Apr 12, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) walks with a medical staff member against the Golden State Warriors during the game at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant injured his left Achilles heel last night in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 118-116 win over the Golden State Warriors.

Kobe is having surgery this afternoon on the torn Achilles and it is expected to take him 6-9 months to fully recover from the injury, according to the Lakers’ trainer.

This is very devastating news for Lakers fans not just for this year but for the next. The Lakers are currently sitting in the No. 8 spot in the Western Conference, one game ahead of the Utah Jazz with both teams having two games remaining.

Kobe was needed to play 45-plus minutes per night the past few weeks as the Lakers were doing everything they could to hang on to that eight-seed. It’s hard to say now if they will be able to make the playoffs without Kobe.

If they do, then it is most likely the Oklahoma City Thunder that will be there waiting for them as the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference.

The Thunder are 59-21 on the year right now, a half game ahead of the San Antonio Spurs in the standings. The Thunder will play at home in their final two games of the season vs. the Sacramento Kings and Milwaukee Bucks next week.

It was only a few days ago that the Thunder were coming off a disappointing loss to the New York Knicks and the thought of them having to possibly deal with the Lakers in the first round seemed kind of scary.

Now with Mamba out, the Lakers are not scary at all. Even with a healthy Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol the Lakers will be no match for the Thunder and probably will get swept by them.

You never want to see a player get hurt like Kobe did but it will almost definitely be good news for the Thunder. OKC probably would have beaten the Lakers with ease in the first round even with Kobe in there, but now their advancement is just about guaranteed.

Mar 5, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) handles the ball against Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant (24) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The most dominant part of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 122-105 win over the Los Angeles Lakers last night came from their point guard.

Russell Westbrook dropped 37 points on Kobe Bryant and company while shooting 15-for-29 from the field. Westbrook would also grab 10 rebounds and dish out five assists.

Kobe had this to say after the game.

@russwest44 was cookin tonight. He’s got mamba blood runnin thru his veins . You gave it to me tonight lil bro. C u down the road!

— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) March 6, 2013

This is the kind of respect the Thunder have earned around the league. Having Kobe say something like this about you goes a long way.

Westbrook, more than once, found Kobe trying to check him last night and abused him with isolation dribble moves. He had Kobe on skates and had him guessing and basically did whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted to.

“Cookin’” is actually the perfect way to describe Westbrook last night and what he has been doing lately for the Thunder. It’s very much a momentum and rhythm thing for Westbrook who has been very hot as of late.

A key ingredient to Westbrook’s strong play over the past few weeks has been his strong starts. In his last four games, he’s scored 18, 15, 14 and 13 points in the first quarters. His pull-up jumper is going down early and that opens up the rest of his game for him.

An efficient Westbrook turns the Thunder into probably the best team in the league. It’s only when Westbrook is shooting under 40 percent from the field and turning the ball over that the Thunder look like a team with issues.

We haven’t seen that Westbrook in awhile and if he can be the player he’s been the past few weeks come playoff time, we will definitely be talking about the Thunder playing in the NBA Finals when it’s all said and done.

Mar 3, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant (24) reacts after defeating the Atlanta Hawks at the Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Richard Mackson-USA TODAY Sports

Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant was asked what he thought of the incident between Serge Ibaka and Blake Griffin last Sunday afternoon.

“I probably would have smacked [Ibaka] in the mouth,” Bryant said after the Los Angeles Lakers practiced Monday. “I would have dealt with the pain after.”

Via ESPNLA

Ibaka and Griffin were physically jostling for position late in the fourth quarter when the Oklahoma City Thunder traveled to play the Los Angeles Clippers two days ago.

Griffin seemed to have good position and a hold of Ibaka and it led Ibaka to swing his arm down in a chopping motion toward Griffin’s midsection. The blow connected below the belt and was called a flagrant one in the game after officials reviewed the play.

The league will also review the play and could potentially suspend Ibaka for a game – possibly tonight – for his act.

A lot of people think the move by Ibaka was intentional, including Kobe apparently. While it was certainly intentional by Ibaka to throw his arm in that way, the result and where he struck Griffin was not.

It was not a smart move by Ibaka though who should have had better awareness of what he was doing in that situation.

There has been no word from the league yet on a possible Ibaka suspension, if anything we may hear something later today.

January 27, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook (0) turns the ball over against the defense of Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace (15) and center Dwight Howard (12) during the first half at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Well. It definitely hurts to lose a big game, on a big stage, against your rival Los Angeles Lakers. I guess you could say the Lakers caught the Thunder on a “bad night” and the Thunder got the Lakers on a “good night.” Russell Westbrook was 6-22 from the field, and Kobe Bryant just had an MVP type game with 21 points and 14 assists.

The Thunder fell to 34-11 on the year with a 105-96 loss to the Lakers.

The first consisted of poor shooting with six ties, and five lead changes. At the end of one, the Thunder trailed the Lakers, 27-23. Serge Ibaka had six points and Kevin Martin gave the Thunder a boost with four points only four minutes. The Lakers ended the quarter on a 6-0 run and shot 45% from the field in the quarter.

To open up the second, Scott Brooks had Liggins, Jackson, Martin, Collison, and Thabett on the floor. Oklahoma City cut the lead to 4 with 8:42 to go in the second with a Durant and-1. The Thunder re-took the lead with 7:11 to go with a Durant floater to go up 38-36. The Thunder carried that momentum to go on a 7-0 run late in the quarter. At half, the Thunder led the Lakers 53-52 behind Kevin Durant’s 18 points.

In the third, the Thunder had trouble defending Bryant and Early Clark. Kevin Durant lifted Oklahoma City offensively with big baskets. At the end of the quarter, the Thunder and the Lakers were tied at 75.

In the fourth, it was just the Mamba show. Bryant blew by Sefolosha on most possessions and either finished himself or found somebody cutting to the basket. Oklahoma City couldn’t seem to get stops nor put the ball in the basket.

However, it’s only one game and like I said before, Oklahoma City didn’t play well and quite frankly the Lakers played really well. Plain and simple.

The Thunder will look to bounce back against Memphis at home on Thursday.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant became just the 5th player in NBA history to score 30,000 or more points in his career earlier this season. At the age of 34, Kobe seems ageless as he is still leading the NBA in points per game this season.

Kobe was recently asked in an interview which player past or present he would most like to play 1-on-1. His answer was easy: Michael Jordan.

Then Kobe was asked who would win between him and LeBron James.

Me. No question. As far as one-on-one, I’m the best to ever do it … LeBron is a terrific all-around, five-on-five basketball player who’s an all-time great. But I’d get him.

Which player in the NBA right now could give Kobe a challenge?

Kevin Durant is the guy that would give me the most trouble. With his length and ability to use the dribble, he’d be tough.

Kobe is probably remembering how Durant dropped a season-high 42 points on the Lakers a week ago. In that game Durant was unconscious making 16-of-25 shots with a number of his makes coming with Kobe helplessly guarding him.

Kobe went on to say that he is the best at 1-on-1 and he never loses. That’s a lot of respect he has for Durant then.

Durant has a chance to be the next Kobe but better as he is trying to blend some LeBron into his game. It’s almost unfair to try and compare Durant to anyone since there is really no one like him before at that size with that skill.

Kobe knows this and that’s why he knows Durant could take him in 1-on-1.

So who do you take in a game of 1-on1? Kobe or Durant?

Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 NBA All-Star starters were announced on TNT tonight. There weren’t any surprises if you’ve followed the voting returns over the past few weeks.

Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo will start in the backcourt for the Eastern Conference. LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Kevin Garnett will start in the frontcourt.

Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul will make up the backcourt for the Western Conference. Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin will start in the frontcourt.

Kobe led all vote-getters with 1,591,437 votes. Durant was second among vote-getters in the Western Conference with 1,504,047 votes.

LeBron had more votes than anyone in the Eastern Conference with 1,583,646 votes. Anthony was second with 1,460,950 votes.

Chris Bosh came closest to being named a starter receiving just 25,000 less votes than Garnett for the third frontcourt position. Tyson Chandler was fifth among front court vote-getters.

Jeremy Lin nearly beat out Paul for the second backcourt spot in the Western Conference finishing with 45,000 less votes.

Wade and Rondo easily led backcourt vote-getters while Kyrie Irving and Deron Williams finished third and fourth in the voting.

Russell Westbrook will undoubtedly be named a reserve for the Western Conference. James Harden will also definitely make the team. There is an outside shot that Serge Ibaka will make the team especially if anyone goes down with an injury.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

We are a little more than a quarter of the way finished with the NBA season now. The Oklahoma City Thunder are currently the hottest team in the league with the best record and on an 11-game win streak.

The New York Knicks still hold the top spot in the Eastern Conference just a game and a half ahead of the Miami Heat. The Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs are two games back each of the Thunder.

A few disappointments so far have been the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets who each would barely make the playoffs if they started today. But no team has been more disappointing than the Los Angeles Lakers so far.

Team success has a lot to do with MVP candidacy. Now let’s look at the players who are in the running for the award so far this year.

1. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Durant still deserves the top spot here with the Thunder rolling the way that they are. Durant is putting up career numbers in terms of PER and true shooting percentage as he has a shot at joining the 50-40-90 club. His improvement from last season will be a big reason why he is considered the MVP so far this season especially with James Harden’s departure.

2. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

The Knicks just keep winning while Anthony is playing the best basketball of his career. He really seems to have carried over his Olympic play to the NBA season and it has been perfect for this Knicks team. The veterans surrounding Anthony are only helping to lift him to another level this season too.

3. LeBron James, Miami Heat

You can’t drop LeBron too far down the MVP ladder. He’s still leading the league in PER and putting up better all-around numbers than anyone. The Heat just haven’t been winning quite as much as you’d expect. All it’s going to take is a big month or two from LeBron and the Heat for him to get back in poll position of this race.

4. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

What Kobe is doing at this age and leading the league in scoring as efficiently as he’s ever been is remarkable. The issue is the Lakers aren’t winning, at all. Once they do and most people still believe they will eventually get their act together, Kobe will be right up there in the MVP discussion.

5. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

The Clippers are quietly on a winning streak just as impressive as the Thunder’s. Paul is 5th in the NBA in PER behind only the four players ahead of him in these Power Rankings. The Clippers look much better than a season ago, more prepared to make a deep run in the playoffs. Their depth has been a big reason for their success though so it’s not all Paul which is why he ranks only 5th.

6. Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies

The Grizzlies have gotten off to a great start this season thanks mostly to Randolph. Randolph isn’t near the top of the league in PER but his averages of 17.2 points and 12.7 rebounds per game will not go unnoticed by MVP voters. Memphis has shown that they are as tough as anyone in the league to match up with and Randolph being their power forward is the biggest reason why.

7. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Curry has led the Warriors to the fifth best record in the Western Conference so far this season. The key has simply been his health. He’s averaging 19.7 points, 6.5 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game. His shooting numbers have not been their best either so expect those to rise as the season goes on. The Warriors have been one of the biggest surprises of the year playing this well so early. If they can keep it up, Curry will deserve some MVP attention.

8. Josh Smith, Atlanta Hawks

Smith and the Hawks have also surprised the NBA in their first season after Joe Johnson currently holding the third best record in the Eastern Conference. They have many impressive wins including against the Thunder in OKC. Smith is averaging 16.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game to lead the Hawks.

9. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Rondo is still leading the league in assists by far and if the Celtics can get their act together and move up the standings in the Eastern Confernce, he will keep moving up in the MVP Power Rankings. He’s averaging 12.9 points, 12.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game this year as he looks to be playing the best ball of his career.

10. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

Westbrook will never win the NBA because he is on the same team as Kevin Durant but he still deserves to be ahead of others in the MVP Power Rankings. Like Durant, Westbrook is also having a career year passing the ball better than ever and playing defense at the highest level we’ve ever seen from him. The Thunder needed Durant and Westbrook to step up and fill the Harden void this year and both have done exactly that.

Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Kobe Bryant has long been criticized for taking too many shots, too many bad shots in particular. As time has gone on and analytics in the sport of basketball have improved, the value of Kobe playing the way he does has started to go down.

But yesterday a new way of looking at Kobe’s shooting was brought up in a feature on Grantland by Kirk Goldsberry. He found a new statistic out there called the Kobe Assist.

A Kobe Assist is a missed shot that becomes an offensive rebound and put-back. Kobe Bryant has been one of the best players in the NBA at generating these shots and results.

The notion that all missed shots are created equal is being challenged here. Even the idea that shooting while being double-teamed looks like it could be something that is more valuable in certain situations.

There are a few things to take away regarding Kobe and the Kobe Assist. His teammates know he is going to shoot so they are more prone to being ready to crash the offensive glass when he has the ball. The Lakers offensive system has been in a good one over the years and that includes the idea that offensive rebound opportunities are more likely for them. Kobe is a good shooter and even when he misses if he gets up a good shot there is a good chance a high probability for an offensive rebound will occur.

So how does this affect the Oklahoma City Thunder?

The first guy that you want to think about with the Kobe Assist for the Thunder is their very own volume-shooter Russell Westbrook. If we can say that Westbrook’s misses are also a good thing for the Thunder like Kobe’s misses are for the Lakers then we can finally shut the Westbrook haters up.

Westbrook is similar to Kobe in that his teammates know he will shoot a lot so that means they are also more prepared to crash the glass when he has the ball. The longer a team plays together and gets to know each other, the better they get at reading each other. The Thunder have played together for awhile now and players like Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka are ready to crash the glass when they see Westbrook ready to fire.

But Perkins and Ibaka aren’t necessarily Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum/Dwight Howard. That means a miss is less likely to turn into two points via a put-back because the Thunder bigs aren’t as talented as the Lakers’ are. So right off the bat you have to say a Westbrook miss is a little less valuable than a Kobe miss in that respect.

Now let’s look at Kevin Durant. Durant is one of the purest shooters in the league. His form is flawless and the way the ball comes off his hands is true. Kobe is the same way. Great form and being a great shooter results in better offensive rebound opportunities. This makes sense that when you aren’t bricking the ball off the backboard and rim simultaneously, it becomes easier to read and predict rebounds.

Durant isn’t the volume shooter that Westbrook is although many would like him to become that. Durant’s misses may be easier to read coming off the rim but also factor in that when he shoots, no one really expects him to miss, at least not like when Westbrook shoots so eagerness to crash the glass may be a little less.

Now let’s look at Ibaka’s potential for Kobe Assists. Goldsberry looked at big men like Kevin Love generating Kobe Assists and basically found that they get them less often. The biggest reason for that is that now there is one less big man in position to get an offensive rebound. This is very much the case with Ibaka who is the Thunder’s best offensive rebound but has developed a deadly midrange jump shot too. We don’t know the numbers for this but it’s safe to say that the Thunder don’t get offensive rebounds very often when Ibaka misses an 18-foot jumper. And when the Thunder are going small with Durant at the four and Ibaka at the five, this is enhanced even more.

Goldsberry brought up a very important point with his feature for Grantland. All misses aren’t created equally and it’s something very important to consider all the time.

The Thunder will take on the Lakers tonight for the first time this season. Don’t think people won’t be tracking how many Kobe Assists occur in the game.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

We’re about a month into the 2012-13 NBA season and it’s time to start looking at who the potential MVP candidates are.

Last year, we saw LeBron James take home his third MVP in four years as the Miami Heat went on to win the NBA title behind a career year from LeBron.

Kevin Durant finished second in the voting last season while players like Chris Paul and Tony Parker made strong cases as the league’ most valuable player as well.

Here’s a look at MVP Power Rankings a month into the season:

1. LeBron James, Miami Heat

LeBron and the Heat are off to another strong start this season and should cruise to the one seed in the Eastern Conference when it’s all said and done. LeBron’s numbers are just as good as they were a season ago. He’s averaging 25.2 points, 6.5 assists and a career-high 8.9 rebounds per game. He’s still shooting 53.1 percent from the field and a career-best 43.9 percent from beyond the arc. He leads the league in PER and it will take a monster effort from anyone else to dethrone him as the MVP.

2. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder

Many believe the MVP will be a two-man race this year between LeBron and Durant. Durant is also off to a great start this season leading the Thunder to a 10-4 record so far. He has a career-best PER of 27.02 so far this year and is averaging career-highs in rebounds (9.4) and assists (4.5) per game. His 26.5 points per game again puts him in the hunt for another scoring title which would be his fourth straight. But it’s his commitment to becoming a better all-around player this year that may nudge him closer to LeBron in the MVP race.

3. Kobe Bryant, Los Angeles Lakers

There has been a lot of drama in L.A. so far this season with coaching changes and under the radar has been the season Kobe is putting together. Kobe is leading the league in scoring at 26.9 points per game and shooting career-highs 51.0 percent from the field and 41.5 percent from beyond the arc. He has been the brightest spot for the Lakers so far this season and if he keeps this up while the Lakers start winning more, he may challenge LeBron and Durant for the MVP hardware.

4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs

As usual, Duncan and the Spurs are flying under the radar this year. The Spurs have the second best record in the league so far this year and Duncan is second in the league in PER behind only LeBron. He’s averaging 19.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in only 31.4 minutes per game. He’s shooting 51.7 percent from the field and blocking 2.4 shots per game. Duncan may not be able to keep up these numbers all season but what he’s doing shouldn’t go as unnoticed as it is.

