May 5, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) reacts to a call during the first half in game one of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the Memphis Grizzlies at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team today.

Ibaka received 17 votes to make the first team which was the third-highest amount behind only LeBron James and Tony Allen.

LeBron, Allen, Chris Paul, Tyson Chandler and Joakim Noah join Ibaka on the first team.

The second team is made up of Tim Duncan, Paul George, Marc Gasol, Avery Bradley and Mike Conley.

Thabo Sefolosha narrowly missed making the second team. Sefolosha received two first team votes.

Russell Westbrook received one first team vote and Kevin Durant received one second team vote.

Oddly enough, the defensive player of the year, Gasol, did not make the first team while two centers finished above him.

As far as forwards go, Ibaka was a shoo-in for the first team. You could have made a case for Duncan but Ibaka leading the league in blocks for the second straight year sealed the deal for him.

Sefolosha could have easily made the team over Conley.

The biggest snub of all may be Larry Sanders of the Milwaukee Bucks who had the most votes of anyone not to make either of the teams.

2012-13 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE FIRST TEAM

2012-13 NBA ALL-DEFENSIVE SECOND TEAM

Other players receiving votes, with point totals (First Team votes in parentheses): Andre Iguodala, Denver, 16 (2); Larry Sanders, Milwaukee, 16 (4); Thabo Sefolosha, Oklahoma City, 15 (2); Luol Deng, Chicago, 11 (1); Dwight Howard, L.A. Lakers, 9 (3); Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers (6 (1); Roy Hibbert, Indiana, 6 (2); Kenneth Faried, Denver, 4 (1); Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City, 4 (1); Shane Battier, Miami, 2; Nicolas Batum, Portland, 2 (1); Corey Brewer, Denver, 2; George Hill, Indiana, 2; Mike James, Dallas, 2 (1); Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio, 2, (1); Tony Parker, San Antonio, 2 (1); Dwyane Wade, Miami, 2; Metta World Peace, L.A. Lakers, 2 (1); Eric Bledsoe, L.A. Clippers, 1; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City, 1; Jrue Holiday, Philadelphia, 1; Andrei Kirilenko, Minnesota, 1; Iman Shumpert, New York, 1; David West, Indiana, 1.

May 5, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) reacts to a play in action against the Memphis Grizzlies during the second half in game one of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Thunder defeated the Grizzlies 93-91. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

One of the biggest problems facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Semifinals vs. the Memphis Grizzlies has been the lack of a Serge Ibaka presence.

Ibaka is averaging just 9.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while shooting 30.8 percent from the field.

We knew going into this series that Memphis was going to be a tough matchup for Ibaka since they have two of the best true big men in the NBA.

Ibaka has come out and said that he feels the shots he is getting may be too easy and that’s what has caused him to struggle so much.

“Most of the time when you’re open that’s when it’s tough to make shots because you try to get some different focus than normally when some guys try to contest your shots,” Ibaka said. “So that’s happened.”

via The Oklahoman

I don’t know if Ibaka is getting too easy of shots. Without Russell Westbrook creating for him, his looks have definitely gone down and aren’t coming in the flow of the offense as much anymore.

Ibaka also said that he hasn’t lost any confidence in his game. It sounds mostly like he’s in his own head to an extent and just in a bit of a shooting slump on top of that.

All it will take is probably one game to get him out of it. It feels like that game will have to be Game 4 to help keep the Thunder alive in this series.

The good news is that Ibaka was able to take 17 shots in Game 3 and the Thunder will look to get him going again in Game 4. The Thunder have been in every game right down to the end in this series so if they can get a little more from Ibaka, it may push them over the edge to come back and win some games.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) handles the ball prior to a free throw attempt in action against the Hosuton Rockets in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

On the Oklahoma City Thunder’s final possession of Game 4 vs. the Houston Rockets Monday night, Serge Ibaka missed a simple putback as time expired that would have tied the game and sent it into overtime.

Ibaka said he couldn’t sleep after the game.

The Thunder lost their first game of the series largely due to Ibaka’s absence. He finished with just eight points and five rebounds on 3-of-8 shooting. The Thunder cannot afford another performance like that from Serge.

The fact that Ibaka was bothered by missing that final shot so much is a good thing for the Thunder. Don’t expect Ibaka to no-show in Game 5, especially since the Thunder will be back home.

Ibaka holds one of the biggest matchup advantages vs. the Rockets and is therefore one of the keys to this series. The Rockets have committed to going small against the Thunder leaving an opportunity for Ibaka to dominate the offensive glass. He did that in Game 3 as he outworked Houston for seven offensive rebounds.

The Thunder in the post-Russell Westbrook world will need to adapt more than ever expected. Ibaka maybe the most. The open midrange looks simply will not be as frequent for Ibaka without Russ drawing the attention off him. Ibaka will have to find his offense from rebounding and hustle. He’ll need to play smart and cut when the opportunity is there and not hesitate when he gets the ball.

We’ve seen this before from Serge. By all accounts, he appears to be extremely confident in his abilities and taking more shots, which he’ll need to do, is something he doesn’t have a problem with.

The Thunder aren’t losing to Houston of Ibaka comes up big again like he did in Game 4. Odds are, he’ll do just that.

May 15, 2011; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Memphis Grizzlies center Marc Gasol (33) attempts a shot while being guarded by Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second half of game seven of the second round of the 2011 NBA playoffs at the Oklahoma City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies has now officially been named the Defensive Player of the Year in 2012-13.

Gasol led the Grizzlies to a 56-26 record this season. Memphis had the No. 2 best defensive efficiency mark at 97.4 behind only the Indiana Pacers.

Gasol averaged 14.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game this season.

LeBron James finished second in the voting and Serge Ibaka came in third.

Gasol received 30 first-place votes while LeBron received 18 and Ibaka 14.

Kendrick Perkins came out yesterday endorsing Ibaka for the award and said he could not believe he didn’t win it. Today, Dwight Howard did the same thing.

Maybe this is a thing where the players really respect Ibaka as a defender more than the voters do.

Ibaka led the league in blocks for the second straight season averaging 3.0 per game. The Thunder had the fourth best defensive efficiency this season.

LeBron may have won it if Miami’s regular season defense was better. They simply did not need to though because their offense was so good and that may have worked against LeBron.

Ibaka has plenty of room to grow as a defender. Winning this award does seem like something that will come his way in the future.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) dunks the ball against the Houston Rockets in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The rumor is that Marc Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies is going to be named the Defensive Player of the Year.

Other popular candidates who will probably come in close behind him in the voting include Larry Sanders, Joakim Noah, LeBron James, Tony Allen and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Serge Ibaka.

Kendrick Perkins can’t believe that it’s not Ibaka, who led the league in blocked shots for the second straight year, who is going to win the award.

I’m not hating but the NBA just give awards away. Serge don’t get defensive player of the year. That don’t make any sense. SMMFH

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 23, 2013

The fact is that voters for these awards have wisened up in recent years and no longer look at blocked shots with as much importance in determining who the Defensive Player of the Year is.

While Ibaka is good for 2-3 blocks per night and plenty of impressive ones at that, his overall defense isn’t on the same level as other players.

Ibaka is always biting much too frequently on pump fakes leaving his teammates in tough situations defensively. Ibaka will get abused at times by a savvy post player like Pau Gasol or Dirk Nowitzki.

Ibaka also is prone to getting lost in defending the pick-and-roll which was most evident vs. the New York Knicks and Miami Heat this season.

Ibaka is a great defender whose impact on that end of the floor is elite. But the weaknesses in his defense right now are what’s holding him back from getting this award.

Perkins went on to also say that he believes Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook should be on the First Team All-NBA team. Durant will definitely make it but Westbrook probably won’t while Kobe Bryant, Chris Paul, Tony Parker or even James Harden will likely make the team instead of him.

And Russ and KD should be on first team all NBA period

— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 23, 2013

Love the support of his teammates from Perk.

Dec. 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) reacts during the first half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

If the Thunder want to win a championship in the near future, they will have to go through the Miami Heat. There is no getting around it. The simple fact is that there are literally no teams in the east that have the capability of beating Miami in a seven game series. As for the western conference, the Spurs are always going to be there, but in my opinion the Thunder are just too athletic and talented for them at this point.

When Miami squares off with the Thunder, it seems that the Heat are unbeatable. It is actually very frustrating watching the Thunder play Miami because they just look “scared”. The main hurdle for OKC is not even basketball speaking. They just have to get it in there minds that they can beat the Heat. I think it is a little bit like this for every team in the league when they face Miami (with the exceptions of Boston or maybe Chicago). The Heat have a bit of an “aura” around them, with Lebron and Dwayne Wade running the show at times they do seem unbeatable. But when you look at it from a basketball standpoint, they are very beatable. Everybody looks at how great Lebron is playing this year and think that the Heat can do no wrong. Well as great as Lebron and Wade are, the Heat do not have as much firepower as people seem to believe. In fact, after the “Big 3” the Heat’s next best scorer is Ray Allen. Now I love Allen, but at this age he is not a fourth scorer. He is a spot up shooter that is there to make big shots in the big moments. Right there is a weakness for the Heat that most people don’t pay attention to. The other more obvious weakness is their lack of size. The Thunder however, are not designed to take advantage of that so the Heat sort of “get away” with that one against OKC.

For the Thunder it is simple. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin must out-perform Chris Bosh and Ray Allen. I am not just talking point-wise, but throughout the basketball game (or series) Ibaka and Martin have to defend better, rebound better, and distribute better. I really believe that they are capable of easily out performing Bosh and Allen. Ibaka has developed a very good jump shot throughout his career and while it is not as consistent as Bosh’s jumper is, he can ‘make it rain’ at certain times. Defensively it is not even a contest between Ibaka and Bosh. Ibaka is one of the best rim protectors in the league, and his post defense has vastly improved. Kevin Martin gets the edge over Ray Allen in pretty much every category in my opinion. Martin can get to the hole, and shoot the three point shot better than Allen at this point. I am not here to try and say that Kevin Martin is better than the great Ray Allen overall. But at this point in their respective careers Martin is a better shooter than Allen. The only problem is Ibaka and Martin can not seem play well against Heat. Ibaka and Martin have both played just okay versus the Heat this year. Westbrook and Durant will both play very well against Miami and for the most part Westbrook and Wade cancel each other out, and KD and Lebron cancel each other out. It is going to come down to the role players, and if Ibaka and Martin play as well as I know they can, then the Thunder will win the NBA championship this June.

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka has been fined $25,000 by the league for punching Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin this past Sunday.

Ibaka and Griffin got tangled up in the paint battling for a rebound late in the fourth quarter on Sunday and Ibaka took out his frustration by swinging violently at Griffin and ended up landing the blow beneath the belt.

Ibaka said he did not intend to hurt Griffin and by the looks of it he didn’t. The officials in the game gave Ibaka just a flagrant one foul and he was allowed to remain in the game and came through with a big basket on the very next possession that helped the Thunder win the game.

The result was worse than what the intent was and Ibaka will pay the price. It looks like the league pretty much saw it the same way. It was a dumb move on Ibaka’s part but there’s really not a lot to say this was that dirty of a play.

The league also upgraded the foul to a flagrant two which would have resulted in an ejection had that been the call during the game.

Fortunately for the Thunder Ibaka isn’t getting a suspension and will be available tonight for a very important game as the Thunder host the Los Angeles Lakers at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

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.

Late in the Oklahoma City Thunder-Los Angeles Clippers game yesterday afternoon, Serge Ibaka and Blake Griffin got tangled up in the paint while battling for a rebound.

Griffin had good position on Ibaka and a frustrated Ibaka swung his arm down in a chopping motion toward Griffin.

The result was Ibaka connecting near Griffin’s groin and a flagrant-one foul called on Ibaka.

The Clippers capitalized by scoring seven points on that possession thanks to the call and captured their first lead of the game with 90 seconds to play.

Ibaka responded on the other end for OKC with an and-one layup that put the Thunder back on top and OKC would go on to win the game 108-104.

The foul by Ibaka will be reviewed by the league and many think there is a good chance he will get a suspension for the act.

You can make the case that it was an intentional low-blow but Ibaka is saying he did not intend to hurt Griffin.

If you watch Ibaka’s eyes on the play, they are focused on the rim the entire time and the physical jostling between he and Griffin make it easy to understand that Ibaka was not intending to strike Griffin in that area.

It looks more like a frustration move by Ibaka who had his arm being held by Griffin and wanted to chop it free. He missed Griffin’s arm and instead got him below the belt.

Ibaka has had an edginess to him this season and has shown some of that in the past as well. But there’s never been anything to point to Ibaka being a dirty player.

This was simply a case of Ibaka forgetting where he was at and making a dumb move that ended up looking worse than it really was.

