Spruce Derden-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Clippers and the Memphis Grizzlies promised us a great series before it even started. They came through with the series going seven games with a physical playoff style of play in each.

Chris Paul and the Clippers came through on the road in a Game 7 shocking the home crowd in Memphis. The Clippers won Game 7, 82-72 as Paul led the team with 19 points, nine rebounds and four assists.

The Clippers won this game in a way that no one expected too. Their bench rose to the occasion in the fourth quarter scoring 25 of the team’s 27 points in the final period.

The Clippers entered the fourth quarter trailing by one and outscored the home team 27-16 in the final 12 minutes.

Vinny Del Negro gets a lot of heat but credit him for sticking with the right personnel down the stretch. He sat Blake Griffin for most of the fourth quarter and played guys like Reggie Evans and Kenyon Martin instead, two guys the Clippers needed to close out the Grizzlies.

Both teams were shooting poorly in the game but Memphis was the worst shooting 32.5 percent from the field and going 0-for-13 on threes.

Marc Gasol and Rudy Gay led the Grizzlies with 19 points each but Zach Randolph again did not look like the Randolph from last year as he was held to just nine points on 3-of-12 shooting.

The Clippers now move on to play the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Semifinals. The Spurs swept the Utah Jazz in the first round and have been waiting awhile to play their next game.

Steve Mitchell-US PRESSWIRE

The Miami Heat beat the Indiana Pacers 95-86 Sunday to take a 1-0 lead in their series.

LeBron James led the Heat with 32 points, 15 rebounds and five assists in 43 minutes on the day he was presented with the MVP trophy before the game.

Dwyane Wade scored 29 points in 40 minutes and the duo of LeBron and Wade combined to go 21-of-24 at the free throw line.

LeBron and Wade had to step up not only because the Pacers came out strong but Chris Bosh went down with an injury late in the first half and did not return in the game.

Indiana played better than most people thought they would but did not come through in the areas they needed to pull off the upset. They gave up 15 offensive rebounds to Miami and Danny Granger went 1-for-10 from the field with only seven points.

The Pacers looked young and inexperienced and the Heat looked like they knew they were going to win the game no matter what. This series will be frustrating for Pacers fans but they could have a window of opportunity if the Bosh injury proves to be more serious.

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LeBron received 85 of a possible 131 first place votes beating out Kevin Durant easily who finished second with 24 first place votes. Chris Paul finished third in the voting and Kobe Bryant fourth.

LeBron averaged 27.1 points, 6.2 assists and 7.9 rebounds per game in his second season in Miami. He also shot career high marks from the field (.531) and three (.362). LeBron also led the NBA in PER with a 30.80 rating. Paul was second in PER with a 27.09 rating.

Durant had a great season too but it was not enough to top LeBron at his best. Durant averaged 28.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting .496 from the field and .387 from three.

It felt like LeBron won the award sort of by default and that’s not an insult. He probably could have won it last season too and we’d be talking about four straight MVP’s for him.

LeBron is now the first player since Michael Jordan to win three MVP’s. LeBron joins Moses Malone, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Jordan as the only players to win the award three or more times.

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio looked like the best team in the league today. And they might really be just that.

The Spurs won Game 1 at home against the Utah Jazz 106-91 Sunday.

Tony Parker led the Spurs with 28 points and eight assists and looked like the MVP-candidate he became this season.

The Spurs are just so fun to watch and play such perfect basketball. Now, they have a great offense this year and their matchup against Utah is a good one since Utah has the worst defense among playoff teams.

Every single player knows their exact role for the Spurs and today they all executed seemingly perfect.

Tim Duncan had a nice throwback game with 17 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Every possession has so much purpose for this team and unless Utah is going to play their very best basketball, the Spurs will win every game in this series.

They should be considered the favorite to win the NBA title right now. They won’t be though and that’s how they like it.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Andrew Bynum recorded a triple-double as the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Denver Nuggets 103-88.

Bynum scored 10 points to go with 13 rebounds and 10 blocks. The size of the Lakers’ bigs was just too much for the Nuggets to handle today.

Denver was fine beating their defenders off the dribble but with Bynum and Pau Gasol waiting for them they could not capitalize. The Lakers had 15 blocks as a team and held Denver to 35.6 percent field goal shooting.

If Denver is ever able to dictate the pace and tempo of a game against the Lakers they can win but the Lakers’ style is closer to what we always see in the playoffs so don’t expect that to happen enough for the Nuggets to have a real shot.

The Lakers know their identity and while the Nuggets do too to an extent, they don’t have the same kind of talent to execute their game plan well enough.

Kobe Bryant scored 31 points and Gasol had 13 points, eight assists and eight rebounds.

