FIBA secretary-general Patrick Baumann and his group plan to propose the sport to have it included in the Olympics as early as 2016.

“Like volleyball has beach volleyball, swimming has synchronized swimming, we want three-on-three to be part of it,” Baumann told USA Today.

Baumann said that 3-on-3 would give more countries a chance to be represented in Olympic basketball and help grow popularity of the sport globally. Each country would be responsible for coming up with a way to rank their best 3-on-3 teams and have one represent them.

It’s hard to imagine NBA players would be participating in this. It seems more likely that this would be an Olympic sport where the U.S. always sent amateurs.

It would be interesting to see the kinds of rules that would be set too. Obviously it would be played half court but usually with 3-on-3, there aren’t officials. You call your own fouls and there is far less structure than what there is in every other Olympic sport we currently have.

It seems like this should be further away from happening than the next Olympics, but four years is a long time to get something done.

For fun, imagine the best USA team we could put together. LeBron-Durant-Howard with maybe Rose as a sub. Rubio-Gasol-Gasol would have a tough time getting the gold from that squad.

There has already been a lot of talk regarding the future of USA Basketball. We know that Mike Krzyzewski will not be the head coach although he plans to remain involved with the program to some extent. Doc Rivers, Gregg Popovich and Doug Collins are a few of the names rumored as possible replacements.

A lot of the players from the 2012 team are likely to not return in 2016. Kobe Bryant said that this was his last Olympics and a few others may not be back either. Four years is a long time and players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul will all be in their 30’s in 2016.

There has also been some talk of the NBA implementing a 23-under age-limit for future United States basketball teams. It is unlikely though that will come into effect until 2020.

If we look at the 2012 roster, there are a few players who are good candidates to be on the team again in 2016: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis seem the most likely. LeBron and Anthony might be the old guys who decide to give it one more run in what would be their fourth Olympics.

That leaves at least five more roster spots assuming no one else returns. Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin are two of the youngest players who would have been playing on this team. They both missed these Olympics due to injury. If chronic injuries become a growing concern for either, they might not be options in 2016 either. Dwight Howard will still be young enough to be an option as well.

A couple of point guards from the Select Team seem like good options in Kyrie Irving and John Wall. Both were former No. 1 picks which often are invited to the team.

Some other hopefuls from the select team include Kawhi Leonard, Greg Monroe and Paul George. Rookies Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Bradley Beal and Harrison Barnes are likely to be candidates as well.

There is also a very high likelihood that there will be a few players to make the 2016 team that aren’t in the NBA just yet. Some names that come to mind are top recruits Nerlens Noel, Shabazz Muhammad and Jabari Parker.

It’s really hard to tell at this point what the roster may look like in four years but here is what I am projecting:

Point guards: Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kyrie Irving
Shooting guards: James Harden, Paul George
Small forwards: Kevin Durant, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Kawhi Leonard
Power forwards: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin
Centers: Anthony Davis, Greg Monroe

I think in 2016, we will make sure to send over a team that has more size than the 2012 team had. Love, Griffin, Davis and Monroe will be a good foursome to have banging down low. Of course, Durant can play a lot of the four as well.

Rose and Westbrook will probably start in the backcourt. Irving is going to be a monster by 2016 and Harden will be in the conversation for best shooting guard in the NBA with George right behind him.

MKG will be the Iguodala of the team. MKG is going to be a very well-liked player at this point and considered a kind of glue guy for this team.

Leonard seems like another guy who a lot of people are high on. He was impressive in his rookie season with San Antonio and is expected to increase his role with them going forward.

NBA 2K13 continues to be innovative every year in finding ways to draw more fans. They have the best basketball product on the market but they don’t stop there.

Two years ago they included Michael Jordan and the Jordan Challenge in NBA 2K11. Last year they added even more legends by popular demand featuring Larry Bird and Magic Johnson on the game’s cover along with Jordan.

This year NBA 2K13 will be partnering up with Jay-Z who is coming on to serve as executive producer.

“This has been a unique opportunity to collaborate with 2K Sports and be a part of one of the best sports video games in history,” Jay-Z told 2K Sports. “NBA 2K13 will be the next evolution in sports and basketball culture, and I’m ready to usher in the new era of the franchise.”