5. Carmelo Anthony, New York Knicks

The Knicks have the second-best record in the East and Carmelo Anthony is playing the best basketball of his career. He’s much more efficient than he was a season ago and is averaging 25.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game while shooting 47.0 percent from the field and 41.9 percent from downtown. The Knicks look for real this year and if so, Anthony is an MVP candidate.

6. Rajon Rondo, Boston Celtics

Rondo was the favorite sleeper pick for MVP this season. He has been great to start the year but the Celtics’ record isn’t quite good enough to put him ahead of some other guys just yet. Rondo is on an assist tear this year leading the league averaging 13.7 per game to go with 13.5 points per game. He’s shooting a career-high 51.7 percent from the field and has a career-high 21.04 PER so far this year.

7. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers

Paul’s numbers are slightly down from a season ago but the Clippers are better. They’ve looked like one of the best teams in the league so far beating the Heat once and Spurs twice. Paul is averaging 15.8 points and 9.6 assists per game. He’d either have to improve those numbers a good deal or the Clippers would have to finish with the one seed in the West for him to have a legit shot at winning the MVP.

8. Kevin Love, Minnesota Timberwolves

Love has just recently returned from injury and has played only three games so far this season. But he’s already averaging 24.3 points and 14.0 rebounds per game while the Timberwolves look like a team that could make the playoffs once they get healthy. If they do and Love keeps putting up these numbers, he will be right up there with LeBron, Durant and Kobe at the end of the year.

9. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors

Lowry is off to a career-year with his new team this season. He’s posting a career-high 24.67 PER which is good for 9th in the NBA. He’s averaging 18.3 points, 6.1 assists and 5.9 rebounds per game. Toronto is only 3-11 on the year but if Lowry stays healthy he will surely make the All-Star team and be one of the most important players to his team in the league.

10. Anthony Davis, New Orleans Hornets

Davis is the real deal. The No. 1 overall pick has been banged up this season but when healthy he has the 4th highest PER in the league. He’s averaging 16.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.3 percent from the field and 83.9 percent from the free throw line. Once the Hornets get Davis and Eric Gordon back in the lineup, they might be able to make a push for the playoffs while Davis puts up enormous numbers.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers hired Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach late last night. It was a move that surprised some since Phil Jackson seemed to be their No. 1 target but a deal could not be reached to acquire the Zen Master.

The biggest aspect of the D’Antoni hiring is that he will be reunited with point guard Steve Nash who thrived so much under his system in the past that he won two MVP awards. Nash was an afterthought in the Princeton offense Mike Brown was running this year and would have remained that way in the Triangle under Jackson.

We can expect to see a very different offense for the Lakers this season now with D’Antoni running the show.

Nash should be featured much more but maybe not as much as he was in Phoenix since Kobe Bryant also needs to be accounted for as someone who needs the ball. The Lakers will be running a lot more pick-and-roll in general and posting up less.

The Lakers are posting up 20.6 percent of the time on offense so far this year and scoring 0.93 points per possession on those plays which is good for 4th in the league. In 2009-10, the last season Nash played under D’Antoni, post-up plays accounted for just 8.5 percent of the Suns’ offense.

The Lakers are running the pick-and-roll 10.7 percent of the time so far this season. Nash and the Suns ran it 19.6% of the time back in 2009-10 and scored more PPP than anyone else in the league with it.

The Nash-Amare Stoudemire pick-and-roll was one of the best in history and such was the case three seasons ago. Nash scored 0.99 PPP as the pick-and-roll ball handler that season which was 10th best in the league. Stoudemire scored 1.21 PPP as the roll man which was 18th in the league.

While Nash now is a slight downgrade from Nash three years ago, Dwight Howard may be an upgrade from Stoudemire. Howard scored 1.36 PPP as the roll man last year with the Magic which was 2nd best in the league. He was also great scoring off cuts scoring 1.41 PPP.

Kobe scored 0.86 PPP as the pick-and-roll ball handler last season which was 41st in the league. He will undoubtedly be doing a lot more of this under D’Antoni and if he can keep scoring at that clip, he should be just fine in the new system.

Another key to D’Antoni-Nash is spot-up shooting. The Suns were the best in the league on spot-up plays three years ago scoring 1.11 PPP. They had a large cast of capable outside shooters back then which the Lakers don’t quite have this year.

Players like Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks should see an increase in spot-up opportunities and both have a history of being very good on those plays in the past.

The Lakers will probably run more under D’Antoni now too. It won’t be seven seconds or less exactly since they are pretty old but maybe something like 10 seconds or less instead.

Transition plays accounted for 13.3 percent of the Suns’ offense three years ago. The Lakers transition offense makes up just 10.1 percent of their offense this year.

The Lakers under D’Antoni may be better suited to match up with the Thunder now than before. The Thunder were 4th best in the league last year defending post-up plays while the Lakers posted up more than anyone.

OKC was in the top eight defending the pick-and-roll last year and has struggled out of the gates doing so this year. OKC was also just 23rd in the league last year defending transition plays. If the Lakers can improve in the pick-and-roll and run more, they may be tougher for the Thunder to match up with.

The Lakers are 3-4 on the year and will play their next game Tuesday night vs. the San Antonio Spurs. D’Antoni is still recovering from knee replacement surgery so likely will not be with the team for that game but he is expected to make his debut within a week or two.

The Lakers will play the Thunder for the first time on Dec. 7 in OKC.

Kobe Bryant had some interesting comments at the Los Angeles Lakers’ media day Monday. Kobe was asked if he felt like he was “passing the baton” off to Dwight Howard and if this was still his team. Kobe said he was “passing the baton” to Dwight but also made it very clear that the Lakers were still “his team.”

This kind of attitude from Kobe is potentially very good news for the Oklahoma City Thunder and anyone else who might have to get by the Lakers this coming season.

When the Lakers acquired Howard and Steve Nash this summer, they had truly put together a super team. Adding Howard and Nash with Kobe and Pau Gasol immediately makes the Lakers much better than they were last season and gives them one of the best starting fives (on paper) in the NBA.

The real reason the Lakers should be considered NBA title favorites next season is because of Dwight Howard much more than because of Kobe Bryant. Howard is quite possibly the most valuable basketball player you can put on an NBA floor right now. If you forget about all of the drama this past year in Orlando, you’ll remember that he affects a game defensively more than anyone else in the league. He is efficient on offense and rebounds as well as anyone. He made a roster that included Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis as his forwards a perennial top defense in the league.

Now let’s move on to Steve Nash. Because Andrew Bynum is coming off such a great season and Howard off back surgery, a case can be made that the upgrade to Howard from Bynum may not be too significant (a couple of wins in the regular season). Nash has become the underrated addition by the Lakers this summer. Nash will be 39 this season but is still an elite point guard. He is one of the best pick-and-roll players in NBA history and paired with Howard, could throw him back to his days running one of the best pick-and-rolls ever like he did with Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix.

Kobe can only get in the way of all this. His next great challenge is to change his game to fit his new teammates, not to stand pat and act like he’s still top dog in L.A. Kobe doesn’t exactly have the greatest history with this though. He basically ran the most dominant center ever out of L.A. in 2004 because he wanted to be the unquestioned alpha dog. He’s also coming off a season in which he did so much for the Lakers on offense playing 38.5 minutes per game, attempting 23.0 shots per game (third highest ever in his career) and having a usage rate of 33.0 (second highest ever in career) all at the age of 33 (now 34).

Change is necessary for Kobe next season if the Lakers are going to truly succeed and that change needs to be drastic. The biggest obstacle for the Lakers will of course be the defending Western Conference champion Thunder.

The Thunder had no problem matching up with the Lakers last season mainly because they never had to double-team anyone. Thabo Sefolosha and James Harden played Kobe straight up, Serge Ibaka locked up Gasol and Kendrick Perkins handled Bynum. The Thunder will come into next year with the same philosophy except now Perkins will be matched up with his old nemesis in Howard and Russell Westbrook with Nash (who he outplayed in their regular season matchups last season).

On paper, the matchups have gotten tougher for the Thunder. But the paper also says Kobe needs to defer more than ever now. Kobe really struggled vs. the Thunder last season. In three regular season games vs. OKC last season, he went 7-for-24, 7-for-25 and 9-for-26 from the field. In the playoffs, Kobe was better averaging 31.2 points per game vs. the Thunder but still only shot .426 percent from the field.

Kobe saying the Lakers are still his team tells us that he is still going to be the “one” with the ball in his hands in clutch situations. Kobe of course has the reputation of being a great closer but stats say he is more average than great at this. Who is great though? Steve Nash.

Maybe Kobe does learn how to defer some more next season and he coexists pretty well with Howard and Nash but there is still one time of the game when we know Kobe isn’t deferring. Kobe will have the ball in his hands late, playing isolation basketball and hoisting bad shots over defenders that can now check him more easily just like he always has. The best play for the Lakers then will be bad misses and air balls that Howard and Gasol can clean up. The play they should be running late is high pick-and-rolls with the ball in Nash’s hands and Howard rolling to the rim.

We won’t know for certain how the new-look Lakers are until the season starts (just a few weeks away now). The Lakers aren’t winning a title though with Kobe still thinking he is “the man” on this team. Not when it should be Howard or Nash instead.

The Thunder don’t have to worry yet.

The more surprising news on the Lakers front was Steve Nash deciding he wanted to play with what were once his biggest rivals.

Kobe Bryant wasn’t surprised at all.

“Kobe called that a month before it happened,” Kevin Durant told Yahoo! Sports. “I didn’t believe him. He was just like, ‘We are going to have Dwight. We are going to have Steve Nash.’ He just talks a lot of trash, jokes and laughs. But he said it. I don’t think anyone paid attention to it but me and him. He said it and it happened. And they got better, a lot better.”

Durant went on to say that the Lakers have the best lineup in the league on paper. Chris Bosh said just about exactly the same thing a few days ago when talking about the Lakers. It seems players like Durant and Bosh wouldn’t mind the pressure of winning a title shifting to the Lakers for next season.

The pressure is off the Heat now but it is mounting on the Thunder. They have progressed incrementally in each of the last four seasons. The next step for them would be winning a title after losing in the NBA Finals last season. The Lakers acquiring Howard and Nash will take the focus off Oklahoma City.

“It was a great move for [the Lakers],” Durant said. “[Howard] is the most dominant center in the league. It’s going to make it tough on other teams. But I like that challenge. We all like that challenge in OKC. It should be fun. That’s what the Lakers do. They make big moves. That’s part of their DNA.”

If there’s anything you can take away from Durant’s recent responses to questions about Howard and the Lakers, it’s that he and the Thunder aren’t backing down. They almost seem a little annoyed that the Lakers are getting all of this attention and that people are crowning them as champs before they have even played a game.

The Lakers will surely be a better team next season but if there is one team that can match up with them the best, it’s the Oklahoma City Thunder. Durant knows that. The team knows that. And that’s why they’re excited to play the Lakers next season.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers made themselves into legitimate NBA title contenders with the moves they made this offseason acquiring Steve Nash then Dwight Howard. Nash and Howard will join Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol in L.A. giving the Lakers one of the best starting units in all of basketball.

As is always the case when personnel changes of this magnitude take place, there will be a learning curve for the team to mesh. It shouldn’t be too difficult as it looks like all of the pieces will fit together nicely for the Lakers. But players like Nash and Kobe will now be playing a slightly different role than they have been used to in the past few seasons.

“The way that we’ll put it together, Steve’s going to have an opportunity — he’s going to quarterback the team — and so he’s going to have an opportunity to come down the floor every possession and in early offense play pick-and-roll if he wants to,” head coach Mike Brown told ESPN Los Angeles. “It’s up to him, based on where he decides to take the ball or a call that he makes or an action that he does, it’s up to him to get us into some of the looks of the Princeton offense.

“So again, with him quarterbacking, or making that decision, he’ll still have a chance to get the ball back after he moves or after bodies move. I don’t want to completely give away what we’re trying to do, but in a nutshell, he will have an opportunity to play pick-and-roll at the beginning of almost every play set coming down the floor in early offense. And if not, he can also choose to get to some of the looks out of the Princeton by making a pass or doing an action or doing a call or whatever.”

From their new offense to their new point guard, the Lakers will definitely have a pretty different look to their team next season. Will it mean they will be a tougher out for the Oklahoma City Thunder in the playoffs next season?

Overall, the Lakers do look like they have improved a ton on paper from last season. Nash and Howard are certainly upgrades but how will Kobe handle taking on a less dominant role in the offense next season?

The Lakers lost to the Thunder in five games in the second round of the playoffs last season with Kobe averaging 31.2 points per game while shooting .426 percent from the field. The Thunder were able to hold him in check by playing him straight up for most of the series with Thabo Sefolosha or James Harden.

Kobe had some big games in the series, scoring 36, 38 and then 42 in the final three games but the Thunder were okay with Kobe playing that role. The Lakers were at their best when more players were involved on the offense.

That’s where Nash comes into play. Nash has been one of the best passers in the NBA for the last decade and still is even at the age of 39. He finished second in the NBA in assists per game last season and should provide the Lakers with a more balanced attack for next season.

The Thunder won’t see the same Lakers team they saw last year in the playoffs, one that was predictable and relatively easy to matchup with. Kobe won’t be carrying the load by himself and that alone will make the Lakers a tougher out for the Thunder.

The biggest challenge will be Russell Westbrook’s. Westbrook will have the assignment of matching up with Nash and slowing him down. Against the Thunder last season, Nash averaged 10.7 points and 8.0 assists per game against the Thunder and shot just 48 percent from the field and 30 percent from three.

Westbrook is one of the best athletes in the NBA, completely capable of harassing Nash for 48 minutes when they are matched up. While Nash will provide the Lakers’ offense with more flow for most of next season, that flow will be interrupted and choppier when Westbrook is the one guarding him.

Westbrook isn’t the most sound defender in the NBA as he gambles quite often on defense. Nash will burn him on backdoor passes and savvy offensive maneuvers a few times when these teams play but for 48 minutes, Westbrook should have the edge.

The point is the Lakers will have to alter what they are doing on offense a lot when they play the Thunder compared to when they play the rest of the league. That starts with the matchup of Nash vs. Westbrook.

One of the greatest strengths of this Thunder team is that they force their will on a game more so than any other team in the league because they are more talented and more athletic than almost anyone else. The Lakers may have gotten better from last season but they haven’t changed this fact.

We will have to wait and see to totally understand what to expect from a Thunder-Lakers matchup. It’s hard to imagine Kobe on a basketball floor deferring to a dominant ball handler like Nash.

The time for the Lakers to beat the Thunder with Kobe shooting 25-plus times per game is no more. With Nash playing the role of “quarterback” it has to give the Lakers a better shot to top OKC though.

It felt like everyone had forgotten about the Oklahoma City Thunder. Bruce Bowen hasn’t.

There’s a team out West called the Oklahoma City Thunder. Those young boys, it seems like each and every year they get better… I don’t think you can rule them out with their starters, their bench. You look at Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka down low, I think they will be aggressive and challenge Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol. Then you look at James Harden coming off the bench, who’s going to matchup with him? It’s not even a question with Steve Nash and Russell Westbrook. So now it leaves Kobe and Kevin Durant…. I’m not sold on this new Lakers team because it takes time to gel.

via Pro Basketball Talk

This is what I like to hear. Bowen is absolutely right that the Thunder match up very well with the Lakers. The Lakers will have much more trouble trying to keep up with the Thunder than the other way around.

There is no question that the 2012-13 Lakers team will be a better one than the team OKC beat in five games in the second round of the playoffs last year. They’re going to have to be a lot better though to knock off the Thunder.

That’s just the Thunder though. The Lakers do seem to have even more so increased their chances against the other elite NBA teams like the Spurs and Heat.

If next season plays out like it should, OKC will be waiting for the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals. L.A. will likely have to go through the Spurs or Clippers first which will be challenges for them too. A matchup with the Heat of course wouldn’t happen until the NBA Finals.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers appear to have drastically improved their roster from last year with the two major trades they made this summer acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. So much so that many are calling them NBA title favorites already.

On paper, the two trades seem like they will definitely make the Lakers a bigger threat in the Western Conference, where they finished third last season behind the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder.

Let’s take a closer look at how Howard and Nash will change the Lakers’ offense.

Pick-and-rolls

The Lakers were in the bottom half of the league last season in pick-and-roll offense efficiency at 0.84 PPP. The Lakers have been a team that hasn’t had a point guard play a significant role on it in recent history. L.A. acquired Ramon Sessions last season and he improved them in that department somewhat but not much.

Most of the ball handling was done by Kobe Bryant who was second in the NBA last season averaging 27.9 points per game although shot only 43 percent from the field. Kobe found his offense with the pick-and-roll 12.2 percent of the time and had a 0.86 PPP.

The two primary roll men in the pick-and-roll for the Lakers were of course Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Gasol was surprisingly below average with a 0.73 PPP. Bynum was hardly ever used in the pick-and-roll, just 3.4 percent of the time, and had a 1.12 PPP.

Nash and Howard should help the Lakers most in this area of the offense. Nash has been a master of the pick-and-roll for all of his career and Howard is one of the best roll men in the league.

