Apr 9, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) attempts to dribble around Utah Jazz shooting guard Gordon Hayward (20) during the first quarter at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder turned it around last night beating the Utah Jazz 90-80.

The Thunder defense held Utah – a team with a lot to play for right now – to 39.2 percent shooting after giving up 125 points to the New York Knicks on Sunday.

The Thunder also only shot 39.5 percent but they hit 9-of-21 threes and made 17-of-18 from the three throw line.

The big key was keeping Utah off the glass which the Thunder did, yielding just six offensive rebounds to them.

The Thunder also only turned the ball over nine times.

OKC did all of the things to win that they needed to considering they didn’t shoot well.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 37 minutes, 21 points, 12 rebounds, 9 assists – B+

Durant came close to another triple-double and he tried his best to get it as he looked very hard for an assist in the final minutes of this game. He took only 10 shots in the game and made six of them. He was 1-of-2 from three and 8-of-8 from the free throw line. The rebounding was probably the most impressive thing Durant did yesterday and the most crucial against a Utah team that is very good at collecting offensive rebounds.

Russell Westbrook – 37 minutes, 25 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds – B

It was KD’s turn to be the playmaker last night as Westbrook was mostly in attack mode. He went 8-of-21 from the field but seemed to dominate a little more than that. He had a few really nasty dunks too. Just one turnover from Russ makes the inefficient shooting very forgiveable.

Serge Ibaka – 32 minutes, 16 points, 8 rebounds, 5 blocks – B+

Ibaka was very aggressive in the game and made 8-of-14 shots. He really got going from midrange which is always such a confidence booster for him. He helped seal up the paint where Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap weren’t very effective by blocking five shots.

Kevin Martin – 28 minutes, 5 points, 1 rebound – D

Martin was extremely ineffective again making just 2-of-9 shots. It’s becoming very hard for Scott Brooks to rationalize playing him big minutes or in crunch time.

Kendrick Perkins – 29 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists – C+

Perkins’ numbers don’t look good but he did a very solid job on the Utah bigs all night. That was his only job and he came through.

Thabo Sefolosha – 27 minutes, 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 assists – B+

When Martin doesn’t shoot well, the Thunder always need someone else to step up. Last night, it was Thabo. He only took threes and made 4-of-8 including three straight early in the game which was huge for the Thunder. They were leaving him open and really focusing on Durant which gave him these opportunities.

Nick Collison – 17 minutes, 2 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – C+

Collison has had better games. You rarely see him go 1-for-5 from the field but Utah has some good big men who are long that make it tougher on Collison.

Reggie Jackson – 16 minutes, 4 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds – B-

He went just 1-for-4 from the field as Brooks tried using him in the fourth quarter the same way he did vs. New York. Jackson had some success but not as much. Still it was a solid game for him.

Derek Fisher – 11 minutes, 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 steals – C

Just another very typical game from Fish. He went 1-for-4 from the field and did very little.

Hasheem Thabeet – 7 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 block – C+

Thabeet didn’t play much but did of course get a block while he was out there.

Scott Brooks – B+

Brooks got the guys to bounce back from a tough loss and play much better defensively. A lot of that credit has to go to him. The rotation was what we’ve come to expect. I liked the way he gave Jackson another chance in the fourth to run the show, even with Russ in there with him. That could be a good weapon in the playoffs.

Mar 13, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Utah Jazz guard Randy foye (8) handles the ball against Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will look to bounce back tonight as they hit the road to take on the Utah Jazz.

The Thunder lost their last game vs. the New York Knicks at home 125-120. Defense was nonexistent in that game so the Thunder should be eager to get back on the court tonight.

The Knicks also really hurt the Thunder on the offensive glass, something that the Jazz pride themselves on and will have to do as well to beat the Thunder tonight.

Utah is one of the toughest places to play in the league so the Thunder will have their work cut out for them tonight.

The Jazz have a lot to play for as they are just a half game ahead of the Los Angeles Lakers for the eighth seed in the Western Conference.

The Thunder are also in a race for a playoff seed as they currently sit one game behind the San Antonio Spurs for the top seed in the West.

This game could be a preview of the first round of the playoffs.

The other big thing at stake now is Kevin Durant winning the scoring title. After Sunday’s loss to the Knicks, Carmelo Anthony passed Durant as the leading scorer this season. Durant is currently averaging 28.35 points per game and Anthony 28.44.

The Thunder need to win four of their last five games to reach 60 wins on the season.

The game will tip at 9 p.m. EST.

Mar 13, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) handles the ball against Utah Jazz guard Mo Williams (5) during the first half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder made quick work of the Utah Jazz last night defeating them 110-87 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The Thunder jumped out to a 10-point lead after the first quarter and then outscored Utah 21-9 in the second quarter to take a 50-28 lead into the half.

The Thunder shot 53.6 percent from the field for the game while they held the Paul Millsap-less Jazz to 35.0 percent shooting.

The Thunder are off tonight before hosting the Orlando Magic Friday night.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 29 minutes, 23 points, 10 rebounds, 0 assists – B

Durant didn’t have any problem putting the ball in the basket last night but passing the ball was another story. Durant didn’t record an assist for the first time all season while he turned the ball over eight times. What that says is Durant is not being assertive enough looking to score. It’s not a big deal when you blow out Utah but this was also the problem in the loss vs. the Spurs. He’s looking to get his teammates involved a little too much and he’s wasting nights where he could be dropping 40 on someone.

Russell Westbrook – 28 minutes, 19 points, 9 assists, 7 rebounds – A

This is as dominant as Westbrook can be in 28 minutes. He was efficient shooting the ball going 6-for-11 from the field but did turn the ball over five times. Flirting with a triple-double though in this amount of playing time is very impressive.

Serge Ibaka – 26 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – B

Ibaka’s lack of rebounds in a game like this is not a big deal. His role is contesting shots while Durant can easily help out on the defensive glass. Ibaka did get two offensive boards and 4-for-6 from the field is about what you come to expect from him as well.

Kevin Martin – 23 minutes, 15 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – B+

It’s always nice to see Martin score in ways other than three-point shots. That’s a good litmus test for how well the Thunder are playing as a team. The second unit was great last night and Martin getting rolling was a big reason why.

Kendrick Perkins – 27 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds – C

Perkins did nothing on the offensive end and even turned the ball over four times but his defense on Al Jefferson saves him an F grade. Jefferson went just 4-for-13 from the field and didn’t attempt a free throw. Job well done Perk.

Thabo Sefolosha – 26 minutes, 7 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist – B

This was a solid game from Sefolosha who made 1-of-2 from distance and scored a few other ways as well. This is about what Thabo will give you on a nightly basis, but when it disappears it hurts.

Nick Collison – 19 minutes, 6 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists – A

Since James Harden is no longer around to get assists on the Thunder second unit, we’ve seen Collison start to get more. Five assists is a season-high for him and another great litmus test to gauge the Thunder bench squad. Of course, he did everything else perfectly as well including picking up three steals.

