<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a460ceab8ea3030003f31-1065-799/oklahoma-city-thunder-injuries.jpg" border="0" alt="Oklahoma City Thunder injuries"><p class="source"><span>John Minchillo/AP</span></p><p class="caption">The Oklahoma City Thunder gather around injured forward Andre Roberson.</p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The Oklahoma City Thunder have been decimated by injuries this year.</p>
<p>Reigning MVP Kevin Durant, Anthony Morrow, and Jeremy Lamb all got hurt in preseason.</p>
<p>Durant is expected to be out until mid-December while Morrow could be out for a month.</p>
<p>Things got worse in the second game of the season when Russell Westbrook fractured a bone in his hand that will require surgery and keep him out for at least a month.</p>
<p>The injures have continued to pile up since then.</p>
<p>Reggie Jackson missed a few games with a wrist injury. He returned Monday night against the Nets, and has already logged over 80 minutes in two games.</p>
<p>Back-up guard Andre Roberson went down with a sprained left foot against Brooklyn and had to sit out Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Raptors.</p>
<p>The Thunder went into the Raptors game with eight healthy players: Perry Jones, Serge Ibaka, Steven Adams, Lance Thomas, Reggie Jackson, Nick Collison, Kendrick Perkins, and Sebastian Telfair.</p>
<p>Here was the Thunder's box score, which doesn't include inactive players like Durant:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/545a3eca69bedd19744f6e40-446-335/thunder-box-score.png" border="0" alt="Thunder box score"><p class="source"><span>Via NBA.com</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>During the game, <a href="http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports.com/2014/11/04/thunder-with-perry-jones-injured-now-too-running-out-of-players/">Jones went down with a knee injury</a> and did not return. The team says he has a knee contusion, which could cause him to miss some time. Reggie Jackson also gave the Thunder a scare when he limped off the court, but he later returned.</p>
<p>At one point, the Thunder nearly ran out of players. Their third-string point guard Sebastian Telfair was ejected with a flagrant-2 foul, and Steven Adams, Serge Ibaka, and Jackson were all playing with five fouls. The media was clearly distressed, wondering how this would play out:</p>
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<p class="embed-spacer"><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Amazingly, OKC still gave a valiant effort and only lost by 12 points to a good Raptors team. However, head coach Scott Brooks was playing a dangerous game (not by choice). Jackson and Serge Ibaka both played over 40 minutes.</span></p>
<p class="embed-spacer">Luckily, for the Thunder, they don't play until Friday night, so they could possibly get some of their players with minor injuries back for the game. If the Thunder want to bubble wrap their remaining healthy players and keep them isolated until games, nobody would blame them.</p>

Oklahoma City Thunder Nearly Run Out Of Players In A Game After Unreal Injury Streak Gets Worse

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static1.businessinsider.com/image/511e688aeab8ea4766000018-625-469/sdvsdfscreen-shot-2013-02-15-at-11.54.44-am-1.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="lebron james" width="400" /></div><p class="source">TNT</p></div><keyword id="112378" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="LeBron-James">LeBron James</keyword> got off to a relatively slow start last night with only seven points in the first 22 minutes of the game as his <keyword id="509520" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Miami-Heat">Miami Heat</keyword> played the <keyword id="581560" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oklahoma-City-Thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</keyword>.</p>
<p>(Recently he's been on an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-say-hes-not-michael-jordan-2013-2">historically unprecedented shooting streak</a> that have people comparing him to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/lebron-james-career-is-catching-up-to-michael-jordan-sports-chart-of-the-day-2013-2">Jordan</a> or a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-players-talk-lebron-james-streak-2013-2">space alien</a>.)</p>
<p>And then something set him off.</p>
<p>With two minutes left in the half, James drilled a three pointer from the left wing. On the next possession, he hit a contested two from the left wing. On the next possession, with the shot clock running out, he hit a two from the same spot. Finally, standing on the left wing again, with everyone—including helpless defender Kendrick Perkins—knowing he was going to shoot, James nailed a three pointer.</p>
<p>Turns out he put on this show to silence a fan.</p>
<p>From<a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=400278507"> ESPN</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong style="font-size: 15px; line-height: 1.5em;">He said it all started with a fan who taunted him.</strong></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><strong>"He said, 'Shoot it. You can't shoot.' So, I said, 'OK,' and I shot it. I made it, and then I made another one, and then I made another one, and then I made another one, and he stopped talking to me," James said.</strong></p>
<p>Update: That fan was <a href="http://blog.newsok.com/ou/2013/02/15/lebron-james-shooting-streak-inspired-by-taunting-from-ou-center-gabe-ikard/?utm_source=twitterfeed&amp;utm_medium=twitter">University of Oklahoma center Gabe Ikard</a>.</p>
<p>Check it out:</p>
<p><iframe width="620" height="349" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/c26cnWlK2Ms?list=PLlVlyGVtvuVma1aFD1WxGfHcG9wj88-LH"></iframe></p>