It wasn’t intentional but if you want to suspend Ibaka because he should have known better than to swing that violently in that way then that would be totally understandable.

The Thunder will really need Ibaka in their next game as they take on the Los Angeles Lakers Tuesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Feb 6, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) congratulates Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) after a play against the Golden State Warriors during the second half at the Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

You don’t need to do much more than watch a few games of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to know how awesome each is.

STATS LLC is using a new player tracking system called SportVU that tracks everything individual players do on the court. The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of 15 teams in the league using this technology.

Zach Lowe of Grantland looked at these stats and had this to write about Durant and Westbrook:

Post-ups? Durant is 26-of-37 from the floor when he catches a pass within 12 feet of the rim, which is the current STATS definition of “post touch.” The Thunder average nearly 1.6 points per possession when this happens, a top-10 mark among camera players, and a stat that makes you think Durant should get more than the paltry 1.27 such touches he averages per game.

That’s the thing about Durant: Scroll through these categories one by one, and you’ll say to yourself, “He should be doing this particular thing more often!” Then you realize you’ve said that for every category — drives, post-ups, elbow touches — and you just shake your head.

As for Westbrook, his numbers are merely “good,” but they also contradict the (dying) notion that he’s an irresponsible ball hog. Westbrook has attempted a shot on just half of his drives, a below-average mark for a high-scoring guard (and in general), and has coughed the ball up on only 5 percent of those drives.

…

Here’s one that surprised me: Serge Ibaka averages only 1.59 elbow touches per game, the fourth-lowest number among nearly 90 players with at least 40 total elbow touches…But Ibaka knows what he’s there to do: shoot. He has jacked it up on 50 percent of his elbow touches, the highest such rate in the league. Ibaka has hit 41 percent from there so far, which is solid, but certainly not great.

It’s not surprising that Durant is a monster like this. Everyone is always screaming for him to get more touches and take more shots. This year when you’re shooting split are 50-40-90, it’s no surprise that means you are great from anywhere on the floor.

The Westbrook stats are nice to see too because his driving and kicking has been one of the biggest improvements in his game this year. He’s not taking as many reckless shots at the rim anymore and doing a much better job of finding teammates which has resulted in his assists going back up from 5.5 a year ago to 8.1 this season.

And Ibaka has been extremely aggressive looking for his shot this season. It would be nice to see him starting to get more touches but it’s hard to ever make him the focal point on offense with Durant and Westbrook around. Still, the Thunder are doing it a little more this season and Ibaka is taking advantage.

Lowe also noted some things about James Harden in this piece. Basically, teams score more often when “drives” take place in the offense. Harden drives to the rim almost as much as anyone in the league and when he does, the Rockets are more efficient than anyone.

It confirms the notion of getting into the paint to make things happen. Drives don’t just result in shots for the driver but they can mean kick-outs for threes, getting fouled or simply making the defense work a little bit harder. Westbrook ranks third in the league (among teams with cameras) averaging 9.3 drives per game.

These stats are cool and confirm a lot of things about how great the Thunder have been this season. We will be sure to keep an eye on them and update you on any more statistical trends throughout the season.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

There are some changes going on with how Kevin Durant carries himself on the basketball court. It has led to the new tagline #KDIsNotNice.

Durant has picked up seven technical fouls this season, was ejected for the first time in his career, is getting texts from his grandmother telling him to stop cussing and has been seen recently going back and forth with teammate Serge Ibaka.

Durant and Ibaka have yelled back and forth at each other in games recently while disagreeing on something.

“We’re just trying to help each other out. At the end of the day, that’s all we’re trying to do,” Durant said. “It’s times when I mess up and he tells me. It’s times when he messes up and I tell him. We both got to do a better job of responding to each other and just helping each other out.”

Asked if the frustration is from the defensive end or offense end, Durant said “it’s both ends.”

“I think it goes back to us wanting to be so perfect,” Durant said. “Sometimes we both got to just calm down and play the game.”

Via The Oklahoman

This seems to happen mostly on the defensive end when there is a breakdown and the Thunder give up an easy basket.

Ibaka and Durant both aren’t the best defenders in the league but have been making strides to get there. There is a considerable drop off in the Thunder’s pick-and-roll defense when Kendrick Perkins or Nick Collison is not on the floor.

The yelling at each other is probably pretty harmless. There’s no way either has and resentment towards the other and if anything, it’s probably a good thing that they are able to call each other out.

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.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The 2013 NBA All-Star reserves were announced last night and unsurprisingly Russell Westbrook will join Kevin Durant as the only two Oklahoma City Thunder players to make the team.

A third Thunder player had a very good chance of making the team as well and didn’t. Serge Ibaka is in the running for the Most Improved Player Award this season averaging 14.0 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game this season.

TNT ran a poll last night of which players from the Western Conference were the biggest snubs and Ibaka received the second most votes behind only Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry.

But was Ibaka really an All-Star snub this year?

Probably not. Ibaka has definitely made great strides this season but he’s still not quite on that All-Star level yet. Especially in the Western Conference, it’s hard to call Ibaka an All-Star with so many other great big men around.

Ibaka needs to be closer to a 16 and 10 guy to become an All-Star. He was actually pretty close to that and averaging that much for a stretch not too long ago this season but then went through a dry stretch and his numbers dropped a little.

It’s not all about offense with Ibaka either. He is one of the premiere shot blockers in the league but did see his blocks per game dip a little this season from last. If he were blocking around four shots per game this season, the coaches would have given Ibaka another look.

Ibaka isn’t exactly thought of as a defensive anchor yet either. He still gets lost from time to time defending the pick-and-roll and bites on far too many shot fakes. Once he becomes more disciplined on defense, he will gain more respect from the coaches and come closer to that All-Star level.

Ibaka will probably become an All-Star at some point in his career. Right now, there isn’t an overwhelming feeling that he will be a perennial All-Star but he should have a handful of seasons in which he makes the team.

Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder are one of the best young teams in the NBA. So when ESPN.com is putting together its list of the best 25 players under the age of 25, the top of that list is full of Thunder players.

Kevin Durant is obviously first on the list. Russell Westbrook is second and Serge Ibaka is seventh. James Harden is fourth on the list right behind Blake Griffin.

Neil Paine of Basketball-Reference.com looked at the best and worst case scenarios for these players today. This is a statistical projection of the players’ careers, not necessarily incorporating the style of play for each player.

For Durant, his best case comparisons are Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson. It doesn’t get much higher than that. Before you go crazy about comparing Durant to MJ and Magic, remember how young Durant is and how much potential he has and how much unknown there is about his future still. Also remember that MJ and Magic didn’t even play full careers. If Durant has a chance to play close to 20 seasons in the league, in that statistical sense he would have a decent chance of catching those guys.

Durant’s worst case comparisons were Michael Finley and Joe Dumars. Okay, there’s no way Durant is turning into one of those guys.

The most likely comparisons for Durant were Patrick Ewing and Dominique Wilkins. I think he has a good chance of passing both of those players when it’s all said and done.

Westbrook is next. His best case scenarios are Gary Payton or John Stockton. Payton and Stockton are two of the best point guards ever, both who were great defenders as well.

Worst case for Westbrook is John Starks or Mitch Richmond. Those actually don’t sound so bad for Westbrook which just goes to show how great he has been this early in his career if that’s the worst you can project him.

Most likely for Westbrook is Isiah Thomas or Tim Hardaway. Again, this kind of feels generous, especially Thomas.

For Ibaka, his best case is Ben Wallace or Patrick Ewing, who aren’t very similar at all. Ibaka is pretty unknown at this point.

Worst case for Ibaka is Ralph Sampson or Kendrick Perkins and most likely for him is Anthony Mason or Juwan Howard. I think Ibaka can be better than Mason or Howard but definitely won’t be remembered like Ewing.

We have to take a look at what they said about James Harden too. His best case was Clyde Drexler or Paul Pierce. If he ever reaches those levels, the Thunder may be really regretting trading him.

Worst case for Harden is Dale Ellis or Cedric Ceballos and most likely is Grant Hill or Chris Mullin.

Thinking about the potential of this Thunder team is one of the most fun things to think about in the NBA. They are still so young and really do have insane potential if all goes well.

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

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka missed his second straight game last night as the Thunder won in Phoenix on a back-to-back.

Ibaka is diagnosed with a chest contusion which is basically like a sore bruise. He is now listed as day-to-day like just about all NBA injuries.

Ibaka said after the Portland game that he feels fine and is just sore. Scott Brooks probably just didn’t want to rush him back and felt the team would be fine without him, which it was.

It’s hard to imagine something like a chest contusion keeping Ibaka off the floor considering the kind of shape that he is in. That’s why Thunder fans should be very confident that he will return for the Thunder’s next game Wednesday night vs. the Denver Nuggets in Chesapeake Arena.

We probably won’t hear word on whether Ibaka will play in that game until a few hours before the game though.

Ibaka had played and started in every Thunder game since the Kendrick Perkins-Jeff Green trade before missing Sunday’s game at Portland.

Ibaka is fourth on the team averaging 14.3 points per game this season and is first on the team averaging 8.4 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game. He is one of the leading candidates for Most Improved Player this season and even has an outside shot to make the All-Star game.

After the Thunder return home Wednesday night, they will be on the road for six straight games and will certainly need Ibaka for that tough stretch.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Serge Ibaka and Thabo Seflosha missed last night’s Oklahoma City Thunder game on the road vs. the Portland Trail Blazers. The Thunder were fortunate enough to still win the game 87-83.

Ibaka was out because of a chest contusion and Sefolosha because of a sore neck. The Thunder had started the same five players in every game this season up until last night.

The Thunder are on the road for the second straight night again tonight vs. the Phoenix Suns. Ibaka and Sefolosha are both considered game-time decisions as of right now.

Ibaka said he was good after the game last night and that he’s just a little sore and will be fine. Ibaka had started every game since becoming a starter after the trade for Kendrick Perkins two seasons ago.

Sefolosha only has a sore neck which shouldn’t be too serious. But remember last season Sefolosha had a sore knee and was out for a few months.

The Thunder have a lot of road games coming up and at this point in the season they probably won’t be rushing anyone back from an injury.

From the sound of it right now, there’s a good chance that Ibaka and Sefolosha will be back tonight.

DeAndre Liggins and Nick Collison started in place of Sefolosha and Ibaka last night. Collison was his usual steady self with eight points and three rebounds in 22 minutes. Liggins had a great game with 11 points going 3-of-3 from deep and also nine rebounds in 40 minutes.

Liggins seems to be able to fill the Sefolosha void while Ibaka was missed a little bit more. Ibaka helps Russell Westbrook out more than anything else as one of his favorite targets to find for open jumpers. Westbrook struggled offensively last night making 5-of-21 shots.

Dec. 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) reacts during the first half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

When you think about an all-star, you think about a guy who is a top scorer for their perspective team and a guy who can really “take over a game.”

If you look at Thunder forward, Serge Ibaka’s improvement over the past few years, it is remarkable. Since coming into the league in 2009, Ibaka has improved his scoring, rebounding, and block numbers. His scoring averages have jumped up by 8, his rebounding by 3.1, and his blocks by 1.7 a game.

This year, Ibaka has averaged 14.3 points, 8.5 rebounds, and three blocks a game. But, the question now becomes: Are those “all-star numbers”?

Well, unfortunately, you have to look at what other power forwards are out there that could virtually take Ibaka’s vote and spot. In the West, those guys are Kevin Love, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Blake Griffin, Pau Gasol, Zach Randolph, David Lee, and Lamarcus Aldridge.

Talk about competition.

Just with that point alone, you can make a case why he shouldn’t be an All-Star. But, the main reason is that Ibaka isn’t and all-star caliber player yet. At the end of the day, Ibaka doesn’t have the ability to “take over a game” when the Thunder need him to. It is very rare to see a third or fourth option to make an all-star game, and it will be extremely shocking to see Ibaka wearing Red and Black in Houston.

Wanna talk about someone who should be the Most-Improved player in the NBA? Serge Ibaka for ya, folks.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The third returns are in for the NBA All-Star voting and nothing has changed as far as the starters are concerned.

For the Western Conference, if voting ended today the starters would be: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard.

For the Eastern Conference: Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Kevin Garnett.

Kobe still leads all vote getters with 1,177,456 votes. LeBron is second with 1,151,304 and Durant third with 1,088,797.

Russell Westbrook checks in as the fifth leading vote getter among Western Conference guards with 268,558 votes. He is behind Kobe, Paul, Jeremy Lin and James Harden.

Serge Ibaka is ninth among Western Conference frontcourt players with 134,172 votes. That puts Ibaka right behind Omer Asik and Rudy Gay and right ahead of Marc Gasol and LaMarcus Aldridge.