Reggie Jackson – 20 minutes, 12 points, 2 assists, 6 rebounds – A

When Jackson is hitting his shot from the outside, watch out. We already know he can get to the basket nearly at will and as his confidence rises in that perimeter jumper, it will open up everything for him. Just another great game and great work from Jackson last night and even got two of his six boards on the offensive end.

Derek Fisher – 19 minutes, 10 points, 1 assist – B+

It’s not a big deal that Fisher is playing big minutes if he is knocking down shots. He seems like he will more often than not do that at home.

Hasheem Thabeet – 15 minutes, 0 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block – C

This was not Thabeet’s best game who went 0-for-2 from the field. Usually, he does a little better in Thunder blowouts but no biggie, he still got a block.

Perry Joens, III and Ronnie Brewer each played the final five minutes of garbage time. They each scored four points.

Feb 12, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder small forward Kevin Durant (35) is defended by Utah Jazz point guard Alec Burks (10) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 109-94. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder return home tonight to deal with the visiting Utah Jazz.

The Thunder and Jazz have played twice already this season and split the season series with the home team winning each time.

Most recently, the Jazz beat the Thunder 109-94 back on Feb. 12. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were both efficient in that game shooting the ball but turnovers and little scoring help elsewhere led to the doom of OKC.

The Thunder beat the Jazz before that back on Nov. 30. Durant had 25 points on 8-of-13 shooting while Westbrook was off the charts with 23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists, seven steals and eight turnovers.

Westbrook has turned it over 15 times in two games vs. Utah this year and would like to see that number go down tonight.

The Jazz make their living these days with their size up front. Utah will probably be without starting power forward Paul Millsap but they have plenty of depth to fill the void.

Enes Kanter in particular has come on strong for the struggling Jazz of late. He is the kind of player with a lot of talent and is you supplement that with confidence, you will start to see some serious growth.

The Thunder come into tonight coming off a very tough defeat at the hands of the San Antonio Spurs two nights ago. The Spurs won without Tony Parker and revealed some of the lingering issues that still plague the Thunder.

That game was a back-to-back though and on the road so tonight back at home and with a night’s rest, we should see the Thunder return to their winning form.

The game will tip at 8 p.m. EST and air nationally on ESPN.

January 25, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Eric Maynor (6) dribbles the ball next to Sacramento Kings guard Jimmer Fredette (7) in the fourth quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Thunder defeated the Kings 105-95. Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports

It was reported yesterday that the Oklahoma City Thunder were aggressively shopping third-string point guard Eric Maynor.

Maynor lost his backup point job to Reggie Jackson in mid-December. Maynor is going to become a restricted free agent in the summer and the Thunder likely won’t want to match an offer sheet for him.

The asking price for Maynor is high according to reports. Maynor has not been very good this season but before his ACL injury last season was considered one of the best backup point guards in the league.

The Thunder couldn’t get much back from Maynor alone. They’d definitely need to involve draft picks, Jeremy Lamb or Perry Jones, III if they want to get something substantial back in a trade.

The Utah Jazz is a team that is in need of a backup point guard. It has been rumored that they are trying to trade away Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap, who are both in the final years of their contracts.

Jefferson could only ever be a rental for the Thunder so he doesn’t really make sense. Millsap could have a future with OKC beyond this season if he were to be acquired. The Thunder would have to include Kendrick Perkins in a trade for Millsap though which wouldn’t exactly have the Jazz jumping up and down to do the move.

There is another player on the Utah roster that would be interesting for the Thunder and that is DeMarre Carroll. He is making just $885K this season so the Jazz would have to throw in someone like Jamaal Tinsley to make the trade work. The Thunder would have to probably throw in a draft pick in this deal too.

Carroll is a great athlete who can play the three and four positions. He would be an ideal guy for the Thunder to throw on LeBron James if they end up making it to the NBA Finals again.

The Philadelphia 76ers are another team interested in a backup point guard for Jrue Holiday. A trade sending Maynor and Lamb to Philly for Evan Turner or Dorell Wright would work. The Thunder would get more depth at the wing position either with a creator or spot-up shooter.

The Toronto Raptors are also interested in a backup point guard but they really don’t have anything to offer the Thunder.

Then there is always the chance OKC would trade Maynor simply for a draft pick. That doesn’t sound like a high asking price and they would be sacrificing their backup point guard insurance as well if Jackson ever got injured.

It looks like there is a good chance Maynor will be dealt at the deadline. The Thunder probably won’t make any blockbuster deals tomorrow but there are potential moves out there involving Maynor that could make the Thunder more of a contender this season.

Nov 2, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Eric Maynor and Thunder head coach Scott Brooks talk during the second half against the Portland Trail Blazers at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

With the trade dedline coming up Thursday at 3 PM EST, NBA fans have been on the ESPN trade machine all day trying to figure out ways to make their favorite team better and GM’s have been on the phone all day. For the Oklahoma City Thunder, there hasn’t been too much buzz, but we all know Sam Presti has something under his sleeve.

Here are some possible deals the Thunder could make before Thursday’s deadline:

According to Chris Broussard, ESPN.com, OKC is “aggressively” shopping PG Eric Maynor.

Well, its amazing how times change. Two years ago, we were sitting here talking about how Maynor is the best backup point guard in the league. Then, he goes down early last year with an ACL injury. After healing, comes back this year and disappoints and gets his spot taken by Reggie Jackson. And now, the Thunder are shopping him. Time to look at some possible ideas:

Maynor, Perkins, 1st round pick from OKC and 2nd round pick from Charlotte for Demare Carroll and Al Jefferson: Jefferson would give the Thunder more scoring and more quickness. However, losing Perkins would get rid of championship experience.

Maynor, Perry Jones III, and Daniel Orton to Utah for Derrick Favors and Kevin Murphy: With the Jazz needing a backup point guard and Maynor being in Utah before, this trade works. This would be a decent deal for Oklahoma City as the Thunder have been looking for an inside scoring presence for a while.

Rodger Sherman of SB Nation: “So who will move for Maynor? Berger mentioned the other team he’s played for in his NBA career, the Jazz, who are on the lookout for a backup point guard with Mo Williams still hurt and Jamaal Tinsley’s primary backup Earl Watson. Maynor would certainly be an improvement over Watson – and perhaps even Tinsley – but the Jazz might not have the pieces to land Maynor, for whom Broussard reports the asking price is high. Besides, Berger reports the Jazz’ front office is still torn up about whether to deal either Al Jefferson or Paul Millsap.”

So, send over the trade ideas. I do think the Thunder will deal Maynor before Thursday’s deadline because to be honest, as of now, he is no help to this team. Sititng on the bench supporting his team is great but doesn’t necessarily help the Thunder win a ring.

Feb 16, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Toronto Raptors guard Terrence Ross dunks after leaping over a youngster during the 2013 NBA all star slam dunk contest at the Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Toronto Raptors guard Terrence Ross won the 2013 NBA Slam Dunk Contest beating out the defending champion Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz in the final round.

Ross got a fortunate first dunk score of 50 after needing five attempts to finish his slam. After that first dunk he was solid the rest of the way capping off the competition with a between-the-legs dunk over a small boy.

Evans relied on props as expected and was impressive to a degree but not enough to overcome Ross, who took home 58 percent of the fans’ votes.