LeBron James Brutally Silenced An Oklahoma City Fan Last Night

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54e6564beab8ea715cf89ce3-1200-924/isiah-thomas-phoenix-suns-trade-deadline-2.jpg" border="0" alt="isiah thomas phoenix suns trade deadline"><p class="source"><span>Christian Peterson/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>An avalanche of trades hit the NBA in the final hour of Thursday's trade deadline.</p><p>There were deals involving dozens of players from nearly half the teams in the league. The biggest stars to move were Goran Dragic (to the Heat), Enes Kanter (to the Thunder), and Brandon Knight (to the Suns). Elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers flipped a bunch of assets for picks.</p><p>Here's a complete rundown of the trades being reported (updating):</p><h3><strong>Goran Dragic <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--suns-move-goran-dragic--isaiah-thomas-in-separate-multi-players-deals-203944190.html">to the Miami Heat from the Denver Nuggets in a three-team deal</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Miami gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Goran Dragic, Zoran Dragic, John Salmons</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Phoenix gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Danny Granger, Justin Hamilton, two 1st-round picks</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">New Orleans gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Norris Cole (<a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/12348588/phoenix-suns-trade-goran-dragic-miami-heat">per ESPN</a>)</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Enes Kanter <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--thunder-trade-reggie-jackson-to-pistons-201419618.html">to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Reggie Jackson to the Detroit Pistons in a three-team deal</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Oklahoma City gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Enes Kanter, Kyle Singler, D.J. Augustin, Steve Novak</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Utah gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Kendrick Perkins</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Detroit gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Reggie Jackson</span></li></ul><h3><strong>The Suns, Sixers, Bucks, and Celtics engage in <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2015/02/19/suns-bucks-76ers-trade-brandon-knight-tyler-ennis-michael-carter-williams/23688631/">a massive four-team trade</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Phoenix gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Brandon Knight, Marcus Thorton, Cleveland's 2016 1st-round pick (<a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--suns-move-goran-dragic--isaiah-thomas-in-separate-multi-players-deals-203944190.html">per Woj</a>)</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Philadelphia gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Los Angeles Lakers 2015 1st-round pick (top-five protected)</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Milwaukee gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Michael Carter-Williams, Miles Plumlee, Tyler Ennis</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Boston gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Isaiah Thomas</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Arron Afflalo <a href="http://www.nba.com/news/2014-15-trade-tracker/">to the Portland Trail Blazers from the Denver Nuggets</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Portland gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Arron Afflalo, Alonzo Gee</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Denver gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Will Barton, Victor Claver, Thomas Robinson, lottery-protected 2016 1st-round pick</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Kevin Garnett <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--kevin-garnett-oks-trade-to-timberwolves-184640335.html">to the Minnesota Timberwolves from the Brooklyn Nets</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Minnesota gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Kevin Garnett</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Brooklyn gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Thaddeus Young</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Tayshaun Prince <a href="http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/celtics_nba/celtics_insider/2015/02/tayshaun_prince_traded_to_detroit_for_jerebko_datome">to the Detroit Pistons from the Boston Celtics</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Detroit gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Tayshaun Prince</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Boston gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Jonas Jerebko, Gigi Datome</span></li></ul><h3><strong>JaVale McGee <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sixers-javale-mcgee-trade-2015-2">to the Philadelphia 76ers from the Denver Nuggets</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Philadelphia gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> JaVale McGee, Oklahoma City Thunder's 2015 1st-round pick (top-18 protected)</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Denver gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Cenk Akyol</span></li></ul><h3><strong>K.J. McDaniels <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--rockets-acquire-guards-pablo-prigioni--k-j--mcdaniels-in-separate-trades-210656603.html">to the Houston Rockets from the Philadelphia 76ers</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Houston gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> K.J. McDaniels</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Philadelphia gets:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Isaiah Canaan, 2nd-round pick</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Ramon Sessions <a href="http://www.si.com/nba/2015/02/19/wizards-kings-trade-andre-miller-ramon-sessions">to the Washington Wizards from the Sacramento Kings</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Washington gets:</strong> Ramon Sessions</span></li><li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><strong>Sacramento gets:</strong> Andre Miller</span></li></ul><h3><strong>Pablo Prigioni <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/sources--rockets-acquire-guards-pablo-prigioni--k-j--mcdaniels-in-separate-trades-210656603.html">to the Houston Rockets from the New York Knicks</a>:</strong></h3><ul><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Rockets get:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Pablo Prigioni</span></li><li><strong style="line-height: 1.5em;">Knicks get:</strong><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"> Alexey Shved, two 2nd-round picks</span></li></ul>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/iphone-headphones-tricks-2015-2">14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', 'o2OGM3czpWcydnvhjbkDBd6feXPuExiD',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The NBA exploded in one of the craziest trade deadlines ever - here's the full list of deals