The closest races to overtake current starters are between Garnett and Chris Bosh in the East. Garnett leads Bosh by just under 28,000 votes. Then in the West, Paul leads Lin by only a little over 46,000 votes.

Here are all of the vote totals via NBA.com.

Eastern Conference

Frontcourt
1. LeBron James (Mia) 1,151,304
2. Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 1,054,099
3. Kevin Garnett (Bos) 390,751
4. Chris Bosh (Mia) 362,973
5. Tyson Chandler (NYK) 315,752
6. Paul Pierce (Bos) 205,096
7. Joakim Noah (Chi) 158,743
8. Josh Smith (Atl) 131,508
9. Anderson Varejao (Cle) 116,166
10. Shane Battier (Mia) 107,190
11. Amar’e Stoudemire (NYK) 104,109
12. Andrew Bynum (Phi) 93,611
13. Luol Deng (Chi) 90,736
14. Brook Lopez (BKN) 76,695
15. Jeff Green (Bos) 62,367

Backcourt
1. Dwyane Wade (Mia) 765,077
2. Rajon Rondo (Bos) 675,822
3. Deron Williams (BKN) 350,618
4. Kyrie Irving (Cle) 308,878
5. Ray Allen (Mia) 232,441
6. Monta Ellis (Mil) 84,609
7. Raymond Felton (NYK) 77,123
8. Jrue Holiday (Phi) 66,514
9. Jason Terry (Bos) 62,189
10. Brandon Jennings (Mil) 56,826

Western Conference

Frontcourt
1. Kevin Durant (OKC) 1,088,797
2. Dwight Howard (LAL) 716,671
3. Blake Griffin (LAC) 593,024
4. Tim Duncan (SA) 352,534
5. Pau Gasol (LAL) 239,440
6. Kevin Love (Min) 221,291
7. Omer Asik (Hou) 160,935
8. Rudy Gay (Mem) 140,864
9. Serge Ibaka (OKC) 134,172
10. Marc Gasol (Mem) 114,465
11. LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 111,156
12. Zach Randolph (Mem) 111,046
13. Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 106,623
14. Metta World Peace (LAL) 106,025
15. Chandler Parsons (Hou) 93,057

Backcourt
1. Kobe Bryant (LAL) 1,177,456
2. Chris Paul (LAC) 651,893
3. Jeremy Lin (Hou) 605,624
4. James Harden (Hou) 337,585
5. Russell Westbrook (OKC) 268,558
6. Steve Nash (LAL) 202,274
7. Tony Parker (SA) 128,966
8. Ricky Rubio (Min) 112,352
9. Stephen Curry (GS) 97,761
10. Manu Ginobili (SA) 84,564

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Nothing has changed as the second returns for the NBA All-Star Balloting have been released. LeBron James and Kobe Bryant are still getting more votes than anyone else and Kevin Durant is still the leading frontcourt vote-getter in the Western Conference.

As of right now, the projected starters would go like this:

West: Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Dwight Howard

East: Rajon Rondo, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Garnett

Again, the new voting format with no center position is so far having no impact on the starters since Howard and Garnett are both centers.

As far as snubs go, Anderson Varejao is probably more deserving to start over Garnett in the Eastern Conference. The same can be said for Tim Duncan starting over Howard in the Western Conference.

Russell Westbrook remains the fifth leading vote-getter among Western Conference guards behind Jeremy Lin and James Harden. Lin actually isn’t that far behind Paul to start for the West which would be a big shame if that somehow occurs.

Serge Ibaka still has an outside shot to make the team with just eight Western Conference frontcourt players ahead of him in the voting. Coaches pick the reserves and Ibaka may get the nod over some players like Omer Asik, Kevin Love or Rudy Gay if he keeps playing so well

Here are the exact vote totals so far courtesy of NBA.com:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Frontcourt: LeBron James (Mia) 970,314; Carmelo Anthony (NYK) 891,759; Kevin Garnett (Bos) 328,716; Chris Bosh (Mia) 308,194; Tyson Chandler (NYK) 260,000; Paul Pierce (Bos) 171,601; Joakim Noah (Chi) 129,331; Josh Smith (Atl) 111,260; Anderson Varejao (Cle) 99,955; Amar’e Stoudemire (NYK) 90,996; Shane Battier (Mia) 88,800; Andrew Bynum (Phi) 84,939; Luol Deng (Chi) 76,400; Brook Lopez (BKN) 67,991; Jeff Green (Bos) 52,785.

Backcourt: Dwyane Wade (Mia) 645,875; Rajon Rondo (Bos) 574,272; Deron Williams (BKN) 309,778; Kyrie Irving (Cle) 258,193; Ray Allen (Mia) 195,142; Monta Ellis (Mil) 71,287; Raymond Felton (NYK) 66,745; Jrue Holiday (Phi) 56,683; Jason Terry (Bos) 52,833; Brandon Jennings (Mil) 49,122.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Frontcourt: Kevin Durant (OKC) 924,898; Dwight Howard (LAL) 616,150; Blake Griffin (LAC) 489,795; Tim Duncan (SA) 299,434; Pau Gasol (LAL) 197,377; Kevin Love (Min) 189,949; Omer Asik (Hou) 131,002; Rudy Gay (Mem) 125,562; Serge Ibaka (OKC) 111,963; Marc Gasol (Mem) 99,271; Zach Randolph (Mem) 97,778; LaMarcus Aldridge (Por) 97,090; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 93,491; Metta World Peace (LAL) 85,279; Chandler Parsons (Hou) 78,235.

Backcourt: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 977,444; Chris Paul (LAC) 542,564; Jeremy Lin (Hou) 496,133; James Harden (Hou) 283,691; Russell Westbrook (OKC) 232,074; Steve Nash (LAL) 166,262; Tony Parker (SA) 111,032; Ricky Rubio (Min) 96,466; Stephen Curry (GS) 78,380; Manu Ginobili (SA) 70,813.

Dec 17, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; San Antonio Spurs center DeJuan Blair (45) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder continue to be a formidable opponent this season, this time beating the San Antonio Spurs 107-93 for their 11th straight win.

Serge Ibaka had a huge night, leading the team in scoring and tying his career-best effort of 25 points, while also grabbing a season-high 17 rebounds. For the Spurs, Tony Parker and Nando de Colo led the team with 14 points apiece.

The Spurs kept it close in the first half, but the Thunder blew it open in the third quarter when they scored 11 straight unanswered points. Nick Collison capped the run with a put-back that extended the Thunder’s lead to 71-56 with over four minutes still to play in the quarter. Later, Ibaka grabbed an offensive board, and flexed his muscles while running to half court after making the bucket.

For most of the fourth quarter the Spurs’ stars rode the bench, and head coach Gregg Popovich kept them there even when San Antonio cut the 18-point lead down to nine points with more than five minutes still left in the game.

With 11 straight wins, OKC has tied the franchise record for consecutive wins, first set by the Seattle Supersonics in 1996.

OKC advances to 20-4 on the season and sits atop the NBA with the best record across the league. They will face the Atlanta Hawks next, on Dec. 19 at Phillips Arena.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

When James Harden was traded before the start of this season, it provided an opportunity for certain players to step up and fill the void.

Kevin Martin was there to replace the scoring while Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook try to make up for the lost playmaking.

Serge Ibaka may be taking advantage of the increased offensive opportunity better than anyone. Ibaka is averaging a career-high 14.0 points per game this season while shooting 58.7 percent from the field.

Ibaka has been most deadly from the mid-range where there is no longer any hesitation with that shot, rather simply rise and fire. Ibaka is shooting 55 percent on mid-range jump shots this year, an improvement from 41 percent a season ago.

“He’s one of the best pop guys in the league at that position,” Thunder head coach Scott Brooks told NBA.com. “A 17-foot jump shot, I would take that shot probably over anybody on our team.”

Compare Ibaka’s mid-range shooting percentage to a few other players around the league: Durant (45 percent), Westbrook (35 percent), LeBron James (35 percent), Blake Griffin (41 percent), Kevin Garnett (52 percent), Carmelo Anthony and Kobe Bryant (47 percent).

Because of his improved jumper, Ibaka has become one of the best pick-and-roll options in the entire league. He currently ranks 22nd overall as the pick-and-roll roll man scoring 1.07 points per possession and shooting 52.1 percent on those plays.

A lot of credit needs to be given to Westbrook for Ibaka’s improvement this season. With Westbrook’s keener eye for finding teammates, it has been Ibaka more than anyone else that has benefitted.

The Thunder currently hold the best record in the NBA at 18-4 on the year. If they finish the year with this winning percentage, or something close to it, they will have their best record since they moved to OKC.

Ibaka deserves a lot of credit for this. Many thought the Thunder would take a step back after losing Harden but that hasn’t been the case at all.

Brendan Maloney-USA Today

The San Antonio Spurs have fined forward Stephen Jackson $25,000 for the “hostile” Twitter message he sent Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka over the weekend.

“The recent public comments made by Stephen Jackson are absolutely unacceptable, can not be tolerated and do not reflect the standards held by the San Antonio Spurs,” general manager R.C. Buford said in a statement.

Jackson’s tweet read: “Somebody tell serg Abaka. He aint bout dis life. Next time he run up on me im goin in his mouth. That’s a promise. He doin 2 much.”

The tweet was in response to the mini-altercation Ibaka got into with Metta World Peace Friday night when the Thunder played the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ibaka and World Peace got tangled up after a basket and each of them pressed their forearms into the other’s chest. Some words were exchanged but nothing escalated after that and the players were quickly broken up.

The Oklahoma City crowd reacted quite a bit clearly remembering what World Peace did to James Harden last season.

Ibaka has gotten into the faces of a few players over the past few years and is trying to be more of a tough guy it seems for the Thunder. Playing alongside Kendrick Perkins might be rubbing off on him somewhat.

Whether Ibaka is about that life or not, Jackson’s tweet is out of line and there is no surprise a fine went his way. The Spurs reportedly consulted with the league office about the fine.

This little Twitter feud between Ibaka and Jackson adds to the increasing rivalry between the Thunder and Spurs, who met in the Western Conference Finals last season.

The Thunder will play the Spurs next Monday, Dec. 17 in OKC.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder played their first home game of the season last night vs. the Portland Trail Blazers and won 106-92 to improve to 1-1 on the year.

The Blazers hung around for most of the game but the Thunder incrementally creaked away outscoring Portland in each quarter.

It was a big improvement for OKC over their season opener at San Antonio a night before in which they shot 37.7 percent from the field. They made 51.3 percent of their shots vs. Portland and turned the ball over just 12 times.

On to the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 43 minutes, 23 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists – A

Durant has been very impressive with his work on the glass in the first two games of the season, averaging 15.5 rebounds per game so far. He is making a very obvious effort to go for a more all-around game, looking to pass more as well. The seven assists are nice but it also came at the cost of six turnovers. Durant only shot 14 times but got to the line 12 times. The all-around game is nice but you still want to see Durant shooting a little bit more.

Russell Westbrook – 35 minutes, 32 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds – A

Westbrook had a very nice bounce-back game last night after a horrible performance in San Antonio where he shot 6-for-21 from the field. He was efficient last night which basically meant his pull-up jumper was falling. Westbrook played with more decisiveness being matched up with a rookie point guard in Damian Lillard as opposed to Tony Parker and the Spurs’ defense. Westbrook also only turned the ball over once and could have had a few more assists if not for fumbled passes and wide-open misses.

Serge Ibaka – 27 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks – C

We’re still waiting on Ibaka to show something more on offense. He is trying to get his shot more but went just 3-for-11 against Portland. He seems to be pressing and playing less relaxed as he tries to take on more offensive responsibility. He hasn’t looked much improved defensively either. Other than the occasional highlight block, he is more than often out of position or flying at pump fakes.

Kevin Martin – 29 minutes, 19 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds – A

Martin clearly has no problem scoring the basketball. He is averaging 17.0 points per game this season and his best basketball looks to be ahead of him still. It helped that he made all three of his 3-point shots vs. Portland but he played a very smart game with the shots he took. He never really forced anything and is so crafty utilizing the pump fake to create driving room. He even has passed the ball fairly well so far. No complaints about Martin so far.

Kendrick Perkins – 21 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – B-

Perkins obviously was a non-factor on offense last night. He played good defense on LaMarcus Aldridge though checking him for most of the game. Aldridge shot just 8-for-22 from the field and had 22 points. Perkins left the game late with an injury but it didn’t appear to be too serious.

Thabo Sefolosha – 18 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – B-

Sefolosha played a little less than he did vs. the Spurs. Scott Brooks gave rookie Perry Jones III some run instead and also played Eric Maynor extended minutes with a small lineup. Sefolosha didn’t even attempt a three on offense and there was a point when you just wanted Martin to check in for him to give the Thunder more offensive scoring power.