The favorites, James White and Gerald Green, dimmed in the bright lights of All-Star Weekend. They both struggled to eve finish dunks while not even seeming to attempt the most difficult.

White first took off from the free throw line with two hands and received only a score of 45. His second dunk was planned to be one from the right wing where he switched hands with the ball but he was unable to complete it.

Green, who won the competition in 2007, tried dunking a ball twice in one leap after cutting off the net but could not do so after many tries.

This contest clearly need the game’s best players to compete. Whether it be LeBron James who could easily win it or even someone like Kevin Durant who could at least draw more attention to the event.

White and Green had a chance to put this event back on the map but they failed to do so. Ross was solid but that’s about it.

November 20, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New York Knicks shooting guard James White (4) dunks against the New Orleans Hornets during the fourth quarter of a game at the New Orleans Arena. The Knicks defeated the Hornets 102-80. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports

It’s NBA All-Star Weekend and the 2013 Slam Dunk Contest will be held tonight. The Saturday night festivities will begin at 8:30 p.m. EST. The dunk contest will be the final event and likely to start between 9:30-10:00 p.m. EST.

There won’t be any superstars participating in this year’s contest but there is more hope than usual that the contest will return to glory this year.

There is a new format this year where the six contestants will be divided into their respective conferences. There are two rounds where the best scores from each conference will then meet in a final round.

Here’s a look at each contestant and their dunking highlights:

Eastern Conference

James White, New York Knicks
Stats: 6.7 MPG, 1.8 PPG, 0.8 RPG

White is 30 years old and only in his third season in the NBA. He was drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers back in 2006 and has never really found a home in the league playing in just 44 career games so far. White’s claim to fame has always been his dunking. He finished second in the McDonald’s All-American Slam Dunk Contest and has become a YouTube sensation with some of his dunks in dunk contests around the world. This is the first time White has been on an NBA team at the time of All-Star Weekend so it is fitting that he will be competing in the contest as one of the favorites to win it. White loves getting running starts for his dunks and jumping off one foot. He will use his great speed to his advantage with at least a few attempts from the free throw line tonight.

Gerald Green, Indiana Pacers
Stats: 19.8 MPG, 6.6 PPG, 2.5 RPG

Green has a history with the NBA Slam Dunk Contest already having won it back in 2007. Like White, Green was also out of the league for a little while but has come back strong the past few seasons with the Brooklyn Nets and now Indiana Pacers. Green and White have met before in a dunk contest in Russia a few years back which is known as one of the best ever. Green is a two-footed dunker and gets up extremely high with his face nearly level with the rim often times.

Terrence Ross, Toronto Raptors
Stats: 16.9 MPG, 6.4 PPG, 2.1 RPG

Ross was drafted 8th overall by the Toronto Raptors in this past NBA Draft. He came in as a solid outside shooter and great athlete which he has lived up to with his invite to this contest. Ross will join a long list of participants from Toronto in the history of the dunk contest which includes Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady. Ross has been especially good with windmill dunks this season.

Feb 12, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) is defended by Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins (5) during the first half at EnergySolutions Arena. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder fell to the Utah Jazz on the road Tuesday night 109-94 bringing their record to 39-13 on the season.

The Thunder shot the ball well early on but also turned it over a lot and let the Jazz dominate the offensive glass. Utah had 16 offensive rebounds in the game and the Thunder committed 20 turnovers.

OKC shot 55.9 percent for the game but went 13-for-23 from the free throw line and the Jazz attempted 19 more field goals.

The Thunder cut the deficit to as little as five points in the third quarter then Utah went back up by 21 with just over five minutes to play in the game.

Scott Brooks yanked his starters at that point conceding victory to the Jazz.

Here are the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 38 minutes, 33 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists – A

Durant had himself a nice game statistically but a few things went wrong for him. He was visibly frustrated for a lot of the game and upset a few times late when his teammates missed him for open shots. He took out his frustration with the first flagrant foul of his career on Alec Burks in the fourth. Durant was really efficient though making 11-of-16 shots, 3-of-4 threes and 8-of-9 free throws.

Russell Westbrook – 32 minutes, 22 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds – B

Westbrook got off to a great start in the game making his first three shots, two of which were three-pointers. The dominance didn’t last however and Westbrook would struggle taking care of the ball with seven turnovers for the game.

Serge Ibaka – 34 minutes, 10 points, 3 rebounds, 7 blocks – C+

Ibaka shot okay for the game and was great getting seven blocks but just three rebounds is unacceptable. Allowing Utah to get so many offensive boards is where the Thunder lost this game and that blame falls on Ibaka as much as anybody.

Kevin Martin – 21 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound – D

Martin returned for the Thunder after missing their last game with the flu. He scored all of his points in the first half then didn’t play much in the second. He went 0-for-4 from three which ends a five-game streak for him in which he made at least three three-pointers. When Martin doesn’t make threes, he really isn’t much help and ends up being a reliability for the other downfalls in his game.

Kendrick Perkins – 28 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound, 2 blocks – D

Even worse than Ibaka’s three boards is Perkins getting just one. Al Jefferson would light him up to the tune of 23 points as well. Perkins had a nice stretch of games lately where he was playing really well but he got dominated last night.

Thabo Sefolosha – 23 minutes, 0 points, 2 rebounds, 1 steal – D

In a game where Sefolosha wasn’t needed to shut anyone down, he goes scoreless and doesn’t even have any assists.

Nick Collison – 18 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – C+

Collison made one of two shots and was second on the team with three rebounds. That’s how bad it was for the Thunder last night.

Reggie Jackson – 19 minutes, 12 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds – A+

Jackson tied a career-high with 12 points on 6-of-8 shooting. He continues to get better this season offensively and has been very efficient scoring at the rim and his jumper is improving too. It’s too bad the Thunder waste this great effort from Jackson in a loss.

Hasheem Thabeet – 11 minutes, 0 points, 1 rebound, 1 block – C

Thabeet didn’t attempt any shots. He had a very nice block late in the fourth that he sent out of bounds.

DeAndre Liggins – 5 minutes, 0 points, 1 assist, 3 steals – A

Liggins always brings the energy. He doesn’t get into the game until garbage time with five minutes left and makes three steals and has an assist in that time.

Perry Jones, III – 5 minutes, 4 points, 1 rebound – B

Calling Jones athletic doesn’t do him justice. He had two ferocious dunks in the last five minutes of the game including catching an alley-oop from Jackson where his head was at the rim.

Daniel Orton – 5 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 block – B+

Orton came in and immediately started making things happen. He grabbed a few boards and got fouled and went to the line four times.

Nov 30, 2012; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant (35) handles the ball against Utah Jazz forward DeMarre Carroll (3) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder head on the road tonight against the Utah Jazz after a very successful 4-0 week in which they were able to rest their starters in the fourth quarter of each game.

The Thunder easily handled the Jazz the first tie they played this season back on Nov. 30 in Oklahoma City.

OKC won that game 106-94 while shooting 52.0 percent from the field and getting to the free throw line 33 times.