<p><div class="image-container full" style="width:620px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/51374d14eab8ea5a6b000016-800-400/kobe-bryant-grimacing-against-thunder-1.jpg?maxX=620" border="0" alt="kobe bryant grimacing against thunder" width="620" /></div><p class="source">AP</p></div><br /><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">On paper, <keyword id="525844" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russell-Westbrook">Russell Westbrook</keyword> is the Lakers' worst nightmare.</span></p>
<p>LA has old, slow guards who can't stay in front of quick point guards, and Westbrook (<a href="http://www.slamonline.com/online/the-magazine/features/2013/03/russell-westbrook-cover-story-thunder/">at least according to Kendrick Perkins and Pacers player Paul George</a>) is the most athletic point guard of all time.</p>
<p>So his outburst last night wasn't surprising.</p>
<p>He scored 37 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in a 120-105 win. Even though Kevin Durant has clearly become the second-best player in the <keyword id="6361805" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> this year, it was Westbrook who shifted the momentum and took all the big shots down the stretch last night.</p>
<p>More intriguingly, he did much of it against <keyword id="101182" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Kobe-Bryant">Kobe Bryant</keyword>.</p>
<p>Westbrook drove by him with ease, finishing over an ineffectual Dwight Howard. Nine of his 15 made shots came at the rim. When Kobe sagged to protect against the dribble-drive, Westbrook got by him anyway, like this:</p>
<p> <table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static6.businessinsider.com/image/51374b8a6bb3f74664000014/westbrook-crosses-over-kobe.gif" border="0" alt="westbrook crosses over kobe gif" /></div><p class="source">TNT</p></td></tr></table></p>
<p>Kobe acknowledge getting schooled after the game:</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p>@<a href="https://twitter.com/russwest44">russwest44</a> was cookin tonight. He's got mamba blood runnin thru his veins . You gave it to me tonight lil bro. C u down the road!</p>
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) <a href="https://twitter.com/kobebryant/status/309188038217592833">March 6, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async="" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8" type="text/javascript"></script>
<p>Westbrook and Bryant are very different players. But they do share a visceral on-court anger. More than any young player in the league, Westbrook sneers and lashes out in the same way Kobe does.</p>
<p>Kobe is still a better mid-range shooter than Westbrook, and a better finesse player on offense. But his defense has clearly declined, and the athletically superior Westbrook was the worst possible match-up for him last night.</p>
<p>To seal the game, Westbrook picked Kobe's pocket and threw down a dunk:</p>
<p><iframe width="620" height="349" frameborder="0" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EMoF1Kn8AbQ"></iframe></p>