The move to include a Hip Hop legend in Jay-Z was again a very savvy one by the 2K Sports team. With the Nets moving to Brooklyn for next season as well, it’s even more fitting.

“We aren’t content with just being the best, and we will continue to grow the NBA 2K franchise into one of today’s premier entertainment experiences,” Jason Argent, vice president of marketing for 2K Sports said. “Jay-Z’s role in NBA 2K13 represents a unique fusion of basketball, music, art, and entertainment, and illustrates the evolution of NBA 2K into something much bigger than simply the best basketball video game series ever made.”

2K Sports also announced today the soundtrack for the game which will include many songs by Jay-Z himself.

Credit: NBA 2K13 Facebook page

It was revealed a few weeks ago that Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin would grace the cover of the game. NBA 2K13 will release on October 2, 2012 in North America.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant cemented himself as the second-best player in the league this past season right behind LeBron James. He finished second in the MVP voting behind LeBron then finished second as a team when the Oklahoma City Thunder lost in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat.

Durant did beat LeBron in one sense making the cover of NBA 2K13 along with Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin. NBA 2K13 wanted to focus on the future of the league as opposed to its past like it has done with the last two installments. That is perhaps why Durant got the nod for the cover over someone like LeBron.

Durant’s overall rating was revealed during the 2K Sports NBA 2K13 live stream interview with Ronnie Singh. Durant received a 95 overall, three points higher than the 92 he got at the start of last season.

This is probably a fair number for Durant. While he is the second-best player in the NBA, you can make the case for him having this low of a number. His defensive ratings will still not be too high and his passing rating will also be a little low.

LeBron will likely receive the 98 overall he has been getting or possibly even a 99 overall rating. After the way he played this past season and especially in the playoffs, a 99 is probably deserving.

The real question is if there will be anyone rated above Durant besides LeBron. In recent years, there has been a few players rated above 95 along with LeBron. Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant have been among the players being rated that high.

Wade and Kobe should dip under that plateau for NBA 2K13 though and definitely should not be rated as highly as Durant. Chris Paul is maybe the only player that should be rated higher than Durant is.

One thing is for sure though and that is that Durant will be unstoppable to play with in the game. He already pretty much has been in past years but he’s really reaching a point now where he is becoming the ultimate video game basketball player.

His height and length is always an asset and his ability to shoot from long range makes him pretty unfair. Expect ratings in the mid-to-high 90s for his midrange jumper.

The overall rating is not always the most important thing. Last year, Dirk Nowitzki received an 85 overall rating but was still unstoppable because he had a 99 midrange rating.

Russell Westbrook and James Harden should get a lot of love from 2K Sports this year as well. Westbrook will be as quick as any player in the game and will also have a very high midrange rating which will make him unstoppable. Harden’s beard length will certainly be more accurate in NBA 2K13 and his ability to finish at the rim with the euro-step will hopefully be unstoppable as well.

Serge Ibaka should be graced with a 99 shot blocking rating after averaging more blocks per game than anyone since the 2001-02 season. Expect Perry Jones to get a nice rookie rating as well, possibly 71 or around that.

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.

Anthony Davis severely sprained his ankle in a workout with the Hornets and is now very unlikely to play for Team USA in the Olympics, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

Davis was added to the list of finalists for the Team USA roster along with James Harden in reaction to injuries to Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose and a few others.

Since the end of the playoffs, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh of the Miami Heat have said they will not be going to London to play in the Olympics as they try and recover from being banged up this past season.

Meanwhile, the Thunder still have three players who could compete for the U.S.: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Harden.

The injury to Wade opened up a potential spot for Harden and almost totally ensured that Westbrook would be playing. Durant is of course a shoo-in.

Team USA may be more thin up front now without Davis and Bosh but there aren’t a lot of replacements in terms of big men.

Tyson Chandler and Kevin Love seem like locks now while Blake Griffin might be the only other big for the U.S.

Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay and Eric Gordon are the other main hopefuls for the team.

Harden may be able to make the roster since the team will also be short of 3-point shooters. Gordon suffered an injury last season so he may not be fully committed to going which would definitely open up the spot for Harden.