The Jazz had 21 offensive rebounds in the game but the hot shooting of the Thunder was too much to overcome.

Kevin Durant had 25 points but it was Russell Westbrook with the most impressive stat line.

Westbrook flirted with a quadruple-double with 23 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. Westbrook shot 6-for-18 from the field and turned the ball over eight times but he still dominated the game.

The Thunder also had Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka in double-figures with 12 points apiece and got 19 points from Kevin Martin off the bench.

There was a clear separation in terms of athletic ability in the game mostly highlighted by the 14 blocks by the Thunder, all of which came from Durant, Perkins and Ibaka leading the way with seven.

The Thunder are as hot as ever right now while the Jazz are stumbling only winning half of their last 10 and losing their last two.

There are also trade rumors looming over the head of this team which is expected to deal one of their big men before the Feb. 21 deadline.

There is still no denying that playing and winning in Utah is always a tough task. The Thunder won’t be able to walk into that arena and experience the same success they did in Phoenix two nights ago.

When a team like Utah is unable to make shot-making difficult for the Thunder, it’s hard to imagine them losing. In that case, the Thunder should expect to win tonight and win big.

Martin missed the last game with the flu and his status for tonight is still uncertain. The Thunder bench has done a fine job this past week stepping up although they accounted for just three points in the first three quarters of their last game.

The game is set to tip at 9 p.m. EST tonight.

February 9, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap (24) and center Al Jefferson (25) react after being called for a foul as Sacramento Kings center DeMarcus Cousins (15) looks on during the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena. The Kings defeated the Jazz 120-109. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The Phoenix Suns have not had a very good season at all and are looking to be major players at the trade deadline.

The Arizona Republic is reporting that the Suns have engaged in trade talks with the Utah Jazz and New York Knicks regarding Al Jefferson, Gordon Hayward and Iman Shumpert.

Jefferson has had his name linked with trade rumors all season and most recently with the San Antonio Spurs when it was rumored they may be targeting him. The Jazz have plenty of big man and are looking to unload at least one of them whether it be Jefferson or Paul Millsap.

The Suns have been interested in Shumpert for awhile too as they tried to trade for him last summer in a deal that would have sent Steve Nash to the New York Knicks.

Phoenix would look to include Jared Dudley and Marcin Gortat in trades for any of these players.

If the Suns can acquire Jefferson or Shumpert they will still more than likely miss the playoffs and the affect in the Western Conference balance of power will be minimal. The Suns currently have the worst record in the conference.

Carmelo Anthony came out today and said he hopes that the Knicks don’t make any trades.

The real news here is that if the Suns are the team that acquires Jefferson, then the Spurs are not.

If the Spurs were to get Big Al it would surely give them a boost this season and possibly make them the favorites to be the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference.

Meanwhile, the Thunder just wrapped up their season series with the Suns beating them all four times.

Utah is currently the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and would play the Thunder in the first round if the playoffs started today. You can’t imagine them getting any better by losing Jefferson and replacing him with a Gortat or Dudley.

The Jazz were very unlikely to have any kind of chance on the road in the first round of the playoffs this year anyway.

These potential trades are a good deal away from going down. What we know for sure is that the Suns are really interested in making a trade by the deadline and the Jazz are too.

The trade deadline is Feb. 21.

Feb 6, 2013; Salt Lake City, UT, USA; Utah Jazz center Al Jefferson (25) controls the ball while defended by Milwaukee Bucks center Samuel Dalembert (21) during the second half at EnergySolutions Arena. The Jazz won 100-86. Mandatory Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

The Utah Jazz have a lot of big men on their roster and rumors about them trading one of them have been going on for awhile.

The San Antonio Spurs have emerged as the frontrunner to land Jazz center Al Jefferson, according to Sheridan Hoops.

The San Antonio Spurs are the front-runners to land Al Jefferson in a trade with the Utah Jazz – and they are frontrunners like Secretariat was in the 1973 Belmont Stakes.

Here’s why, followed by a how.

“Those teams are practically incestuous, they are on such good terms internally,” one NBA source told me Wednesday.

Indeed, Spurs assistant general manager Scott Layden left Utah prior to this season after spending several seasons as an assistant coach for the Jazz and joined R.C. Buford’s staff in San Antonio’s secrecy vault front office. Also, former Spurs assistant GM Dennis Lindsey is now doing the legwork for Utah’s grand pooh-bah, Kevin O’Connor.

The Jazz currently have Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter on their roster. Jefferson is in the last year of his contract and will become an unrestricted free agent this summer. The Jazz don’t want to see him walk without getting anything in return.

The Spurs can make this work because they have a few things Utah needs. The Jazz need a point guard and the Spurs have both Patty Mills and Nando De Colo to include in a deal. The Spurs can also include Tiago Splitter and Stephen Jackson to match up the salaries.

The Spurs currently have the best record in the NBA and have essentially the same exact roster as a season ago. They made less moves this offseason than any team in the NBA.

Acquiring Jefferson would be huge for the Spurs. Jefferson is one of the few players in the league that demands a double-team from the post. With Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili getting up there in years, Jefferson could take a little pressure off them as another scoring option.

Jefferson is averaging 17.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game this season while shooting a career-low 47.8 percent from the field.

Size is also one of the few weaknesses of the Spurs. They make up for it in other ways like great ball movement and perimeter shooting which is why they still have the best record in the NBA. When it comes playoff time, San Antonio may be overmatched on the interior with their current roster.

Some of the other top teams in the Western Conference clearly have more size than the Spurs like the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Clippers. Jefferson would immediately change that.

The Spurs would likely be straying away somewhat from the kind of basketball that has made them so successful over the past few seasons. Jefferson is going to isolate a lot and hold the ball longer when the Spurs are used to quick, crisp ball movement. But if there’s one team and organization that can make this work and figure it out, it’s San Antonio.

We know that the Jazz are going to move one of their bigs. Do they really want to send their best one to the best team in the league? Maybe not but it will likely yield them the greatest return.

The trade deadline is right around the corner now Feb. 21 which is right after the All-Star break. Expect any big moves like this one to happen right at the deadline.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Russell Westbrook played his best game of the season tonight as the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Utah Jazz 106-94 to improve to 13-4 on the year.

Westbrook scored 23 points and came close to a triple-double with 13 rebounds, eight assists and seven steals. He went only 6-of-18 from the field and had eight turnovers but he was all over the floor all night and the Thunder outscored Utah by 27 when he was in.

Kevin Durant led the Thunder with 25 points and Kevin Martin chipped in with 19 off the bench.

The Thunder made more athletic plays in this game than any game so far this season. They blocked 14 shots as a team in the game with Serge Ibaka leading the way with seven and Durant with four.

Utah shot just 41.3 percent in the game but avoided being blown out because of their work on the offensive glass collecting 21 boards.

Kendrick Perkins also played perhaps his best game of the year scoring 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting and also dishing out five dimes and blocking three shots. He was perfect passing two cutting Thunder big men all night long.

Tonight was just an ordinary regular season game before Westbrook and company put on a show that will be talked about by Thunder fans all night. There were too many amazing plays to count.