Kobe Bryant Got Abused By Russell Westbrook Last Night

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/553e578969bedd03586223a4-1200-900/lebron-james-celtics-cavs.jpg" border="0" alt="lebron james celtics cavs"><p class="source"><span>Maddie Meyer/Getty Images</span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>The Cleveland Cavaliers advanced to the second round of the playoffs on Sunday with a 4-0 sweep of the Boston Celtics.</span></p><p>They also got dealt two major blows that will make a potential series against the Chicago Bulls their biggest challenge yet.</p><p><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/kevin-love-injured-celtics-olynyk-2015-4">Kevin Love dislocated his shoulder</a><a href="&lt;iframe%20src=%22https://vine.co/v/eWrlZiBUzFg/embed/simple%22%20width=%22600%22%20height=%22600%22%20frameborder=%220%22>&lt;/iframe>&lt;script%20src=%22https://platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js%22>&lt;/script>"></a> after he got tangled up with Celtics big man Kelly Olynyk. While Love suggested it was dirty, calling it a "bush league" play, Olynyk said it was unintentional.</p><p>Here was the play:</p><div><div><iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/eWrlZiBUzFg/embed/simple?audio=0" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p>Love immediately ran back to the locker room, and <a href="https://twitter.com/WindhorstESPN/status/592486429126692865">ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported</a> that Love is likely out a minimum of two weeks.</p><p>Later in the third quarter of the game, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/jr-smith-suspension-2015-4">J.R. Smith was ejected for hitting Celtics wing Jae Crowder in the face</a>, knocking him to the ground, and seemingly hurting his knee in the process.</p><div><div><iframe class="vine-embed" src="https://vine.co/v/eW6pBXxOOXv/embed/simple?audio=0" width="600" height="600" frameborder="0"></iframe><script async="" src="//platform.vine.co/static/scripts/embed.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div></div><p class="embed-spacer"></p><p>Crowder was diagnosed with a left knee sprain and didn't return. <a href="This%20is%20a%20situation%20that%20I%20put%20my%20teammates%20in,%20and%20it's%20a%20selfish%20act%20because%20I%20don't%20want%20anything%20that%20we%20do%20collectively%20to%20be%20taken%20away%20by%20one%20individual,%20whether%20it's%20me%20or%20anybody%20else,%22%20">Smith said after the game</a>, "I'm nervous as hell" about being suspended.</p><p>Two years ago to the day on Sunday, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3W7wxjCKeME">Smith was suspended one game for elbowing Jason Terry</a> in the face during the Knicks-Celtics first-round matchup. His hit on Crowder looked even more malicious, and given his history, could earn him a two- or three-game suspension, as <a href="http://espn.go.com/blog/cleveland-cavaliers/post/_/id/777/cavs-face-cloudy-future-after-sweeping-celtics">ESPN's Dave McMenamin suggested</a>.</p><p>With Love out several weeks and Smith potentially missing the first few games of the second-round series (the NBA is yet to make an official ruling), the Cavaliers will be short-handed facing (likely) the Chicago Bulls, who need one more win over the Milwaukee Bucks to advance.</p><p>Love and Smith were the Cavaliers' third and fourth best scorers during the regular season, averaging 16.4 points and 12.7 points, respectively. They have also been the Cavaliers' best floor-spacers, shooting 37% and 39%, respectively, from three-point range in the regular season. Though Smith struggled shooting in the first round, Love was on fire, averaging 14 points on 43% shooting from three-point range.</p><p>Love's injury changes the Cavaliers' big man rotation dramatically. Love's ability to spread the floor as a power forward gives LeBron James and Kyrie Irving room to drive and attack the basket. In his place, the Cavs may be forced to start Tristan Thompson, a good rebounder who doesn't have Love's shooting ability, which will change Cleveland's spacing on offense.</p><p>The Love injury could also force the Cavs to play LeBron, Thompson, and Timofey Mozgov huge minutes as a frontcourt trio. When they need rest, the Cavs will likely go to Kendrick Perkins off the bench, who has a -17 net rating on the court in 167 minutes this season.</p><p>This is horrible timing for the Cavs as they get ready to play the Bulls (barring a historic Bucks comeback) in what has been the most anticipated Eastern Conference matchup all season. The Bulls are finally healthy, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/derrick-rose-leading-chicago-bulls-in-playoffs-2015-4">with Derrick Rose leading the charge</a>, and would present many matchup problems for a short-handed Cavs team.</p><p>Though the Cavs will start with home-court advantage, if they lose just one of those first two games without Love and Smith, homecourt will suddenly shift to a Bulls team with momentum.</p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/led-surfboards-wetsuits-professional-night-surfing-morocco-munian-sahyoun-2015-3">Stunning video shows people surfing at night with LED surfboards and wetsuits</a></h3>        <div>            <div>    <script src="http://player.ooyala.com/v3/6e12e8b3387a44daacfb73afba25a76e"></script>    <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="55MzJxczonGQkrJV7RiSLaRdC8cAkuqu" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>    <script>    if (typeof RunFunctions === 'undefined') { var RunFunctions = []; }     RunFunctions.push(function()    {         var ooyalapopvideo = OO.Player.create('ooyalaplayer_popvideo', '55MzJxczonGQkrJV7RiSLaRdC8cAkuqu',{ autoplay: 'false' });     });    </script>    <noscript><div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div></noscript></div>        </div>        <script>(function() { function createPlayer() { OO.ready(function() { RunFunctions.forEach(function(ooyalaFunction) { ooyalaFunction(); }); RunFunctions = [];}); } createPlayer(); }()); </script>    </div>