The NBA gave us a taste of the future of basketball in the NBA Finals as both the Heat and Thunder played a lot of small ball. Team USA will have to do that in the Olympics a lot too but the competition may be tougher especially from Spain.

Spain will strut out the Gasol brothers as well as Serge Ibaka and combine that with international rules and the United States will be at a disadvantage against them.

Team USA will begin training in Las Vegas, Nev. July 5-12. On Saturday, July 7, the 12 members of the final roster will be announced at 7 p.m. EST on NBA TV.

Durant, Rose and Griffin are three of the league’s hottest young stars which is clearly something 2K Sports is trying to sell with this year’s game.

The past two years, the NBA 2K series has focused on legends including Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. That was especially convenient for last year’s game which was released while the NBA lockout was going on. Reminiscing with the legends was a perfect cure for NBA lockout withdrawals.

Focusing back on the present and the future of the league was the right step for NBA 2K13. Durant, Rose and Griffin certainly represent that to the fullest.

This is actually the second time Durant has been on the cover of an NBA video game with the first time coming for NBA Elite 11, a game that was planned to release in 2010 but delayed and later canceled by EA Sports basically because they knew NBA 2K11 would blow it out of the water.

Many people thought LeBron should have been considered for the cover but the decision was obviously made awhile ago as to who would be selected. LeBron’s recent ascension as an NBA champion was unable to influence who NBA 2K13 chose for their cover.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat won the NBA championship this season despite not having Dwyane Wade at full strength.

LeBron James took over as the clear “alpha dog” of the team and it all worked out in the end.

After a grueling lockout, 66-game season and four rounds of playoff basketball, Wade is considering not playing in the London Summer Olympics.

“I’ve got to make a decision on what my knee needs and what’s best, because my career and finishing my career strong is what’s important to me,” Wade said. “And I know, yeah, the Olympics are coming up. It’s something I really want to do. But at the same time, if I have to make a big decision, if something has to happen surgery-wise, that will have to be a step I have to take. My loyalty and my commitment to Miami Heat basketball is the No. 1 thing.”

There was some controversy surrounding Wade earlier in the season when he said that he thought NBA players should be compensated for playing in the Olympics.

It’s not a real surprise that Wade would opt out from the team this summer. He is 30 years old, isn’t in perfect health and being healthy for the Heat is his number one priority.

If Wade doesn’t play, that will mean three shoe-ins for the team will now not be playing because Derrick Rose and Dwight Howard will also miss the games with injuries.

That opens up more potential spots for Thunder guards Russell Westbrook and James Harden.

Westbrook has more of a chance than Harden of making the team even before his impressive performance in the playoffs. Harden is pretty much made for international play though. He is a great shooter and even an expert at the “euro-step.”

We know Kevin Durant is a lock for the team so the Thunder have the potential to send three players to represent their country, not to mention Serge Ibaka who will be playing for Spain.

With all of these big names for the Olympics dropping like flies, I think we can now put to rest any chance of 2012 Team USA Basketball beating the 1992 Dream Team.

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.

You can also download the podcast here.

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.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said Tuesday that he will likely be adding one or two players to the list of finalists for Team USA this summer.

This was obviously in light of the recent injuries to players like Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose who were initially thought to be playing for Team USA in the 2012 Olympics in London this summer.

Twenty finalists were announced in January. Howard and Rose were of course on that list and thought to be the projected starting point guard and center of the team.

Chauncey Billups and LaMarcus Aldridge were also on that list and have since gone down with season-ending injuries.

It’s big men that are likely to be added to the new list. DeMarcus Cousins, Greg Monroe and potential number-one overall pick Anthony Davis are the names being considered right now.

The loss of Rose as the point guard isn’t a big hit since the roster can likely now include Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams.

Other than Howard, the only other likely bigs that would make the team were going to be Chris Bosh, Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and maybe Blake Griffin.

My dream is to see Team USA play no bigs and go with a lineup that consists of no point guards either. Imagine five-man lineups consisting of LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony.

It might not be the best thing but how fun would it be to see that?

