Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Thunder don’t have to worry yet.

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

Kobe Bryant wasn’t surprised at all.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

via Pro Basketball Talk

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

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

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

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

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

Pick-and-rolls

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Post-ups

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

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

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

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

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

Isolations

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

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

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

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

Spot-up shooting

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

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

Douglas Jones-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

Point guards

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

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

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

Shooting guards

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

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

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

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

Small forwards

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

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

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

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

Power forwards

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

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

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

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

Centers

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

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

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

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

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

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Mike Bresnahan (@Mike_Bresnahan) August 11, 2012

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

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

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

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

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.

Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Kim Klement-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dennis Wierzbicki-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE

The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to meet with Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic to work on a trade for the All-Star center, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

The Lakers would like to receive a commitment from Howard that he will extend with the team beyond next season if they trade for him. Howard said previously that the only team he would extend with was the Brooklyn Nets.

There have been plenty of rumors involving Howard being traded to the Lakers. Most likely a third team would have to be involved for Orlando to get the best deal back from Howard involving either young prospects or a bunch of future draft picks.

The only team not interested in hearing Howard commit beyond next season with them is the Houston Rockets who are still “all-in” in attempting to acquire Howard. GM Daryl Morey has set up his roster with a slew of young assets and picks to throw Orlando’s way and they currently look like the team with the most to offer the Magic.

Howard sent direct messages on Twitter this week indicating that Orlando has not been totally up front about his health. Howard missed the end of last season and had back surgery and basically said he could barely walk in the direct messages.

There is a chance Howard would not be healthy to play by the start of next season and there is even a rumor out there (although unlikely) that Howard would choose to sit out the entire 2012-13 season if he remained with the Magic.

The team hoping for Howard to stay put until next summer is the Dallas Mavericks. Dallas tried to clear up cap to attract Deron Williams this summer but that did not work out and now they will do the same for Howard next summer.

Meanwhile Dallas looked as if it would end up with a very depleted roster losing Jason Terry and Jason Kidd but a couple of recent signings have salvaged a decent roster for them. Unrestricted free agent O.J. Mayo announced on Twitter that he will be signing with the Mavericks this season. Earlier in the week, Dallas grabbed Chris Kaman, Elton Brand and stole Darren Collison from Indiana.

The 2011 NBA champions are a far different team now and with an aging Dirk Nowitzki will not be back competing for a title any time soon unless they are able to sign a player like Howard.

Dallas beat the Oklahoma City Thunder in conference finals in 2011 and then got swept by them this past season in the first round.

With all of the recent movement around the league and the Western Conference in particular, OKC will still be considered the heavy favorite to make it to the NBA Finals again. Their biggest competition perhaps will be the Lakers since they have acquired Steve Nash, although the Thunder beat L.A. in five games in the second round this past postseason.

The other L.A. team, the Clippers are also up and coming in the West and have made a few nice moves to improve their roster starting with extending Blake Griffin for the next five years. Griffin suffered a knee injury during the Team USA training however and will have surgery Monday.

The Clippers have also signed Jamal Crawford and re-signed Chauncey Billups. They have also reportedly agreed to a 2-year deal with Grant Hill who was also considering the Lakers, Heat and Knicks. The Clippers were missing out on wing players on their roster this past season but adding Hill and Crawford will help them in that department.

The West has certainly gotten stronger from last season and we haven’t even mentioned the San Antonio Spurs who will have the same roster next season.

The Thunder don’t have to make moves to improve though. The experience they gained making it to the NBA Finals was enough.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jennifer Stewart-US PRESSWIRE.

Steve Nash was unexpectedly traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last night in a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns for four draft picks and cash.

Nash was expected earlier that day to be closer to signing with the New York Knicks and a few days before that, the Toronto Raptors were the frontrunner for the former back-to-back MVP winner.