Nick Collison – 28 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists – A-

Collison played a very good game last night and the 12 points were gravy for him. Collison said before the season he would be looking to score more on offense and that should be a good thing for OKC. If anything, it will mean an excuse to increase his minutes instead of Perkins.

Eric Maynor – 16 minutes, 2 points – C+

Amazingly, Maynor has yet to record an assist so far this season. He hasn’t played bad though and you still feel like one of OKC’s bets playmakers is on the floor when he’s out there. He was plus-12 in his 16 minutes vs. Portland which is a good sign.

Hasheem Thabeet – 18 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks – B

Thabeet’s presence was felt last night as he made both of his shots and was tough to deal with on defense. He may end up fitting in just fine in OKC as their backup center but you still would rather see more small lineups than big ones. Thabeet did foul out in his 18 minutes.

Perry Jones, III – 5 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – B

It was Jones’ NBA debut and he played a little hesitant. The assist he got came on a drive and kick which was impressive to watch at his size, taking his man off the dribble from past the 3-point line. His one bucket was nice too but sometimes he seems to be looking for an excuse to pass.

Jeremy Lamb – 1 minute, 3 points – A+

Lamb was amazing in his one minute. He got the ball once, sized up his man from 30-feet at the top of the key and coolly let fly a bomb that ripped nothing but net. His absolute non-reaction to making the shot was pretty awesome too.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Tony Parker hit a shot at the buzzer to hand the Oklahoma City Thunder an 86-84 loss in their season opener last night.

The Thunder did not play a very good game at all shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and turning the ball over 11 times in the second half (18 in total).

The Spurs won despite being without Manu Ginobili and going 5-for-19 from 3-point land as a team.

San Antonio was the more experience group totaling 27 assists in the game while the Thunder looked as if it will take some time to figure out how all of their new pieces fit.

On to the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 41 minutes, 23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists – B+

Durant’s box score looks better than his actual performance last night. He came into the game very loose and relaxed looking, trying to play the distributor role from the start of the game. Durant isn’t best when doing this and it resulted in a few turnovers from him (4 total). It also meant he was shooting less and he only ended up taking 18 shots and five free throws which simply is not enough especially with the offense struggling so much. It’s nice to see Durant trying to do more other than score but last night it became clear at some point he needed to shoot, and he just didn’t do it quite enough.

Russell Westbrook – 37 minutes, 18 points, 5 assists, 8 rebounds, 6 turnovers – D+

Westbrook had an awful night. Not only did he go 6-for-21 from the field but he completely lost sight of Parker on the final play leading to him getting wide open for the game-winning bucket. Westbrook struggled against the Spurs all of last season so this wasn’t a huge surprise. He took a lot of questionable shots like he did last year and a few of his misses were really close to going in which would have been a huge difference for him had they. Westbrook gets better every year and through one game, we haven’t seen the improvement yet.

Serge Ibaka – 31 minutes, 4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks – C-

Ibaka came out looking for his shot with the obvious game plan that he would help replace some of the offense the Thunder lost in James Harden’s departure. It didn’t go so well as Ibaka’s jump shot wasn’t falling and he was also having a hard time catching while rolling to the rim. Ibaka was also often out of position defensively trying to stay with the ultra crafty Boris Diaw and being taken to school a few times by Tim Duncan. It looks as if Scott Brooks plans on giving Ibaka more minutes but he’s going to need to earn that time with better performances than this.

Kevin Martin – 33 minutes, 15 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds – B

Martin got all of the minutes that Harden would have last night. He gave OKC points and went 3-of-6 from deep. He was hesitant looking for his shot in the first half though and overpassed a few times. His role with the Thunder is to get buckets. It was nice to see him score 15 though in his debut, he’ll become much more of a threat the more comfortable he gets with everyone.

Kendrick Perkins – 28 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists – C

Nothing special from Perkins last night. He did a solid job when defending in the post but did foul a few more times than you would like. The Spurs basically didn’t cover him on offense though and it led to the ball finding him so many times and there was nothing he could do with it.

Thabo Sefolosha – 27 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – B-

Sefolosha got a few more minutes than we are used to seeing with him. He was more aggressive looking for his shot and it didn’t translate into much. He made 2-of-3 threes, all of which were pretty wide open attempts. But he missed all four of his 2-point attempts. His defense is always solid and you wonder if Brooks made a mistake not putting him on Parker in the final possession instead of Westbrook.

Nick Collison – 20 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 block – B-

Collison was another Thunder player looking for his shot more in the game. He went 2-of-6 from the field with all of those attempts coming in the first half. In the second half, there were two straight plays in which he fumbled the pass in the pick-and-roll and both times it led to a turnover. There were some early signs that Collison will be able to develop good chemistry with Martin though.

Eric Maynor – 11 minutes, 7 points, 0 assists, 3 rebounds – B-

It was great to see Maynor on the floor again and he looked 100 percent. He finished with 0 assists but moved the ball well in the offense nonetheless. The highlight of his night was a 66-foot heave at the end of the third quarter that he made to tie the score headed into the final quarter. He also made a nice floater in the lane and a pull-up midrange jumper which were nice to see.

Hasheem Thabeet – 12 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 block – B

For Thabeet, he played well. You don’t expect much from him and he wasn’t terrible. He is something to account for on defense although he is pretty bad all in all. He got a lot of minutes which rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb didn’t play. That won’t be the case all season.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will begin the 2012-13 season with a road game vs. the San Antonio Spurs tonight. The game will tip-off at 9:30 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised on TNT.

This will be the first game for the Thunder after trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets last Saturday night. Harden was one of OKC’s best players against the Spurs last season when the teams met in the Western Conference Finals. He averaged 18.5 points per game and shot 49.3 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from downtown in that series.

The Thunder will try to move on from losing Harden with help from the new additions Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb. Lamb my not play much if at all to start the season but Martin will essentially be taking over Harden’s role in terms of playing time.

Martin is very excited to be a part of this Thunder team having been stuck on losing teams for most of his career. He can bring to the floor a lot of what Harden did but he isn’t as dynamic at this point in his career.

As far as the playmaking that Harden did last year, Eric Maynor is returning to the floor tonight after just playing nine games last year before a season-ending knee injury. He isn’t Harden either but he was one of the best backup point guards in the league before he got hurt and will give OKC something they didn’t exactly have last season.

More pressure will now be on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with Harden gone. While there is no doubt Durant will rise to the occasion, as far as tonight goes playing San Antonio, Westbrook will be another story.

Westbrook struggled against the Spurs last season quite a bit. He averaged just 18.2 points per game in the West Finals (down from 23.6 PPG in the regular season) and shot 37.8 percent from the field. Westbrook also had trouble containing Tony Parker who dominated the point guard matchup in that series.

Westbrook looked very good in the preseason, more comfortable and distributing better so maybe that carries over into tonight. San Antonio is still simply not the ideal matchup for Westbrook who always seems to struggle with them.

Durant on the other hand should be fine and will need to be more than that for the Thunder tonight. He averaged 29.5 points per game and shot 53.2 percent from the field in the West Finals vs. San Antonio. The Spurs don’t really have anyone who can guard Durant straight up on their roster and once Durant figured that out last year in the playoffs, OKC was well on their way to the NBA Finals.

Another player to keep an eye on especially with the departure of Harden will be Serge Ibaka. Ibaka got his contract extension this summer and should try and assume a larger role in the Thunder offense. He averaged just 9.1 points in 27.2 minutes per game last season but in the preseason looked much more aggressive and confident with his shot. Ibaka had one of the best performances of the playoffs in Game 4 of the West Finals vs. San Antonio last year. He went a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and scored 26 points to lift the Thunder to a crucial victory.

Tonight will also be the NBA debut of rookie Perry Jones III who was very impressive in the preseason. He is likely to get more minutes this year with Cole Aldrich and Daequan Cook being shipped to Houston. Against the Spurs, he may be used quite a bit too as the Thunder should play some smaller lineups to match up.

San Antonio is playing a back-to-back tonight having beaten the New Orleans Hornets 99-95 on the road last night. They trailed for a large part of that game before coming back late. The Spurs changed their roster less than any other team in the league this offseason, only adding one player in Nando De Colo, who didn’t even play last night.

Gregg Popovich may choose not to play his big guns major minutes tonight because of the back-to-back and Manu Ginobili is unlikely to play at all, having missed last night’s game as well. The Spurs are as professional an organization as it gets and going to play them in their home opener is no easy task.

The Thunder will face a big challenge tonight in their first regular season game of 2012-13. How will they look without Harden? What can they get from Martin, Jones and Maynor? Are the Spurs now better equipped to take down OKC in a series without Harden in the equation?

We will start to answer these questions tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

In the first quarter of the Oklahoma City Thunder’s last preseason game vs. the Denver Nuggets, Serge Ibaka made two 3-pointers. This kind of thing isn’t exactly what Ibaka is known for. But he stepped into both shots confidently and drilled them.

Ibaka has a smooth midrange jump shot that he has proven to be one of the best at in the NBA. It looks like now he may be expanding that range just a little bit to turn himself into a 3-point threat, predominantly from the shortened corner spots.

Ibaka signed a 4-year, $51 million extension this summer. The Thunder are locked into Ibaka and the potential he has, perhaps even more than they are with James Harden who is still yet to ink a new deal.

Ibaka making $51 million is a lot of money for someone who last season averaged 9.1 points in 27.2 points per game. Projecting Ibaka to see an increase in minutes and offensive scoring opportunities would be a logical guess.

Ibaka is averaging 14.3 points on 52 percent shooting in the preseason thus far. He has made 3-of-5 3-point shots as well. We’ve seen Ibaka going into the post on designed plays more often too.

Ibaka may very well be on the verge of becoming the Thunder’s fourth scoring option. He already technically is that but now it could mean something more. With his physical tools, it’s not going to take too much for Ibaka to transform into a real force to be reckoned with, whether that’s in the post are shooting threes from the corners.

Oklahoma City needs this too. Durant, Westbrook and Harden have been fantastic as a scoring trio. They do it better than anyone in the league but most of their work starts on the perimeter and comes off the dribble. Ibaka can do it a little differently and it will start to take some of the pressure off them.

Imagine if Ibaka had a back-to-the-basket game during the NBA Finals. With the Miami Heat going small matching Shane Battier up with him, the Thunder could have really taken advantage.

Ibaka’s progression as a scorer will sync nicely with the Thunder offense this season. We have already seen Durant and Westbrook looking significantly comfortable during the preseason and it has resulted in more assists from each.

Ibaka will be the receiver of a lot of Durant and Westbrook kick outs this season and it appears he is ready to step up and score more points.

Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder extended Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $51 million contract earlier this summer. In doing so, they obviously are committing themselves to the big man for the long term.

Up to this point in his career, Ibaka isn’t fully accomplished offensively. He gets most of his points from offensive rebound putbacks and spot-up midrange jumpers. His back-to-the-basket game is just about nonexistent.

“I’ve been working on my back-to-the-basket game for two years,” Ibaka told The Oklahoman. “Right now my coaches and my teammates just try to give me confidence. I can’t do everything right in the first game or the first time. It’s a process. I will (get used to it). I will make some mistakes and learn after the mistakes.”

Ibaka scored from the post on just 4.8 percent of his possessions last season. He shot 44.8 percent on those shots and scored 0.79 points per possession. Almost none of those post-ups were exactly designed either.

“I feel comfortable,” Ibaka said. “Like I said, it’s the first time…where my coach is asking me to get down in the post. I know I have a lot to learn. But it’s a great opportunity for me to try to figure out what I need to do good, what I need to keep working on.”

Ibaka started and played 18 minutes in the Thunder’s last preseason game in Utah. He scored 12 points on 5-of-11 shooting and also had seven rebounds.

So far in the preseason we have seen an emphasis for the Thunder offense to come out of the post more often. Not only with Ibaka but Russell Westbrook posted up numerous times in OKC’s first preseason game vs. Houston. The same goes for Kevin Durant.

Getting offense from the post is the next evolution of this Thunder offense. They are already so good everywhere else.

And when you’re paying some $50 million over the next four years, you’d like him to do more than spot-up for jumpers so expect Ibaka to start getting more touches in the post now.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

In the Oklahoma City Thunder’s first preseason game two days ago vs. the Houston Rockets, they were without three of their starters.

Kendrick Perkins and Thabo Sefolosha were both out nursing injuries and Serge Ibaka was a late scratch to the lineup too.

The Thunder will play their second preseason game tonight on the road vs. Utah and Ibaka will be back in the lineup. James Harden, however, will sit this one out with a groin injury.

Harden struggled in the first preseason game going 0-for-5 in the first half and finishing 3-for-11 from the field with nine points.