Nash did 60.9 percent of his scoring in the pick-and-roll last season and had a 0.92 PPP. Nash is also as good a passer as anyone in the league and was second in the NBA last season in assists. This doesn’t take into account how effective he is distributing as well.

Howard was the roll man 8.9 percent of the time on offense and had a blistering 1.36 PPP. Howard may even improve upon that number now being surrounded by more offensive options and Nash handling the ball most of the time.

Gasol is the player most likely to benefit from playing with Nash now. Gasol will never be wasted with Nash on the floor and should good more touches in better spots. He should become the perfect pick-and-pop option as well.

Post-ups

The Lakers posted up as much as any team in the NBA last season as it accounted for 20.5 percent of their offense. They were very efficient at it two finishing second in the NBA with a 0.89 PPP.

Kobe was most efficient when working out of the post with a 0.93 PPP and he got 19.3 percent of his offense from there. Gasol had a 0.95 PPP and Bynum 0.89.

Howard was right around where Bynum was last season posting a 0.88 PPP. This is where acquiring Howard shouldn’t be too much of an upgrade from what Bynum did last season. Bynum has one of the best post-up games in the NBA and played nearly the entire season last year making his first All-Star game for the Lakers.

One area where the Lakers really thrived in was scoring off cuts, which often came from big-to-big passing out of the post. Gasol had a 1.17 PPP on cuts last season and Bynum had a 1.53. They each got a decent chunk of their offense from this too, 14 percent or more for both. The Lakers as a team were fifth in PPP in cuts last season at 1.26.

Howard only got 8.2 percent of his offense from cuts last season, about half as much as Bynum, and had a 1.41 PPP. Gasol is a very skilled passer as a big so we should expect Howard to have more offense from this next season. Not to mention Nash who will open up more opportunities for cuts in the offense next year as well.

Isolations

The Lakers got 12.4 percent of their offense from isolation plays last season and were right in the middle of the pack with a 0.79 PPP.

Kobe of course leads the way in this department with isolations accounting for 27.9 percent of his offense. That number should go down some next season as Kobe won’t feel the need to try and do everything for the Lakers on offense with Nash and Howard in town now.

Kobe had a 0.86 PPP on isolations which isn’t bad but he is on the decline overall and the less he has to rely on isolations, the better for the Lakers. Kobe has been more reliant on his jumper more than ever lately and has lost a step on his drive.

Nash is a very good isolation player too and often looks to score in these situations after bigs switch on to him in a pick-and-roll. Nash had a PPP of 0.89 on isolation plays last season.

Spot-up shooting

Spot-up shooting is the area Nash will really help the Lakers. You can go down a long list of pros that Nash made into excellent 3-point shooters just by playing with them. The Lakers went to spot-up shooting plays 16.6 percent of the time last season and were 19th in the league with a 0.94 PPP.

Kobe had a 0.92 PPP on spot-ups and Gasol 0.88. Expect both of those numbers to go up and to see the Lakers get more of their offense from spot-up jumpers as well. The acquisitions of Jodie Meeks (1.03 PPP) and Antawn Jamison (0.93 PPP) will help in this department as well.

Conclusion

The Lakers should have a much more efficient offense next season in the pick-and-roll and spot-up shooting. Howard is hardly an upgrade over Bynum in the post however. Nash will make things very easy for everyone and shooting percentages should all climb from last season.

The Lakers were close last season and Howard and Nash will make them legitimate title contenders next season. This was just how their offense will improve next season. Their defense should as well with the impact Howard makes on the end of the floor, being second to none.

The key will be how much time it takes these guys to learn to play together. This isn’t like what Miami had to deal with when LeBron, Wade and Bosh teamed up. All of these pieces fit so we should see them gel quicker more like how Boston did back in 2008.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

As LeBron James capped off quite the spectacular year with a gold medal win over Spain in the Olympics, it sparked the most popular debate in the sport of basketball: Who is the greatest player ever?

Jim Boeheim got the ball rolling saying he used to think Michael Jordan was the greatest player ever but after spending six weeks with LeBron, was no longer sure about that.

Then everybody started voicing their opinions.

That’s enough about that though. What I’m curious about is where Kevin Durant fits in with all of this. When his career is over, where will we remember him on the hierarchy of greatest players ever?

Durant just finished his fifth season in the NBA so yes, it’s early on. But he’s already challenging LeBron in some respects and is widely considered the second best player in the NBA right now at just 23 years old. He won his third straight scoring title last season, has finished second in the MVP voting twice and has already led his team to the NBA Finals.

More than any other player in the NBA, Durant was put on earth to play basketball and to score in particular. But he’s not from the same mold as Jordan, LeBron or Kobe so we rarely talk about Durant as someone who could go down as the greatest ever. He’s been more one-dimensional so far in his career too, viewed as just a scorer who isn’t a great passer or defender yet.

Those things are all true and that’s why no one talks about him yet as a potential G.O.A.T. but he still has a very good chance to go down as a top ten or maybe even top five player ever.

Durant’s shot at being remembered that good will have a lot to do with team success. Right now he is part of the best young team in the NBA that is already good enough to compete for an NBA title. It’s easy to look at the Thunder as a team that will be able to compete for a championship for the next decade. They’ve been compared to and are modeled after the San Antonio Spurs, who won four titles in the Duncan era from 1998 until now. If Durant can do the same kind of thing in OKC, he will be remembered in a similar light as Duncan.

Durant also has a chance to go down as a historically great statistical player. He is obviously on pace to score about as many points as anyone ever. Durant’s game is still evolving though so it’s tough to know if he will be able to sustain being such a high-scorer later in his career.

To do this he will have to start going into the post more. He started doing this some last season and even implemented Dirk’s patented stepback jumper. If Durant can learn more from Dirk and develop the kind of post-up game Dirk has had these past few seasons, that would seem the most likely way to keep scoring at the clip he has been.

The top five scorers in NBA history right now are Kareem, Mailman, Jordan, Wilt and Kobe in that order. LeBron has a good shot to get into the top five by the end of his career. If Durant plays long enough, he has a really good chance to pass Malone and get within striking distance of Kareem or wherever Kobe ends up.

The other factor in determining Durant’s greatness is how good of a shooter he is. He has a legitimate chance to go down being remembered as the best shooter to ever play in the NBA. It’s something that isn’t debated about as much really because it’s hard to say what constitutes being the best shooter ever is.

We have Reggie Miller and Ray Allen who are known as the best 3-point shooters ever. Then there’s Bird, Dirk, Maravich and Nash who are often in the conversation. You can even make a case for a player like Steve Kerr as one of the best shooters ever.

Durant could define the debate with what he has a chance to do in his career. To be as skilled as he is at 7-foot tall with the kind of range he has is unprecedented. It would be hard for him to touch Reggie or Ray in terms of career threes made but he has a relatively easy chance to become third on the all-time list (now held by Jason Kidd).

Durant is a career 88 percent free throw shooter as well and shot just under 50 percent from the field last season. If he can string together some 50-40-90 shooting seasons while still scoring as much as he does, it will become tough to argue that he isn’t the greatest shooter ever.

So let’s say Durant wins like three NBA titles, retires as the league’s third all-time leading scorer, top five in points per game for his career and makes the third most threes all-time, that would put him right up there with some of the greats of all-time.

Again, it’s early and that’s a lot of pressure and expectations to meet but I kind of see that as his relatively conceivable ceiling. He’d end up right around Duncan-Shaq-Moses-West in the greatest of all-time rankings. I’d be good with that.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers shook up the landscape of the NBA again when they traded for Dwight Howard last week.

The deal will immediately make the Lakers legitimate NBA title contenders and in some people’s eyes, the NBA title favorites already.

The Lakers will have to go through the Oklahoma City Thunder though. The defending Western Conference champs didn’t make any big moves this summer simply because they didn’t have to. The Lakers have improved their roster leaps and bounds from last year but the Thunder are still more than capable of matching up with them.

Here’s a look at how the matchup will breakdown.

Point guards

The Lakers’ biggest weakness the past few seasons was the point guard position. They went out and got Steve Nash this summer which will drastically improve that area for them. Nash will turn 39 next year but is still playing at an elite level. Last year with Phoenix, he averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists per game in just 31.6 minutes per game. He also matched a career-high shooting .532 percent from the field and also shot .390 percent from three.

Old age is not the ideal weapon to throw at OKC’s Russell Westbrook who is one of the best athletes in the NBA. Westbrook is coming off a great season himself where he was fifth in the NBA averaging 23.6 points per game. It’s safe to say Nash will have a pretty difficult time staying in front of Westbrook.

Westbrook will have a huge edge in terms of athleticism but Nash can make up for it some with his basketball savvy. Westbrook has struggled somewhat in matchups vs. experienced point guards but in the long run, Westbrook will still have the advantage here. Nash could outplay him in a half of a game, but for the full 48, the advantage goes to Westbrook.

Shooting guards

The Lakers have always been used to having a huge advantage at this position with Kobe Bryant. That may not be the case against the Thunder though. James Harden was the Sixth Man of the Year last season, made the 2012 Olympic team and is very much closing in on the heels of Kobe.

It’s not fair to say that Harden will have an advantage over Kobe yet in this matchup but it’s definitely closer than some people would think. The Thunder made Kobe really work for his points when they played in the postseason. Kobe had a pretty good series averaging 31.2 points per game and 10.2 free throw attempts per game but the Thunder still did a good job containing him.

Thabo Sefolosha is an elite perimeter defender that has no problem guarding Kobe one-on-one. The Thunder would be able to rely on using Sefolosha on Kobe a lot in this matchup if they could count on playing a lot of small lineups like last year. But that will be less likely with the Lakers’ size for next season.

Harden will have to match up with Kobe even more so than usual. Kobe should see a decline in the advantage he has over Harden in this matchup and there may even be some games where Harden can match Kobe.

Small forwards

The Thunder will just about always have the advantage at this position. No one in the NBA can slow down Kevin Durant. Metta World Peace used to be his kryptonite but not anymore. Durant averaged 26.8 points and shot .516 percent from the field vs. the Lakers last year in the playoffs.

Durant even proved that not even LeBron can really slow him down when he averaged 30.6 points per game in the Finals and shot .548 percent.

The Lakers will have a very tough time slowing down Durant and will have to weather his storm. That’s the biggest problem for the Lakers in this matchup. Even though they have improved their roster, they haven’t necessarily improved it in a way to slow down OKC’s big three on offense.

Durant and Westbrook should have less success driving into the paint with Howard now lurking but they are jump shooters first anyway, and that’s how they beat L.A. last year.

Power forwards

Now we’re getting to the big men where the Lakers will have the advantage. At power forward we will be seeing a lot of Pau Gasol vs. Serge Ibaka. Ibaka finished second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting last season but still has some issues guarding good post-up players like Gasol.

Gasol was not very assertive last year though especially against the Thunder as he only averaged 12.9 points per game against them in the playoffs. Gasol looked much better in the Olympics but it isn’t a guarantee he will carry over that level of play back to the NBA.

Ibaka seems to always play big against the Lakers too. He can get his midrange shot easily with Gasol matched up with him and averaged 4.0 blocks per game vs. the Lakers in their playoff series.

Gasol is expected to be more comfortable with the Lakers next season in their Princeton offense and with Nash. Ibaka should improve too though and will be able to slow down Gasol again.

Centers

This is where we see the biggest change. Howard is far and away the best center in the NBA right now. It’s easy to forget this since most of our recent memory with him is how he ruined his image in Orlando.

Howard is impossible for almost any team to match up with except maybe the Thunder. Kendrick Perkins has always had the reputation as being one of the few guys in the NBA who could guard Howard one-on-one. While this may not be exactly true it should still limit the Lakers’ advantage over the Thunder at this spot.

The key with the Thunder vs. the Lakers is they don’t have to double anyone. The Thunder never had to double anyone last season until they got to the NBA Finals and ended up stuck with Harden guarding LeBron in the post. That’s a huge reason why they lost and a huge reason why they got that far is that they are able to match up with every team man-to-man.

This is why the Thunder should still be considered the favorites in the West. The Lakers got better but not quite enough to dethrone the Thunder, at least without seeing them play yet.

The Thunder and Lakers will play for the first time next season Friday, Dec. 7 on ESPN. Howard is expected to miss the beginning of the season but could be back in time for that game. If he isn’t, the next meeting between the Thunder and Lakers will be Jan. 11.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers pulled off the biggest move of the summer last week when they traded for Dwight Howard. It is a move that will shake up the landscape of the NBA, as is always a case when a player as talented as Howard switches teams.

The Lakers finished the season last year as the 3-seed in the Western Conference behind the San Antonio Spurs and Oklahoma City Thunder. Now they are being talked about as potentially the NBA title favorites.

But should we be talking about them already as title favorites?

The Lakers starting five for next season will certainly be an impressive one. They are returning Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace from last year and now adding Howard and Steve Nash.

The pieces should fit in seamlessly. This won’t be a case like we saw in 2011, when LeBron, Wade and Bosh joined together in Miami and it took some time getting used to. Nash’s selflessness will ensure this more than anything.

With Nash running the show, he will get the ball to players when and where they need it. Kobe is at a point in his career where he shouldn’t stand in the way of this too much. Expect a bounce back season from Gasol too now teamed with Nash.

There is some potential for the personalities to not exactly gel. Howard is known as a kind of jokester that doesn’t take things seriously enough. He was able to be this way in Orlando as the clear alpha-dog of the team playing for a franchise that had so much invested in him. No one was going to call him out for that behavior but that will change in L.A. playing alongside Kobe.

There is the question of age too. Nash is 38 and Kobe is an old 33. Both are on the decline but showed last year they can still play at an elite level. It will continue to become harder to sustain that level but playing with Howard will make it easier.

It has been easy to forget just how valuable Howard has been during all of the recent drama. Before Howard ruined his image, he was deservedly so considered one of the most valuable players in the league. The effect Howard had in Orlando was remarkable, leading that team to high playoff seeds and anchoring one of the most efficient defenses in the NBA with little support around him.

Howard did get injured this past season and is expected to miss the beginning of next season. If he can get back to 100 percent, playing at the level he has shown in the past, the Lakers may very well emerge as NBA title favorites.

Of course there are a few teams that would like to have a say in this. The Miami Heat are coming off an NBA championship season last year with LeBron James playing as well as he ever has. The Heat made some noise this offseason too adding Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to the roster.

In the West, the Thunder, Spurs and Clippers are all returning very formidable teams that will be able to compete with the Lakers. The Thunder got to the NBA Finals with a very impressive playoff run through the West’s elite and are only expected to improve upon that next season with the experience they gained.

We know what to expect from the Heat and Thunder. The Lakers are more of a wild card and that’s why they shouldn’t be called the title favorites just yet. We need to see what they do on the floor first and until then, the league still belongs to the Heat and Thunder.

Kevin Durant led the way scoring 30 points and grabbing nine rebounds in the game. Durant set a U.S. record for most points scored in a single Olympics in the game and also had the most points ever by a U.S. player in a gold medal game.

LeBron James added 19 points becoming just the second player ever along with Michael Jordan to win an MVP, NBA title and gold medal in the same year.

Team USA was pretty dominant for most of the Olympics but Spain made them work for gold, trailing by just one entering the final quarter. Team USA came out hot in the final quarter and would make the big plays when they needed them down the stretch.

Here are the final grades for each Team USA player:

LeBron James – 13.3 PPG, 5.6 APG, 5.6 RPG, 60 FG%, 30 3PT%, 75 FT% – A

LeBron looked like the best player in the world when he wanted to in these Olympics. He came up huge down the stretch of Team USA’s two closest games vs. Lithuania in pool play and Spain in the gold medal game. He silenced any critics with everything he did and has to feel pretty good right now. LeBron showed us nothing new in the Olympics except maybe an overwhelming sense of confidence in everything he did on the floor. He was arguably the most valuable player on the team leading everyone in assists and defending much bigger players for most of the tournament.

Kevin Durant – 19.5 PPG, 2.6 APG, 5.8 RPG, 49 FG%, 52 3PT%, 89 FT% – A

Durant not surprisingly led the U.S. in scoring. He was huge for them in the gold medal game and without his 30, could have easily lost to Spain. His display shooting the shorter three in these games was remarkable. He seemed the most unfair of the Team USA players vs. the international competition. Durant most importantly stepped up his defense as the tournament went on. His length really seemed to bother the international players a lot who aren’t used to seeing someone his size move so agile. Durant produced more consistently than any other player on Team USA in every game and that’s why he deserves just as much as LeBron to be recognized as the team’s MVP.

Carmelo Anthony – 16.3 PPG, 1.3 APG, 4.8 RPG, 54 FG%, 50 3PT%, 79 FT% – A

Anthony made the most noise on this team in their record-setting pool play win over Nigeria. He set a U.S. Olympic scoring record in that game with 37 points and made 10-of-12 threes. It is often said how perfectly Anthony fits into the international game and that was definitely evident again in these Olympics. His shot was on in almost every game as he was less of the isolation player we see him as in the NBA and more of just a catch-and-shoot guy. He came off the bench as Durant started every game but it did not faze him as he embraced the role. Team USA really couldn’t have asked for much more from Anthony.