My picks for the final 12-man roster now look like this: LeBron, Durant, Kobe, Wade, Anthony, Paul, Westbrook, Love, Bosh, Chandler, Iguodala and Williams.

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.

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.

The best players weren’t excited to represent their countries back then and it resulted in a third-place finish in 2004. The culture has since changed and getting the best NBA players to play has been as important as anything.

The 2012 team is expected to be maybe the best basketball team ever assembled – even rivaling the 1992 Dream Team. On June 1, Colangelo will finalize the roster and while there are some obvious selections, there will also be some tough omissions.

Colangelo says that the team will be a blend of the 2008 Gold Medal team and 2010 World Championship squad. In 2008, we saw a team of LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and Dwyane Wade. Those players did not play in 2010 on the squad led by Kevin Durant, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.

“Most people would say you need shooters because of the zone defenses,” Colangelo said to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. “And to some degree that is true. But we’re not varying from our concept. Basketball is the ultimate team game. We need players willing to sacrifice their own games. [In 2010] Coach K went with a seven or eight-man rotation. With this roster, in my opinion, he can go with all 12 if he chooses. He and I have had this conversation over and over: Players may be used different this time around.

“Size is still an issue. Without being specific, we have to figure out if we carry three centers or two. With the type of wing players out there, defenders are really important, too. But there is so much talent. Guys have worked really hard to improve. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Derrick Rose, Kevin Love — they have moved to a whole other level.”

These are all problems that any country would love to have. Do I start Chris Paul or Derrick Rose?

Colangelo does bring up a good point of bringing on players who are willing to play less minutes and be productive while on the court for shorter periods of time.

Here is the starting lineup we could be looking at: Derrick Rose, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and Dwight Howard. With Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul, Kevin Love, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Andre Iguodala and Tyson Chandler off the bench.

That snubs Deron Williams, Eric Gordon, Chauncey Billups, Blake Griffin, Rudy Gay, LaMarcus Aldridge, Chris Bosh and Lamar Odom.

While Durant is a lock, Westbrook may not even make the team despite a possible First Team All-NBA selection this season. Rose and Paul are likely going to be the first two point guards selected. That leaves Colangelo to choose between Westbrook, Williams, Gordon and Billups. He will likely only take one of those four.

The selection will be made on June 1 and Team USA will hold training camps starting July 6.

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.

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.

Richard Mackson-US PRESSWIRE

The Kentucky Wildcats advanced to the Final Four Saturday night beating Louisville. The will be the second time that John Calipari has taken a team to the championship game since 2008 when he did it with the Derrick Rose-led Memphis Tigers.

This year Calipari’s squad is led by another freshman by the name of Anthony Davis. Davis has been the most dominant player in college basketball this season especially on the defensive end. He is the no doubt number one overall pick of the upcoming NBA Draft as well.

The only question is: what kind of NBA player will Davis be?

For how incredible Davis has been this season, he isn’t exactly the prototypical mold of a superstar in the NBA. I’m not saying that he doesn’t have the talent but his build and game resemble the likes of Marcus Camby and someone like Brandan Wright to some degree. I’d say he is better versions of those players but he isn’t an electric wing scorer or huge big man as much as he is the versatile tall, thin athlete type.

He’s also not Kevin Durant. Now let’s take a moment to think about how awesome Durant is. He kind of makes Davis seem not all that. They have similar builds except Durant has the handle of a guard and sweetest jumper from 30-feet maybe ever. It’s not fair to compare anyone to Durant but for some reason when I see Davis (probably because of his build) I expect more Durant in him. He is a way different player but I think could have superstar potential as well.

Davis is the most dominant college player that is also the sure number one pick since who? Kenyon Martin or Tim Duncan? This guy is ridiculously talented and he is a sure thing in the NBA too as far as I’m concerned.

I have a couple of questions about Davis that I will naturally answer myself.

Can he be a center in the NBA?

I think he can in the right system. I like him as a player that handles the ball a lot on offense and I think he is big enough and his defensive instincts are good enough to handle covering opposing centers. It’s not like anyone’s saying he needs a center to play alongside him once he gets into the league and the center position isn’t that deep anyway. He’ll have trouble with Dwight Howard and Andrew Bynum but that’s about it. Instead of a point-forward, he could maybe become the first point-center.