None of these injuries for the Thunder are any cause for concern though. In the preseason for a team like the Thunder, you’re almost looking for a reason not to play your best players. The Thunder will play their first home preseason game on Tuesday and Harden will be evaluated when the team returns back to OKC.

The Thunder started Westbrook, Cook, Hayward, Durant and Aldrich vs. the Rockets. Ibaka will hop back in the starting lineup tonight which will leave one more starting spot open at shooting guard for either Cook, Hayward or possibly DeAndre Liggins who looked very good in the first preseason game.

Russell Westbrook is one of the most discussed players in the league today. After the 2011 playoffs, he was chastised for his play. Criticism usually came in the manner of him “stealing shots from Kevin Durant” and “being selfish”. In those games Westbrook and Durant took nearly the same number of shots (20.2 and 20.3 FGA, respectively), yet Durant outscored Westbrook by nearly five points per game. Most of the critique was warranted though, as Westbrook shot just 39.4% from field and TOV% (estimated # of turnovers per 100 plays) of 16.1.

Coming into this past season, one of the major questions about the Thunder was how would the team get their stars enough shots. With James Harden and Serge Ibaka showing vast improvements, there didn’t seem to be enough basketballs for all of the talent on the Thunder. Even so, Russ managed to increase his shot attempts by 2.2 per game and Durant still won yet another scoring title.

Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE

By this time, Westbrook was known as the league’s ultimate “do or die” player. He could take over and win you a game, or he could lose it just as easily. Having a short memory is usually a great trait to have in athletics, but Westbrook was heavily criticized for continuing to take ill advised shots while he was having a bad game. Especially when you have fellow elite scorers like Durant and Harden on your team, you will be under scrutiny as a point guard when you don’t get them the ball.

With the Thunder having a plethora of scorers, and the pending contract extensions of Harden and Ibaka, the idea of trading Westbrook for Rajon Rondo was discussed among fans. The thought is that Rondo, being one of the best distributers in the league, would be able to control the offense and just feed the ball to Durant and crew.

Rondo, only three years older than Westbrook, is another love-hate player. Fans fall in love with his elite passing ability and the way he takes over games as a triple-double machine. Just last season, he managed 10 of the rare feat, including three in the playoffs (all victories). No other player had more than one.

On the other side, his struggles shooting the ball has caused fans to question his ability to be a star on a championship caliber team. Yes, he has already has a ring as a starting point guard, but was not nearly as important to his team as he is today. Throughout his six years in the league, Rondo has never averaged more than 14 points and his True Shooting % has decreased in each of the past four seasons.

While Westbrook struggled at times on the way to an NBA Finals loss, Rondo was the main reason an old Celtics team was able to take the Miami Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals. A 44 point explosion by Rondo in Game 2 of the ECF led to an movement to name him the best point guard in the league. With a dangerous jumper, Rondo could become what people want Westbrook to be, a pass-first point guard who can shoot. Unfortunately, that’s not what Rondo has, and that’s not what Westbrook should become.

The thought that point guards should be pass first, shoot second, has caused most of the Westbrook criticism. After averaging over eight assists two seasons in a row, Russ dropped down to just 5.5 in 2011-2012. This is partially fault to James Harden getting much of the fourth quarter point guard duties, but also an increase in the Thunder’s use of isolation on offense.

With the unique collection of athletes in Oklahoma City, they can run a rather basic offense and manage to score at will. With the addition of Rajon Rondo, the whole style of the Thunder would change. You probably see more pick and rolls, spot ups, and fancier passes, while losing much of the isolation game OKC loves so much.

Without a threat to score at point guard, Kevin Durant will get more attention when he has the ball. Assuming Harden stays as the sixth man, the starting lineup will have just Durant, Rondo, and three defensive players in Ibaka, Thabo Sefolosha, and Kendrick Perkins. While Rondo is still a very good offensive player, he is much less of a threat off the ball as Westbrook.

Although, Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison would be much more involved in the offense with Rondo at the point. A post game has been missing from OKC for years, and that has been a shortcoming for them in the playoffs.

The one player I believe that would be affected the most by a change in point guards, would be James Harden. His main game is being able to drive to the basket at will, and having an array of shots to choose from. Also, he became the primary ball handler for the Thunder late in games.

This was possible because Westbrook is a very capable off-ball guard. Spreading the floor with Durant and Westbrook on the perimeter allowed Harden to navigate his way to the lane, likely drawing a foul and hitting free throws. Rondo would take a majority of the point guard duties when he is in the game, relegated Harden to a more minor role. The Thunder lose the flexibility of having three ball handlers who are elite scorers and have the ability to take over a game individually.

What wins basketball games is scoring. The way it is, Oklahoma City has one of the most high-powered offenses in recent memory. Russell Westbrook is the main reason that can happen. He does cost the team some games, but his upside is way too high to dwell on the misfortunes. With experience he will learn to limit the bad and excel throughout all facets of the game.

The reasons the Thunder loss the Finals were a determined best player in the NBA in LeBron James, a horrible James Harden, and shaky coaching. A change in style is not what the Thunder need to take the next step, they need Russell Westbrook at his best (giving James Harden a new contract would be nice, too).

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

A screenshot from NBA 2K13 has been revealed showing the top 20 rated players in the game. It does not show their exact ratings but based on the knowledge we have received about some players, we can predict just about everyone’s overall rating.

The ratings in parentheses below are those that we do not know for sure and are estimates.

LeBron (94+), Howard (94+), Durant 94, Paul 94, Kobe 93, Wade (92-93), Westbrook (92-93), Rose 92, Anthony 92, D. Williams (90-92), Rondo 90, Love 89, J. Smith 87, Duncan (87), Nash 87, Manu (87), Bynum 87, Iguodala 87, Gay (87), P. Gasol 87.

It has also been revealed that Serge Ibaka will be rated an 81 overall in the game.

Until now, Kevin Durant was the highest rated player that we knew of. We knew LeBron would end up being rated higher but Howard will also. LeBron was a 98 overall last year and will likely be the same if not a 99 in NBA 2K13. Howard will probably be no higher than a 95.

We see where Westbrook fits in here too right behind Wade and ahead of Rose. It’s a nice boost in overall rating for Westbrook from last year and it’s pretty impressive that 2K has him ahead of Rose, even if just by a tiny bit.

James Harden is not in the top 20 but you have to think he is just on the outside looking in. I predicted that he would be rated a 85 overall in the game but I wouldn’t be surprised if he is an 86 overall based on these ratings. You see Ginobili in there at an 87 overall meaning he is rated higher than Harden. I doubt Harden is rated much lower than Manu is.

Then there’s Ibaka whose 81 overall rating is pretty high. I predicted he’d be an 80 overall. We know he will have a 98 or 99 block shot rating and he has the signature skills as well that will help him block shots too. He obviously is given some decent offensive ratings to be an 81 overall. He can hit the midrange jumper but in 2K13, I bet he’s a very good finisher around the rim as well.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder held a press conference yesterday to officially announce the Serge Ibaka 4-year, $49 million contract extension.

The focus was supposed to be on Ibaka but it would predictably turn to James Harden’s situation.

“James is somebody we value,” Thunder GM Sam Presti told The Oklahoman. “We think he’s an important part to what we’re trying to do with our team and we’re hopeful that he’ll be with us. By the same token, we’ve been very upfront and transparent with everybody that we have some inherent challenges that we face as an organization as a result of the new collective bargaining agreement. I know we’d love to have him here. I think James would like to be here as well. But at the end of the day … you have to find a way to make it work for everybody.”

That’s the least confident we’ve heard Presti or anyone with the Thunder in talking about Harden’s future with the team. But we still can’t forget that by working hard with Ibaka to sign him for less than the max, the plan is still to get Harden to stay as well.

Ibaka said that money was very important to him but it was even more important to stay in Oklahoma City.

“For me it was important for me to stay, and finish what we started. And I think we can do it,” Ibaka told the Daily Thunder. “And I think this is my place, where I need to be. I don’t care what people say about this city or big city, no, I’m happy here.”

The Thunder organization loves everything about Ibaka and rightfully so. He has drastically improved since his first game in the NBA, which Presti and Scott Brooks reminisced on at the press conference. The potential Ibaka has shown in his first three seasons puts him in a pretty rare class within the current NBA landscape. There just aren’t a lot of bigs that can impact a game like him.

This isn’t to say that Harden is possibly less valuable than Ibaka and the Thunder are choosing Ibaka instead of him. Harden together with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook produced at a historical level last season in terms of a trio. Harden was as important as just about anyone in the Thunder’s run to the NBA Finals.

The Thunder have until Oct. 31 to reach an agreement with Harden on a contract extension. If Harden has bought into what all of his teammates have with what the Thunder are trying to do and the sacrifices necessary to make it happen, then he will be with the Thunder down the road.

But maybe Harden wants that big payday, a slightly bigger check than he’d be receiving in OKC. Maybe Harden wants to become “the man” and have his own team, although there is really no sign of Harden thinking that way.

With the deadline drawing near to sign Harden, Presti reminded everyone that it isn’t going to be easy to keep him. It’s a tough reality to deal with but Thunder fans should still be more optimistic than not that an agreement will be reached to keep Harden long-term.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Serge Ibaka said after the Olympics that he was “angered” with the lack of playing time he received on Spain and wasn’t sure if he wanted to continue playing for them in the future.

Pau Gasol came out and said that Spain needed Ibaka for the future. With himself and his brother Marc Gasol getting older, Ibaka would be one of the core players the Spanish National team would build around going forward.

“I don’t want to leave the National Team,” Ibaka told Marca.com. “I will play with Spain if they ask me to. I feel very proud about playing with Spain.”

It looks like Ibaka is back on the Spain bandwagon after voicing some frustration about his experience in the 2012 Olympics.

Ibaka needs to understand that he was never going to get a ton of playing time with Pau and Marc Gasol ahead of him on the depth chart. At just 22 years old too, Ibaka wasn’t trusted as much with the Spanish coach who seemed to prefer the veterans on the team who already had some Olympic experience.

Spain will definitely want Ibaka four years from now. Pau will be 36 years old then and may not even be in a position to play for Spain anymore. Marc should still be around which means that would likely make Ibaka the starting four.

Right now Ibaka’s game is more suited for the NBA style than international. He has no back-to-the-basket game yet and is just a spot-up shooter on offense. That could change in four years from now and it would benefit Spain as well as the Oklahoma City Thunder who wouldn’t say no to more offense coming from Ibaka.

Ibaka played just 15.1 minutes per game and averaged 8.0 points per game. After the Olympics, Ibaka said that he wasn’t sure if he would continue playing for Spain in the future.

Pau Gasol wants Ibaka to be a part of Spain’s basketball future.

“We hope Serge can be part of the national team for many years,” Gasol told the Los Angeles Times. “He brings so many special unique set of skills to the table.

“We were very talented and we were very deep. There’s so many other great players. Some days you’ll play a little more. Some days you’ll play better. Some days you won’t. But at the end of the day, what matters is the team success. He’s only 22 or 23. He has many years ahead of him. It’s good he has a desire and hunger. But he needs to understand the facts and circumstances of the moment and the needs long-term.”

Ibaka was playing behind the Gasol brothers for Spain who got the bulk of the minutes at the four and five positions. He was never going to overtake them in these Olympics and take any of their minutes. There were times when Spain elected to go with the veteran Felipe Reyes over Ibaka which could have been frustrating for him.

Gasol said he wasn’t sure if he would be playing in the 2016 Olympics in Rio and if he isn’t, then Spain will definitely have a huge need for Ibaka. Ibaka will be one of Spain’s stars by then and the experience playing in those Olympics should be much richer for him.

“I’m not going to play forever,” Gasol said. “Marc Gasol is not going to play forever.”

Ibaka just signed a 4-year, $49 million contract extension with the Oklahoma City Thunder meaning he will be on OKC by the time the next Olympics come around.

Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have the best young roster in the NBA right now. Last year they made it to the NBA Finals with their four best players age 23 or 22. The future looks bright for this team with a championship near on the horizon.

One of the four cornerstones of this franchise is Serge Ibaka who just signed a 4-year, $49 million contract extension this summer. There was some thought that maybe the Thunder would consider letting Ibaka go so they could more easily keep James Harden instead, but now it looks like they intend to keep both.

Ibaka has progressed a lot so far in his NBA career. He was very raw as a rookie in 2009-10 but still productive as a shot blocker and athlete in general. Last season, he had his best year to date finishing second in the Defensive Player of the Year voting while averaging 3.7 blocks per game.

Ibaka has improved his offensive game as well developing a deadly midrange jump shot which he hit 46 percent of the time last season, a very good mark. Ibaka still rarely gets touches on offense aside from his spot-up jumpers and putbacks. His post-up game is nonexistent so far and he has a long way to go in that department.

