchup between he and Russell Westbrook if he plays.

Rose of course won the MVP last season and has held ever since the title as the league’s best point guard but Westbrook has been the better player this season and is a more likely candidate for First Team All-NBA.

As always, it will be as entertaining as ever watching the Thunder in their next game which will be at 1 p.m. EST on ABC.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the second-best record in the NBA this season at 39-12. They are the favorite to come out of the Western Conference and play in the NBA Finals. They are doing this despite their four best players being 23 or 22 years old.

The Thunder have been one of the more impressive teams to watch in the NBA this season. Every game they play in is filled with athletic highlights and incredible shot making. It is hard not to love this team and how they are put together.

But are the Thunder built for winning a title? Do the pieces really fit?

The criticism when it comes to the Thunder is usually directed at point guard Russell Westbrook and how he is not a point guard and how he shoots too much. I’ve made the argument that he is of course not a true point guard and is called on to do much more for the Thunder as a scorer as well, resulting in his high shot totals.

The real thing to note about the Thunder is how top heavy they are when it comes to usage rate. Usage percentage rates how much a player uses his team’s possessions counting field goal, free throw attempts and turnovers. This is a good way to help see how efficient a player really is.

I went back to 1980 and took a look at every team that won the title and what each of their player’s usage rates were in the playoffs for that championship run.

In the 1980’s, the teams that won were much more balanced and didn’t really on one star to carry much of the load. In 1985 the Lakers actually had five players with a usage rate of 20.0 or higher. Larry Bird had usage rates of 23.2, 25.9 and 23.3 in his championship years.

Things changed in the 1990’s and mainly because of Michael Jordan. Jordan has the highest usage rate of all-time in the NBA and his playoff usage rates were no exception. He recorded the highest playoff usage rate in 1993 at 38.0. During the Bulls’ title run from 1996-98, Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Toni Kukoc averaged usage rates around 35-23-19, respectively.

When the Lakers started winning titles in the 2000’s, the Kobe Bryant-Shaquille O’Neal duo became probably the best duo ever and their usage rates represented this for how close they were and how high too. Kobe averaged a 28.9 usage rate from 2000-02 and Shaq a 31.6. In 2001 they were the only teammates ever to both have usage rates above 30.0.

In fact, not that many players have usage rates over 30 on championship teams. Take a look at the players that did: Dirk, Kobe, Wade, Duncan, Shaq, Jordan, Olajuwon, Vinnie Johnson and Andrew Toney. So if you are going to shoot a lot, you better be one of the best players ever.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

This is where the Thunder come in. Westbrook and Durant both have usage rates over 30.0 this season. Westbrook has a higher usage rate than any point guard to ever start on a championship team. Not only that, but the trio of Durant-Westbrook-Harden’s combined usage rate this season is 85.2, higher than any other trio ever.

Last season in the playoffs when Westbrook received all of the heat for shooting too much, he had a usage rate of 34.4 while Durant was at only 29.0 and Harden 17.1. Again, not all of the blame should go to Westbrook here but that formula definitely isn’t going to work.

This regular season has Westbrook leading the Thunder at 32.7 with Durant at 31.0, Harden 21.5 and Serge Ibaka just 15.3.

I’ve said before that the sort of model the Thunder will need to follow to win a championship is that of the San Antonio Spurs’. They had a high-volume point guard in Tony Parker along with Manu Ginobili who is so similar to James Harden and Tim Duncan who had similar usage rates to Durant’s.

Parker had the highest usage rate ever by a point guard in 2007 at 29.2 when the Spurs won the title. Westbrook would probably need to get around that number for the Thunder to improve their title chances. If he does that it will mean more balance for the Thunder and probably a rise in production from Harden and Ibaka.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The more you look at this Thunder the more you think they probably are one year away still. For Westbrook to get his usage rate down, it’s really just going to take Harden upping his and he is only in his third season this year and if he continues improving next season, this may very well happen. We have already seen instances this season when Harden becomes the primary ball-handler even with Westbrook on the floor.

The other thing that will probably start to happen next year is a growing of Westbrook as a playmaker. His assists are way down this season and that may be because he has become such a dominant athlete and scorer this year. Next year he should learn to better balance that with playmaking helping get Ibaka better involved as well as more looks for Durant and Harden off his passes.

The one thing the Thunder have working for them in terms of winning this season is that their biggest competition in the Eastern Conference, Miami and Chicago, also have issues with their usage rates.

The Heat have a similar top heavy big three in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh who are combining for 87.3 usage rate, even higher than Oklahoma City’s big three. James and Wade are both over 30.0 which is something that only happened once in a playoff run with Kobe and Shaq. The highest usage rates for Jordan-Pippen was in 1993 when Jordan was 38.0 and Pippen 26.2.

An interesting thing happened for the Heat last year in the playoffs with James’ usage rate decreasing from his 2011 regular season mark of 31.5 to 26.9 with Wade’s remaining about the same over 30.0. This is the whole alpha dog issue with the Heat and what LeBron should do in the playoffs. You wouldn’t expect his usage to drop below 30 this postseason and really it should be higher than Wade’s. But we’ve never seen a team win a title with two perimeter players having such high usage rates.

As for the Chicago Bulls, it is no secret that they may rely too heavily on Derrick Rose to make every play on offense. Rose had a usage rate of 35.2 in the playoffs last season, higher than any other player and will likely have to carry a similar load this season, although Luol Deng and Carlos Boozer have improved some.

The toughest test for the Thunder may be the Spurs though. They haven’t shown any signs that they will be able to beat them in a playoff series and the Spurs added some pieces in Stephen Jackson and Boris Diaw that will improve their team even more come playoff time. This may not be the year the Thunder win it all but that really isn’t the end of the world. Next year should be their prime time but they still may be able to steal a title this season.