Denver is overmatched in this series and the Lakers should easily move on but they are known for being kind of “out of it” now and then so the series may still go six.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City had the toughest time winning their first playoff game of the top three seeds in the West.

But the Thunder are matched up with the defending champion Dallas Mavericks who looked like just that last night.

Kevin Durant’s heroics have been the best part of the playoffs so far but hopefully for the Thunder, they will not need to rely on that to get by the Mavericks in this series.

Assuming Oklahoma City does advance, San Antonio still looks like by far their toughest potential matchup. The Spurs played great in the regular season against the Thunder and have been great overall of late and today.

The way that the Thunder turned up their defense in the fourth quarter tonight is a really good sign though. If Russell Westbrook can play the kind of defense he did last night on Jason Terry for the rest of the playoffs, then the Thunder are looking pretty good.

The Lakers’ weakness of giving up dribble penetration is not an issue against Denver but if they plan Oklahoma City in Round 2, the Thunder will be able to make Los Angeles pay.

The Thunder will play Game 2 at home against the Mavericks tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Head on over to Air Alamo and Lake Show Life for FanSided’s coverage on the Spurs and Lakers.

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

You can also download the podcast here.

I am joined by Jack Winter, editor of Saving the Skyhook to breakdown the Thunder’s late-game offense as well as give our picks on who the MVP is this season and who is the most clutch player in the NBA.

You can also download the podcast here.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-game winning streak)
107.2 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.7 Defensive Efficiency (9th)
95.7 Pace (6th)
56.7 True Shooting % (1st)
51.6 Rebound Rate (3rd)

Sacramento Kings (1-game losing streak)
100.3 Offensive Efficiency (22nd)
107.1 Defensive Efficiency (29th)
97.3 Pace (1st)
50.8 True Shooting % (27th)
48.8 Rebound Rate (24th)

The Thunder have put themselves into a position where they need to win just about every game here on out to capture the one-seed in the Western Conference. They have four games left and two are against the Kings.

The Thunder beat Sacramento last week 115-89 pretty easily. Kevin Durant scored 29 points in that game and Russell Westbrook 22. The starters weren’t needed in the fourth quarter.

Turnovers were a problem for the Thunder the first time they played the Kings this season but they did a good job last game with only 14.

The Kings are pretty much in tank mode the rest of this season but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t have a huge night from DeMarcus Cousins or Tyreke Evans and make this one close.

James Harden broke out of his semi-slump in the Thunder’s last game against Phoenix as he scored a career-high 40 points on just 17 shots. The Thunder are going to need Harden playing at a high level with the playoffs right around the corner.

Westbrook has still been struggling though shooting 10-for-32 in his last two games but he has a good chance tonight to get back on track as he is shooting nearly 57 percent against the Kings this season.

The other story line would be Durant and his chase of LeBron James for the MVP award. Durant has put up big numbers against the Kings in the past and a 40- or 50-point game tonight would give Durant a much needed boost in the MVP race.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You can visit Full Clips to get more Clippers coverage from Dave Daniels.

You can also download the podcast here.

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

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

Follow Chris on Twitter @WalderSports

-US PRESSWIRE

Before monday’s game against the Grizzles Kevin Durant finally responded to all of Skip Bayless’ rants on how Russell Westbrook shoots the ball to much. Skip Bayless is always praising Durant talking about how Westbrook needs to pass him the ball more. This isn’t very surprising but Durant dissagrees with Skip and takes the side of his teammate on this one.

According to The Oklahoman, this is what Kevin Durant had to say about Bayless,

“That guy doesn’t know a thing about basketball.”

Skip Bayless has been known as a controversial sports journalist and this isn’t the first time someone has said he doesnt know anything about basketball. KD also had this to say,

“We’re worse when I take more shots,” Durant said. “Like I said, that guy doesn’t know a thing. I don’t think he watches us. I think he just looks at the stats. And traditionally, a point guard is not supposed to take more shots than everybody else on the team. But we’re better when he does do that and he’s aggressive. And I’m better when I’m out there facilitating, rebounding, defending and being more efficient on my shots with less shots.”

This is why the Thunder are arguably the best team in the NBA right now. Teamwork. When would you ever hear Kobe Bryant or Lebron James say that their team is better when someone else takes more shots, whether it be true or not? Westbrook is only 7 shots behind Durant on total shots for the season. If Westbrook was your average point gaurd this may be a problem, but he isn’t. Westbrook is having a MVP like season. The Thunder are 20-4 when Westbrook takes more shots than KD, with an average margin of 12.4 points.

Based on number I can’t agree with Skip on this one. The Thunder are clearly a better team when Westbrook is more agressive. But let’s wait til the playoffs and see who takes the most shots then, when it really matters.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jerry Lai-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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