The Thunder will play again tomorrow night on the road vs. the New Orleans Hornets at 8 p.m. EST.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder enter tonight’s game coming off a big win vs. the Houston Rockets and James Harden two nights ago. At home vs. a tough Utah Jazz team that’s won seven of its last 10 games will not be an easy one for OKC.

The greatest strength for the Jazz is an obvious one. They have lots of size up front and will look to establish that early and often.

Utah posts up a lot on offense but ranks only in the middle of the pack in the league in terms of efficiency on those plays. Nonetheless they are led by center Al Jefferson that is one of the few centers in the league that can command a double-team in the post.

Jefferson is averaging 16.6 points and 10.6 rebounds per game so far this year. You know Kendrick Perkins will be looking forward to this matchup and Perk will likely get more run than usual in tonight’s game.

The other matchup on the inside will be Serge Ibaka vs. Paul Millsap. Ibaka has been playing the best basketball of his career this season averaging 15.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 3.1 blocks per game. Millsap is always a tough matchup and can take Ibaka out on the perimeter a little where he will be less comfortable.

The real issue for Utah is how they plan on containing Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. Gordon Hayward isn’t exactly the ideal defender to put on Durant and Mo Williams will have a tough time staying in front of Westbrook.

The Jazz have been impressive so far this season defending isolation plays and pick-and-roll plays. Their real weakness has been giving up 1.02 points per possession on spot-up shooting plays which is 27th in the league. The Thunder are the 3rd best team in the league on spot-up plays.

Normally Utah wins its games because of its size but the Thunder can match up with them. Adding in the fact that defending Durant and Westbrook well seems unlikely for the Jazz and it’s hard to imagine the Thunder losing this one at home.

The game will tip at 8 p.m. EST.

Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

Utah Jazz Team Overview

The Jazz just slipped into the playoffs last season as the 8-seed in the West with a record of 36-30. Their playoff experience didn’t last long as the San Antonio Spurs made quick work of them sweeping them in four games.

The Jazz are young and on the rise though. Last year was their first full season post-Deron Williams and they did a good job managing a playoff birth after trading away such a superstar.

Utah will be without Devin Harris next season and are replacing him with Mo Williams, Marvin Williams and Randy Foye. They also drafted Kevin Murphy.

The greatest strength of the Jazz is their big men Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Derrick Favors and Enes Kanter. That’s a solid core to have and they can present mismatch problems for a lot of teams.

If a few other young players begin to step up for Utah, they could climb their way up a little in the Western Conference standings.

Last year

The Oklahoma City Thunder played the Jazz three times last season and beat them twice. They played the first two times in a span of four days with the Thunder winning 101-87 in Utah on Feb. 10 and then 111-85 at home on Feb. 14.

Kevin Durant scored 19 points and took just 10 shots in the first meeting. Russell Westbrook led the way with 28 points while James Harden added 11 off the bench.

At home for the next game Harden led the way with 22 while Durant added 21. No starter played more than 30 minutes as the game was easily in hand for OKC.

The Jazz beat the Thunder in Utah in the final meeting on March 20 97-90. It was the fourth straight win for Utah at the time who was playing very well. They shot 47 percent from the field for the game while holding the Thunder to 42.3 percent shooting.

Durant had 18 points on 6-for-22 shooting while Westbrook had 23 and Harden 17.

Durant averaged less points vs. the Jazz than any other team in the league except for the Bucks, scoring 19.3 per game on .435 percent shooting.

Westbrook averaged 22.3 points per game and was very efficient shooting .571 percent from the field and .444 percent from deep.

Harden averaged 16.7 points per game and shot a blistering .538 percent from three vs. Utah.

The matchup

The Jazz had the 14th best offense in the NBA last season in terms of points per possession. They posted up 17.1 percent of the time and were 10th best in the league on those plays. The Thunder were a very good defense vs. post-up plays last season ranking 4th in the NBA.

The Jazz were only 24th in the league on spot-up plays and 29th in the league in the pick-and-roll while turning to that type of play just 10.6 percent of the time.

Utah was weaker defensively ranking 23rd overall in the league. They were 28th vs. the pick-and-roll and 27th vs. isolation plays. They were 8th best in the league vs. post-up plays but the Thunder posted up very little last season.

OKC is not a very good matchup for Utah. The Jazz have some size but the Thunder have no trouble matching that.

The curious stat is how much Durant struggled against the Jazz despite Gordon Hawyward matching up with him most often. It’s not a knock on Hayward but you’d expect Durant to really improve his scoring numbers vs. Utah next season.

Next year

The Jazz didn’t make a lot of changes this offseason and will be relying mostly on player progression to see an improvement in their record. That is no guarantee as a lot of teams in the West have improved their rosters and are looking to jump Utah in the standings.

You have to honor that Durant struggled against the Jazz and that is a good sign for them in this particular matchup. The Thunder play Utah four times next season first on Nov. 30 in OKC, then in Utah Feb. 12, then in OKC March 13 and finally in Utah April 9.

The Thunder can beat the Jazz without huge nights from Durant although given the matchup, you would expect him to be poised for some big improvement vs. Utah next season. If that’s the case then the Thunder should have no trouble winning this season series and perhaps even sweeping it.

Odom will return to where he started playing in the NBA for next season as he was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers Friday.

Mo Williams went to the Utah Jazz in the 4-team deal. Dallas did it essentially to just get rid of Odom’s salary.

Odom loves playing in cities with good weather. This is not a secret about him. He only wants to play for teams in L.A. or Miami.

Odom had a very tough year last year but may be revitalized on the Clippers with Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

Odom is always a piece that any team could use and the Clippers for sure. If he can bounce back next season and return to his old self the Clippers could make a lot of noise in the Western Conference.

Dallas also received the draft rights to Tadija Dragicevic and the Clippers sent their recent draft choice Furkan Aldemir to Houston as part of the deal.

Here are draft grades for every team:

New Orleans Hornets
No. 1 overall – Anthony Davis, PF, Kentucky
No. 10 overall – Austin Rivers, G, Duke
No. 46 overall – Darius Miller, G/F, Kentucky

The Hornets really couldn’t go wrong possessing the first overall pick in the draft and chance to take Anthony Davis. Davis has a chance to be a franchise changer and playing alongside Eric Gordon in New Orleans is a good start. The Hornets took Rivers 10th overall which is what they wanted to do. The Hornets believe Rivers can play some point for them although he is a scoring guard at heart. Gordon is a good playmaker himself though so the two may be able to share ball handling duties a la Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry. The Darius Miller pick is nice too. He is an athlete that could make it in the NBA and was a teammate of Davis’ at Kentucky.

Grade: A+

Oklahoma City Thunder
No. 28 overall – Perry Jones, III, F, Baylor

To win a championship, sometimes it takes a little luck. The Thunder got the steal of the 2012 NBA Draft with the No. 28 pick. Perry Jones III we knew was going to fall because of concerns mainly surrounding his knee but sliding this far to a franchise that is perfect for him just seems unfair to the rest of the league. It was a Spurs-like snag for OKC and they know it already. Jones III has lottery talent and top-5 pick potential. One knock on him is that he never really stepped up and dominated and was more of a supporting role type of mindset and player. Well, come on down to OKC that sounds just fine!