Is he the type of big that will need to play alongside a great point guard?

He would be awesome with a great point guard but wouldn’t we all. He is a great finisher on alley-oops and very quick getting shots to the rim after a catch inside. He also scores a lot from offensive rebounds and can create himself to a degree off the dribble and with the jumper. I have no doubt that he will be able to eventually develop a very formidable post game. He is so skilled and has so much more room to grow with learning how to be a big man. Remember he was only 6-foot-2 two years ago. His offense has room for improvement and he will definitely get better. He won’t need a great point but it would of course help.

Can he be a 20-10 guy?

Right now the type of player he looks like seems like he’d peak around 17-13-4 or some stat line like that. Does he have more potential in the scoring department though? I think he can like I mentioned above his skills are so great and his touch is something too. I think he develops a great arsenal of post moves and has the potential to be one of the best in the league at scoring from the block. Maybe a little Kevin McHale potential in some ways? Maybe I’m the only one that’s questioning his scoring?

Will he ever be the best player on a championship team?

I know. Too early to tell. But there are guys who come into the league where you can immediately envision this. LeBron, Howard, Durant. Davis seems like the type that would become an awesome second option on a title team like Pau Gasol is to Kobe Bryant. But the way the league is turning into such a point guard driven league I think that future champions will eventually have point guards as one of their top two players alongside a player like Davis. In six years will be a top five player in the league? Could he become the Defensive Player of the Year by that point and surpass Kevin Love and Blake Griffin as the best power forward? I believe he has this potential and will reach it.

Anthony Davis is the future mold of superstars in the NBA. Centers were the thing years ago then the Jordan-type was the next superstar. Durant has given us a taste of the alien-like tall guys who are super skilled. Davis is the next one. He will join Rose, Howard, LeBron and Duncan as the top five best number one overall picks of the last 15 years.

It’s just too bad I always think of Durant when I watch Davis play and question why he isn’t stroking 30-footers on a regular basis.

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.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Last night on ESPN during the Thunder-Heat telecast, Jeff Van Gundy called Russell Westbrook the best point guard in the NBA this season, also pointing out Derrick Rose couldn’t be because he isn’t playing enough.

Could this be true?

Well, Westbrook isn’t really a point guard and doesn’t really play like one. That’s just what his position says. Also, last night probably wasn’t the best time to bring this up since Westbrook struggled against the Heat scoring 13 points on 4-of-16 shooting.

But Van Gundy may actually be right, to some extent. Among players that play the position “point guard” Westbrook is probably doing more than anyone else this season. He doesn’t do the job you’d expect a point guard to but does a lot of other things too.

He’s fifth in the league among point guard averaging 4.5 rebounds per game and first averaging 1.4 offensive rebounds per game.

He leads all point guards averaging 24.0 points per game but is averaging the least amount of assists per game since his rookie season with just 5.4.

He’s shooting 47 percent from the field and probably takes tougher shots than most players in the NBA on a regular basis. His shot has also really come on of late and he is shooting .415 percent from three in the month of March while attempting 3.8 per game.

He’s averaging 3.8 turnovers per game this season but has also brought that number down to 2.7 in March.

There aren’t a lot of point guards putting up these numbers this season. But before we can consider Westbrook the best point guard, he’s going to have to start doing a few things point guards do.

His assists are still just above five which isn’t enough and the Thunder need more from him there. Oklahoma City got 35 points out of Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins last night in their win over the Heat. They are going to need to be able to get those nights when the time comes in the playoffs and Westbrook becoming more of a playmaker will be key for that to happen.

Let’s not call Westbrook the best point guard in the NBA just yet. Chris Paul and Derrick Rose deserve that title. But will Westbrook deserve First Team All-NBA this season? That’s a better question and he just might.

My goal was simple: clear enough cap to keep James Harden and Serge Ibaka along with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. This isn’t that hard to do in NBA 2K12. You can rip off the computer teams pretty easy with trades and get rid of bad contracts too.