But as fate would have it, the Lakers swooped in and grabbed one of their former rivals. Nash in a Lakers jersey was unthinkable until yesterday. The Suns were even rumored to have turned down a deal to L.A. because they couldn’t stomach the idea of Nash playing there.

Now that he is there, how does this change the landscape of the Western Conference? Are the Lakers back now as NBA title contenders with Nash?

The Lakers get better with Nash, that’s for sure. Los Angeles has been looking for a point guard for some time now. They traded for Ramon Sessions at the trade deadline last season and that looked like it might work for awhile until Sessions disappeared in the playoffs.

Nash will be 38 years old at the start of next season but is still a productive player. He averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists last season in Phoenix. He also shot .532 percent from the field, .390 from three and .894 from the free throw line.

There is no question that Nash can still produce. The biggest question is how he will fit in with Kobe Bryant.

Kobe has never really played alongside a traditional point guard in his NBA career. Derek Fisher has been the point next to him for most of his days and the Lakers were a triangle offense team that didn’t feature a point.

Because of this, Kobe is used to having the ball in his hands as much if not more than the point guard he’s playing with. If you’ve watched Nash play, you’ll know that he too has the ball in his hands as much as any player in the league on offense.

Both Kobe and Nash will have to adjust. Nash will not be featured like he was in Phoenix. Kobe may want to let Nash patrol the floor with the ball in his hands a little more than he is used to.

Kobe and Nash may not work perfectly but they won’t fail. Nash is too good of a teammate and Kobe cares only about winning and he knows Nash is coming on board to assist in that.

Kobe will probably not benefit dramatically with Nash and get way more open looks. It will be the other players, especially Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, that feel the biggest change with Nash on the floor.

There is one area that Nash does not help at all and maybe even hurts the Lakers: defense. Nash has never been a good defender even back when he was super quick and winning MVP’s he still acted as an open door for guards like Tony Parker to easily drive by.

The greatest competition in the Western Conference for the Lakers will be of course the Oklahoma City Thunder. Just go down the list of their big three and you’ll see why they aren’t totally scared of the Lakers now any more than they were last season. They still can’t guard Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook or James Harden.

But the Lakers weren’t all of a sudden going to be the favorites to come out of the West after signing a 38-year old point guard. They are better though and their potential is a little unknown and possibly greater than we might think.

The other factor now in play with the Lakers signing Nash is Dwight Howard. L.A. didn’t give up much to get Nash so Howard is still technically very much in play with them. After Brooklyn pretty much fell through for Howard, the Lakers seem the most likely suitor for him.

A package involving Bynum is probably the best deal Orlando could get back for trading away the best center in the league. There has been discussion between the two teams with a trade looking like: Bynum and Metta World Peace to the Magic for Howard and Jason Richardson.

If the Lakers could end up with a lineup looking like Nash, Kobe, Gasol and Howard, we can start talking about them as NBA Finals hopefuls. Until then, it’s the Thunder’s league and everybody else is just playing in it.

Nash will go to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade with the Lakers being able to absorb Nash’s contract because of the trade exception they received when they traded Lamar Odom to the Dallas Mavericks last year.

Nash is set to sign with the Lakers for three years in a deal worth around $25 million.

The Lakers will receive four draft picks from Phoenix in the deal, first rounders in 2013 and 2015 and second rounders in 2013 and 2014.

The Lakers’ name came up as a possible destination for Nash Tuesday night but then it was rumored Phoenix would not deal Nash to their old nemesis.

The Knicks emerged as the favorite to get Nash today in what would have been their own sign-and-trade sending Iman Shumpert to the Suns.

The Toronto Raptors also went all in on Nash offering him a 3-year, $36 million deal as well as offering Landry Fields a 3-year, $20 million in an attempt to prevent New York from working out a sign-and-trade with the Suns for Fields.

The storyline surrounding the Lakers for much of last season was that they needed a point guard. When they traded for Ramon Sessions it was a big deal. So trading for Nash now is that much bigger of a deal in L.A.

