Thunder In the news: NBA players talk Super Bowl, open letter to Roberson

The OKC Thunder and 11 teams will tip off early today because sports fans will be dialed into the Super Bowl including NBA players.

The OKC Thunder are dragging having travelled non stop and are clearly in need of a rest. Fortunately they’ll face the Lakers, a team they’ve handled fairly easily this season. Along with these two squads ten other teams drew the unfortunate scheduling to play on Super Bowl Sunday.

NBA accommodates Super Bowl Sunday via early games:

Not only do these teams play today, but in order to get them off the court in time for fans to watch the big game it means they’ll need to tip off extremely early. That means four squads play at noon, the OKC Thunder game tips at 2:00 p.m.  and the Suns/Hornets close out the schedule at 3:00 p.m.

It does make you wonder if the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday is still the biggest draw in sports. With so much talent in the NBA one would think the NBA is closing in on their major league sports counterparts.

TI Editors pick NBA talents who could play in Super Bowl:

To that end, very early this morning my co-editor and I had a chat on this very subject and discussed which OKC Thunder players could suit up for today’s big NFL game and what position they would play. Have a peek and let us know who you think could play on the gridiron and where they would line up.

Heartfelt Open Letter to Roberson:

Now back to the best major league sport in the universe — NBA. TI scribe Ted Dower wrote an impassioned open letter to Andre Roberson. If like Dower you appreciate the low key MVP give this a read. Heck, if you love the NBA and ever had a favorite player read this article. I challenge anyone not to be moved by Dower’s piece which showcases how a player can make an impact on individuals.

"Dre,Seeing you on the floor last Saturday sucked. Seeing you need to get wheeled off sucked. I’m sure you don’t need to hear that, but I wanted you to know. I also wanted you to know the reason I hate it so much is because you’re important.Basketball analysts love to talk about numbers and stats and highlights and if we’re being honest, you don’t have a lot of those. The only way to appreciate what you bring to the Thunder is to actually watch. Let it be known though, all who watch feel it."

NBA Players Talk Super Bowl:

With all NBA games tipping off early today the focus is definitely on the NFL and Super Bowl Sunday. In fact many of the NBA stars will be extremely interested in the game. Obviously players in Boston and Philly will have an extra incentive to watch. A flip around social media highlights thoughts from some NBA stars regarding the NFL and big game.

https://twitter.com/BenSimmons25/status/955133190980718592

Although the above was sent out during the NFC championship clearly Simmons has become an Eagles transplant.

Likewise Joel Embiid has adopted the Eagles. There was a report earlier this week which stated the players negotiated with Head Coach Brett Brown a certain winning percentage required during their last stretch of games. If they reached the mark the coach was going to let them attend the game. I’d say Embiid was probably quite influential in this regard, and won’t be surprised to see the 76ers at the game today.

Karl-Anthony is siding with the Eagles.

https://twitter.com/KarlTowns/status/955300025097179136

Still reeling from a 120-88 point loss to the Rockets found time to send out his best wishes to the Super Bowl teams.

https://twitter.com/KingJames/status/960168207108726784

I’m sure there are plenty of Patriots fans, but I searched high and low for a Celtics tweet on the hometown Patriots and couldn’t find any. Maybe they know most fans would like to see an upset so they aren’t being as vocal.

Kyle Lowry and his Mom may be biggest Eagles fans in NBA:

Native Philadelphian Kyle Lowry is a big time Eagles fan as is his mother. All week he’s been talking about the Eagles and sporting a Philly hat for what seems like 3 weeks or more. This social media hit was kind of funny when it came out with Lowry correcting the fan on their dates and stats.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BePDpFpgWrO/

In fact, Kyle Lowry’s Mom is a big Eagles fan as per below. Lowry is trying to work things out to get to the game after they play today. The Raptors tip off at noon versus the Grizzlies.

For Lowry to make the game he’ll need everything to go exactly to a schedule. To get to Minnesota he needs to be out of the ACC at 3:00 PM then drive to Pearson (another 40 minutes), fly to Minneapolis (2.5 hours), then drive to U.S. Bank Stadium (another 20 minutes). All this in order to get to the game for a 6:30 tipoff.

In other words, don’t be surprised if Lowry is invested in jumping on the Grizzlies early so the Raptors get up big in order to perhaps get the team to agree to him leaving a bit early to make his journey a little easier.  I just hope he found a way to get his Mom to the game.

That wraps up In the news for Sunday, February 2. Although it’s Super Bowl Sunday make sure to lead into the big game with the OKC Thunder versus Lakers match.  TI preps you  via our game day preview and follow us on twitter during the game to discuss the match and offer your insight.