I did it. After two seasons I had to trade away Kendrick Perkins, Nick Collison and Thabo Sefolosha in exchange for basically nothing. After the 2013-14 season, I had only five players under contract and was prepared to offer everything for Harden and Ibaka.

The two seasons before extending Harden and Ibaka, the Thunder made it to the NBA Finals and lost each time. After signing them, the Thunder went on to win the next three NBA titles.

Why? Well, because they had a top five player at four different positions! At least according to NBA 2K12 they did and you know what, maybe according to the real life future too.

It’s really crazy to think about how good a Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka core could be five years from now. It would be unprecedented with how talented those top four could become.

For some perspective let’s look at who the top five players are by position in the NBA right now.

Point guard: Derrick Rose, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo.

Shooting guard: Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson, Manu Ginobili, James Harden.

Small forward: LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Paul Pierce, Andre Iguodala.

Power forward: Dirk Nowitzki, Kevin Love, Pau Gasol, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh.

Center: Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum, Marc Gasol, Joakim Noah, Al Jefferson.

Okay so the Thunder have four players in the top five at their respective positions. I think Harden is a top five shooting guard right now. John Hollinger’s PER rating agrees with me.

So what might the makeup of the league look like five years from now, the 2016-17 season? Bear in mind that five years is a long time. Five years ago the Spurs won their last NBA title. As projected by me and NBA 2K12:

Point guard: Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kyrie Irving, John Wall, Stephen Curry, Rajon Rondo, Ricky Rubio.

Shooting guard: James Harden, Dwyane Wade, Tyreke Evans, Paul George, Kobe Bryant, Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo, MarShon Brooks.

Small forward: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Andre Iguodala, Rudy Gay, Danny Granger, Luol Deng, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist.

Power forward: Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Chris Bosh, LaMarcus Aldridge, Serge Ibaka, Josh Smith, Anthony Davis, Thaddeus Young.

Center: Dwight Howard, Marc Gasol, Andrew Bynum, DeMarcus Cousins, Roy Hibbert, Al Horford, Joakim Noah, Greg Monroe.

How could any other team possibly compete with the Thunder if they keep Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka?

The Thunder need to start planning now to keep this core (and I’m sure they are). The Thunder have a good chance to win the title this year but if they don’t then it’s time to start planning for keeping Harden and Ibaka. Three more years of this core will become much more valuable than trying to slightly improve your team to win one title and sacrificing a future with Harden or Ibaka.

Who knows what will happen? I have a feeling when the time comes they won’t be able to keep both. But hopefully they can at least hang on to one.

ibtimes.com

The new Team USA Basketball uniforms were unveiled yesterday. Nike will sponsor the team for the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

The uniforms are utlizing Nike’s newest “light” technology and should feel like next to nothing for the players.

In the photo above Thunder forward Kevin Durant is pictured on the far right along with Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Deron Williams.

Durant was the lone “superstar” on the Team USA squad that won the World Championships two years ago and will be joined by many other superstars from the 2008 Olympics this coming Summer for the 2012 Games.

The team has been heralded as possibly the greatest basketball team ever put together, even greater than the 1992 Dream Team. Durant will certainly be a big piece of that as he will most definitely be one of the starting forwards.

Durant’s game is perfect for international play with his ability to raise up and shoot over almost any defender as a lot of international teams will play zone and the three-point line is closer in.

The projected starting lineup for the team looks something like this: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard. Good luck world.

Although I am most excited for the potential lineup of: Dwyane Wade, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Dwight Howard. Imagine that team on defense in a halfcourt press just switching everything and running like crazy on offense.

I’m a little down on some of the older stars participating in the games. I used to always want this but now would rather Team USA used mostly the younger crowd instead of Wade, Bryant and James.

The kind of lineup I’m talking about would still feature Durant and surround him with the likes of: Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin, Stephen Curry, Eric Gordon, etc. Basically I want a 24-and-under team.

Either way, the competitions will still be stiff for Team USA especially from Spain. Spain will be able to match the United States closely with their lineup of: Juan Carlos Navarro, Ricky Rubio, Jose Calderon, Jorge Garbajosa, Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol and newly added Serge Ibaka who will look strangely out of place on the team.