Nash is 38 years old but played some great basketball last season. It will be interesting to see the dynamic between him and Kobe Bryant but you have to figure they will find a way to make it work.

Here is Nash’s statement regarding the trade via ESPN:

For the last 8 seasons I’ve been blessed to play for a team and a city that has embraced me and that I have come to call home. This is a tough business and the only thing constant in life is change.

After talking with (owner) Robert (Sarver) and (president of basketball operations) Lon (Babby) we’ve agreed that it’s time for both of us to move in new directions. I approached them and asked if they would be willing to do a sign and trade deal with L.A. because it is very important to me to stay near my children and family.

They were very apprehensive and didn’t want to do it. Fortunately for me, they reconsidered. They saw that they were able to get assets for their team that will make them better, assets they would not have otherwise had and it made sense for them to do a deal that helps their team get better.

I couldn’t be more grateful to the organization and Robert in particular. I know how hard this was for him and that fact that he was able to help me and my family in this way … it means a lot and says a lot about his character. I will never forget this gesture. Above and beyond.

The Phoenix Suns are an amazing organization and fans should be excited about their future. I hope the Suns win a championship some day soon for all the amazing fans and wonderful people in the organization.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

The New York Knicks may have become the front-runner to land Steve Nash, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Knicks are in the process of working out a deal where Nash and the Phoenix Suns would be a part of a sign-and-trade involving Iman Shumpert. The potential deal for Nash would be three years and worth between $27 million-$30 million.

Nash’s named was linked with the Los Angeles Lakers yesterday but any potential deal between Phoenix and L.A. apparently fell through because the Suns do not want to trade Nash to their old rival.

Phoenix would also receive Toney Douglas and Dan Gadzuric as part of the deal. The Suns were close to drafting Shumpert in last year’s draft which could sweeten the deal for them.

The Knicks would prefer not to trade Shumpert but “will if they have to” to get Nash.

The Toronto Raptors previously seemed like the team most likely to sign Nash. Toronto was prepared to offer Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal and also offered restricted free agent Landry Fields a 3-year, $20 million deal in an attempt to prevent New York from getting Nash.

The dream scenario for the Knicks right now would be the sign-and-trade for Nash as well as re-signing Jeremy Lin, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein. The Knicks would be committing upwards of $82 million to five players in the 2014-15 season if they get Nash and Lin.

The Houston Rockets are meeting with Lin today and are expected to offer him a deal worth around $30 million. The deal would be heavy on the back end with Lin making around $5 million per year in the first two years then around $10 million per in the final two.

The Knicks intend to match any offer sheet Lin signs with another team.

The Raptors were the first team to go all in on Nash and now the Knicks have countered. If New York can snag Nash from the Raptors, the move to sign Fields by Toronto will really look bad.

Nash in New York, reunited with Amare Stoudemire and possibly taming the trigger-happy Carmelo Anthony, would be heaven for Knicks’ fans. It wouldn’t necessarily be enough to call the Knicks contenders to the Miami Heat but it has to be seen as progress.

The Raptors have reportedly reached a verbal agreement with restricted free agent Fields for a 3-year, $20 million deal.

This thwarts any plans the New York Knicks had of pulling off a sign-and-trade with Fields to Phoenix for Nash. The Knicks could still match Toronto’s offer for Fields but the Suns would be much less interested in trading Nash for Fields at that price.

The Raptors, who have offered Nash a 3-year, $36 million deal, are now essentially putting up $56 million to bring Nash in if you include what they’ll pay Fields.

Nash may 38 years old but he had an excellent season last year and will immediately make the Raptors a playoff team in the Eastern Conference. The city will love Nash and the Raptors will become one of the most exciting teams in the conference.

This is what the train of thought is for the Raptors. They know they aren’t winning a title any time soon so why not go all in on Nash and put their team on the map?