Kobe Bryant – 12.1 PPG, 1.3 APG, 1.8 RPG, 43 FG%, 44 3PT%, 91 FT% – C

Kobe looked really bad in these Olympics until the medal round when he kind of came alive. Other than Deron Williams, Kobe had the lowest field goal percentage on the team and was a liability on defense as well. He was the old man of this team and that’s exactly what it looked like. He rarely kept up with his teammates on the fast break, never made the right pass when leading a fast break and simply made you start feeling a little sorry for him a lot of the time. Kobe did step up and play better in the medal round and that’s why he isn’t getting an F grade here. The truth is that Team USA would have been much better without Kobe than they were with him.

Chris Paul – 8.3 PPG, 5.1 APG, 2.5 RPG, 51 FG%, 46 3PT%, 50 FT% – A

Paul underratedly had a pretty fantastic Olympics. It was no surprise that he did a good job setting up his teammates in every game and played great defense on opposing point guards, but it was his shooting that really stood out. Paul is a very capable shooter in the NBA but really came through in the Olympics too with his 3-point shot. Deron Williams is considered possibly the better international style point guard but Paul made it clear that Williams is not in his league with his play in these Olympics. Another great job by Paul was that way he let LeBron be the playmaker while on the floor with him, something he is not used to doing in the NBA.

Deron Williams – 9.0 PPG, 4.6 APG, 1.5 RPG, 39 FG%, 40 3PT %, 77 FT% – C+

Williams had a pretty disappointing Olympics for the most part. He was never terrible in the way Kobe was but he definitely underperformed. He could have seen a lot more playing time had he been hitting his shot a little more often. As a result, he ended up barely playing in the gold medal game.

Russell Westbrook – 8.5 PPG, 1.6 APG, 1.6 RPG, 48 FG%, 33 3PT%, 74 FT% – B-

There were some pretty high expectations for Westbrook coming into these Olympics as Kobe and a few others, mentioned that he could play the role Dwyane Wade did back in 2008. Westbrook didn’t do that and playing behind Paul and Williams, he didn’t get a lot of playing time in general. His game is not made for the international style and he didn’t look like he fit in too much. He wasn’t playing point and had the ball much less than he does in the NBA. He made a lot of bad turnovers and didn’t have many assists either. He could have easily played at a level where he demanded more minutes than Kobe but he just didn’t. His greatest value to the team was the pressure defense he put on opposing guards, especially from the weaker teams.

Kevin Love – 11.6 PPG, 0.4 APG, 7.6 RPG, 63 FG%, 36 3PT%, 57 FT% – B+

Love really came on late in the Olympics for Team USA and basically became part of their crunch time lineup. There weren’t many bigs on the roster so the opportunity to find minutes wasn’t hard for Love. All he had to do was rebound, which he did better than anyone else on the team, and make shots, which he struggled with a little. Love clearly didn’t love the FIBA ball and it showed with his low shooting percentages. He still made himself an invaluable part of the team with his rebounding.

Tyson Chandler – 4.0 PPG, 0.4 APG, 4.0 RPG, 70 FG%, 33 FT% – C-

Chandler started every game but only averaged 11.3 minutes per game. He got in a lot of foul trouble and was never anything special on defense either. He was never a liability while on the floor but he definitely underperformed. Even against Spain, when Team USA needed him more than ever to compete with their size, he only played nine minutes. It’s safe to say, Chandler was a huge downgrade from Dwight Howard.

Andre Iguodala – 4.3 PPG, 1.4 APG, 2.8 RPG, 70 FG%, 56 3PT%, 50 FT% – B-

Iguodala didn’t play much either in these Olympics but did a pretty good job while he was out there, you just didn’t notice him much. He shot a high percentage from three but out of a small sample size. He could have been used more in lieu of Kobe for his defense but that was a tough decision Coach K chose to avoid.

James Harden – 5.5 PPG, 0.8 APG, 0.6 RPG, 50 FG%, 30 3PT%, 57 FT% – B-

Harden wasn’t going to play a lot in these Olympics and really didn’t do too good of job in the little time he did play. Whenever he came in, he was going to take a few threes but he only shot 30 percent on them. He had a few really nice dunks but that was about it. With Durant and Anthony shooting so well from distance, there was never a moment for Coach K to look to Harden to come in and provide some outside shooting in a close game.

Anthony Davis – 3.7 PPG, 0.0 APG, 2.7 RPG, 65 FG%, 67 FT% – A

Davis was one of the biggest winners of these Olympics. He got to piggy back on to a team filled with the best talent in the NBA before ever even playing in the NBA, and comes home with a gold medal. Davis was impressive when he was on the floor too. His defensive presence was maybe the best of anyone on Team USA and he clicked very nicely on some lobs with the point guards. He will be a very good NBA player, that’s how you come away feeling about him after watching him play in London.

Mike Krzyzewski gets to ride off into the sunset from his Olympic coaching career, getting his second gold medal and finishing his career as Team USA’s coach with a 62-1 record.

The game was very reminiscent of the 2008 gold medal game. Spain came out playing better than they had all Olympics and trailed by just one point entering the fourth quarter.

Team USA came out great in the fourth though scoring seven quick points. Then LeBron James picked up his fourth foul, came out of the game and Spain remained within striking distance.

When LeBron came back in, he made a backbreaking 3-pointer over Marc Gasol in the same way Kobe Bryant made a huge three four years ago.

LeBron James caps off an amazing year for him that included an MVP, NBA title and now gold medal making him the first player since Michael Jordan in 1992 to do that.

Pau Gasol led Spain with 24 points, eight rebounds and five assists in the game.

The U.S. made the plays they needed to down the stretch. It wasn’t the prettiest win. Each team committed 27 fouls in the game and Spain also battled foul trouble with Marc Gasol picking up four in the first half and sitting the entire third quarter.

The U.S. made 15-of-37 threes in the game while Spain wasn’t as good at 7-for-19. Team USA also held their own on the boards outrebounding Spain and getting 12 offensive rebounds.

With the win, the United States capture their 14th gold medal in Olympic basketball history.

Here are grades for all of the players:

LeBron James – 30 minutes, 19 points, 3 assists, 7 rebounds – B+

It wasn’t LeBron’s best game but he came up big when Team USA needed him scoring five points in the final three minutes. The zone Spain mostly played limited what LeBron did on offense as less of Team USA’s offense ran through him. When he picked up his fourth foul late in the game and had to come out, it looked like Team USA might be in some trouble but they survived.

Kevin Durant – 38 minutes, 30 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist – A

Durant passed Spencer Haywood as the all-time U.S. leading scorer in a single Olympics in this game. Getting 30 from him was huge and very necessary for Team USA to pull out the win. By his standards he was a little off on his shot making 5-of-13 threes in the game. He was better scoring all around in this one and got to the line 10 times, making nine. His defense remained solid as well as he got many deflections and held his own down low.

Carmelo Anthony – 21 minutes, 8 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds – C+

Anthony was nothing special in this game making just 2-of-6 threes. He also got into foul trouble and with him not scoring much, Team USA became really dependant on Durant and Kobe to fill it up, which they did. Anthony was great rebounding on defense in the fourth quarter though while matched up with bigger players.

Kobe Bryant – 27 minutes, 17 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds – A

Kobe had been bad for a lot of these Olympics but really looked pretty good in the medal round, including this game. He hit some big shots early and late and shot a solid percentage. He had a few bad turnovers but luckily that didn’t cost the U.S. the game.

Chris Paul – 33 minutes, 11 points, 2 assists, 3 steals – B+

Paul was a little too passive in this game and could have looked for his shot a little more late. He still hit a big three in the third quarter and made a huge driving layup with 53 seconds left to put Team USA up 104-93.

Deron Williams – 10 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist – C+

Team USA could have used another player to step up and hit some outside shots. Williams made both of his 3-point attempts but didn’t do much else. He didn’t play as much as he had been either with the game pretty close in the second half.

Russell Westbrook – 9 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound – C+

Westbrook did not play at all in the second half and didn’t make much of an impact in the first half either. Westbrook is a great NBA player but his game didn’t translate too well in these Olympics within this team.

Kevin Love – 19 minutes, 9 points, 9 rebounds – B

Love’s rebounding was huge and he had three offensive boards but his post defense was basically nonexistent. He couldn’t contain the Gasol brothers really at all and that was a big reason why the game was close.

Tyson Chandler – 9 minutes, 2 points, 1 rebound – C

Chandler hardly played again and didn’t even do a good job while he was in as Pau Gasol scored on him a few times. His impact was minimal.

Andre Iguodala – 2 minutes, 1 rebound, 1 turnover – C

Iguodala hardly played too. Even with LeBron in some foul trouble, Coach K went with Kobe playing more minutes instead of some Iguodala.

James Harden – 1 minute, 2 points – C

Harden came in with under a minute to play with the game pretty much in hand. He got fouled twice and went 2-for-4 from the line. Unacceptable.

Anthony Davis – 1 minute, 1 rebound – C

Davis pulled down the final rebound of the game. That has to count for something. Can’t wait to see him in Rio, and the NBA for that matter.

The Lakers made the two biggest moves of the summer now, trading for Howard after trading for Steve Nash earlier. They now have a starting five that suddenly looks like it might be the best in the NBA including Howard, Nash, Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant.

“That’s what the Lakers do,” Kevin Durant said. “They have great management and ownership to make those moves come to life.”

The defending Western Conference champs still say they are the team to beat in the conference though.

James Harden also gave his view of Dwight trade: “It doesn’t take away from us at all.” Is OKC still the team to beat in West? “Of course.”

— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) August 11, 2012

Harden is right on with this. We’re always so quick to crown teams before they’ve even stepped on the floor together as is the case with the new-look Lakers.

The Thunder may not be making drastic changes to their roster for next season but that’s because they don’t have to. They’ll gladly take the lessons learned from an NBA Finals loss to the Miami Heat and experience of their four best players playing in the Olympic gold medal game tomorrow into next season without shaking up their roster at all.

It’s no doubt however that the Lakers have improved their roster and done so dramatically. They’ll be better next year but the Thunder will too. And the Lakers have a lot of ground to make up on the Thunder.

The only thing that is for sure is that NBA fans will be robbed if somehow the Thunder and Lakers don’t meet in the Western Conference Finals.

USA vs. Spain is the gold medal matchup everyone wanted to see. The United States are of course the favorites to bring home gold while Spain has always been considered their greatest competition.

Team USA has won all seven of its games in the Olympics so far by an average margin of 35.7 points per game. Spain has been far less impressive losing twice in pool play and looking weak in each of their last two games in the medal round.

The United States has passed some tests so far, beating Argentina twice and surviving a close scare vs. Lithuania but Spain should still be their toughest battle yet.

Here are five reasons why Spain might upset the United States in the gold medal game.

Spain is bigger

Let’s start with the most obvious one here. Spain has a significant size advantage over the U.S. and they intend to take advantage of it as much as possible. Spain starts the Gasol brothers and then brings Serge Ibaka and Felipe Reyes off the bench.

The U.S. will start Tyson Chandler as their only big and use Kevin Love too but mostly plays LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony at power forward. The U.S. has outrebounded their opponents by over 10 boards per game in the Olympics but that is mostly because they are shooting a far higher percentage.

The U.S. is definitely weak inside as we saw in their games vs. Lithuania and Argentina, when they play without a rim protector their opponent will get a lot of relatively easy looks at the rim.

Spain will pound it inside on offense and pack in their zone on defense. This is closer to the international style and they will have an advantage. Mismatches do go both ways though and Team USA will have to make sure they take advantage by featuring their more skilled forwards in positions where they can be effective against slower, bigger defenders.

3-point shooting

Team USA has lived by the three and they’ve won by it so far in the Olympics. They are attempting 36.6 threes per game and making .445 percent of them. That’s off the charts but there is always a chance even for Team USA to go cold from behind the line tomorrow morning.

Durant and Anthony become very important in this regard as they have led Team USA in 3-point shooting. Durant is shooting .558 percent from three in the Olympics and Anthony .525. They are Team USA’s two leading scorers as well.

Spain has been on the opposite end in terms of 3-point shooting success in the Olympics. They’re shooting just .328 percent as a team with some of their best guys really struggling.

Rudy Fernandez is third on the team in scoring and shooting .367 percent. Juan Carlos Navarro is shooting .333 percent and Jose Calderon .348 percent. Even Pau Gasol has been shooting the three for them, making just 5-for-15 in total.

Spain is fully capable though of heating up from three in any game as they showed in the second half of their semifinal game vs. Russia. They will need to do that and pray that Team USA has an off shooting night to pull off the upset.

40-minute game

The games in these Olympics are eight minutes shorter than NBA games. That means there is greater chance for an upset and less time to erase mistakes made early in the game. Spain is more experience playing this style and will surely try and take advantage of it to the fullest mostly by controlling the pace of the game.

Fortunately for Team USA, Spain hasn’t been getting off to great starts lately and will definitely need to if they plan to win the gold medal. Spain should be up for this game more than any other though and we should see a more concentrated effort from them. Pau Gasol admitted himself that Spain has been looking ahead too much in the Olympics so far. That won’t be the case tomorrow.

Team USA has consistently seen teams play their best games against them, at least for spurts. With the game obviously being close early, Spain should show us their best game from the start. We’ve seen Argentina unable to sustain this for 40 minutes but Spain may be able to.

Officiating

The officials haven’t exactly been on the side of Team USA in these Olympics as per usual. The rules are a little different and there are some things that Team USA will simply never get used to. We’ve seen a lot of Team USA players called for traveling or called for very questionable fouls.

You only get five fouls before fouling out in international play and that could play a huge factor. Chandler will be more important than ever in this matchup vs. Spain but he has in every game gotten into some sort of foul trouble. One would expect that to happen again vs. Spain and that could be very bad news for Team USA.

Team USA players don’t get star treatment either overseas. LeBron and Durant will be asked to defend Spain’s post players some and will be vulnerable to some easy foul calls. If one or both of them has to sit on the bench more than normal, Spain will have that much better of a chance to pull off the upset.

Kobe

Kobe is probably Spain’s best chance for beating Team USA. Kobe has been for the most part pretty horrible in the Olympics although he has been better in the last two games. We know that Kobe will be shooting in the gold medal game and if he’s not hitting, that will put Team USA in a tough spot.

Coach K will more than likely play Kobe at least half of the game and probably more and he will have him out there during crunch time, if there is one. Kobe has the potential to shoot Team USA out of the game or Spain into the game if he looks like the Kobe we saw in pool play.

The same goes for Anthony as well. Both he and Kobe are going to take shots, probably a lot of bad ones, and if they’re not falling, Spain will be that much closer to Team USA.

The margin for error will be the smallest for Team USA tomorrow morning. They’ve been able to overcome their imperfections so far but Spain is the real test.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Dwight Howard has finally been traded from the Orlando Magic as part of a 4-team blockbuster sending him to the Los Angeles Lakers and a bunch of other players elsewhere.

The Lakers got Howard as well as Chris Duhon and Earl Clark from Orlando. The Magic received Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Moe Harkless, Nikola Vucevic, Josh McRoberts and Christian Eyenga as well as some future draft picks. Denver received Andre Iguodala and Philadelphia got Andrew Bynum and Jason Richardson.

Howard heading to L.A. surely headlined this trade but it wasn’t the only important part of the trade.

Here’s a breakdown of the four teams involved with the trade:

Los Angeles Lakers

We might as well start with Howard’s destination, L.A. The Lakers did it again here, snagging the top center in the league to remain relevant. They did so by only having to give up Andrew Bynum and somehow hanging on to Pau Gasol.

The Lakers have now acquired Howard and Steve Nash in one summer and will strut out a starting lineup with them, Gasol and Kobe Bryant. They’ve immediately put themselves into the NBA title conversation with what many are calling the best starting five in the NBA now.

The Lakers got everything they wanted here and more. Pairing Nash and Howard will make for one of the more deadly pick-and-rolls in NBA history, even at Nash’s age. Throw in Gasol who should get an appropriate amount of touches with Nash handling the rock and Kobe at a point in his career, ready to sacrifice even more to win and the Lakers look better than ever.

They may or may not be favored to make it to the NBA Finals but that doesn’t really matter. They are now in position to match up much better with the West’s biggest competition, the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Howard has said he wants to test out free agency next summer but still, the Lakers should be able to hang on to him long-term. They can offer him an extra year and $20 million more on his contract and after a year in L.A., it seems very unlikely he’d want to bolt.

Howard is said to likely not be ready for the start of the season, still nursing his ailing back but that’s not a problem for the Lakers at all.

Orlando Magic

The Magic waited a pretty long time before finally dealing Howard. The idea was that they were holding out for a really good package and would keep him as long as possible, maybe even through the trade deadline of next season.

It was more than surprising to see the kind of deal Orlando made out with here. The package of young talent and picks they are getting isn’t as good as the one Houston had been offering them. They didn’t want to deal with Houston though only because the Rockets wouldn’t take on enough of their bad contracts apparently.

Afflalo and Harrington are basically pointless and they couldn’t even get Gasol out of the deal, whether they wanted to keep him or not they could have easily traded him somewhere for something.

They aren’t screwed with guys like Afflalo and Harrington now and it is clear that new GM Rob Hennigan wants to try and emulate what the Thunder did, bottoming out and drafting high for three years in a row. Good luck with that finding the next Durant-Westbrook-Harden trio in the next three drafts.