Grade: A+

Charlotte Bobcats
No. 2 overall – Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, SF, Kentucky
No. 31 overall – Jeffrey Taylor, G/F, Vanderbilt

The Bobcats were supposed to either trade the No. 2 pick or take Thomas Robinson if they couldn’t. Instead, they shocked everyone selecting Michael Kidd-Gilchrist second overall. MKG is a player that will shine no matter where he plays, even in Charlotte. He has the potential to be the second best player in this draft class and it was a wise choice to make here by Michael Jordan. Jeffrey Taylor is a good pick too in the second round. Taylor was projected to go a little earlier in the draft and is a nice value find at 31.

Grade: A

Washington Wizards
No. 3 overall – Bradley Beal, SG, Florida
No. 32 overall – Tomas Satoransky, G, Czech Republic

The Wizards got the man they wanted at No. 3 but had to hold their breath and pray before doing so. As the Bobcats were shopping the No. 2 pick, any team that may have gotten it was probably going to take Bradley Beal second overall. The Wizards desperately wanted an elite shooter and wing to place alongside John Wall and they believe Beal is that guy. Beal measured just under 6-foot-5 so he’s not huge but he is physical and can do a lot of things on a basketball court. Tomas Satoranksy in the second round apparently is friends with Jan Vesely which makes that pick awesome too.

Grade: A

Sacramento Kings
No. 5 overall – Thomas Robinson, PF, Kansas

It was impossible not to fall in love with Thomas Robinson watching him break down after being selected fifth overall by the Kings. He won over a lot of fans with that reaction. Robinson is touted as one of the surest things at the top of this draft. The Kings wanted him bad too at No. 5, more than anybody else. Sacramento was going to pull off a trade with this pick with Houston if Robinson was off the board but obviously that didn’t happen. Robinson and DeMarcus Cousins are going to be able to get a lot of rebounds playing together.

Grade: A

Detroit Pistons
No. 9 overall – Andre Drummond, PF/C, Connecticut
No. 39 overall – Khris Middleton, SF, Texas A&M

The Pistons are extremely happy that Andre Drummond fell to them. Before the draft, they were hoping for this but planning to settle on John Henson. Drummond has as much upside as anyone in this draft. There are questions surrounding him but he is very young. It was the right pick here for Detroit without question. Khris Middleton isn’t someone that jumps out as a great pick here but at No. 39, there’s not a lot to expect.

Grade: A

Milwaukee Bucks
No. 14 overall – John Henson, PF, North Carolina
No. 42 overall – Doron Lamb, SG, Kentucky

The Bucks were pretty happy to see John Henson at No. 14 especially after trading down from 12 with Houston. Henson is the kind of guy Milwaukee wanted and someone who will block a lot of shots and grab some rebounds but really needs to put on some weight first. Doron Lamb is another player they were happy to see at No. 42. He could have gone in the first round and is an irrational confidence guy who can shoot and play some D too.

Grade: B+

Cleveland Cavaliers
No. 4 overall – Dion Waiters, SG, Syracuse
No. 17 overall – Tyler Zeller, C, North Carolina

It wasn’t a huge shocker that Cleveland took Dion Waiters No. 4. They were planning on possibly doing so and after being unable to trade up to No. 2 and take Beal, Waiters was the next guy on their list, probably just ahead of Harrison Barnes. It wasn’t an overly popular pick but Waiters has an NBA-ready body and next to Kyrie Irving should do well. With Tyler Zeller sliding in the draft, the Cavaliers pulled the trigger on a trade with Dallas to get to No. 17 and take the North Carolina center. They gave up three picks for Zeller so they must really like him. Now with a core of Irving, Waiters, Thompson and Zeller, Cleveland’s future looks kind of alright.

Grade: B

Portland Trailblazers
No. 6 overall – Damian Lillard, PG, Weber State
No. 11 overall – Meyers Leonard, C, Illinois
No. 40 overall – Will Barton, SG, Memphis

Before the Draft, Portland was intent on keeping their 6th and 11th picks and they also loved Damian Lillard. Six may sound high for Lillard but Portland did something smart: picking their favorite guy and not caring where they did it. They then filled a need at 11 with Meyers Leonard, the center from Illinois. Portland was projected in some mocks to take Andre Drummond and either Austin Rivers or Jeremy Lamb. That sounds a little better than what they ended up with. They get Will Barton at No. 40 which is another solid value pick as he was projected late-first by many.

Grade: B

Golden State Warriors
No. 7 overall – Harrison Barnes, G/F, North Carolina
No. 30 overall – Festus Ezeli, C, Vanderbilt
No. 35 overall – Draymond Green, F, Michigan State
No. 52 overall – Ognjen Kuzmic, C, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Despite his overall disappointing feeling, many still feel Harrison Barnes can be an All-Star in the NBA. Getting him at No. 7 was a pretty solid pick for the Warriors, who are starting new next year post-Monta Ellis and with Andrew Bogut. Festus Ezeli with the last pick of the first round is understandable too and he is a high-character guy who will work hard for them. Draymond Green is another good pick to get in the second round. The Warriors didn’t have a flashy draft but they made some value picks and that’s always a good strategy.

Grade: B

Houston Rockets
No. 12 overall – Jeremy Lamb, SG, Connecticut
No. 16 overall – Royce White, F, Iowa State
No. 18 overall – Terrence Jones, F, Kentucky

The Rockets were stockpiling draft picks with one thing on their mind: Dwight Howard. That hasn’t happened yet and now feels like it won’t. They were hoping to move up to No. 5 to take Andre Drummond but since Thomas Robinson fell to the Kings there, they weren’t trading that pick. The Rockets will settle for three pretty solid players starting with Jeremy Lamb at No. 12 who has a lot of pro potential as a scorer. When they took Royce White at No. 16, you knew they weren’t trading their picks anymore. White has gotten a lot of buzz this draft as a more athletic Boris Diaw who plays a little like Charles Barkley too. Terrence Jones two picks later is another talented forward that can do a variety of things. You always feel players Daryl Morey drafts are guys who can find a spot in the NBA. The Rockets just had bigger sights for this draft than this.

Grade: B

Phoenix Suns
No. 13 overall – Kendall Marshall, PG, North Carolina

It’s just about official now that Steve Nash is on his way out in Phoenix. Kendall Marshall is their point guard of the future. Marshall was one of the best assists men in college the past two seasons and has drawn comparisons to Mark Jackson and Andre Miller so yeah, he’s not quick. He’s fun to play with and will make the players around him better. They like that in Phoenix.

Grade: B

Chicago Bulls
No. 29 overall – Marquis Teague, PG, Kentucky

The Bulls were either going backup point here or combo-guard shooter. Marquis Teague is a talented player with this pick and someone who may be able to play alongside Derrick Rose some. It’s nothing special for the Bulls but a good pick nonetheless. Bulls fans were dying for Perry Jones III to slip one more pick into their laps.