The Knicks will now almost definitely re-sign Jeremy Lin or match any offer sheet he signs with someone else. The Knicks were also rumored to possibly consider Raymond Felton is they could not sign Nash.

J.R. Smith is said to be leaning towards re-signing with New York as well.

Nash is 38 years old but still has some good basketball left in him. Last season he averaged 12.5 points and 10.7 assists per game while shooting .532 percent from the field, .390 from three and .894 from the free throw line.

Any contender would love to add him to their roster but it’s not going to be that easy.

The Toronto Raptors have emerged as the front-runner to sign Nash this offseason reportedly offering him a 3-year, $36 million deal that few teams would be able to match.

Nash has expressed the desire to play in Canada and has also made it known that money is still a factor for him. This is Nash’s last chance to make this kind of money in his career. Why would he leave $36 on the table to chase a title in Miami for $4 million?

Nash would immediately make the Raptors one of the most exciting teams in the Eastern Conference and possibly a threat to win a round in the playoffs. We’ve seen the kind of impact Nash has on a team and the Raptors may have enough tools to surround Nash with.

Other possible suitors for Nash are the Mavericks, Nets and Knicks. Neither could offer Nash as much money as Toronto.

The Knicks are exploring the possibility of a sign-and-trade involving Landry Fields to Phoenix that could afford Nash a little more money in a deal but still not as much as Toronto is offering.

If Toronto’s offer of $36 million isn’t enough, they’ve also called in the help of hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to help woo Nash.

Toronto seems like the most likely landing spot for Nash by far right now. Nash would save that team for a year or two too. They wouldn’t be the same Raptors as last season who just added a 38 year old point guard. Nash can still play and play at a very high level for his position.

Free agency begins tonight at midnight and the Heat want to move fast to get Allen, before other teams are more prepared to possibly pursue Allen as well.

“We’ve got five or six guys earmarked (in free agency) so we’ll see how it goes,” Heat president Pat Riley said. “We want to find as much space as we can on the floor for Dwyane, LeBron and for Chris (Bosh) to be able to operate.”

The Heat can only offer Allen a mid-level exception of around $3 million. That is considerably less than what Allen may be able to get from other teams but the Heat are also throwing in possibly the best chance for Allen to win another ring.

Steve Nash will likely be leaving his previous team as well this offseason as the Phoenix Suns. Nash made $11.7 million last season and the Suns are unlikely to offer him a 3-year deal worth more than $10 million per year.

The Suns plan to go after Eric Gordon as well and would look to offer him around $12 million per year but New Orleans should be prepared to match any reasonable offer as Gordon is a restricted free agent.

Nash will be able to get much more money elsewhere starting with Toronto who is rumored to be preparing to offer Nash $12 million per year.

“There’s positives to every situation,” Nash said. “The Raptors would be one of those teams where you’re probably not going there to win a championship in the next three years. For me it’d be going home to Canada, to a great city, and trying to help an organization move forward.

“I’m open to the positives of all of them. It’d be great if four or five contenders came after me and all offered me a deal, but the reality is I might not get that opportunity. So I’m going to look at every opportunity and Toronto will be one that I’ll study as well and look at the opportunity for them to grow in the next three years and what kind of impact I can have on that team. And obviously from a community standpoint, it’s a special place for me.”

via ESPN’s Marc Stein

Nash will also most likely be targeted by Dallas and New York but he’ll be able to make the most money in Toronto. Nash would like to have another chance at winning a ring and that would be hard to imagine in Toronto but he has also said that money is still an important factor for him.

Allen and Nash are both looking for another chance at a ring to close out their careers but they would both have to take a lot less cash to do so. The Heat look like the most likely landing spot for Allen right now and for Nash that place is Toronto.

Mark J. Rebilas-US PRESSWIRE

It was a career night as James Harden returned to Arizona, where he played college ball for Arizona State (boo!).

Harden scored his career best 40 points on just 17 shots as the Thunder take out the Phoenix Suns 109-97.