Denver Nuggets

Denver is very happy with what they did in this trade, besides allowing the Lakers to acquire Howard, which in the long run may have made this a bad move by them.

But getting Iguodala while parting ways with Afflalo and Harrington is a big upgrade for them. Iguodala will fit in perfectly with what they’re doing over there. As an athletic wing and defensive stopper, Iguodala will thrive in Denver’s up tempo offense and give them something they were missing on defense.

Denver was going to be a playoff team next year and now become that much better. They have a legitimate shot at getting to a 4-5 seed in the West and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Philadelphia 76ers

The 76ers are also very happy getting Bynum here as hard as it was to say goodbye to Iguodala, who gave them so much over the past eight years. Bynums don’t come around too often and upgrading to the second-best center in the league is a big move for Philly, especially since they’re in the East.

Bynum will be a very tough matchup for any team in the East, including the Miami Heat. No one’s saying they are going to compete with the Heat now but they definitely took a step closer.

They were a 7-9 seed team with Iguodala as their best player and Bynum will raise that ceiling. They should be right there with Indiana, Boston and Chicago now.

There is a chance Bynum won’t work out perfectly though. He’s a knucklehead and has had some big injury concerns in the past. But Philly had to take this chance. Bynum was a first-time All-Star last season and now in a place where he can get 20-plus shots a night, might blossom even more.

Oklahoma City Thunder

We have to include the Thunder in this trade because they are very much affected too, along with the rest of the league. OKC looked to have the West locked up for the next five years easily but now they are being questioned as the favorites in the conference.

The Lakers definitely upgraded and should be highly touted but the Thunder aren’t making any lateral moves next year either. They expect to improve simply from the invaluable experience they gained after an NBA Finals trip as well as adding some bodies to the rotation like Eric Maynor and Perry Jones.

Howard is scary to a lot of teams but the Thunder actually have a guy who can match Howard’s physicality in Kendrick Perkins. Yes, Perkins is now relevant again. It looked like the league might have been shifting to small ball but not so fast. Perkins is exactly what the Thunder need to contend with Howard next season.

The Thunder actually matchup well with the Lakers elsewhere too. Serge Ibaka can keep up with Gasol, Westbrook is a nightmare for Nash on defense and no one is slowing down Kevin Durant.

It was never going to get easier to win titles and this trade is an example of that.

Team USA led 47-40 at halftime after Manu Ginobili hit a three to end the first half. Ginobili came out strong from the start but slowed down late, finishing with 18 points in the game.

The U.S. shot 53.1 percent from the field and made 18-of-42 threes. They pulled away from Argentina again much like their last meeting with a big third quarter led by LeBron James and Kevin Durant.

Spain beat Russia in their semifinal earlier today and hasn’t looked great so far in these Olympics but still should be considered the toughest test yet for Team USA.

Here are grades for the U.S. players:

LeBron James – 29 minutes, 18 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds – A

LeBron played another brilliant game doing a little bit of everything. Coming off the first triple-double in U.S. Olympic history in the quarterfinals vs. Australia, LeBron flirted with another one today. He went 8-of-12 from the field and was excellent finding open shooters all game long.

Kevin Durant – 27 minutes, 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks – B+

Durant led the U.S. in scoring thanks to his five 3-pointers, four of which came in the third quarter. Durant was better again with his interior defense and picked up a few blocks. He really didn’t look to be shooting well early in the game before getting a few to go down in a row in the third.

Carmelo Anthony – 22 minutes, 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists – B+

It was Anthony’s turn to put on the 3-point show in the second half of this game. He hit a few in a row and then a really deep one reminiscent of Durant’s the last time Team USA played Argentina. He made a few nice extra passes that he normally doesn’t which resulted in a little more balanced of a game in this one.

Kobe Bryant – 19 minutes, 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals – B+

Kobe did his work at the beginning of this game after doing it in the second half of the last one. He came out hot making three 3-pointers in the first half and was pretty quiet after that. You know Kobe is going to take shots no matter what. He’s good when they’re going down but has been terrible when they’re not.

Chris Paul – 26 minutes, 10 points, 7 assists, 4 rebounds – A

Paul just plays so good every game. He went 2-of-3 from deep and that’s just gravy with him. He had a pretty high assist total too as he always makes the smart play.

Deron Williams – 20 minutes, 6 points, 6 assists – B

Williams only shot 2-of-7 from deep which puts him well below Team USA’s average shooting percentage on threes. Coach K tried to use him more as Argentina played a lot of zone and Williams didn’t do anything special. The six assists were nice though.

Russell Westbrook – 9 minutes, 7 points, 1 turnover – B

Westbrook played with good energy again and was a little more under control in this one. All three of his baskets were nice. The first came on a good drive in the first half. Then he hit a three in the second half and got one of his patented pull-up jumpers to go down too. He came up lame with what appeared to be a leg injury late in the fourth. It didn’t look too serious and for a guy who has never missed a basketball game in his life, it’s hard to get worried.

Kevin Love – 16 minutes, 9 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block – A

Love was very big today especially with his work on the glass getting four offensive rebounds. As Team USA continued to shoot the three when seeing zone, Love was there to help get them second shot opportunities whenever he was in. He was 0-for-2 shooting the three himself but his impact was hard not to notice.

Tyson Chandler – 12 minutes, 4 points, 3 rebounds – B

Chandler didn’t play much again but did just fine while he was out there. He had a nice slam in the second half from a Paul feed and was his usual solid self on defense. Picked up three fouls though.

Andre Iguodala – 11 minutes, 2 points, 1 assist – B

Iguodala found out last night he was being traded to the Denver Nuggets so maybe he felt a little weird for the game. He played fine while he was out there though and had a nice highlight reel alley-oop finish from Paul late in the game.

James Harden – 5 minutes, 3 points, 1 steal – B

I could have sworn Harden hit two threes in this game. One of them rolled around the rim some and may have been credited to Love for a tip-in. His shot looked good and he even had a nice block in transition from behind on a player.

Anthony Davis – 4 minutes, 1 rebound – C

Just very little garbage time for Davis again and he didn’t touch the ball.

The U.S. most recently beat Argentina 119-86 in the final game of pool play. In that game, Team USA led just 60-59 at halftime before putting together an incredible third quarter as they pulled away for the blowout win.

Argentina is still fully capable of beating the U.S. though. Argentina got past Brazil 82-77 in the quarterfinal behind 17 points from Luis Scola and 16 from Manu Ginobili and Carlos Delfino.

Those three players will have to be big again against the U.S. if Argentina has plans to upset Team USA. Ginobili led Argentina with 16 points the last time they played the U.S. with 14 of those points coming in the first half.

Scola played just 18 minutes vs. the U.S. in that game and had 11 points. Delfino had 13 and was 2-of-7 shooting from three while Andres Nocioni had 12 and made 2-of-4 threes.

Argentina went 10-for-26 from three in that game and will have to do better today. The U.S. led by Kevin Durant’s eight threes, hit 20-of-39 in that game.

The case can be made that Argentina wouldn’t have benefitted from beating Team USA on that day and, as international teams often think, would rather save themselves to try and beat the U.S. in the game that matters today.

We can expect a spirited effort from Argentina in this one as they should play more of a complete game, unless the U.S. goes into that unbeatable mode they’ve shown a few times in these Olympics.

The game should be a chippy one as well. Argentina always seems to get under the skin of the U.S. and did again in the last game in particular when Facundo Campazzo gave Carmelo Anthony a little tap below the belt on his way down after shooting a three to end the third quarter.

Pablo Prigioni, Argentina’s starting point guard, did not play in the last game vs. Team USA either and will surely make a big difference for them today. Prigioni was instrumental in Argentina’s win over Brazil leading the team with six assists.

Durant emerged as the unfair player to contend with for Argentina in the last game scoring 28 points and making eight threes. We have seen multiple players step up in that role for the U.S. in these Olympics, whether it’s Durant, Anthony, LeBron James or Kobe Bryant, who made six threes in Team USA’s quarterfinal win over Australia.

Team USA’s reliance on the 3-point shot is one of the things that could lead to their downfall in this tournament. They are attempting 35.7 threes per game and making .449 percent of them but if they fall to a realistic percentage under 40, they could be vulnerable to being upset.

The U.S.’s continued struggling interior defense could also be an issue today, especially dealing with Scola who is averaging 19.7 points per game in the Olympics to lead Argentina. Team USA has been better lately with their defensive intensity and LeBron and Durant have been decent containing other teams’ bigs but Scola will again be a big challenge today.

The U.S. will be favored today and rightfully so. They have shown throughout these Olympics that despite some of their flaws, they are talented enough to beat anyone at any time. Their familiarity with Argentina should benefit the U.S. too as the element of surprise in a 40-minute game can sometimes be a big factor contributing to an upset.

The other semifinal game today will be between Russia and Spain at noon EST.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Trade talks have resumed again over Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. The Magic and Los Angeles Lakers have been trying to come up with a deal that would send Howard to L.A. for a few weeks now.

The latest development now involves a proposed blockbuster trade that would include the Denver Nuggets and Philadelphia 76ers as part of a 4-team trade, according to Yahoo! Sports.

The Lakers would receive Howard and Al Harrington, Orlando would get Pau Gasol and Arron Afflalo, Andre Iguodala would go to the Nuggets and Andrew Bynum to the 76ers.

The biggest thing keeping Orlando from dealing Howard thus far is that they haven’t seen a deal out there worthy yet. Gasol and Afflalo are nice pieces and it is also believed though they would try and flip Gasol somewhere for young players and picks.

The Houston Rockets could possibly be interested in Gasol as they have stockpiled a roster full of young talent and draft picks. Houston was part of the 3-way trade that was vetoed last year that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers and Gasol to Houston.

More details will have to come out with this potential deal though because Orlando still definitely wants to give up more than just Howard. They want to start over in a sense, ridding themselves of all their bad contracts. Taking on Gasol and Afflalo doesn’t exactly accomplish that.

Kobe Bryant said earlier this summer that Pau was his guy and wasn’t going anywhere. The Lakers roster already looks very nice for next year with Steve Nash alongside Kobe, Gasol and Bynum. They’d be trading two for one to take on Howard in this deal which is a little bit of a risk.

The other interesting wrinkle in this deal is Iguodala and Bynum’s potential landing spots. You have to think Philadelphia would be all for swapping Iguodala for Bynum and trying to build their team around the young center.

Iguodala would probably seamlessly fit in with Denver and what they’re doing with the top scoring offense in the NBA, possibly making them a little bit more of a dangerous playoff team.

The deal isn’t close to being done though as the teams are just in early talks right now.

The United States is 6-0 so far in these Olympics winning games by an average margin of 37.3 points per game. They have been dominant but not perfect or without flaws.

The Team USA roster isn’t exactly the one envisioned by Jerry Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski. They are small without Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh or LaMarcus Aldridge and also missing a few other stars in Dwyane Wade and Derrick Rose.

The only three bigs on the roster for Team USA are Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis. Chandler has been barely playing largely due to foul trouble, Love has emerged of late and Davis only sees the floor in garbage time.

It has resulted in a lot of Team USA’s players playing out of position, mainly LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony who are playing the four and five positions primarily.

We’ve seen a lot of different lineups and rotations so far from Coach K as he still sometimes seems to be looking for the right grouping of five guys.

Team USA has done fine despite this so far and has won games because of their superior depth and talent. Now in the semifinals and playing Argentina for the third time in as many weeks, and Spain or Russia looming as a gold medal matchup, the United States may need to shrink their rotation some and find their best lineup.

What is the best 5-man lineup for Team USA?

We know it’s not the starting five of Paul-Kobe-LeBron-Durant-Chandler. They’ve gotten off to a few slow starts and with Chandler barely playing and Kobe’s struggles, this surely hasn’t been their strongest group.

The first sub is always Anthony coming in for Chandler as Team USA immediately goes small. This isn’t their best lineup either because Kobe, who hasn’t gelled well with this team at all, is still out there.

It’s usually Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook who enter next for Paul and Kobe. Now we’re getting warmer. Williams is arguably the better international point guard than Paul and Westbrook has been an upgrade from Kobe in a lot of instances as well.

But Team USA is still pretty vulnerable inside when Anthony and Durant are out there together and it’s not as if they work so great together on offense either. You probably only need one of them on the floor at a time, simply to focus more on defense.

Love is the final piece here and next sub in. He usually comes for Durant or LeBron at this point but Team USA’s best lineup definitely involves Durant and LeBron on the floor together.

Of the lineups that have played a good amount of minutes together so far in these Olympics, Team USA’s best is Paul-Williams-LeBron-Durant-Love.

The combining of Paul and Williams works well and Paul simply is playing at a higher level than Westbrook right now, fitting in more with the team too. Love has been a beast on the glass of late too, really establishing himself as a force down low while LeBron and Durant are good enough to hold their own on bigger defenders as well.

That is the best lineup we will see from Team USA going forward. The challenge for Coach K will be seamlessly removing Kobe from the floor to go with a lineup like this in crunch time. It probably won’t happen and Kobe and/or Anthony will be on the floor instead of Williams or Love.

The best lineup for Team USA is perhaps one we will never see and is totally different from the identity they’ve shown so far in the Olympics. It involves and basically highlights Davis in at center.

Davis has been a monster in the little time he has played swatting shots like nothing and rebounding very well too. He has also really meshed with Paul and the other guards, rolling to the rim and finishing alley-oops.

Team USA would be at their best going Williams-LeBron-Anthony-Durant-Davis. They’d have plenty of size and could use Williams running the point as well as LeBron. This would free up LeBron a little more to get out and run on the wings, really maximizing the potential of Team USA’s transition game.

It’s fun to think about different lineups with Team USA and this one in particular, but we probably won’t see it at all, even if it might be their best look. Instead, Team USA will have to try and win gold not with, but despite someone like Kobe, while more deserving players in Love and Davis watch from the sidelines.

The United States did not come out looking their best but were very impressive in the fourth quarter, going on one of their signature runs outscoring Australia 35-16 in the period.

The U.S. took 46 threes in the game and made 19, which is the third-most 3-point makes they’ve had in a game in the Olympics.

Australia hung around due to another big game from point guard Patty Mills who scored 26 points and made four threes.

Here are the grades for each Team USA player:

LeBron James – 30 minutes, 11 points, 12 assists, 14 rebounds – A+

LeBron had maybe his best game of the Olympics so far getting the triple-double and doing a little bit of everything for Team USA. He has really played well in these past three games after coasting in the first three. His 12 assists ties Michael Jordan and a few others for the most ever in a U.S. Olympic basketball game.

Kevin Durant – 25 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals – B

Durant was mainly just a spot-up shooter in this game making 4-of-9 threes. Shooting 44 percent from three is fine but for Durant, it felt like he struggled. He missed a few shots driving and didn’t get to the line at all. His defense was better again getting two steals and some deflections as well.

Carmelo Anthony – 20 minutes, 17 points, 4 rebounds – B

Anthony played a pretty normal game for him. He was nothing special from deep going 2-of-7 and has really just become a guy who does nothing but try and score when the ball finds him. There’s nothing wrong with that because it’s his role on this team.

Kobe Bryant – 20 minutes, 20 points, 3 assists, 2 steals – B+

Kobe continued his awful play in the first half going 0-for-3 with zero points. You started to feel bad for him as it seemed he couldn’t do anything right. Then he really heated up in the second half, making six threes and finishing with 20 points. His threes come with a grain of salt though which requires him to take the 25-foot, contested heat check whenever he hits one or two. Team USA will need him at least making his jump shot going forward in the medal round.

Chris Paul – 27 minutes, 7 points, 3 assists, 4 steals – B

Paul didn’t do too much in this one partly because LeBron really dominated as the team’s distributor. Paul was only 1-for-4 from deep too and didn’t exactly lock up Australia’s guards on the other end the way he is capable of.

Deron Williams – 22 minutes, 18 points, 3 rebounds – A

Williams came up big in the first half for the U.S. scoring 13 points. Tonight he was the example of Team USA’s depth showing that they have so many players who can get it going scoring. With Paul not hitting his shot so much, it was nice for Williams to step up.

Russell Westbrook – 11 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist, 4 fouls – C

Westbrook got in foul trouble and didn’t play much. He was out of control for the most part again and not in any kind of rhythm. When he has space and can show off his athleticism, he is at his best and in the international game, there’s less room for him. The foul trouble limited his effectiveness in being one of Team USA’s best on-ball defenders.

Kevin Love – 21 minutes, 10 points, 11 rebounds – A

Love was great again and with Chandler not doing much, he is becoming very key for this team. His work on the glass was relentless as always but he did not hit any threes. He should continue to see more minutes especially if Team USA sees Spain in the gold medal game.

Tyson Chandler – 9 minutes, 6 points, 2 rebounds – C+

Chandler barely played again because of some foul trouble and was his usual self while on the floor. He caught a few nice lobs which were pretty but that’s about it.

Andre Iguodala – 8 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound – C+

Iguodala didn’t play much either which was a little surprising coming off a very good game vs. Argentina. He hit a three while he was in and probably would have played more if Williams didn’t have the hot hand or if Kobe never got going. Team USA’s defense wasn’t great again and having Iguodala on the floor would help that out some.