The road to the NBA Finals just got way harder for the Cleveland Cavaliers

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/547f2ae2ecad04aa52002b33-1200-924/anthony-davis-no-pelicans-1.jpg" border="0" alt="anthony davis no pelicans"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.apimages.com/metadata/Index/Pelicans-Trail-Blazers-Basketball/2c070ad242c4412a92d85b99947238b0/85/0">AP</a></span></p></img></div><p></p></div></div>Over the summer NBA MVP Kevin Durant raved about Anthony Davis at a Team USA camp in Las Vegas.</p>
<p>"I know how good he is now, but I know how good he's going to be. He's an MVP-caliber player. So he's next. He's next in line," <a href="http://www.nba.com/pelicans/news/mvp-kevin-durant-anthony-davis-hes-next-line">said Durant</a>. "He's moving up the ladder every single day. It's scary. Scary."</p>
<p>It was high praise, but it was also framed in the future tense. The implication was <em>Anthony Davis is coming</em>, not <em>Anthony Davis is here</em>.</p>
<p>In the four months since Durant issued that warning, Anthony Davis has arrived.</p>
<p>He has been the best player in the NBA over the first five weeks of the season. If you look at his per game stats, he's scoring like Stephen Curry, rebounding like Tyson Chandler, and defending like Serge Ibaka. He leads the league in blocks and he's second in steals.</p>
<p>He's ranked No. 1 in player efficiency rating (PER) - the advanced stat that measures a player's total contribution to the game. The difference between him and the 2nd-ranked player in PER is the same as the difference between the 2nd-ranked player and the 20th-ranked player.</p>
<p>He is, as Durant put it over the summer, scary good.</p>
<p>On Tuesday night he lead the Pelicans to a win over Durant's Thunder in the MVP's first game back from a foot injury. The type of stat line he put up  - 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 steals, 4 blocks, and 4 assists on 53% shooting - is becoming a weekly occurrence for Davis. So are highlights like this, where he made Kendrick Perkins look like a college kid:</p>
<div><biembeddedobject id="33a25b92-c1c9-4749-b305-476841f040ba"></biembeddedobject></div>
<p class="embed-spacer"></p>
<p>His own coach Monty Williams <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/anthony-davis-grows-into-mvp-candidate-as-new-orleans-finds-its-star-072222354.html">told Marcus Spears of Yahoo! that he was surprised</a> at how good he has been, especially offensively. The 21-year-old has always been a great defensive player, but now he has put together a solid offensive game as well.</p>
<p>The rest of the league is jarred about his rapid ascent. Davis told Spears:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"If you look at my phone, I have over 1,500 unread text messages. I don't even look at the stuff. After the game people are texting me saying, 'You are playing well. Keep it up.' All I am going to say is, 'Thank you.'"</p>
<p>Davis spent the summer playing on the U.S. national team that won the FIBA World Cup in Spain. The mastermind of that USA team, Bryan Colangelo, told Sean Deveney of Sporting News that <a href="http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/story/2014-11-24/anthony-davis-nba-mvp-kevin-durant-lebron-james-new-orleans-pelicans">Davis was going to take a huge leap from playing with the national team</a>.</p>
<p>ESPN's Jordan Brenner wrote before the season that Davis had <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11752294/anthony-davis-new-orleans-pelicans-expectations">an impossibly high bar to meet in 2014-15</a>:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">"That's how high the bar is for Davis this season: If he doesn't butt his way into the conversation with LeBron and KD, there will be disappointment, from NBA front offices to Internet message boards to the Twittersphere. As unfair as it may be, popular opinion demands linear progress."</p>
<p>If his performance over the first four weeks holds, Davis will become the rare athlete-prodigy who lives up to the seemingly unattainable expectations set by others. He has closed the gap between the player he is and the player he can become, and he has done it faster than we could have realistically hoped for.</p>