Here’s a look at Ibaka’s advanced stats so far in his career:

Ibaka saw a big jump in minutes two years ago especially following the Jeff Green trade. Part of the reason why the Thunder traded away Green was to unleash Ibaka as the new starting four and get him more minutes.

Ibaka improved as a finisher around the rim in his second and third seasons from his rookie year. He shot only 61.2 percent on shots at the rim his rookie season and then 73.6 and 69.8 percent the following two seasons. Ibaka has noticeably become more comfortable catching the ball inside and getting his shot up quicker. This is an area where he can still improve on a lot and he should get better next season.

Ibaka’s usage percentage remained exactly the same last season as the year before. He played a lot more minutes with the second unit in his first two seasons and now playing as a starter, that is why we aren’t seeing an increase there. Ibaka shouldn’t necessarily be getting more touches with the starting unit, but he could start to see more minutes in general, including some time with the second unit.

Ibaka has averaged about 27 minutes per game in each of the last two years. He is due to see that number go up especially after the extension he just signed. Ibaka is more than capable of logging 35-plus minutes per night. He doesn’t get in foul trouble much and never appears to be fatigued.

With the return of Eric Maynor next season, it would be nice to see Ibaka on the floor with a true point guard. The Thunder essentially played without any kind of point guard last season as Harden and Russell Westbrook handled the ball most of the time. Ibaka will see the greatest increase in production while on the floor with better passers.

The Thunder in general should be a better passing team next year too. This past season felt like they were running at 100 mph all the time. It was impressive because not many teams can play that way and that hard so much but it resulted in less control on offense. After the experience this team gained last season, they should play with more control next season and that should result in better ball movement and opportunities for someone like Ibaka.

Ibaka probably won’t see a huge increase in production next season but we should see some improved efficiency. I expect his true shooting percentage to get back closer to .580 and for his minutes to increase as well.

It will be hard to match his blocks per game number from last season but with more minutes, we could see him close to 4.0 per night.

Ibaka has yet to average double-digit scoring in a season and I think that changes next year too. Expect to see Ibaka closer to 11.0 points per game with better ball movement from the Thunder offense as a whole.

We saw Ibaka improve as an offensive rebounder last year as well and if he keeps that up, as he continues to understand the game and his place in it, that should aid in more points and rebounds for him as well.

Ibaka has a long way to go as a defender in general too. He often bites for pump fakes and is out of position. He can make up for it with his amazing athleticism but he definitely can improve his defensive positioning as a whole.

The Thunder are devoted to Ibaka and the potential he has shown thus far in his career. In Oklahoma City, one can only expect Ibaka to continue to improve and for him to take a big step next season.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a fantastic season in 2011-12 finishing with a 47-19 record and making it to the NBA Finals.

You can never stay the same though from season to season. You have to always be looking to improve to get back to where you were the season before and go beyond. Making it to the NBA Finals last season was a great accomplishment for OKC but it’s going to take even more work to get back there again.

The Thunder want to become a dynasty like the Chicago Bulls and they don’t want to be like the Dallas Mavericks in 2006, lose in the NBA Finals and then get bounced in the first round the following season.

Right now a lot of the flaws the Thunder have are forgivable. They are still such a young team and despite all of their imperfections have proven that they are very capable of winning a title with the current roster they have, playing the style that they do.

There are some obvious areas where the Thunder can improve in to become an even greater team next season.

Assists and Turnovers

The Thunder were last in the league last season in assists and also led the league in turnovers. There is obviously a ton of room for improvement here as there is no reason for them to remain this bad in both of these areas.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant are the two players on OKC that have the ball the most and turn the ball over the most. Westbrook turned it over 3.6 times per game last season and Durant 3.8 times. Westbrook had a big drop off in terms of assists per game too averaging just 5.5 per game last season after averaging 8.0 and 8.2 in the two seasons prior. Durant averaged a career-high of 3.5 assists per game last season but can still improve on that number.

Despite turning the ball over more than any team in the league and having the least amount of assists in the league, the Thunder had the second most efficient offense in the NBA and led the league in true shooting percentage. That is a stunning fact and if they are able to improve in the turnover department at least somewhat next season, the potential of their offense will go through the roof.

A lot of the turnover problems for OKC seem to be a product of their lack of movement and rhythm on offense. For such an efficient offense, the Thunder don’t seem to run much and rather rely a ton on isolation play. They were great in isolation settings last season with a 0.87 PPP which was second in the league. The Thunder would still be better off getting more of their offense from the pick-and-roll, off screens or in the post which will also help cut down on their turnovers.

Post play

One of the biggest things you notice when watching the Thunder is how little of their offense comes out of the post. Only 6.71 percent of their scoring came from the post last season and they were 24th in the league with a 0.77 PPP on those plays. The Thunder were 25th in the league attempting 9.0 shots per game from 3-to-9 feet and were 16th in the league shooting just 38.3 percent on those shots.

This is because almost all of the Thunder’s offense comes from Durant, Westbrook and James Harden who do most of their work on the perimeter. The starting bigs for the Thunder, Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins, get almost no touches down low for the Thunder.

Increasing their scoring in the post will start with Durant who has started to post up more, but still not nearly enough. He is still relatively weak when trying to back defenders down and looks a lot less comfortable looking to score in the paint than when he is out on the perimeter. Nevertheless, Durant is still pretty effective scoring in the post with a 0.89 PPP last season. He doesn’t have many post moves yet but his fadeaway is virtually unguardable and he has a very soft touch around the rim too. The more contact for Durant, the better too. It will just mean more free throws where Durant thrives as much as anywhere.

Westbrook could start getting into the post more as well. Playing point guard Westbrook almost always has a size and strength advantage over whoever is matched up with him. Last year he posted up just over five percent of the time on offense and had a decent 0.77 PPP doing so. It’s an area where Westbrook could see his game evolve similarly to how Chauncey Billups used to do or even Dwyane Wade.

Ibaka may start getting at least some touches in the post next season too. He just signed a 4-year, $49 million contract extension and you’d think the Thunder would like to use him a little more on offense than they have been. He is also supposedly going to be working out with Hakeem Olajuwon some this offseason on his post moves which should help him at least some. Ibaka has a ton of potential and is such an elite athlete, it won’t take much for him to develop a few go-to moves where he becomes effective scoring on the low blocks.

Pick-and-roll defense

Looking at the Thunder’s defensive stats, there’s not a lot that stands out that is wrong with them. They were top 10 in opponent field goal percentage from every spot on the floor and their defense was anchored by the runner-up for Defensive Player of the Year in Ibaka.

One area where the Thunder were not quite up to par was their pick-and-roll defense. They were 11th in the league vs. the pick-and-roll allowing 0.84 PPP on those plays. That’s not a terrible number but considering they were 4th in the league vs. isolation plays and post-up plays shows that they are capable of improving in this area.

The Thunder were at their weakest on defense when they played small lineups, which is something they will continue to do even more in the future. Durant played the four usually when the Thunder went small and it always left their weakside help defense vulnerable against the pick-and-roll. Durant has shown a willingness to improve his help defense which was very evident in how he played in the medal round of the Olympics but he still just appears to not like having to come over and either take a charge or protect the rim.

For all of Ibaka’s worth on defense, he isn’t the greatest textbook defender either. He often is found biting on pump fakes at the rim which puts the Thunder in no-win situations.

Westbrook can improve here too as he is always gambling on defense including the way he defends the pick-and-roll. The Thunder are able to rely on their superior athleticism to make up for their imperfections on defense but some more discipline vs. the pick-and-roll could go a long way for this team.

Conclusion

It’s not that easy to nitpick the Thunder because they were so great last year. They make up for a lot of what they do wrong with incredible play in other ways. The Thunder will need to improve from last year if they want to get back to the NBA Finals soon and win a title in the near future. They are growing up more every season and making improvements each year as well. We can expect to see more of that next season again.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a unique situation. They have four players that are potentially worthy of max-deals but they are in a small market which will make it very tough to keep all four.

The Thunder locked up the third player when they signed Serge Ibaka to a 4-year, $48 million extension a week ago. Kevin Durant signed a 5-year, $86 million contract extension two years ago and Russell Westbrook signed a 5-year, $80 million extension last January.

That leaves James Harden.

Keeping their core of Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka was never going to be easy for Oklahoma City but it is possible. By all accounts, GM Sam Presti and the Thunder organization plan to reach an agreement with Harden on an extension as soon as possible to keep the reigning Sixth Man of the Year winner.

Would it make more sense for the Thunder to trade Harden though?

This is something that has been brought up a number of times. Right before the 2012 NBA Draft, there were rumors that Presti might have been interested in dealing Harden to Charlotte for the No. 2 overall pick so he could draft Bradley Beal.

Now SI’s Zach Lowe has analyzed why the Thunder should consider trading Harden. He suggests potential deals that could land them the likes of J.J. Redick, Kevin Martin or Anderson Varejao and draft picks by trading Harden this season.

None of those deals sound very appetizing for Thunder fans. Trading Harden next season makes the least amount of sense of anything. The only way to rationalize doing so would be if Harden came out and said he wanted to become a free agent next summer and the Thunder were not prepared to match an offer and thus wanted to get something in return for him.

If the Thunder extend Harden, they could still end up trading him in the future, or Ibaka or Westbrook for that matter. That’s what the Thunder want to do. They want to let the potential of this core play out for the next 2-4 seasons and see how much they can win. After that period, they will have a better idea of who to keep.

Right now we know that the Big 3 of Durant-Westbrook-Harden is already producing at an all-time level. You can’t break that up just yet even if it’s something that might not evolve perfectly into winning titles.

You can’t part ways with Ibaka yet either because of the immense potential he has shown already at just 22 years of age. Ibaka is quite possibly more of a rare talent than Harden too as someone who can already protect the rim at an elite level.

Maybe after two or three years, it will become clear that Westbrook is the one that needs to go and there will be a deal out there for him that will make sense for the Thunder. There has been plenty of chatter about this since team’s don’t often win championships with a point guard playing the style that Westbrook does.

The point is, now is not the time to be trading Harden or any of their core four. They were so close to winning a title last season and need to give it another run or two. By extending Harden and Ibaka and paying some luxury tax in a year or two, they will be buying themselves more time to make the right decision down the road.

And they will have to make a decision down the road. Beyond 2015-16, the Thunder will not be able to keep all four of these guys. That’s when Durant’s contract is up and the Thunder will want to be in perfect position to offer Durant the most money possible without paying too much of the luxury tax. That means a year earlier the Thunder will probably want to get under the tax threshold and to do that, they will have to part ways with Harden, Ibaka or Westbrook.

So let’s say the Thunder reach an agreement with Harden before next season for something like 4-years, $52 million. That will mean that the Thunder will almost definitely be in the luxury tax in 2013-14 even if they amnesty Kendrick Perkins that season, which they will probably have to do at least to limit the luxury tax penalties.

The Thunder would probably be willing to pay the tax in 2013-14 and 2014-15 but will want to get under it after that, since the penalties are harsher for repeat offenders. That gives the Thunder three more years to try and win a title with their core four before deciding which one they want to part ways with after that. Then we can start talking about trades.

Ibaka played just 15.1 minutes per game averaging 8.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for Spain. It was hard for him to find time playing the same position as the Gasol brothers and it bothered him.

Ibaka’s anger was public and a secret during the Olympic Games. After every practice, while the rest of the players shared coffee or fruit, the Thunder forward kept all the distance possible. The day before the final, for example, he waited all by himself in the bus for half an hour, with an angry look.

Ibaka felt underutilized, his status questioned. “If things keep going this way, I’m not coming back [to the Spanish national team],” Ibaka told close friends before the final against United States.

via ElMundo.es

Ibaka definitely was underutilized for Spain but it is not something that was too surprising. European coaches often play more talented players less minutes and instead go with players with more experience or that bring more chemistry to the floor.

The Gasol brothers were going to get the bulk of the big man minutes too, everyone knew that going into the Games. The surprise was when Ibaka would be on the bench while Felipe Reyes was getting minutes or Spain was going small.

Ibaka’s impact on the floor was something no other Spanish player had, being able to protect the rim so well and being a superior athlete to just about anyone.

Ibaka’s Olympic experience was hoped to be one where he could grow into a more confident and complete player. That wasn’t exactly the case but it wasn’t all bad either.

Ibaka played in the NBA Finals and then an Olympic gold medal game at the age of 22. He has signed a 4-year, $48 million contract extension with the Thunder. He will have grown from these experiences and the Thunder can expect better Ibaka going forward.

Kelley L Cox-US PRESSWIRE

Jimmer Fredette is the kind of basketball player that should fit in anywhere. But that’s not what’s happening in Sacramento.