James Harden – 4 minutes, 7 points, 1 assist – A+

Harden couldn’t have been better in four minutes, finishing on the break with two highlight slams and making a stepback three as well. It would have been nice to see him get more minutes with this team but it’s just not going to happen except in blowouts.

Anthony Davis – 3 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds – C

Davis just played a few minutes in garbage time and went 0-for-3 from the field. Come on bro.

The U.S. led by just one at halftime 60-59 as Argentina was doing a lot of what Lithuania did to the U.S. in the first half.

Manu Ginobili was on a tear scoring 16 points on just five shots as Argentina shot 56 percent from the field.

In the third quarter, Team USA came out a different team especially on the defensive side of the ball. LeBron James had a look in his eye scoring nine quick points then Kevin Durant took over.

Durant hit five threes in the third quarter and scored 17 points as the U.S. outscored Argentina 42-17 as a team. Durant capped off his memorable third quarter performance with a three from about 32-feet that was very reminiscent of Rucker Park.

Team USA again looked vulnerable at times but when they turned it on in the second half they showed why they are the team to beat in these Olympics.

Here are the grades:

LeBron James – 21 minutes, 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – A

LeBron was quiet in the first half as not a lot of the offense was running through him but he really asserted himself in the third quarter. He has taken over when he has needed to for this team in these Olympics and did it again today. He had to sit though midway through the third after picking up his fourth foul. He got called on a few really bad fouls in the game.

Kevin Durant – 22 minutes, 28 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, 3 steals – A

Durant was magnificent in the third quarter not only by hitting five treys but on the defensive end he was as active as he ever has been. That led to a lot of Team USA’s offense as they pulled away. Durant wasn’t too bad in the first half either scoring 11 points and hitting three 3-pointers. Durant’s shooting performance in the third quarter may have been more impressive than what Carmelo Anthony did vs. Nigeria.

Carmelo Anthony – 13 minutes, 5 points, 5 rebounds – C

Anthony didn’t have it tonight going just 1-for-6 from the field but his one make was a big three to end the third. He got a little cheap shot from Argentina point guard Campazzo after making the trey he was hit below the belt and it started a little scrum between the two teams.

Kobe Bryant – 21 minutes, 11 points, 1 assist – C-

Kobe just seems to not fit in much with this team. He randomly started pushing the ball down the court out of control twice in the third quarter and it just felt weird. He shot 3-of-10 in the game and is still struggling with the different ball it seems. The fact that he’s probably going to be on the court in crunch time of a close game may not be a good thing for Team USA going forward.

Chris Paul – 25 minutes, 17 points, 6 assists, 3 steals – A

Paul was great in the first half hitting four threes and did his job pretty much perfectly the rest of the game too. You can’t hardly ever complain about Paul and when he is making threes he is just that much better. He really hounded Campazzo on defense too who had to play most of the game with Prigionni missing the game with an injury.

Deron Williams – 15 minutes, 5 points, 3 assists – C

Nothing special from Williams tonight as he was 2-for-7 from the field. Paul played much better and got the bulk of the minutes. Team USA will need Williams to step up and shoot better from three as the games continue.

Russell Westbrook – 19 minutes, 4 points, 3 assists, 3 rebounds – B-

He would receive a C grade if not for his nasty dunk in the fourth quarter. Westbrook was out of control for the most part again going 1-for-8 from the field but his dunk was such a perfect exclamation mark on the game. His defense against Argentina’s weak guards was pretty good too.

Kevin Love – 15 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds – B+

Love quietly had a very nice game for Team USA going 5-for-7 from the field and grabbing four offensive boards as well. His confidence has grown of late and he is becoming a more integral part of this team which is good with Tyson Chandler not playing all that well.

Tyson Chandler – 12 minutes, 3 points, 5 rebounds – B

Chandler wasn’t as bad as he has been lately in this one and was the only real defensive presence for Team USA in the first half. The defense Team USA played in the second half showed why they won’t need to rely on Chandler to play a lot of minutes in the future. Chandler was in foul trouble again though and mostly takes up space on offense.

Andre Iguodala – 20 minutes, 13 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists – A

Iguodala played his role perfectly today. He got some scoring on not a lot of shots, always made the right pass and rebounded. When he plays like this he will get minutes and deservedly so.

James Harden – 9 minutes, 7 points – C+

Harden didn’t play until garbage time in this one and was fine while he was out there. He hit 1-of-2 threes and went 3-for-5 from the field.

Anthony Davis – 8 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block – C+

Davis also didn’t play until garbage time and had less alley-oop dunks than usual.

Kobe will go down as one of the most decorated NBA players of all-time, already having won five NBA titles and potentially in the hunt to pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer.

When Kobe’s playing days in the NBA are over, his playing days in general may not be.

“It would be natural for me to go do it,” Kobe told Yahoo! Sports when asked if he would consider playing overseas when his NBA career was done. “It wouldn’t be a stretch at all. I grew up here.”

Kobe grew up living in Italy while his father, Joe Bryant, played in the Italian league. Kobe’s favorite player growing up was Mike D’Antoni who was the reason why Kobe wore No. 8 with the Lakers to begin his career.

“You’d have to look at the market and what’s going on in terms of the level of basketball being played,” Kobe said. “I understand there’s a high level of competitive basketball in Turkey now. They might have the best league in Europe. Spain has obviously been one of the top leagues for a long time. And Italy is a place that’s dear in my heart, I grew up there, but the level is not where it used to be. When I was growing up over there, that was the best league in Europe.”

The level of play in other countries is something that has been increasing ever since the 1992 Dream Team dominated the Olympic basketball field in Barcelona. Players like Deron Williams, Stephon Marbury and Josh Childress have spent some time playing professionally in other countries.

Kobe doing this, who seems to be such a citizen of the world, doesn’t seem that farfetched at all.

We know he loves basketball more than anything in the world and he will stay involved in it somehow after his NBA career. If he can still compete at a high level in these other leagues into his 40’s, possibly picking up a few championships along the way, doesn’t that sound just like Kobe?

Team USA had their first legitimate scare of the Olympic so far as Lithuania led the game in the fourth quarter with seven minutes to play.

The United States were coming off an 83-point victory vs. Nigeria two days ago and perhaps them not be challenged so far in the Olympics had something to do with this game being so close.

Now that the games are starting to get serious for Team USA, it’s time to seriously grade each player for them:

LeBron James – 35 minutes, 20 points, 5 rebounds, 0 assists – A

LeBron was quiet early in this one very much like he has been all Olympics so far. He hasn’t been needed to do much for Team USA so far but really stepped up in the fourth quarter vs. Lithuania. LeBron scored nine of Team USA’s final 12 points effectively shutting the door on any hopes Lithuania had of pulling off the upset. LeBron surprisingly didn’t have an assist in the game but that may have had a lot to do with the U.S. shooting so poorly from three in the game.

Kevin Durant – 28 minutes, 16 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – C+

This wasn’t Durant’s best game and we are seeing him turn into more of a one-dimensional player on this team, becoming just a catch-and-shoot guy from behind the 3-point line. There’s not a lot wrong with that as he made 4-of-7 threes vs. Lithuania but he has kind of struggled scoring in other areas. Durant also was taken advantage of inside a few times by Lithuania and since he is being asked to play a lot of power forwards and centers that is not a good thing.

Carmelo Anthony – 25 minutes, 20 points, 3 rebounds – B

Anthony was coming off a fantastic game against Nigeria in which he set a U.S. Olympic record with 37 points and made 10-of-12 threes in the process. Anthony continued his hot shooting early in this one but then cooled off later. Much like Durant, Anthony has struggled with his defense inside and it was a weakness of this team that Lithuania revealed in this game. Overall it would be nice to see Anthony as committed on defense as he is on offense to get a better grade.

Kobe Bryant – 20 minutes, 6 points, 1 assist – C

Kobe really struggled shooting in this one going just 1-of-7 from the field and didn’t play very well on defense either. He often bit on pump fakes by Lithuania players at the 3-point line leaving the rest of the defense at a disadvantage. Sometimes Kobe just seems to not really fit in with this team being the old man of the group and the ball of course almost always stops when he gets his hands on it.

Chris Paul – 28 minutes, 7 points, 6 assists, 4 steals – A-

Paul was pretty good in this game and very good late. He was one of the most clutch players in the NBA last season and when he has the ball in his hands late with this team, good things always happen. He made a great play in transition late to find Durant for an easy dunk. He struggled a little from the field and was 1-for-4 on threes but other than that was great.

Deron Williams – 23 minutes, 12 points, 2 assists – B

Williams wasn’t the most efficient in this game ever but the 12 points he did contribute despite needing 12 shots to get them were valuable. With Team USA settling for so many threes in these Olympics, Williams is always a good guy to have on the floor and he made a pair of treys in this one.

Russell Westbrook – 14 minutes, 7 points, 2 rebounds – C

Westbrook was out of control and out of rhythm even more so than usual against Lithuania. Not being able to roam freely all over the floor like he does in OKC has made him very much less effective in the Olympics. He made some bad decisions on offense and defense in this one and really can play a lot better for this team. His strengths were not taken advantage of in this game and it made up seem like kind of a waste when he was in.

Kevin Love – 12 minutes, 7 points, 8 rebounds – C

Love really struggled from the free throw line going 3-of-8 and seems to not be in love with the FIBA basketball. He works so hard though and led the team with eight boards. Team USA needed him too in this one being one of the only actual big men on the roster. For Team USA to win gold and beat teams like Argentina and Spain, Love will have to play well and give them a little more than he did today.

Tyson Chandler – 8 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound – D

Chandler has done very little for this team so far in the Olympics and hasn’t seen a lot of playing time despite starting every game. He went 1-for-4 from the free throw line in this one which makes him a liability to have on the floor on offense. Coach K has elected to go with smaller lineups and sacrifice the interior defense that he provides because of this. It would be nice to see him playing better and getting more minutes because Team USA may need him especially if they play Spain in the medal round.

James Harden – 4 minutes, 3 points, 1 steal – B

Harden barely played in this one and did make one very good play in his short time on the floor, making a steal and finishing at the rim with an and-1 layup. He won’t get a ton of minutes in close games for Team USA especially with him shooting not so great from three so far in the Olympics. He missed his only 3-point shot attempt today.

Andre Iguodala – 3 minutes, 1 rebound, 3 fouls – D

Iguodala got in early but picked up three very quick fouls and never came back in. Coach K likes him and will continue to use him in some spots. Team USA honestly could have used him more in this one since he is one of their best defenders on the perimeter and a good rebounder. Nothing much more to say about him vs. Lithuania though.

According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Kobe and head coach Mike Brown have discussed in detail the possibility of the Lakers switching their offense to the Princeton style next season.

“It’s a great offense,” Kobe told Yahoo! Sports. “It’s exactly what we need. It takes us back to being able to play by making reads and reacting to defenses. It takes a great deal of communication, but that’s where we’re at our best: Reading and reacting as opposed to just coming down and calling sets. Calling sets make you vulnerable.”

The Lakers will look different next season with or without Dwight Howard. They traded for Steve Nash shortly after the season ended which will throw an entirely new variable into the Lakers and Kobe.

Kobe has never played with a point guard quite like Nash before, one who is so talented and has dominated the ball so much in his career. Both Kobe and Nash will be due to adjust now playing together and this new offense may play a big part in that.

The Princeton offense, which is considered a close relative to the Triangle offense Phil Jackson ran with the Lakers, will allow for more versatility from more players. Someone like Pau Gasol will be a perfect fit in it as he is such a great passer for a big man and skilled in so many ways.

As Kobe continues to age, now 33, he will continue to look for more ways to gain an edge on the competition. The great players always do this. They don’t just keep deteriorating as time goes on, they keep fighting during their athletic decline and often will rise back up in forms we haven’t seen before.

Kobe embracing an offense that won’t feature him as much as an isolation monster is an example of this. It’s really just what the Lakers need from him too.

The Lakers were bounced in the second round of the playoffs this past season in five games by the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder and Miami Heat met in the NBA Finals in what was a glimpse into what the future of the NBA will look like. The Lakers realize they need to change some to keep up with these young guns.

The Lakers have vaulted probably to the second-best team in the Western Conference for this coming season. The Thunder are still considered the class of the conference but adding Nash has moved L.A. ahead of the Spurs, probably unfairly.

There is still a great chance L.A. will trade for Dwight Howard before the season begins too which will make them that much more potent of a title contender.

The Thunder got over what some would consider a big hump beating the Lakers, the team that has dominated the Western Conference for so long, in a series a few months back. The Lakers aren’t rolling over and dying though.

The Thunder will be considered the favorites in the West this coming season but there will be a lot of work to do to repeat and make it to the NBA Finals again.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States will play their first Olympic Basketball game Sunday, July 29 at 9:30 a.m. EST against France.

The United States prepared for the Olympics with five exhibition games and won them all by an average of 26.6 points.

Kevin Durant averaged 17.6 points per game and shot .552 percent from three in those exhibition games. LeBron James led the team averaging 18.6 points to go along with 4.8 rebounds and 4.0 assists.

Team USA is the favorite to win the gold medal but France is one of the teams expected to give them a decent game.

France is led by San Antonio Spurs point guard Tony Parker who is coming off one of the best NBA seasons of his career in which he led the Spurs to the best record in the NBA and a Western Conference Finals appearance.

Parker is joined by a few other NBA products in Boris Diaw, Nicolas Batum, Kevin Seraphin and Nando De Colo who should make up the starting five for them.

France is ranked 12th in the world and the last time they played the U.S. in the Olympics was back in 2000 in Sydney for the gold medal game which the United States won 85-75.

The blatant weakness for Team USA is their lack of size. They start Tyson Chandler at center and then have only two other legit bigs on their bench in Kevin Love and Anthony Davis, each who didn’t play much at all in their exhibition games.

Instead, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has elected to play smaller lineups consisting of LeBron and Durant at power forward and center a lot of times. This has its advantages on offense but disadvantages on defense. The consensus still is that the United States are talented enough that this size disadvantage shouldn’t stop them from winning gold.

France isn’t a particularly big team either so the United States should really have no trouble handling them. Parker will surely be the main point of emphasis for the U.S. defense which should be more than capable of slowing him down with Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Deron Williams in their backcourt.

In Pool A, France has a good shot at coming out of pool play as the 2-seed. Argentina and Lithuania will be the other two teams competing for that spot. Finishing pool play as the 2-seed would mean avoiding the U.S. in the medal round until a potential gold medal game.

France is often overrated and seems to underachieve in international competition. This will be revealed when they play the U.S. as the game has no business remaining close for too long.

The question only will be which U.S. player steps up and has a big game. We’ve seen Durant and LeBron do it consistently in the exhibition games as well as Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony.

It will also be interesting to see if the U.S. struggles at all if they see any zone from France. That will be the main defensive tactic thrown at the United States by other countries and the U.S. could be contained to some degree playing against a 2-3 zone.

The United States attempted 27.6 threes per game in their five exhibition games so they aren’t shy to toss up treys at will. In the closest of those exhibition games against Brazil, the U.S. went just 6-for-24 on threes and shot just over 40 percent from the field in the game.

A cold shooting night from three is definitely a key ingredient for a potential upset against Team USA. Again though, it really shouldn’t matter against France. The United States are fully prepared to roll to a victory in their first Olympic game of 2012.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

Team USA will begin pool play in the London Olympics Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EST vs. France. The United States are unsurprisingly considered the heavy favorites to win gold in these Olympics.

The roster envisioned for the United States this year did not end up going as planned. Injuries kept Dwight Howard, Derrick Rose, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh from making the journey to London this summer, leaving the U.S. with a talented but incomplete roster.

The likes of LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant will be on the floor for the United States but this team has a real weakness. They are a small team with only three legit bigs in Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love and Anthony Davis.

Head coach Mike Krzyzewski has elected to play a lot of small lineups including ones where LeBron and Durant are at the center position. This will be something that will really put the U.S. at a disadvantage when they play a team like Spain who features the Gasol brothers and Serge Ibaka.

The United States should still be able to make up for their weakness with superior talent. LeBron is no doubt their leader, coming off another MVP season and winning the first NBA title of his career.

But LeBron is not the most important player for Team USA. That title belongs to Durant.

This is not to say that LeBron isn’t the best player or most talented player on Team USA. It’s just that this team’s ceiling and its potential is only reached with Durant playing at an extremely high level, one in which we’d consider calling him Team USA’s best player.

Durant is simply made for the international game. Shooting the shorter 3-pointer is like a layup for him especially with no country stocked well enough with defenders long enough to bother his feathery jumper. He’s made it look easy in Team USA’s five exhibitions averaging 17.6 points per game and shooting .552 percent from beyond the arc.

Durant will be asked to do some things he is not entirely comfortable with too in playing the four and five positions, banging with physical bigs from Europe and rotating over in the paint to help protect the rim. If he’s able to pull that off well enough and lead the team in scoring at the other end, shooting the kind of percentages he showed in the exhibitions, then he will be considered Team USA’s best player as they most likely bring him the gold.

It will be another example of LeBron’s talents being taken for granted. LeBron does like it this way though. LeBron will get lost in the shuffle in these Olympics to an extent as he too is asked to defend bigger players and do a lot of the dirty work on defense.