The Suns had four technical fouls, by Steve Nash, Sebastian Telfair, Robin Lopez and Coach Alvin Gentry.

Jared Dudley led the Suns with 21 points. No one else scored more than 13.

The Thunder continue their quest for the 1 seed Friday in Sacramento.

 Kevin Durant- B+     29pts/11reb/5ast/2blk

Going for his third straight scoring title, Kevin Durant got his due scoring 29 points in a game where it was all James Harden. He added 11 rebounds and a couple blocks in a big win that keeps the Thunder in the race for home court.

 Russell Westbrook- D     15pts/6reb/5ast/2stl

Westbrook struggled throughout the game, even getting benched for a while during the second half. He only played 31 minutes and shot at a 37.5% clip. It seemed like Russell, along with the rest of the team, just took a backseat tonight.

 Serge Ibaka- C     9pts/3reb/1blk

In just 18 minutes, Ibaka couldn’t have much of an impact on the game. He garnered just one block and only grabbed three rebounds. The Suns are a generally small team, so having Ibaka in there wasn’t helping them on the defensive end. Once he works on his perimeter defense, he won’t have to be taken out in these situations.

 Kendrick Perkins- B     5pts/9reb

The Thunder big men have not been a factor on the offensive end this year, but what they do is lock down the paint. Marcin Gortat, who scored 28 points in their last meeting, could not hit anything tonight. Thanks to the effort from Perkins and Ibaka, the Suns were forced to take their game to the perimeter, where they shot 6-20 from 3-point range.

 James Harden- A++     40pts/7reb/3ast/4stl

WOW! James Harden showed why he is going to be one of the premier 2-guards in the NBA for years to come. He was hitting on all cylinders tonight. Leading the league in TS% from the guard position, Harden scored with incredible efficiency. One of the main reasons he is able to take over a game is his ability to get to the free throw line. He made all 11 of his attempts from the charity stripe, to go along with seven rebounds and four steals. Great games like these from Harden are the reason the Thunder will be so dangerous in the playoffs.

 Rest of the Thunder- C+

I can’t stand Derek Fisher right now. He took seven shots and didn’t come close on any except for the one he made at the end of the first half. He’s in there to be a veteran and not make mistakes, not take shots he isn’t going to make. Nick Collison ended up playing more minutes than Serge Ibaka, and played well. A high motor guy who isn’t afriad to set a screen and take charges is a player that all championship teams need.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

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

Phoenix Suns (1-game winning streak)
103.9 Offensive Efficiency (7th)
103.3 Defensive Efficiency (20th)
94.8 Pace (8th)
53.7 True Shooting % (6th)
49.0 Rebound Rate (23rd)

The Thunder are coming off a loss in their last game to the Los Angeles Clippers, 92-77, in which Oklahoma City scored the least amount of points they had all season. Tonight the Thunder will be playing their third game of a five-game road trip in Phoenix.

The Suns are currently sitting in the eighth slot in the West standings but the Rockets are right on their heels with the same overall record. The Suns need to finish the season very strongly to make it into the playoffs and they really have been one of the surprises of the season.

Thunder head coach Scott Brooks called Alvin Gentry the Coach of the Year today when asked about it and it is amazing what Phoenix is doing with the cast of players they have surrounding 38-year old Steve Nash.

Nash is second in the NBA in assists this season averaging 10.9 per game and he is shooting an incredible 53.5 percent from the field.

The Thunder and Suns played about five weeks ago with the Thunder winning 115-104. In that game James Harden scored a then career-high 30 points on 8-of-12 shooting.

Harden’s struggles lately have largely influenced the Thunder’s dwindling play (4-5 in their last nine games) and if he can get going tonight with just five games left in the regular season it would be a very good sign for Thunder fans.

Harden wasn’t the only player to score over 30 in that game as Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook both did as well with the trio combining for 91 points.

