Oklahoma City Thunder shut down Kevin Durant and face an uncertain future
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Version 0 of 1. Yes, college basketball owns the month of March, but that doesn’t mean there hasn’t been big news going on in the realm of organized basketball where teams can’t just refuse to schedule games against their rivals. It’s around that time in the NBA when teams are beginning to clinch playoff spots, key players return to lineups and award races go down to the wire. Kevin Durant is out indefinitely On Friday, Oklahoma City Thunder president Sam Presti announced that Kevin Durant would be shut down indefinitely with pain in his right foot. The announcement came shortly after the news that the Thunder would be without Serge Ibaka for something close to the remainder of the regular season following knee surgery. That bit of bad news about Ibaka might have shifted Oklahoma City’s approach to Durant’s long-term health. Until last week, the Thunder’s main goal was to try to sneak into the the Western Conference playoffs and hope to have its players somewhat close to 100% by the time the postseason arrives. After the Ibaka news, it was clear that the best case scenario just wasn’t going to happen, and the decision was made not to do anything that could potentially jeopardize Durant’s career. While one would think that this announcement would have opened up the race for the eighth seed in the Western Conference, the Thunder have actually increased their chances of making the postseason in the meantime. The Thunder have won their last four games, thanks in no small part to Russell Westbrook’s ability to get something close to a triple-double every night. Meanwhile, the New Orleans Pelicans, the team best situated to take advantage of Durant’s indefinite absence, have dropped their last three games and have been overtaken in the standings by the once left-for-dead Phoenix Suns, who are currently ninth. The Thunder could make the playoffs despite everything, but, with the possible exception of Westbrook himself, nobody thinks they have a real shot at the title without Durant. That brings us the real reason that Friday’s announcement was potentially devastating for fans. With only one year remaining on Durant’s contract, and no guarantee that he will remain in Oklahoma City, there’s a very real chance that next season will be the last chance this version of the team will have at a championship. When the Thunder played the Miami Heat in the 2012 NBA Finals it seemed like it would be the start of something special for the Thunder. It might turn out, thanks to several straight seasons of untimely injuries, that series might end up being their last, best chance. Paul George is/isn’t actually returning to the Indiana Pacers While the bad news about Durant claimed the headlines, this week’s injury report actually features some good news. OK, the updates haven’t been all positive. The Los Angeles Clippers will, it seems, have to focus on playing without Jamal Crawford. According to team-mate Blake Griffin, Crawford “can barely walk” right now. The Toronto Raptors’ Kyle Lowry left Tuesday night’s game against the Detroit Pistons with back spasms. Still, on Monday night alone, the NBA welcomed back the Chicago Bulls’ Jimmy Butler and the Golden State Warriors’ Klay Thompson. The Houston Rockets have announced that Dwight Howard, who last played on 23 January, will return in Wednesday night’s game against the New Orleans Pelicans. One player who we haven’t seen yet has been the Indiana Pacers’ Paul George. The news surrounding the Pacers’ franchise player, who was seemingly lost for the season after suffering a major leg injury during a warm-up game on route to the Fiba Basketball World Cup, has been mixed and contradictory. Reports that George could return in the next few weeks were followed by stories that he wasn’t even close to being physically ready to play at the NBA level yet. Those reports were then followed by the surprise announcement that George could make his season debut against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday. That didn’t happen. Despite Pacers president Larry Bird saying he was confident that George will play this year, nothing further apparently has been settled. It doesn’t help George’s chances of returning that Indiana is in danger of completely falling out of the playoff race, having dropped its last six games. The less likely the Pacers will appear in the postseason, the less likely George will risk further injury by pushing an early return. The best (and the worst) teams faced one another Last week proved to be a rare opportunity to see both the best and the worst teams in the NBA face each other. In the end, the Golden State Warriors and the New York Knicks stood apart from the competition. On Wednesday, in what was one of the most hyped games of the regular season, the Western Conference leading Golden State Warriors easily defeated their counterparts in the East, the Atlanta Hawks, 114-95. The Hawks have since struggled to recover. On Friday, Atlanta lost 123-115 to Russell Westbrook and an Oklahoma City Thunder team that refused to appear demoralized after the bad news about Durant. Then, on Sunday, they lost 114-95 to the San Antonio Spurs, who are looking more and more like the Spurs of old as the playoffs loom. These losses to tough Western Conference teams finally gave some ammunition for those who have been looking to dismiss Atlanta’s record as more of a product of weak competition than a sign that they were true championship contenders. In contrast, the Warriors have continued to play like the most dominant team in the NBA. Since Wednesday’s win, they have had double-digit wins over the New Orleans Pelicans, Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards and Portland Trail Blazers. If one is looking for the exact opposite of the Warriors, there are the New York Knicks who have spent the last week proudly defending their reputation as the league’s worst team. On Thursday, just a day after the teams with the best records in their respective conferences played against each other, the Knicks fought the Minnesota Timberwolves in a Battle of the Conference Bottom-Feeders. It was a game that neither team seemed to want to win, understandable since draft lottery odds were potentially on the line, but the Knicks eventually lost in overtime, 95-92. The very next day, the Knicks faced the Philadelphia 76ers, their biggest “rivals” as far as clinching the worst record in the Eastern Conference. It was the first game of the season where the 76ers were actually favored and the game proved the odds-makers right, as the Knicks lost 97-81. Thanks to these two key losses, the Knicks’ 14-57 record currently would give them the best odds at landing the No1 pick in this year’s draft. Knicks fans just have to hope that Phil Jackson isn’t serious about possibly trading it away. After all, they truly deserve some sort of reward for suffering through this season. Really Bad Excuses Department The Boston Celtics’ Marcus Smart says this was a “freak accident.” Other things we’ve learned • What’s been settled in the Eastern Conference: On Monday, the Chicago Bulls became the third team in the Conference, after the Atlanta Hawks and Cleveland Cavaliers, to clinch a postseason appearance. The Hawks have also clinched the Southeast Division, for those who care about such things. • What’s been settled in the Western Conference: On Friday, the Memphis Grizzlies secured a spot in the postseason. The Golden State Warriors, who were already playoff bound, officially won the Pacific Division for the first time since 1976 with Tuesday night’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers. • Steve Nash has made his retirement official. Here were my thoughts on the Hall of Fame point guard back when it was announced that he would miss the entire season. • Michael Beasley is back with the Miami Heat for the rest of the season and he has made it known that he wants to be Hassan Whiteside’s mentor. No way this could possibly backfire. • Dunk of the Week: Courtesy of the Sacramento Kings’ Derrick Williams: • The Milwaukee Bucks’ Khris Middleton did this to the Miami Heat last night. Heat fans might want to look away. |