Grade: B

Toronto Raptors
No. 8 overall – Terrence Ross, SG, Washington
No. 37 overall – Quincy Acy, PF, Baylor
No. 56 overall – Tomislav Zubcic, PF, Croatia

The Raptors would have loved to see Harrison Barnes fall one more pick into their laps. They would have loved even more to move up and snag Dion Waiters. They settle for Terrence Ross who can do things that will make him have a solid NBA career: shoot threes and defend. Quincy Acy in Round 2 could be a Reggie Evans type which is something this franchise has experience with. Tomislav Zubcic will not come over right away. If Toronto gets Steve Nash, a lot of their problems will appear solved.

Grade: C+

Orlando Magic
No. 19 overall – Andrew Nicholson, PF, St. Bonaventure
No. 49 overall – Kyle O’Quinn, C, Norfolk State

The Magic are in a weird situation and have been ever since Dwight Howard started pouting. Howard ran their head coach and GM out of town and still wants out himself. He hasn’t gotten it yet but it’s really only a matter of time. Orlando’s picks of Andrew Nicholson and Kyle O’Quinn may have been logical, but they won’t make their fans feel better yet

Grade: C+

Boston Celtics
No. 21 overall – Jared Sullinger, PF, Ohio State
No. 22 overall – Fab Melo, C, Syracuse
No. 51 overall – Kris Joseph, SF, Syracuse

We knew Jared Sullinger would drop, we just didn’t know how far. The Celtics are in a rebuilding stage now and looking to bulk up their front court with Sullinger and Fab Melo. The Celtics were hoping for Royce White here or to trade up and take Doc Rivers’ son Austin Rivers in the lottery. The best case scenario for Kris Joseph (taken No. 51 overall) is Gary Forbes, according to DraftExpress.

Grade: C+

Philadelphia 76ers
No. 15 overall – Maurice Harkless, SF, St. John’s
No. 27 overall – Arnett Moultrie, PF/C, Mississippi State

Philadelphia fans are not happy with the decision to take Maurice “don’t call me Moe” Harkless 15th overall. When you draft a guy who plays the same position as your best player at No. 15, it never feels like it makes sense. Harkless came out after just one year at St. John’s and is said to have some pro potential but he’s nothing special. The 76ers traded up with Miami to get Arnett Moultrie at No. 27. It’s just another lateral move here for Philly. Their fans want more than that.

Grade: C

Denver Nuggets
No. 20 overall – Evan Fournier, SG, France
No. 38 overall – Quincy Miller, G/F, Baylor
No. 50 overall – Izzet Turkyilmaz, PF, Turkey

The Nuggets surprisingly went with Evan Fournier at No. 20 despite some talent sitting on the board. Fournier will not come over to the NBA next season but was the highest rated international prospect of the draft. The Nuggets clearly weren’t looking to try and strike gold with late first round picks this year. They’ve already accomplished that with Ty Lawson and Kenneth Faried. Their pick at No. 38 felt a little better. Some fans wanted Quincy Miller with the 20th pick so getting him this late is a win in that sense. Miller is young with a ton of potential but has the usual question marks. Denver went with another international product late in the second round that we won’t see in the NBA right away.

Grade: C

Atlanta Hawks
No. 23 overall – John Jenkins, SG, Vanderbilt
No. 43 overall – Mike Scott, F, Virginia

Nothing special here for Atlanta. John Jenkins could be decent but he won’t turn any heads. He can really shoot it though and might get some run for the Hawks where Josh Smith is on the way out. It would have been great if Atlanta had decided to draft Marquis Teague here and run an all-Teague backcourt with his brother Jeff. Love the Mike Scott pick.

Grade: C

Dallas Mavericks
No. 24 overall – Jared Cunningham, G, Oregon State
No. 33 overall – Bernard James, C, Florida State
No. 34 overall – Jae Crowder, F, Marquette

It doesn’t seem like Dallas was trying to do a ton in this draft. They dealt their 17th overall pick to Cleveland probably because there was no one they were in love with. They got three picks back for it and didn’t do anything crazy with them. One of the cooler moments in the draft though was Bernard James having his name called and walking to the podium. The crowd started chanting “U-S-A” because James served three tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dallas’ main priority this offseason is wooing Deron Williams and/or Dwight Howard.

Grade: C

Memphis Grizzlies
No. 25 overall – Tony Wroten, Jr., PG, Washington

The Grizzlies wanted a point guard and a lot of mocks had them going with Marquis Teague but they choose Tony Wroten, Jr. instead. Jay Bilas calls Wroten, Jr. a taller Rajon Rondo. That means he’s a good passer and can’t shoot a lick. Maybe it’s what Memphis needs and there is some upside there.

Grade: C

Utah Jazz
No. 47 overall – Kevin Murphy, SG, Tennessee Tech

Utah has enough young players from the last few drafts that they didn’t care too much about this year. Kevin Murphy is the only player from this draft to score 50 or more points in game last year in college. Why not?

Grade: C

Miami Heat
No. 45 overall – Justin Hamilton, C, LSU

Miami could have had Perry Jones III at No. 27 and it would have been just as scary as OKC getting him if not more so. They just didn’t want to have to pay a first rounder this year. Their cap space will be tight the next few seasons. They trade down here and get a 7-footer which they need. Something tells me we won’t see a ton of Justin Hamilton playing for the defending champs.

Grade: C

San Antonio Spurs
No. 59 overall – Marcus Denmon, G, Missouri

The Spurs drafted him so he’ll be an All-Star in four years. Marcus Denmon feels a little Patty Mills/James Anderson. The Spurs probably aren’t expecting too much from Denmon though.

Grade: C

New York Knicks
No. 48 overall – Kostas Papanikolaou, F, Greece

Not doing anything here. The home crowd really loved this pick at least.

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Clippers
No. 53 overall – Furkan Aldemir, PF, Turkey

Love this pick. He may never play in the NBA but he is a great rebounder and can only score on putbacks, according to Fran Fraschilla. What’s not to love?

Grade: C-

Los Angeles Lakers
No. 55 overall – Darius Johnson-Odom, SG, Marquette
No. 60 overall – Robert Sacre, C, Gonzaga

Darius Johnson-Odom plays the wrong sport. He’d be an awesome football player and used that to his advantage in college for Marquette. He will look a lot smaller in the NBA. If Robert Sacre is playing for the Lakers next season, it won’t be a good thing.

Grade: C-

Brooklyn Nets
No. 41 overall – Tyshawn Taylor, PG, Kansas
No. 54 overall – Tornike Shengelia, PF, Georgia
No. 57 overall – Ilkan Karaman, PF, Turkey

Brooklyn not trying to go crazy here. They are just praying for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard to hookup in their new city. Tyshawn Taylor might make it as a backup point in this league but nothing more. Tornike Shengelia goes by “Toko” and is a 6-foot-9 scorer who is good at attacking and can score around the rim well but has no jumper. Ilkan Karamen has a ton of tattoos and may “never play in the NBA” according to Fran Fraschilla.

Grade: C-

Minnesota Timberwolves
No. 58 overall – Robbie Hummel, SF, Purdue

Kevin Love, Chase Budinger and now Robbie Hummel. Good luck rest of league.