In his rookie season last year with the Kings, Fredette played 18.6 minutes per game and just .386 percent from the field. He was a lottery pick but found himself getting less run than Isaiah Thomas who was picked dead last in the same draft.

Sam Amico of Fox Sports says: “Speaking of Kings, Jimmer Fredette would love to go someplace where someone other than just DeMarcus Cousins will pass him the ball. Thunder would love to pry Fredette away from Kings as replacement for Derek Fisher. Kevin Durant is a Jimmer fan.”

There is no indication that the Thunder have openly expressed interest in acquiring Fredette and right now their priorities are elsewhere, mainly contract negotiations with James Harden. But Fredette would be a perfect fit wearing a Thunder uniform.

One of the things the Thunder could use is a deadly 3-point shooter, which Fredette surely is or at least can blossom into. He has unlimited range and would make it that much more difficult to help on Durant-Westbrook-Harden.

Fredette might provide a pretty big defensive liability that the Thunder would prefer not deal with but he could make up for it with his offense and it’s always possible to hide some guys on defense.

The Thunder aren’t necessarily looking for a replacement for Derek Fisher either. Eric Maynor will be back from injury next season although his last season for the Thunder will likely be next year.

Then there’s Reggie Jackson who is coming off a pretty unimpressive rookie season but did show some promise in the summer league.

Fredette would be a welcome addition to the Thunder if it became a possibility. Durant being a fan of his would make it that much better too.

It’s not something that will happen anytime soon but it’s always fun to dream about the future of this Thunder team.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

It’s the end of August and things have settled down somewhat in the NBA. There aren’t a lot of free agents left out there looking for teams and we have a good idea of what kind of roster everyone will have for the start of next season.

The summer began pretty quietly with the NBA Draft, were there wasn’t quite as many trades as usual. Then the biggest news came with restricted free agents until Dwight Howard was eventually traded.

Here is a look at some of the best and worst from this offseason.

Best

Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers clearly lead the way as having the best offseason of anyone this summer. They started it off by trading for Steve Nash, shocking just about everyone as Nash decided to join his past rivals in chase of a ring. The Lakers immediately became a much stronger team after this trade as their point guard play has been very weak in the past few seasons.

Then the Lakers landed Howard in what was inevitable and surprising all at the same time. All-Star centers have a knack for finding their way to L.A. and the trade wasn’t completely out of the blue. But the Lakers really didn’t give up much at all to get Howard, just Andrew Bynum and Christian Eyenga.

The Lakers immediately became title contenders after the Howard trade. They kept Pau Gasol and now have a starting five considered possibly the best in the league. No one is going to hand the title over to them but there isn’t another team that improved as much as they did.

Brooklyn Nets

With the move to Brooklyn on the horizon for 2012-13, the Nets wanted to make sure they had a quality product on the floor to give their new city. The biggest move they made was locking up Deron Williams for the next five years.

The Nets were then very much in the hunt for Howard who even came out and said Brooklyn was the only place he wanted to play next year. A deal could not be found with the Magic and Brooklyn decided to go a different direction. They traded for Joe Johnson then re-signed Brook Lopez and Kris Humphries to hefty contracts.

The Nets are spending a lot of money for the team they have right now but the money isn’t a huge issue to their owner. The one problem is that they are pretty locked in to the core they have now and if it doesn’t work out, they will be in some trouble.

The acquisition of Johnson and locking up of Williams were great though. The Nets have a very good chance of contending in a weak Eastern Conference right now with the roster they have. Wherever Howard landed was going to make that team have the best offseason in the league but despite the Nets missing put on him, they did a pretty good job.

Boston Celtics

The Celtics were supposed to be on the way out, old and unable to compete for a title anymore. The moves they made this summer will extend that window a little longer. The Big 3 era is over now as Ray Allen signed with the Miami Heat this summer but that era was really already over anyway.

The Celtics started things off re-signing Kevin Garnett for a good price. They also drafted well addressing a need in their lack of size. They picked Jared Sullinger who slipped very late in the draft and has the potential to be one of the most talented players from this draft class. Then they picked a 7-foot center in Fab Melo.

Jason Terry decided to sign with the Celtics a little later, essentially replacing Allen’s role. The sneakiest move for Boston was a sign-and-trade to acquire shooting guard Courtney Lee who seems just what this team needs. Lee is a good outside shooter and solid wing defender that should mesh well with this roster.

The Celtics may still be a far way off from the Miami Heat but their roster looks better than it did last year despite the expectation that they were still on the decline.

Worst

Orlando Magic

The Magic were put in a no-win situation this year. Their franchise player wanted out and quit on the team. The Magic knew they couldn’t replace him and were going to take a significant step back next season. So they decided to stay strong and hold out for the best possible deal despite all the drama that was going on.

Then they traded Howard and the deal they ended up getting seemed pretty terrible. They weren’t able to get Bynum or Gasol from the Lakers in the deal, although they may not have really wanted either, and instead ended up with Arron Afflalo, Al Harrington, Nikola Vucevic and Moe Harkless. They also received four protected first-round picks which won’t be very valuable either.

The plan was to completely start over with new GM Rob Hennigan who wants to imitate the Thunder model. They are definitely doing that but good luck drafting your version of Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka in the next three drafts.

The Magic come away post-Howard looking closer to the Bobcats than a team that is young with a promising future. It never ends well when your star player wants out but how could it have gone worse for Orlando?

Houston Rockets

The Rockets made some of the most noise this summer as they tried to go all-in on acquiring Dwight Howard. That obviously didn’t work out and their consolation prize was restricted free agents Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, not horrible but nothing even close to Howard.

While the Rockets were stockpiling assets to throw Orlando’s way, it started to look like they had the best package to woo the Magic. Later the rumored deals Houston was willing to trade to Orlando proved to be false and they weren’t offering quite that much for Howard.

The Rockets are parting ways with Luis Scola, Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic, Marcus Camby and Chase Budinger from last year’s team while replacing those guys with not much. They do have three first-round draft picks that could be cool and Donatas Montiejunas is coming over next season.

The Rockets have a very good chance to have the worst record in the conference next season. Sometimes you have to get worse before you can get good and that seems to be Houston’s mindset right now.

New York Knicks

There wasn’t a lot the Knicks could do heading into this offseason but what ended up happening was embarrassingly bad. The worst thing was when they decided not to match Houston’s offer sheet for Lin. They are avoiding some harsh luxury tax penalties by parting ways with Lin, but letting him walk for nothing is truly unforgiveable.

The Knicks are replacing Lin with Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton. No one can get excited for that.

The Knicks were in the running for Nash too before the Lakers swooped in and got him. Not only did the Knicks lose Nash but Landry Fields as well, who signed a big offer sheet with Toronto that New York chose not to match.

When the Knicks acquired Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony, they were supposed to start competing for NBA championships. It still feels like they are very far away from this and it’s hard to see how they can change that too.

Where the Thunder fit in

The Thunder had a quiet offseason for the most part and that’s how they like it. They weren’t the best or worst, and closer to one of the best if anything. In the draft, picking Perry Jones who fell so far to them is a great pick. He has nothing but potential and if he doesn’t work out, no big deal either.

The Thunder then made some headlines a few days ago locking up Serge Ibaka for the next four years. James Harden is next on the list and those close to the team really feel like that will happen soon.

The Thunder will improve next year simply from experience and are still the favorites in the Western Conference. There’s nothing wrong with that.

Kyle Terada-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder locked up Serge Ibaka for the next four years a few days ago. The deal was initially reported to be worth only $40 million but was soon after said to be worth $48 million.

Now it is reported that Ibaka’s deal will guarantee him $49 million and he could earn as much as $51.5 million if certain individual or team goals are met. Ibaka will make at least $12.25 million each season.

This isn’t huge news but it does give a better idea for just how much Ibaka will be making and every penny does count with the luxury tax looming for OKC.

If the deal was $48 million, often times a player starts out making a little less than what they would average over four years, and then the deal incrementally goes up. Now we see that Ibaka will already be earning at least $12.25 million in 2013-14.

There’s no question that Ibaka is worth this money and that the Thunder made the right move to lock him up. It wasn’t for chump change though and the Thunder should feel the effects of the luxury tax in 2013-14.

The Thunder never said they wouldn’t enter the luxury tax and maybe they are just completely okay with doing so now.

The next thing on the agenda for the Thunder is James Harden and getting him to sign an extension too. He should get around the same as Ibaka and he would be sacrificing a significant amount to stay in OKC, but that does seem what Harden wants to do.

Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder locked up Serge Ibaka for the next four years yesterday, agreeing to a 4-year, $48 million contract extension with him.

Ibaka was one of three Thunder players eligible for an extension this summer with James Harden and Eric Maynor being the other two.

Harden was always thought to be the first priority for the Thunder with Ibaka possibly becoming the odd man out, if the Thunder were going to choose between the two. Now that the Thunder have locked up Ibaka, Harden’s future with the team seems uncertain to some, but not GM Sam Presti.

“We’re going to continue our conversations with James. We very much value him,” Presti said on a conference call yesterday. “We want him to be part of the organization moving forward. We’re excited he’s a member of the Thunder and we hope he’ll be with us for years moving forward.”

The only thing that has stood in the way of OKC extending Harden and Ibaka is the looming luxury tax. By extending both of them, the Thunder are almost guaranteed to suffer harsh luxury tax penalties which would be tough for them being in a small market.

It looks like the Thunder are going to bite the bullet and pay the luxury tax at least for a season or two because it feels like the Harden extension is coming soon.

“These type of things have their own tempo. Their own rhythm. They happen independently of one another,” Presti said. “Sometimes you get to that point a little bit sooner, but it doesn’t necessarily mean those conversations are at different rates or any indications of one way or the other.”

This makes sense too and should make Thunder fans feel better. The Thunder were by no means picking Ibaka over Harden by signing him first, it was just a little easier to negotiate and come to an agreement with Ibaka.

Harden will be trickier. While Ibaka didn’t sign for close to the maximum, Harden and everyone else certainly know that he is worth a max-deal and will get one next summer if he becomes a restricted free agent. That means these negotiations will take a little more time.

By all accounts, Harden is committed to staying in OKC for the long haul and the Thunder organization is committed to keeping him. They realize what this situation is and how rare it is to have a young core as talented as this one. They’re not going to waste this opportunity and they will let the potential of this team play out.

How awesome is that?

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Coming into this summer the Oklahoma City Thunder were faced with the task of finding out a way to keep their young core of players together for the future. With Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook already locked up through 2016, the attention turned to James Harden and Serge Ibaka.

Harden and Ibaka had just finished their third seasons in the NBA and now became eligible for extensions. If the Thunder were not to extend either of them, they would become restricted free agents next summer.

The Thunder announced today that they had agreed to a 4-year, $48 million extension with Ibaka. That’s a good amount of money to invest in Ibaka but considering the contracts being handed out to other power forwards in the league, the Thunder probably came away with a good deal. Ibaka has the kind of potential that could have drawn a max-offer sheet from another team next summer if it came to that.

Harden will undoubtedly receive a max-offer sheet if he is a restricted free agent next summer. That was made pretty clear when Eric Gordon signed a 4-year, $58 million offer sheet with the Phoenix Suns this summer that the New Orleans Hornets matched.

The Thunder don’t want to have to pay Harden quite that much if they can help it. Consider that Nicolas Batum signed a 4-year, $45 million contract this summer. One has to believe Harden is worth more than him and should get at least what Ibaka got and probably more.

If the Thunder extend Harden for around that amount, they will have $55-65 million tied up per season in Durant-Westbrook-Harden-Ibaka through 2016. Right now the salary cap is just over $58 million with the luxury tax threshold at $70.3 million. In the new CBA, tax penalties for having a team salary over the luxury tax are very harsh and even harsher for repeat offenders, which the Thunder would likely be in 2015 and 2016.

Because of all this, there is some thought that the Thunder are maybe choosing Ibaka over Harden by extending him today and doing it before Harden.

I don’t believe this is true and still believe that keeping Harden is the No. 1 priority for GM Sam Presti and this franchise. The Thunder won’t have to worry about the luxury tax next season if they extend Harden and there is even a chance they could avoid it or at least barely go over it in 2013-14 especially if they amnesty Kendrick Perkins, who is owed nearly $8.5 million that season.

The Thunder players often talk about sacrifice with this team. Harden most notably brought up the word in his exit interviews after the NBA Finals. Ibaka is sacrificing some money by agreeing to the contract he did today. He’s making just $3 million more than JaVale McGee over four years and is making the same amount per season as Kris Humphries. Ibaka would have been worth much more next summer if he became a restricted free agent.

Harden will have to sacrifice too and that means probably taking less than what Gordon got and probably settling for a number very close to what Ibaka got. Maybe Harden will sign for four years, $50 million or four years, $55 million, which is what Rajon Rondo signed for back in 2009 with Boston. That sounds about right.