On offense, LeBron will comfortably play the distributor role. Teams will throw zone at the U.S. on a nightly basis which will force LeBron into this role, one he will smartly accept and excel at. He just won’t be noticed as much while he’s doing it, especially because Durant will be scoring 20-plus points every night and draining 5-plus threes per game.

When you look at the United States’ roster, they look beatable. When you watch them play in their exhibitions, you see their flaws. A good international team will take advantage of these things and make the United States pay. It would be enough to win if not for Durant.

Every time another country executes their offense to perfection, beating the United States just barely on a backdoor pass and finishing with a layup that breathes that much more hope into their minds for a potential upset, Durant will simply walk into another 24-footer on the other end of the floor, sucking the life and hope right back out of them.

Durant represents the United States’ basketball talent dominance better than any other player in these Olympics including LeBron. Teams can match up with LeBron in some ways under international rules. They can take him out of the game some but Durant, they just have no chance.

Team USA should be standing on the podium a little over two weeks from now and a little higher than any other country. They should win gold and when they do, it will be because of Durant more than any other player.

LeBron has proved he is the best player in the NBA. But the title for best player in the world, Durant may have a case there.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

There has been a ton of talk and debate surrounding who would win between this 2012 USA Olympic Basketball team and the 1992 Dream Team.

Kobe Bryant got things started when he originally said he thought the 2012 team would beat the Dream Team. Then the likes of Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley came out laughing at Kobe’s remarks.

Now, LeBron James has echoed Kobe’s statement telling ESPN: “The ’92 Dream Team paved the way for all of us… We understand what they did for our game, but we also are big-time competitors as well, so if we got the opportunity to play them in a game we feel like we would win too.”

What are LeBron and Kobe really supposed to say though? That they would get killed if they played the ’92 team? Of course neither of them would say that.

The biggest problem with all of this is how the question is being phrased to these guys. It shouldn’t be asked: “Could you beat them?” It should be: “Which team is better?”

Both teams are loaded with a ton of talent and there is a scenario out there in which the 2012 team could beat the Dream Team even though the Dream Team is without question the better team.

“It would be a tough one but I think we would pull it out,” Kobe said at a news conference. “People who think we can’t beat that team for one game, they are crazy. To sit there and say we can’t, it’s ludicrous. We can beat them one time.”

Kobe’s right. They could beat them once. It might take a few tries but it could happen.

That’s really enough though with comparing these two teams. The debate was never really one anyway. The Dream Team is the best ever and that’s that.

Team USA will begin playing in the Olympics Sunday and that’s what the focus should be on from now on.

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

The 2012 London Olympics are now underway and Olympic basketball will begin Sunday, July 29. The United States are the favorites to win the gold medal and will play their first game against France at 9:30 a.m. EST.

Team USA features three Oklahoma City Thunder players on its roster in Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Durant will be a starter and one of the best players on the team along with LeBron James while Harden won’t see a lot of run as he was one of the last players chosen for the team.

Westbrook has the chance to be a sort of X-factor for the team. Coming off the bench for Team USA, Westbrook’s role has already been compared by Kobe Bryant to the role Dwyane Wade played for the 2008 Olympic team.

Wade was quite possibly the best player on the 2008 team despite coming off the bench in every game and Westbrook has a chance to do something similar for the 2012 team.

Westbrook will be playing closer to his natural position as a two-guard for Team USA as opposed to the point position he plays in OKC. So we will see a little different version of Westbrook than we are used to in the NBA.

Westbrook will not be as much of a high-volume shooter that he is in the NBA for this team as every player is sacrificing the role they play in the NBA to some degree. Westbrook will be called upon to bring energy to the floor when he checks in, to play the passing lanes on defense and lead a very potent fast break attack for the United States.

Westbrook can do all of these things but as is the case with Westbrook, he’s a little bit of a loose cannon with potential for high-turnover numbers and bad decisions as well. The key for Westbrook in this reduced usage rate role is to highlight the good of what he does while minimizing the bad.

This won’t be the easiest thing in the world for Westbrook who is used to having free reign in OKC to make mistakes and then make up for them with spectacular athleticism.

Team USA is going to need for Westbrook to show up though. They could still probably win the gold if he isn’t playing his best but the competition is very tough for them this year and Westbrook is a very important ingredient for this team reaching its potential.

Westbrook played 17.6 minutes per game in Team USA’s five exhibition games and averaged 9.4 points per game which was fourth on the team behind Durant, LeBron and Carmelo Anthony. Westbrook only shot .410 percent from the field though, second worst on the team ahead of just Kobe Bryant who shot .400 percent.

Westbrook struggled from deep too going 2-for-10 on threes but was second on the team at getting to the line going 13-for-15 from the stripe.

There will be moments in these Olympics where things aren’t going great for Team USA. They’ll start to miss threes, they won’t be forcing turnovers and they will be exploited inside for their lack of size. These will be the moments when Westbrook will be called upon to step up and give the U.S. a spark of energy from the bench.

No country has players in their backcourt used to seeing Westbrook on the floor. Westbrook has been called and rightfully so, the best athlete on this team and perhaps in the world. The kind of defensive pressure he can apply on opposing guards will be maybe the greatest value he can bring to the United States.

That’s what Wade did in 2008, playing the passing lanes better than anyone and getting run-out, easy dunks on a regular basis. Westbrook needs to do this for Team USA and showed some glimpses of it in the exhibition games.

The United States will likely close out games with a lineup of Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and LeBron James. Westbrook likely won’t be joining them but the minutes he plays leading the second unit will be crucial for the U.S. to bring home gold.

A few members of the 2012 Olympic USA Basketball team were asked to come up with a starting five including themselves and four other members from the 1992 Dream Team.

Chris Paul, James Harden, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love were asked this question and all answered about the same. All of them picked Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley. Harden, Westbrook and Love chose Larry Bird as well while Paul took David Robinson.

Almost none of these starting fives make sense if you had to play this game, mainly because Bird really shouldn’t have been picked by any of these players. It seems everyone loves forgetting how past his prime Bird was in 1992.

These current players are also very affected by the fact that Barkley and Magic are on T.V. these days and don’t remember some of the other options that would have made sense like Karl Malone, Patrick Ewing or Scottie Pippen.

The question really is: If you could combine the 1992 Dream Team and 2012 Olympic Team, what starting five would you ultimately put out on the floor?

PG – Magic Johnson
SG – Michael Jordan
SF – Kevin Durant
PF – LeBron James
C – Patrick Ewing

It’s really tough to go wrong with any combination. Jordan and Durant are probably the most obvious ones because Jordan was the best player ever and Durant’s game is so perfect for international play with the short 3-point line.

I like LeBron at the four because he can handle that spot and it gives the team more versatility. It may actually make more sense though to move LeBron to point instead of Magic and start Barkley or Malone at the four.

Magic is just so perfect on team with multiple scoring options so it’s hard to consider not starting him.

And here is who I’d have coming off the bench as the second 5-man lineup:

PG – John Stockton
SG – Clyde Drexler
SF – Scottie Pippen
PF – Charles Barkley
C – David Robinson

That’s right. The ultimate team would have a 10-man rotation with only two players coming from the 2012 team.

The toughest decision was Drexler over Kobe Bryant. Kobe is just too old right now and these teams are all about getting out in the open floor. Drexler has the advantage in ’92 over Kobe now in that department so that’s why I went with him. Plus, Kobe would hate coming off the bench in general so he’d probably refuse to even play on the team.

Now there’s only one thing to do: fire up NBA 2K12 and play with this team.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

USA Basketball will play its final exhibition game in preparation for the London Olympics today at 4:30 p.m. EST on ESPN2 vs. Spain in Barcelona.

The United States are 4-0 so far in exhibition games beating the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Great Britain and most recently Argentina 86-80 last Sunday afternoon.

Spain is ranked 2nd in the world according to FIBA and will definitely be the biggest test for Team USA so far. Spain is considered maybe the only team with a chance to beat the United States in the coming Olympics and we will find out more about that this afternoon.

Spain beat Argentina by 20 points a few days ago before Argentina lost to the United States by six on Sunday. Spain consists of perhaps the most impressive cast of NBA players besides Team USA with Pau Gasol, Marc Gasol, Serge Ibaka, Jose Calderon and Rudy Fernandez.

The game will feature four Oklahoma City Thunder players in Ibaka, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden. Last year’s rookie sensation Ricky Rubio will not be playing in this game or the Olympics as he is still recovering from a torn ACL suffered last season.

Spain and the United States played in the memorable 2008 Gold Medal game in Beijing four years ago with the United States coming out on top 118-107.

The balance on Spain’s roster is better than Team USA’s and their talent is high enough to compete as well. The United States are very small and it has been an issue so far in the exhibition games. Spain will do the best job of taking advantage of their inside strength with the Gasol brothers and Ibaka.

The lane to drive will be closed up more than normal for the United States and they will likely continue to settle for jumpers from the short 3-point line. The United States has attempted an average of 28.8 3-pointers in their four exhibition games while shooting .374 percent.

Kevin Durant has certainly led the way leading the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and has gone 14-for-26 on threes. Durant scored 27 points and made seven threes against Argentina.

Two other gunners for Team USA, Kobe Bryant and Carmelo Anthony, have been less effective from beyond the arc. Kobe is shooting just .278 percent on threes and Anthony .250 percent. Kobe and Anthony will continue to look for their shots in general and take a lot of threes. One of the potential weaknesses of this team is Kobe and Anthony shooting them out of a game.

Team USA is at its best with Durant and LeBron James on the floor together. In the four exhibition games, they have each played 101 minutes leading the team. Durant started the last two games but did not in the first two as Anthony got the nod. Durant should continue to start though.

LeBron is second on the team averaging 17.0 points per game. His best game was against Brazil when the outcome was most closely in doubt and he took over scoring 30 points to lead the United States to victory.

LeBron’s role is most weighted on his versatility with Team USA especially because of how small they are. LeBron has basically been playing power forward at all times for the U.S., something that will become more challenging when he is matched up with Pau Gasol and Serge Ibaka.

LeBron has shown the capability to contend with the likes of a Gasol on the blocks but for an entire game it is not an ideal matchup for Team USA. LeBron expending that kind of energy on defense will maybe wear him down on offense too, although that shouldn’t be too big of a deal when Durant is on the floor.

The United States has been able to overcome a lack of size by being superior at the wing and guard positions. Their ball pressure on opposing guards is a huge strength although the experience of Spain’s guards, Calderon and Juan Carlos Navarro, should hinder that advantage.

The attention USA will have to pay to the interior on defense may open up more outside shooting looks for Spain too. Not many players are as prepared to pull the trigger on treys as Fernandez and Navarro and if they are hitting, Spain could pull off the upset.

We will learn a lot about Team USA today and see just how big of an issue their lack of size is. Spain will want to win but international teams understand that this is just an exhibition and they sometimes play accordingly, not going all out or showing their entire game plan.

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers have emerged as the frontrunner to land Dwight Howard this offseason. The potential deal that would send Howard to L.A. is a 3-team trade between the Lakers, Magic and Cavaliers.

The deal has a potential snag with Cleveland wanting Andrew Bynum to say he’ll extend past next season but even so, the Lakers are the most likely destination for Howard right now.

The idea of Howard playing alongside Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol for the Lakers is scary to think about. Howard is one of, if not the most valuable player in the league with how he affects the game.

Would the Lakers surpass the Oklahoma City Thunder as the favorites to come out of the Western Conference if they land Howard? Would they become the NBA title favorites?

Not so fast. It shouldn’t be forgotten what OKC did last season making it to the NBA Finals. They deserve to be recognized as the best in the West until they are dethroned even if Howard is wearing purple and gold at the start of next season.

The Lakers have already drastically improved their team for next season by trading for Nash. The knock on L.A. the past few seasons was that they needed a point guard. With Kobe’s skills fading, the team now needed a true point to help him run the show.

Nash is more than a true point. He’s one of the best ever and while it’s hard to imagine at first how he and Kobe will mesh in the same uniform, you just kind of know they’ll figure it out.

Nash wasn’t going to solve all of their problems though. At 38, Nash is still one of the best point guards in the league offensively but struggles on defense as much as he ever has. The league and Western Conference in particular is so loaded with talented point guards these days that could become a real problem.

How do you solve Nash’s defensive woes? Howard would be that answer. The Lakers would practically be inviting players to drive past Nash with Howard waiting. No player in the NBA over the past five seasons has made the kind of defensive impact Howard has, turning a cast of mediocre defenders in Orlando to one of the premiere team defenses in the league. If there was ever going to be a way to hide Nash on defense, it would be with Howard patrolling the paint.

But this is still not quite enough to already put the Lakers ahead of the Thunder in the West. We’d definitely have to see them in action first before really knowing if they could challenge the Thunder in a playoff series but the Thunder are getting better too.

The Thunder of course have the best young roster in the NBA. Their progression in win percentage and playoff performance each season has been impressive. For next season coming off an NBA Finals appearance, there’s no reason to think they’ll take a step back.

The most talented team can always dictate how far they go in this league. The Thunder are that next to any other roster in the NBA. Team USA Basketball is comprised of 25 percent Thunder players. They are that good.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden are only going to get better. The rest of the Thunder team compliments their Big 3 making them tailor made to take down this Lakers team.

Thunder GM Sam Presti had the Lakers in mind when constructing this roster. That’s why they traded for Kendrick Perkins. He knows that the Lakers will always be around in the West and making sure you can take them down will in the long run always be the No. 1 priority.

Durant is going to be a mismatch problem for any team including the Lakers. Metta World Peace may very likely be out their door and the defensive options to throw on Durant will be slim for L.A.

Westbrook is the greatest problem though. We know Nash can’t stay in front of him because we found out no one could stay in front of him last season. He will continue to do whatever he wants against the Lakers and since he gets better every season, that will be even more devastating of a thing next year.

Dealing with the Lakers bigs won’t be a problem for OKC either. In fact, the Thunder would prefer that to having to go small and try and match up with LeBron James at the four. Perkins and Serge Ibaka are more than capable of slowing down a Howard and Gasol duo enough to still win a series.

Getting back to the NBA Finals will become more difficult if Howard is on the Lakers next season though. There’s no questioning that but there should also be no questioning of the Thunder, what they are capable of and what they are committed to. They will be ready for whatever challenge comes their way and have shown that it’s probably a good idea to bet on them at the end of the day.

Thunder fans don’t have to worry yet. They are safe atop the Western Conference and no one is challenging them quite yet. The Lakers have emerged as the team with the best chance especially if they land Howard but they aren’t the team to beat yet.

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic are still working on a deal that would send Dwight Howard to L.A.

Howard, who previously said the Brooklyn Nets was the only team he would extend with beyond next season, is now committed to an extension with the Lakers as well, according to Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.

The potential trade between the Lakers and Magic would more than likely have to involve a third team. Right now the team trying to be the third wheel in a Howard deal is the Cleveland Cavaliers.

In the potential trade between these three teams, the Cavaliers would receive Bynum and the Magic would get Anderson Varejao and multiple draft picks.

Howard going to the Lakers has really always been the move that made the most sense for him. If he wants a ring, given the current landscape of the league and potential destinations for him, the Lakers are the right spot.

There were some rumors that Howard would not want to go to the Lakers because he would be the second-fiddle to Kobe Bryant but that doesn’t look to be the case anymore.

After acquiring Steve Nash earlier this month, the Lakers could possibly be considered title favorites with Nash, Kobe, Howard and Pau Gasol.

Howard’s health is still a concern though and he might not be ready to play by the start of next season. That isn’t the end of the world for the Lakers if he goes there but he’d definitely have to get to 100 percent for them to compete for a title with him.

Howard sent direct messages on Twitter a few days ago describing how he can barely walk right now and Orlando is not being totally forthright about his injury.

The Lakers are ready to make this trade and the Cavaliers probably are too and would love to team Bynum up with their young core of Kyrie Irving, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson.

Orlando is likely the team that will be last to say “yes” on this. The Houston Rockets still consider themselves very much in the mix to trade for Howard and still could muster up a better package of young players and picks to send the Magic.

Orlando has said before too that they are not in any hurry to get a deal done soon. So while the Lakers may be anxious to finalize this soon, we may have to wait a little longer before we see where Howard will end up.

Geoff Burke-US PRESSWIRE

David Stern and the NBA are interested in setting an age limit on who is allowed to represent Team USA Basketball in the Olympics. The proposed age limit would be 23 years old.

“I think we got a lot out of the Olympics,” Stern told the LA Times shortly after the NBA Finals. “We helped grow the game. The result has been extraordinary. But I think it’s appropriate to step back and take stock of where we’re going.”

The NBA and its teams don’t make a lot of money sending their veteran players to international competitions and it definitely doesn’t make up for the potential risk involved.

Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul, veterans now themselves, do not want to see an age limit restricting participants in Team USA Basketball.

“It’s a stupid idea, stupid,” Kobe told the New York Times. “It should be a (player’s) choice. The Olympics is really about putting the best athletes out there to compete against the best. That’s what it’s about, put the best out there. From a basketball standpoint, (an age limit) would lessen the Olympics, absolutely.”

Paul noted that he had one of his best seasons ever following the 2008 Olympics that he won Gold in.