Grade: C-

Indiana Pacers
No. 26 overall – Miles Plumlee, PF, Duke
No. 36 overall – Orlando Johnson, SG, UCSB

This may have been the worst draft pick ever, worse than Sam Bowie. With names like Perry Jones III, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli on the board, Indiana elects to take the worst Plumlee brother, Miles. If they weren’t Indiana and known for their white hoopsters, this would be an even worse pick. It’s still so horrible though words can’t describe it. There’s nothing that could make this pick ever make sense. They get Orlando Johnson from UCSB in the second round who was a 20-point scorer last year and might do something for them.

Grade: F

Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In the East, there are only two teams that pose any real threat. In stark contrast, the West boasts at least five teams that can win the conference title, and a handful of others that can make life miserable for those five teams. Navigating this maze of threats won’t be easy for OKC and much of their success will be predicated upon the who, when, and where of the bracket. With that in mind, I have taken the other nine teams currently realistically vying for the post season and ranked them in descending order of the threat they pose to the Thunder’s pursuits.

9. Suns (Threat Level: Green): Their post all-star break run has been very impressive, and I absolutely marvel at Steve Nash and how he has been able to get this hodge-podge of a roster to gel down the stretch. Having said that, they pose no threat whatsoever to Oklahoma City. As you will see farther down the list, teams that are athletic on the wing and/or bruising in the paint give the Thunder the most trouble; Phoenix does not fit that description at all. The Suns would not be able to keep pace or change pace enough for the series to go beyond five games… and I’d suspect the games played in OKC could get ugly.

8. Rockets (Threat Level: Green): Credit Houston for splitting the season series this year with OKC, but this is not a match up that should keep Thunder fans awake at night. Luis Scola poses some match up issues for Ibaka and Perkins, but OKC can counter with Nick Collison, who makes a living forcing guys like Scola out of their comfort zone. The Rockets aren’t a particularly good defensive team and over the span of a seven game series, the dynamic scoring threats from the Thunder would wear them down. Houston could make individual games interesting (more so than Phoenix) but in terms of the series as a whole, I do not see it going six.

7. Jazz (Threat Level: Green): Ranking them as slightly more dangerous than the Suns or Rockets might raise a few eyebrows, but Al Jefferson is the type of big that can wear the Thunder down, as he did several week ago in a game in Salt Lake City. The Jazz are also a tad deeper than the other two teams mentioned. But in the end, Utah poses the same threat as Phoenix and Houston do…none. The goal for OKC should be to get one of these three teams in the first round.

6. Nuggets (Threat Level: Blue): Everyone talks about the tough series OKC waged against Denver in the first round last year, but few seem to remember that it still only went five games and that the Thunder held a commanding 3-0 series lead at one point. The Nuggets are about as deep and athletic in the open floor as any team in the league, and George Karl fits so nicely with this particular group. However, they do not have a go-to scorer and it reared its’ head many times in the series last year as KD took over down the stretch (most notably in the clinching game five). The Nuggets are pesky, annoying, and they will make OKC work for however many games the series might go. But ultimately, the pose a very low level threat to actually win a series.

5. Clippers (Threat Level: Blue): I’m sticking to my guns on the Clippers despite the fact that they’ve made the Thunder look pretty bad twice in the past week now. I do not believe the Clips are a team built for success in the post-season and I will be surprised if they survive the first round. They thrive on an open floor game, and in the playoffs, the floor shrinks and it shrinks fast. Blake Griffin will have less space to maneuver and teams will force him to beat them from outside the paint. They are also short on experience and many of their role players are guys with a history of regular season success not necessarily carrying over into the post season (Mo Williams tops that list). I believe that if push comes to shove and these two teams meet in the playoffs, the Thunder will have a surprisingly easy time getting stops and I would be surprised if it went the full seven games and absolutely shocked if the Clippers won. I’ve been on record as saying that I believe both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin are slightly overrated. My theory would be put to the test should they face OKC sometime in May.

4. Mavericks (Threat Level: Yellow): Perhaps I am giving them too much credit based on last season, but I just don’t see Dallas bowing out quietly this year despite the fact that their regular season has been an unmitigated disaster. They desperately miss Tyson Chandler and JJ Barea, but I still fear Dirk catching fire at opportune (or inopportune as it were) moments. I will never forget that sickening feeling walking out of the arena last year after the game four collapse in the WCF. I am still reeling from that night and it may very well be coloring my perception of a Dallas team that doesn’t really resemble their championship squad at all.

3. Grizzlies (Threat Level: Yellow): Match up nightmare for Durant. No one in the league plays KD better than Tony Allen- and it’s not even close. For whatever reason, he is able to frustrate KD to the point where he is routinely posting up beyond the three point line and taking forced jumpers. In addition to their athleticism on the wing, Memphis has some major beef inside. Marc Gasol isn’t intimidated by Perk and Zach Randolph completely flummoxes Serge…keeps him away from the paint where Ibaka is most effective. The Grizzlies Achilles heel is that they can’t shoot; however OKC brings out the best in their guards and wing players and shots seem to fall more readily. Another scary thought is that Memphis is still a bit of wild card because we’ve seen so little of them with a healthy Randolph and Rudy Gay together. The only reason I don’t raise the Grizz to the next threat level is because unlike Dallas, the Lakers, and Spurs, Memphis does not have a proven go-to scorer they can count on in crunch time. Still, this would have all the markings of another epic series.

2. Lakers (Threat Level: Orange): In many ways, the Lakers might be the one team the Thunder WANT to face in the second round or WCF. They are old, slow, un-athletic and have absolutely no answers for KD or more importantly, Westbrook. OKC has played them twice and ran them off the floor in the second half both times. But playoff basketball is different. The game will slow down and the court will get smaller. Kobe will know when to pounce. Bynum and Gasol are a formidable combo that can wreak havoc on the offensive glass. If the games stay close (which they inevitably would) the Lakers boast the best closer in the league and one of the best of all-time. The best bet for the Thunder would be to run and get Westbrook out in the open as much as possible. If the game breaks down, the advantage is decidedly titled towards to OKC. But if the game is played against the shot clock as it so often is in the playoffs, then the Thunder may find themselves in an uncomfortable spot against a team that has been there, done that.

1. Spurs (Threat Level: Red): The Spurs are just straight salty. Greatly improved on the wings from last year when Memphis completely caught them off-guard with their size and athleticism. You have a PG playing at an MVP level; a dynamic scorer on the outside who when healthy is as dangerous as anyone in the league; one of the best centers of all time who still knows when to pick his spots; an array of veterans and youngsters filling various roles quite nicely; arguably the greatest coach in the history of the game. That is a mouthful. And unless things shift dramatically over the next week, OKC would have to beat this team without the benefit of homecourt advantage due to the Thunder’s recent malaise. As the Thunder coast and swoon heading into late April, the Spurs appear to be honing and sharpening. The best bet for the Thunder is for someone else to take the Spurs out prior to the WCF ala the Grizzlies last year. But I just have a feeling that Pop and his crew will be ready this time around. Any way you slice it, the Spurs are beyond a major threat to keep the Thunder from the NBA Finals.