I think that Thunder fans should not worry about Harden’s future with the team now. Ibaka getting his extension today simply makes it more clear how devoted the Thunder organization is to the team they have right now. They are going to go all-in on Harden and pay some tax penalties if they have to.

Presti came to the agreement with Ibaka on the same weekend that he is getting married. We’ll have to wait at least a few days then until Harden and OKC reach a deal, but I think it happens sooner than later.

Mike Segar/Pool Photo via US PRESSWIRE

Serge Ibaka and the Oklahoma City Thunder have reached an agreement on a 4-year, $48 million contract extension, according to Yahoo! Sports.

Ibaka is just 22 years old and is entering his fourth season in the NBA next season and along with James Harden became eligible to sign an extension with the Thunder this summer.

Ibaka averaged 9.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.6 blocks per game last year for the Thunder and finished second in the voting for Defensive Player of the Year.

If Ibaka did not sign an extension with the Thunder, he would have become a restricted free agent next summer and could have signed offer sheets with another team while the Thunder would have had the opportunity to match any offer.

The Thunder are getting Ibaka for a decent price. JaVale McGee signed a 4-year, $44 million contract earlier this summer and Roy Hibbert signed a max-deal for four years, $58 million.

Ibaka could have easily seen a little more money if he became a restricted free agent next summer and the Thunder did not want to see that happen.

This is very good news for Thunder camp and makes it seem like Harden will be next to sign an extension soon. Harden seemed the No. 1 priority for the Thunder to get an extension while Ibaka would maybe be the one who the Thunder let go of.

If the Thunder do extend Harden as well, they will almost certainly enter the luxury tax in a year or two, something they’ve never done and would like to avoid especially being in a small market.

The luxury tax penalties become harsher when you cross the tax line for multiple seasons in a row. Even with the Thunder extending Ibaka and Harden, they would be able to get back under the tax line by trading one of them down the line which now seems the most likely scenario for the Thunder to eventually part ways with one of them.

Another way the Thunder could avoid the luxury tax in the near future is amnestying Kendrick Perkins after next season. Perkins will make $7.8 million next season and then is owed $8.5 million in 2013-14 and $9.1 million in 2014-15.

Amnestying Perkins always seemed like the easy way to save some money but now with Dwight Howard being traded to the Lakers, the Thunder may prefer not to part ways with Perkins, who has always been very good at defending Howard.

Thunder GM Sam Presti and the rest of the Thunder organization continue to show that they are committed to this team and the current roster they have. Extending Ibaka is huge just like extending head coach Scott Brooks was earlier this summer.

The next step now is Harden. It will get done and hopefully before the season.

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.

Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden all won gold for Team USA this past weekend as the team beat Spain 107-100 in the gold medal game. Serge Ibaka would medal as well as he took home the silver playing for Spain.

“I have a gold medal,” Durant told USABasketball.com. “It’s unbelievable, man. I couldn’t sleep last night waiting for the game. I’m glad we came out and got the W.”

The Thunder players got this chance to represent their countries after a long NBA season ending in disappointment when they lost to the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals.

While there has been a lot of talk about NBA players sacrificing and risking a lot to play in the Olympics, it may have been just what the Thunder players needed.

“I think it’s really helpful for them to play under different circumstances; it only rounds them out as players and makes them better,” Thunder GM Sam Presti told SI.com. “What we observed from the World Championship was just the mental endurance that it takes to go through an international competition and the training camp that leads up to it in medal-round play just to get there.”

Presti also doesn’t have to worry as much about the Thunder players because they are so young. Durant will be 24 next year while the other three are all a year or so younger than him. They can handle throwing in the Olympics in their summer and still have the time to rest some and be ready for next season.

As Durant will tell you, he’d be playing basketball anyway and it might as well be in the Olympics. Basketball has become year round and these guys are used to playing at a high level during their summers.

“Just the level of mental endurance that Kevin and Russell have been exposed to and conditioned themselves to, I think has really helped us in our playoff series,” Presti said. “That’s a real benefit. I think Serge’s experiences with the national team, again just being in different situations and adjusting to different styles of play, it only makes him a more well-rounded player.

“And James now is also getting that level of experience. I really feel like we’ve benefited from all of the exposures that the players have been given, and I think they’re all very grateful for the opportunity too. It’s fun to watch them in these situations.”

Harden playing with the team this time around should really benefit him and the Thunder long-term. He got a chance to be around the best players in the world some more, learn from LeBron and Kobe, and bond some more with his teammates in a once in a lifetime experience.

With extension talks on the horizon for Harden, playing in the Olympics should only increase his desire to stay in OKC.

“Everything,” Harden said when asked what he will take away from the experience. “Every single day it was something different. Especially, like I said, being with these guys. You get to watch them play basketball, you play basketball against them, but once you are the same team you get a feeling for who they are as a person. Every single day was something different and I am just happy to be a part of this team.”

Winning gold is something that surely helped ease the pain of losing in the NBA Finals but the Thunder players were still reminded of it every day. All they had to do was look across the court at LeBron to remember the hurt.

That experience is what will drive them to be better next year. It wasn’t just winning gold on this team but doing it with LeBron and seeing the kind of year he was having. Durant talked about how hard it was to see LeBron every day training for the Olympics because he wants so bad what he has.

It really couldn’t be coming together any better for the Thunder players. Their Olympic experience went about as good as it could have and they are now better for it.

Bob Donnan-US PRESSWIRE

The United States will take on Spain in the gold medal game at 10 a.m. EST this morning. The U.S. and Spain are meeting in the Olympic gold medal game for the second straight Olympics with the U.S. winning in 2008 118-107.

Team USA and Spain were the two favorites in these Olympics and were expected to meet in this game. The United States rolled through their competition winning all seven games by an average of 35.7 points per game.

Things didn’t go quite as planned for Spain who lost twice in group play to Russia then intentionally to Brazil so as to avoid the United States until the gold medal game. That worked out well for Spain who beat France 66-59 in the quarterfinals then knocked off Russia 67-59 in the semis.

Spain is considered the greatest test for Team USA so far. They may not have looked their best so far in the Olympics but we can expect to see them play their best basketball today.

Pau Gasol is averaging 18.4 points per game to lead Spain while brother Marc is second on the team scoring 12.0 points per game.

Spain will have a significant size advantage vs. the U.S. as they also bring Serge Ibaka off the bench, who is only playing 14.1 minutes per game and averaging 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.

Team USA’s lack of size was supposed to be a big weakness for them entering the Olympics but they have made up for it with great 3-point shooting. As a team, the U.S. is shooting .445 percent from three in the Olympics and taking 36.6 threes per game.

Kevin Durant is leading the team averaging 18.0 points and shooting .558 percent from deep. Carmelo Anthony is second on the team at 17.4 points per game while shooting .525 percent from three.

LeBron James has also come on of late for the U.S. notching the first ever triple-double in U.S. Olympic history in the quarterfinals vs. Australia. He’s averaging 12.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and is leading the team with 5.9 assists per game.

Two big factors will decide this game: 3-point shooting and size. Spain is fully capable of outplaying the U.S. in both areas and will need to, to have a chance at winning.

We know they will have the size advantage but they will need to take advantage of it scoring from the post. That will open up the 3-point shot which Spain has struggled with these Olympics shooting it at just .328 percent.

They have some players who can heat up from deep though, most notably Rudy Fernandez and Juan Carlos Navarro. Spain should be able to nullify Team USA’s excellent ball pressure defense with their experienced guards, Jose Calderon and Sergio Rodriguez.

This is the game we have all been waiting for. It’s the only right way to decide the gold medal in basketball, having these two teams play a 40-minute game. The U.S. will be favored and rightfully so but Spain has as good a chance as anyone to pull off the upset.

This will also be the final game as head coach of Team USA for Mike Krzyzewski. Krzyzewski has led the United States to a 61-1 record under him since he took over in 2006 and was there when they won gold in Beijing four years ago. 61-2 would be considered a failure for Coach K.

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.

It was a very ugly game in the first half especially by Spain as they shot very poorly from the outside and Russia was matching their physicality inside.

Spain got their act together in the second half, hitting some threes early in the third quarter and that really seemed to get the rest of their game going as well. Russia doesn’t have a prolific offense and once Spain took the lead couldn’t find enough to come back.

Spain advances to the gold medal game for the second straight Olympics and will await the winner of USA-Argentina who play later today.

Here are grades for both teams’ players:

Spain players

Pau Gasol – 34 minutes, 16 points, 12 rebounds, 2 blocks – A

Pau was quiet in the first half with the rest of Spain but made some big plays in the second including a 3-pointer. He didn’t seem to ever establish position well enough in the post but still led Spain in scoring.

Marc Gasol – 29 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks – B+

The offense went through Marc in the fourth quarter and he delivered, scoring some and always looking to make other things happen too with the pass. He and his brother didn’t hookup as much with their great interior passing in this game but they came up big when they needed to and grinded out the victory.

Rudy Fernandez – 29 minutes, 11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – B

Fernandez didn’t have much going in this game besides the three 3-pointers he hit. With the score so low, all of them were big though and really got Spain going. He eventually fouled out and didn’t make some of the spectacular plays he’s sometimes capable of.

Jose Calderon – 33 minutes, 14 points, 3 assists – B+

Calderon had some bad turnovers late but the game was pretty much in hand by that point. He made four threes for the game and a few really big ones during Spain’s run. The Russia defense was good so the assist total was low but he definitely played big down the stretch for Spain.

Juan Carlos Navarro – 20 minutes, 4 points, 3 assists – C

Navarro is described as a player that plays big in big games but that was not the case today. Russia kept him in tact pretty easily and he only attempted one three in the game which he missed. He had a few nice assists but doesn’t have the explosiveness he used to, to create much else.

Serge Ibaka – 7 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds – C+

Ibaka barely played in this one and didn’t at all in the second half as Spain went with Felipe Reyes as a sub for the Gasol brothers instead of Ibaka. His basket in the first half was a nice one finishing with a foul on the fast break but his overall impact was pretty minimal. He played with a lot of energy and it’s a little curious why he doesn’t play more. Expect to see a little more of him if Spain sees the U.S. in the gold medal game.

Sergio Llull – 21 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds – B+

Llull has been great for Spain in the medal round so far. He plays with so much energy and is always looking to make things happen. Spain needed the lift he provided today especially and he made all three of his shots. He’s an underrated piece for this Spain team.

Russia players

Andrei Kirilenko – 34 minutes, 10 points, 8 rebounds, 3 blocks – B-

Kirilenko was just 2-for-12 from the field but does so many other things too it wasn’t the worst thing in the world for Russia. They did need him to step up as Spain was coming back and he struggled to do so. He also missed a few key free throws late which could have given Russia a chance to come back in the final moments. He had a great Olympics leading Russia to a pretty impressive record but this was not his best game.

Alexey Shved – 26 minutes, 2 points, 7 assists – C+

Shved also really struggled from the field shooting 1-for-6 and 0-for-4 from deep. His jump shot has been off all Olympics but he has made up for it some with his playmaking. He did a nice job with seven assists but like Kirilenko, was needed to put the ball in the hoop more and came up short for his country.

Alexandre Kaun – 24 minutes, 14 points, 5 rebounds – A

Kaun played big time for Russia in this one holding his own with the Gasol brothers and leading Russia in scoring. He was very good rolling to the rim and within Russia’s offense and thanks to their good playmakers, he was found often finishing with dunks.

Viktor Khryapa – 34 minutes, 2 points, 4 assists, 6 rebounds – C

Khryapa was cold shooting today as well at just 1-for-6 and 0-for-4 on threes. He made some good plays as a playmaker at the top of the key like he usually does with the four assists but Russia needed a better shooting performance overall and from him in this one to win.

Timofey Mozgov – 14 minutes, 4 points, 2 rebounds – C

It’s interesting that Mozgov doesn’t start or play more for this team. He had been pretty good in the Olympics so far but was mostly a no show in this one. Russia went with the stretch fours and Kaun at center rather than trying to go bigger with Mozgov.

Anton Ponkrashov – 29 minutes, 10 points, 2 assists – B+

Ponkrashov stepped up his game vs. Spain much like he did in their first meeting. His scoring was huge with not much else working for Russia but like the rest of the team, he cooled off as Spain ran away with the game in the second half.

Sergey Monya – 25 minutes, 9 points, 2 steals – B+

When Monya was hitting threes in the first half Russia was looking like they were going to win. But they couldn’t sustain it for the entire game.

Vitaly Fridzon – 12 minutes, 8 points, 1 steal – C+

Fridzon lit up Spain for 24 points in their first meeting but was much less of a factor in this one. He was still fine in the little time he played making 2-of-3 threes. Russia went with more defense and Shved over Fridzon for most of this game.