“You see guys, when they come back from playing on a team like this, they go into the new (NBA) season with the ultimate confidence,” Paul said. “It’s better than being at home just working out and playing ball. You get to play against the best players in the world.”

We have seen the rest of the international field continually catch up to the United States in basketball. Despite the U.S. sending some of its best talent in recent years, they aren’t dominating quite like they used to anymore.

An age limit of 23 would make it just that much harder for the U.S. to continue winning Gold. They could maybe get away with it this year with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love on the roster but neither of those players are even starting on this team.

Then you have Derrick Rose and Blake Griffin, who are two of the best players in the NBA under 23, missing these Olympics due to injury.

An age limit seems logical in some ways but at 23 years old would be a little too strict. Setting one at 25 might work a little better and then the older veterans wouldn’t have to worry about playing, although Kobe and Paul are indicating they want to choose themselves.

USA Basketball is 2-0 in exhibition games so far leading up to the London Olympics. They will play their third exhibition Thursday night against Great Britain. The Olympics begin July 27.

Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE/Getty Images

The USA Olympic Basketball team played in front of a crowd of thousands U.S. soldiers and their families Saturday in Washington, D.C.

The team put on a show scrimmaging each other in the Hoops for Troops event as they continue to prepare for the London Olympic Games which begin July 27.

“It was very touching to see so many people who sacrificed their lives for us to walk freely and do what we like to do,” Durant said. “It’s hard to really comment on it because you can’t repay them in any way but it’s truly a blessing to walk through and see that because they’ve done so much for us.”

After the game yesterday the team gathered to pay their respects at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in Arlington Cemetery. It’s a cool scene seeing the players lined up with their heads down during the moment of silence.

USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant had the honor of placing a wreath at the tomb.

“Words can’t describe how excited I was to get that opportunity (presenting the wreath),” Durant said. “Not too many people get that. Also, being from here, that was my first time experiencing that. It really puts everything in perspective for you, how much people sacrificed – that you don’t even know – for your lives and that’s big.”

These are the kinds of things that really will bring this team together for the right reasons. This is why it is such an invaluable experience to represent your country in the Olympics.

The team will play their second exhibition game Monday night at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN2 against Brazil. Durant led the team with 24 points and 10 rebounds in their first exhibition win over the Dominican Republic last Thursday night.

Jordan surprises no one here as he, like fellow Dream Teamer Charles Barkley, knows there is no way that Dream Team is losing.

Jordan told The Associated Press Thursday that he laughed, “I absolutely laughed” when hearing Bryant’s comments that the squad training in Las Vegas could take Jordan and company.

Jordan says there was “no comparison” which team was better, adding that Bryant comparing the two teams “is not one of the smarter things he ever could have done.”

via ESPN

Kobe’s comments are probably being taken a little too seriously right now. It’s not like Kobe said he thinks the 2012 team would kill the Dream Team or anything. He just said he thought they could take them. What’s he supposed to say?

Jordan and Barkley have to feel insulted though when they hear anything about the Dream Team and losing. It just couldn’t happen in their eyes and they’re probably right

We quickly forget the past in sports so much while so eager to crown new stars. Luckily we have egos like Michael’s and Chuck’s to keep us in line.

Kobe Bryant was asked if he thought the 2012 Olympic Team could beat the ’92 Dream Team and said, “I think we’d pull it out.” In describing the potential matchup, Kobe said the ’92 team would have an advantage inside but that their wings were a lot older.

Charles Barkley responded to Kobe’s comments a little more confidently.

“I just started laughing,” Barkley told The Mike Missanelli Show. “How old is Kobe Bryant? He’s 34? And he’s calling us old? At the time, we were only like 28, 29. Michael Jordan and me were the same age. We were both 29. Other than Kobe, LeBron (James) and Kevin Durant, I don’t think anybody else on that team makes our team.”

So what would happen if these two teams did played? How would each player do and which team would win?

The game would obviously be played with FIBA rules. These rules have affected the more recent U.S. Olympic teams and the rules would affect this game somewhat but it wouldn’t be as drastic since both teams are comprised of NBA players.

Both the ’92 team and this year’s team take advantage of their ability to pressure other countries’ guards in the backcourt. That wouldn’t happen in this matchup and the pace would resemble more closely an NBA game.

Let’s go through the matchups.

David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, Karl Malone vs. Tyson Chandler, Kevin Love, Blake Griffin

This is the most obvious advantage for the ’92 team. Their size advantage would be tremendous and it probably would prove impossible for this year’s team to overcome.

Looking at the rosters it feels like Chandler would have to try and play the entire game for the 2012 team. Love and Griffin would have no chance against Robinson-Ewing-Malone.

The ’92 team definitely gets a huge edge here and would get a ton of second-chance looks and be able to run much more of their offense in the post.

Clyde Drexler, Chris Mullin vs. Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook

These are the backup wings that would get the most run. Let’s assume that Bird, Laettner, Iguodala and Harden don’t play much in this matchup.

This one is a little closer and maybe a tossup between the two teams. All four of these players should be effective in this game but not enough to swing the game either way.

Westbrook may have the most trouble because he will be playing the two-guard for the 2012 team and matching up with Drexler or Jordan will be very tough for him.

Carmelo could be effective on offense playing the four but would have trouble on defense and rebounding.

Mullin went 14-for-26 on threes in the ’92 Olympics so would be pretty automatic if left open. Drexler’s specialty would be an automatic two points on the fast break.

Magic Johnson, John Stockton vs. Chris Paul, Deron Williams

Magic was past his prime in ’92 but not by that much. Stockton was realizing his though so the ’92 team would have another advantage here.

Magic would be a huge mismatch problem of course and whenever Paul was on him he would probably take him into the post. This would be near impossible for the 2012 team to contend with.

If Magic has to try and guard Paul then that’s not a great thing for the ’92 team though.

Magic’s personality would win out though. When you envision this matchup you envision him dominating, talking trash throughout the game and picking up a ton of assists.

This one is close but an advantage again for the ’92 team.

Charles Barkley vs. Kevin Durant

Barkley and Durant won’t necessarily be guarding each other in this matchup but their effect in the game would be similar. Both would score a lot of points, possibly leading their team in that department.

Durant might be the best international style player ever and would be a really tough matchup for the ’92 team especially with the shortened 3-point line.

With the 2012 team’s lack of size, Barkley would feast on them down low. Barkley will struggle with whoever he has to guard though on the 2012 team.

This one is a tossup too. The point being that these two would both underrated-ly dominate in this game and score a ton.

Scottie Pippen vs. LeBron James

LeBron is obviously the better player but Pippen is probably the best shot at guarding him. In this setting, LeBron is not his usual dominant self and defers more than ever to teammates so Pippen should be able to do a decent job on him.

LeBron might be asked to do other things like guard Barkley or Malone or even Magic at times.

This one is closer than you think but the edge has to go to the 2012 team.

Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant

This is really what this matchup would come down to. Not because they are the two best players but because you know if somehow these two were able to go at it like this, they wouldn’t hold anything back.

The matchup is really not close at all. Kobe is a shell of himself while MJ was at the peak of his powers in ’92. Even Kobe in his prime vs. this MJ would have no chance.

It would be the coolest part about this matchup though watching MJ and Kobe isolate on each other. Jordan would torch Kobe though and shut him down on the other end.

The 2012 team should probably put LeBron on Jordan but there’s no way Kobe would allow that by backing down from the challenge so get ready for Jordan doing pretty much whatever he wants while Kobe has a nice 6-for-19 shooting night or something.

This is where we stand. At the end of the day no one is beating the Dream Team. They are the best basketball team ever assembled and having the best player ever playing in his absolute prime is a big reason why.

We’ll never truly know what would happen though but it’s always fun to think about.

The 2012 team will kick off their exhibition games tonight at 9 p.m. EST on ESPN vs. the Dominican Republic. The London Olympics begin July 27.

“We’ve moved on. It just got to a point where we couldn’t keep going back and forth with Orlando. They had about 14 days to do something and didn’t. We just had to move on, and we felt that way this morning,” a Nets source told ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian O’Connor.

The Nets have offered Brook Lopez a max 4-year, $58 million deal and are discussing the possibilities of adding a fifth year. The Nets did this to prevent Lopez from signing an offer sheet with another team (he had offer sheets ready to sign with Portland and Charlotte) and it has also made it so Orlando is no longer interested in trading Howard to Brooklyn.

Orlando Magic GM Rob Hennigan said that if Lopez signs a deal of that magnitude than any chances of trading Howard to Brooklyn are gone.

Hennigan informed Howard today that the Magic attempted to make a deal with the Nets but that they could not come to one and now Orlando will focus its energy on finding a new head coach.

With the Nets now out of the picture for Howard, the Los Angeles Lakers look to be by far the frontrunner for Howard although a potential deal between L.A. and Orlando is far from close to being done.

The Lakers would have to trade away Andrew Bynum to get Howard and have said they would be willing to accept Jason Richardson and his contract as part of a potential deal.

Bynum hasn’t said he would re-sign with the Magic past next season however which is part of why Orlando would be hesitant to make that deal. If the Magic were to get Bynum though, they could potentially offer him a 5-year, $100 million deal next summer which would be tough for anyone to turn down.

Orlando is most interested in getting as many draft picks as possible so a third team would likely be necessary to sweeten a potential deal with the Lakers.

The Lakers most recently traded for Steve Nash and a core involving Kobe Bryant, Nash and Howard would be a dream for the Lakers and immediately put them in the discussion for making it to the NBA Finals next season.

The Houston Rockets are the other team still in the mix for trading for Howard. Houston could offer the Magic the best package of draft picks and young players that Orlando wants but Howard has said he would not re-sign past next season if traded to the Rockets.

The Rockets seem unconcerned with that however and would be willing to take their chances with Howard for one season.

The Magic have said before that they are in no particular rush to trade Howard who may not even be ready to play by the start of next season due to his back injury. It is hard to imagine Howard playing another game in an Orlando Magic uniform though so a trade still seems more likely than that.

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.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant is not over the Oklahoma City Thunder’s NBA Finals loss to the Miami Heat. Durant is now a teammate with his biggest rival, LeBron James, for Team USA Basketball at the 2012 London Olympics and it doesn’t sit well with him.

“It does. It does, but what can I do?” Durant told YardBarker.com when asked if it bothered him seeing LeBron every day. “He’s my teammate now. I’m a team player. I can’t let that affect this. This is bigger than that. It’s tough to lose in the Finals and play the guy you’ve been going up against for five games who beat you. So me, I’m just going to get over it, still be a great teammate, come out and play hard.”

Durant is the ultimate teammate so whatever he feels toward LeBron after losing in the NBA Finals to him will not affect his play in the Olympics for sure.

Durant and LeBron have developed a friendship too dating back to last summer when they played in a few charity basketball games together and even worked out together.

“It bothers him,” LeBron said. “I bet it bothers him and Russell (Westbrook), you know, they probably don’t want to hear about it. It would bother me, it would bother anyone that you lose to someone in the Finals, where everyone’s competing at the highest level and you want to win and then you have to team up with them not too long, not too far removed from the games.”

LeBron has really turned into a guy that says the right thing almost all of the time. If we didn’t think about The Decision and judge him by that so much, this would be how we feel about him.

It’s hard for Thunder fans to hate LeBron after they hear him say things like this and know that Durant and he are kind of close friends.

Kobe Bryant doesn’t really understand this though. Kobe is one of the last superstars remaining from the era in which you hated your rivals rather than joining them.

“Being the friends thing, I mean that’s fine,” Bryant said. “Once you start playing, I’d really, I’d have to go after him. There’s just no way.”

Durant, LeBron and Kobe will be teammates of course during the London Olympics beginning July 27. The trio is maybe as talented as we will ever see playing together on a basketball court. They are brought together for one common goal now and that’s bringing back the Gold for the United States.

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The roster for Team USA Basketball was revealed last Saturday night. The Oklahoma City Thunder became the first ever NBA team to send three players to represent the United States in Olympic basketball.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all made the final cut for Team USA. Westbrook and Harden got in thankful in part to the absences of players like Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard and Dwyane Wade.

Kobe Bryant is excited for these Olympics and thinks very highly about his teammates that will be playing with him.

“I think (Russell) Westbrook gets D-Wade’s role for us,” Kobe told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “He pushes the ball and gets to the rim and can defend all over the floor. One thing D-Wade did for us was extend possessions for us and create steals that resulted in a lot of easy run-out baskets for us. Russell’s just as good at doing that.”

In 2008 in Beijing, Wade was the sixth man for Team USA and led the team in scoring at 16.0 points per game as the team won Gold.

Westbrook made another big improvement this season in the NBA. He was fifth in the NBA in scoring helping lead the Thunder to the NBA Finals where he had a 43-point game in Game 4.

Westbrook receives a lot of criticism for playing the point guard position the way he does for the Thunder. Defenders of Westbrook often make the point that if Wade played point guard for the Heat, we’d be saying the same thing about him.

Westbrook is a lot like Wade in terms of where he fits in the NBA landscape at this age. Playing for Team USA, Westbrook will probably not be playing any point guard and will be more comfortable even as an off guard, playing the passing lanes and slashing on offense.

Wade would have definitely helped Team USA if he were playing in the Olympics but they probably won’t miss too much with a guy like Westbrook ready to step up.

James Harden, Blake Griffin and Andre Iguodala were the last three players to make the final cut for Team USA. Rudy Gay, Eric Gordon and Anthony Davis were the final three cut and will serve as alternates for the team.

Jerry Colangelo revealed that there were nine players who were locks to make the team a week ago: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

The Oklahoma City Thunder become the first NBA team ever to send three players from their roster to play for Team USA in the Olympics.

Harden made the final cut, beating out Gordon in what was a close decision.

“I think he surprised people,” USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo said. “Two months ago he was on the radar screen, but not shining brightly necessarily. Given the opportunity, he finished so strongly this season, he gave us something to really sit back and think about. He has size, he has length at his position.

“Defensively, he’s more than adequate,” he continued. “He comes up with a lot of loose balls, a lot of steals and he is a scorer. And by the way, he can also shoot it. I think there’s a little bit of a difference between the two. Tough choice we had to make, Eric Gordon, James Harden. Harden deserved it for the reasons I mentioned and we expect him coming off the bench as he did and he’s accustomed to and to play whenever he’s called upon.”

Durant was an obvious choice for Team USA. Durant did not make the team four years ago and was one of the last cuts back then when he was only 19 years old.

“Well first of all, this young man was born to play the game. He’s a coach’s dream,” Colangelo of Durant. “He has great character, he has great passion for the game. And then his skills are off the charts. He plays with such enthusiasm that it’s difficult to keep him off the floor and in the World Championships he just rose to another level.”

Westbrook became a no-brainer when players like Derrick Rose and Dwyane Wade pulled out of the Olympics because of injury. Westbrook was a part of the 2010 World Championships team with Durant.

“No, there isn’t [a more explosive player],” head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “I love Russell. It’s an honor to coach him. He is such a versatile player and as good an athlete as there is on this planet playing basketball. He plays with an abundance of energy and courage. I’m a big Russell Westbrook fan.”

The Miami Heat were the only other team that could have also had three players make the roster. Four years ago, LeBron, Wade and Chris Bosh were all on the team and that was when it was rumored they decided to all try and play together when the time came.

The Olympic Games begin July 27. The first game for Team USA will be July 29 against France. Team USA will play five exhibition games before the Olympics start with the first one being July 12 vs. the Dominican Republic.

Here is the final roster:

Over the past few months, potential hopefuls for the final roster have been dropping like flies. Derrick Rose, Dwight Howard, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh will all not be playing this year.

Team USA will still have a pretty good roster and will be the favorites to win the Gold Medal. Jerry Colangelo announced last week that nine of the 12 roster spots were already secured.

Those nine players are: Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony, Russell Westbrook, Deron Williams, Kevin Love and Tyson Chandler.

According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, Blake Griffin is also a lock now to make the final roster leaving two spots to be fought over between four players: Rudy Gay, Andre Iguodala, Eric Gordon and James Harden.

It is likely that the final two spots will be determined by two position battles: Gay vs. Iguodala and Gordon vs. Harden.

Gay vs. Iguodala

Both played on the 2010 World Championships team. Gay played some center for that team while Iguodala was the perimeter defensive specialist.

Looking at the 10 locks for the roster now, 3-point shooting seems like something the team would want to add. Gay is a better 3-point shooter than Iguodala by far but the versatility that Iguodala brings might give him an edge too.

Gay has more size but it is not significant enough. I believe Iguodala will make the team instead of Gay because Colangelo and Mike Krzyzewski will want more versatility.

Gordon vs. Harden

This is a great battle between two of the best young shooting guards in the NBA. Gordon has had slightly better numbers throughout his career so far but Harden really came on last season.

Gordon didn’t play much last season and is dealing with some issues this offseason about wanting to leave New Orleans. Harden is working on an extension with the Thunder and would join Durant and Westbrook as the third representative from the Thunder, which could work against him since they like to spread out these kinds of honors.

I think Harden gets the nod at the end of the day. His game is really tailored to the international style and I think Colangelo is really partial to him.

If Harden makes it then the Thunder would be the only team in the NBA sending three players to represent Team USA. Serge Ibaka will also be representing Spain.

Here is my final prediction of the roster: