OKC Thunder in the news for May 5th looks at an ode to Steven Adams and a debate over Westbrook’s draw of superstars.
Being a sports fan carries highs and lows with it and for OKC Thunder fans the past week easily falls into the category of lows. With the team ousted from the first round it’s taken close to a week to even want to watch basketball again. Just as Thunder Nation began to recover from the disappointment they had to deal with the exit interviews. They were punctuated by the utter selfishness of Carmelo Anthony’s statements.
Fortunately, articles like the following remind OKC Thunder fans there are still reasons to be excited about the future of the team.
Steven Adams – New Zealand’s Kiwi Sports Icon:
Let’s face it Adams remains the best sound bite in the business and you would be hard pressed to find any NBA who wouldn’t pick him as someone to spend a night at the local club with. His presence is that welcoming. Steely tough guy on the court, humorous down to earth guy off it.
With regularity New Zealanders write articles about Steven Adams and his ever expanding game. For New Zealand Adams represents an NBA star who they can cheer for both on and off the court.
Newshub writer Stephen Foote is a digital sports producer who offers the latest ode to Adams and makes solid points.
Something Foote brings up which makes a ton of sense is utilizing Adams more in the offense. I know I’ve beaten the the Westbrook-Adams pick and roll narrative to death. But, if the majority of teams can’t stop it, why on earth aren’t OKC ramming it down opponents throats. At least until they demonstrate the ability to stop it.
"The steel-groined colossus is the kind of on-court enforcer every player wants on his team and his combination with point-guard phenomenon Westbrook has been the cornerstone of the Thunder play this season.He’s progressed to a level where he’s now regarded as one of the NBA’s premier exponents of the pick ‘n’ roll, an age-old basketball play that involves a two-man game to help free either player and set-up a scoring play for the other."
Will Stars Still Want to Play with Westbrook if Paul Walks:
The debate over whether Russell Westbrook can attract superstars continues. In the most recent offering from Yahoo Sports Chris Mannix does his best emulation of Colin Cowherd blaming Westbrook for the demise of OKC.
Thank goodness for his guest Brian Scalabrine who points out how the OKC Thunder season started. Scalabrine cited Westbrook abandoning his style to try to feed George and Anthony in order to get them integrated. He noted it was PG and Melo who failed to deliver. He further points out any player coming to OKC shouldn’t want to change Westbrook.
Scalabrine is a Boston Celtics former player and commentator who is humorous and knowledgeable. This season Tommy Heinsohn isn’t traveling with the team. For those who avoid the Celtics commentary because of Heinsohn’s blatant homerism this season Scalabrine replaced him on the road.
It’s a nice change for those who enjoy a knowledgeable voice offering insight on the game with wit mixed in. Anyway, kudos to Scal for pointing out some obvious points about the prowess of Westbrook.
That’s it for in the news today. Enjoy your weekend and the playoff games. Make sure to check in daily with Thunderous Intentions for all your OKC Thunder news.