The Suns did a great job early in that game against the Thunder as Nash and Grant Hill essentially were outplaying Durant and Westbrook but the young legs won out in the end.

With the Spurs beating the Lakers last night, Oklahoma City is now a half game back of San Antonio for the one seed in the West. If the Thunder and Suns keep winning the rest of the season we could see them meet in the first round of the playoffs.

Goldsberry’s goal with the paper was to determine who the best shooter in the NBA was. Instead of just looking at field goal percentage and true shooting percentage Goldsberry broke down every player in the NBA seeing how well they shot from the widest variety of locations.

He found that Steve Nash and Ray Allen were the best shooters in the NBA. I could have told you that. The research was awesome though and goes much further than just settling the argument of who the best shooter in the league is.

It’s about where on the court players shoot the best from and how often they shoot from certain spaces. It can provide great scouting analysis of teams and specific players.

Most recently, Goldsberry took a look at Kevin Durant this season.

Durant is shooting a career-high 50 percent from the field this season and 37.9 percent from three. Durant also has a career-high 61 true shooting percentage this season and is in the conversation for winning the MVP this season.

It’s more interesting to look at Durant’s shooting through the eyes of Goldsberry’s CourtVision.

Durant shoots the majority of his threes from the top of the key and the wings. He takes a lot of threes off the dribble in isolation situations and on catch-and-shoots.

We see that Durant is better at shooting at shooting on the left side of the court. This is because Durant likes to come into his shot with his left hand when dribbling. Most great right-handed shooters are like this.

Only the best right-handed shooters become just as good at shooting when going to their right like Nash, Allen and Kobe Bryant. Then there are some like Paul Pierce who seem to like it more. But for the most part, good right-handed shooters prefer to bring the ball up from their left hand.

It’s interesting that Durant is under 30 percent on threes from the right wing. I think that is because of his low percentage when shooting from their off the dribble. He is definitely a good catch-and-shoot guy from that spot or at least should be since he is a righty.

The other thing to note about Durant being a better shooter on the left side of the floor is how he gets his shots. He uses his length and stepback move as an advantage rather than strength to get most of his shots. He’s better with a fadeaway than a strong drive and pull-up. This is why you see better shooting numbers on the left side of the floor and especially the mid-range area.

Players still play Durant to drive left because he is a better finisher at the rim on the right side. We still see Durant drive and shoot on the right side of the floor a lot though. Durant does the smart thing of attacking the top foot when he is defended one-on-one and is looking to drive which means he usually goes right.

As Durant develops for him to become an even more complete scorer he will have to get stronger at finishing with pull-up jump shots going to his right and work on making the stepback shot to his right.

Durant is still probably the best scorer in the world so it will become pretty unfair as he improves in these areas.

Head on over to Kirk Goldsberry’s website to see more of his work using CourtVision.

Also follow him on Twitter @kirkgoldsberry

This may or may not be common knowledge but I’m here to tell you know that the Oklahoma City Thunder may have the best zone offense in the NBA.

Keys to beating a zone include: good perimeter shooting, ability to penetrate, good ball movement and hitting the offensive glass. The Thunder demonstrated the ability to do all of these against the Suns.

Kevin Durant and James Harden took care of the three-point shooting, Russell Westbrook slashed and dashed through the Suns zone and Serge Ibaka pulled down nine offensive rebounds.

Here are some of the best possessions Oklahoma City had against Phoenix’s zone.

Early in the third quarter the Suns come out in a matchup 2-3 zone. Westbrook advances into the front court then swings it to Daequan Cook on the left wing with Durant in the left corner.

Durant comes up to get the ball at the wing and Ibaka comes over to set a screen on Jared Dudley. Durant uses it and Steve Nash comes over to help and Durant kicks out to Westbrook on the wing. Grant Hill then has to decide now to run out to Westbrook and leave Cook open in the corner.

Hill jabs at Westbrook then retreats and Westbrook immediately penetrates at Marcin Gortat. This is usually where we’d see Westbrook try and take on Gortat and draw a foul and finish at the rim. Westbrook collectedly gets into the paint and sees Ibaka now rolling to the rim.

Westbrook dumps it off to Ibaka who gets a pretty easy dunk. The Thunder made all of the right reads here and moved the ball quickly and efficiently to get the easy dunk.

The next play is at the end of the third quarter with Phoenix again in a 2-3 zone. The Thunder try a set play here with Westbrook bringing it up on the right wing and Durant is looking to set a back pick on the opposite guard for Harden to get a three on the left wing.

Harden catches on the wing but doesn’t have the shot as Dudley helps up for Nash. The Suns zone is already in trouble here and way out of position.

Harden quickly hits Durant at the foul line as Nash and Dudley converge on him. All of the focus then goes to Durant who now has the ball in the middle of the paint.

Durant makes a great read here seeing Ibaka diving on the left block with no one on him. Ibaka finishes quickly and strongly with another dunk.

The final play comes with 4:00 minutes left in the game. Oklahoma City has gone small to close the game and is using Durant around the free throw line to beat the zone. Phoenix is again in 2-3.

Durant comes up to set a pick for Westbrook then flattens out to the right wing. Nash goes with Durant and Westbrook sees the slight opening in the middle of zone and drives hard at Dudley.

Once Westbrook gets into the paint like that it’s all but over for the Suns’ zone. All of the attention goes to him and he makes the easy pass kicking out to Harden in the corner for the three which he drills.

The Thunder, like the Miami Heat, may see a lot of zone once the playoffs start because a lot of teams can’t really match up with them man-to-man. But the Thunder are better put together to beat the zone than the Heat are.

The Thunder’s zone offense may prove to be an integral weapon to their road to the NBA Finals this season.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

The Thunder have to be the most exciting team to watch in the NBA this season. And they also have had some of the more memorable box scores this season.

The Thunder had their Big Three each score 30 or more points and Serge Ibaka come two points shy of a 20-20 game.

Oklahoma City beat Phoenix 115-104 and only five players scored for the Thunder. Kendrick Perkins had six.

For three quarters it was not Kevin Durant’s night. He struggled mightily from the field and simply was not letting the game come to him, and he usually does.

Trailing 84-68 with 4:13 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma City would cut the deficit to just 88-84 by the end of the quarter. The Thunder were on a 30-7 run with eight minutes left in the fourth and ahead 98-90.

Durant after a frustrating night in which he didn’t feel he got the calls he should have, got going in the fourth and scored 12 points to give him 30 on the night.

Durant got into foul trouble picking up two cheapies in the first and Russell Westbrook and James Harden stepped up. With Harden in the Thunder finished the first period strong but still trailed 34-25.

Steve Nash had seven assists in the first and Marcin Gortat 12 points. Nash would get up to 13 assists by halftime but wouldn’t drop another dime the rest of the game.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Westbrook was schooled by Nash in the first half but came out with much better defense in the second half. Westbrook also matched Nash’s offense and then some as he scored 31 points and had 10 of his own assists.

Harden was a machine tonight off the bench and the Thunder were plus-27 when he was in the game. He scored 30 points on 12 shots and made 10-of-11 free throws.

With five minutes left in the third quarter, Royal Ivey entered the game for the first time. He did not score and missed all four of his three-point attempts but he played the rest of the game and the Thunder outscored Phoenix by 23 with him in.

Ivey certainly played great defense and helped stretch the floor on offense as Phoenix showed a lot of zone.

The Thunder were only able to go small in the fourth because of Ibaka’s career game and total control of the boards. Nine of Ibaka’s 20 rebounds were offensive too and he added three blocks as well. Ibaka and Westbrook would prove to be a very solid weapon for Oklahoma City’s offense tonight.

The Suns had 28 assists in the game with 23 of them coming in the first half. Oklahoma City did the most of their damage with 31 fast break points against the old knees of the Suns.

This game again felt like one that the Thunder should not have won for three quarters but then they just give their opponents too much to handle for 48 minutes to lose. They seem to never get tired and never give up in any game this season.

The Thunder now improve their NBA-best record to 31-8 this season and will play next Friday night when they host Cleveland (13-23).

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (1-game winning streak)
106.1 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.1 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
96.0 Pace (5th)
56.7 True Shooting % (2nd)
51.6 Rebound Rate (4th)

Suns (3-game winning streak)
100.2 Offensive Efficiency (16th)
101.9 Defensive Efficiency (18th)
94.4 Pace (13th)
52.4 True Shooting % (13th)
48.7 Rebound Rate (24th)

The Thunder are coming off a nice win against Dallas two nights ago. The win gave Oklahoma City the season series at 3-1 and they came from behind in the final minutes to close out the defending champs.

Phoenix has won their last three games and five of their last six. They have been inconsistent this year despite the amazing play of Steve Nash and his new pick-and-roll partner, Marcin Gortat.

The Suns can still win a lot of games in this league playing their style. Their style just doesn’t bode well when matched up with the juggernaut Thunder.

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Nash will have to contend with one of the best defenders in the league in Russell Westbrook as well as somehow try and slow Westbrook down at the other end. When Westbrook has matchups like this where he truly overmatches his counterpart in athleticism, he has really tried to take advantage of it this year and pretty much gets to whatever spot he wants.

The Suns have a ton of small forwards t throw out on the court but none are much match for Kevin Durant who is coming off a few recent games where he did have to face tough defenders.

The Suns can be at their best running and moving the ball around for open shots but that pace tonight will favor the hyper-athletes that the Thunder strut out onto the court.

Gortat has been a pleasant surprise for Phoenix this year but it doesn’t get much tougher than Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins protecting the paint.

Oklahoma City is susceptible to upsets from teams that hit the offensive glass and play great defense that forces turnovers. The Suns aren’t that team and with the game being played in Oklahoma City, the Thunder should walk all over Phoenix tonight.

These two teams met once earlier this season on New Year’s Eve with the Thunder winning 107-97. In that game Nash was held to eight points on 3-of-10 shooting. Durant only scored 12 and Westbrook 18 but it was the Thunder bench that really came through with 53 points.

James Harden had 10 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and Daequan Cook played especially well knocking down four treys.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook was named to the Western Conference All-Star team as a reserve on TNT Thursday night. This is Westbrook’s second All-Star selection of his career.

Westbrook is averaging 22.3 points per game, 5.9 assists per game and 4.8 rebounds per game this season and shooting a career-high 45.9 percent from the field. Westbrook is also third among point guards in the West with a 22.56 PER.

Westbrook was pretty much a sure thing for the selection and joins Kevin Durant as the only two Thunder players to make the team. James Harden, however, did not make the cut.

Harden is second in the West in PER among shooting guards behind only Kobe Bryant this season. Harden is averaging 16.8 points, 3.5 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game while shooting 47 percent from the field and 87 percent from the line.

Tony Parker and Dirk Nowitzki both made the All-Star team, while both possibly less deserving than Harden.

Parker has come on late for the Spurs and has a 21.95 PER but was the fourth point guard selected onto the team. If a backup center must be chosen than why is selecting a backup shooting guard not also mandatory?

That being said, Monta Ellis who is averaging 22.6 points and 6.3 assist per game may have been the most deserving not selected to the team.

Harden does still have a chance to make the squad if one of the West players is injured between now and the game. So let’s have the entire Thunder nation rise and one and root for injuries until then.

The rest of the Western Conference reserves are: Kevin Love, LaMarcus Aldridge, Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Steve Nash and Marc Gasol.

Andrew Kennedy is the Lead Editor of Thunderous Intentions and the Editorial Director of the NBA Division at FanSided. Follow him on Twitter or read more of his work at True Hoop Drew.