Anthony Davis Got Scary Good, And The NBA World Wasn't Ready For It

<p><div class="image-container float_right" style="width:400px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/517aae97eab8eae16500000a-550-412/russell-westbrook-okc-thunder-3.jpg?maxX=400" border="0" alt="russell westbrook okc thunder" width="400" /></div><p class="source">Ronald Martinez/Getty Images</p></div>The Houston Rockets thoroughly out-played the <keyword id="581560" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oklahoma-City-Thunder">Oklahoma City Thunder</keyword> last night, winning 107-100 and forcing a Game 6 on Friday.</p>
<p>At this point, it's clear that the <keyword id="525844" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Russell-Westbrook">Russell Westbrook</keyword> injury has hurt OKC more than we ever imagined.</p>
<p>Even with Westbrook, the Thunder were prone to long stretches of stagnant and isolation-heavy offense. They were 8th-worst in the <keyword id="6361805" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="NBA">NBA</keyword> in assist rate with Westbrook, but it didn't matter because he and Kevin Durant are such exceptional individual offensive players.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">They never developed a successful offensive system that could exist independent of those two star players because they never had to.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">But as we've seen in the last three games, when you take Westbrook out of the equation, the whole thing falls apart.</span></p>
<p>They've tried to use Reggie Jackson to approximate Westbrook, but he has been hit-and-miss and his insertion into the starting lineup has had a domino effect on the second unit.</p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Kevin Durant is the second-best player on Earth. But Houston has shifted its entire defense toward him, and the Thunder have been utterly unable to adapt and use the Rockets' focus on Durant against them.</span></p>
<p>But even though OKC isn't as good as usual on offense, they're still averaging ~109 points per 100 possessions since Westbrook went out. Part of that is Houston's awful defense, but that number is equivalent to a top-8 offense in the regular season.</p>
<p>Somewhat surprisingly, the Thunder have missed Westbrook mightily on defense.</p>
<p>Since the blowout in Game 1 Houston has decided to go small, playing Francisco Garcia and Chandler Parsons at power forward. That has forced OKC to remove one of their defensive-minded big men (Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka) in favor of a guard.</p>
<p>And more times than not, that guard has been the aging and defensively suspect Derek Fisher.</p>
<p>After playing 11 minutes in Game 1 and six minutes in Game 2, Fisher has averaged 27 minutes in the three games since Westbrook got hurt.</p>
<p>Houston won two of those games, lost one in the final seconds, and averaged 111+ points per 100 possessions.</p>
<p>Last night, OKC coach Scott Brooks lost so much faith in his defense that he deployed the "Hack-Asik" strategy — intentionally fouling Rockets center Omer Asik in lieu of trying to play defense.</p>
<p>It was a joke:</p>
<p><table class="image-container" width="200"><tr><td><div class="image"><img src="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/518267df69bedd9e78000005/hack-asik.gif" border="0" alt="hack asik" /></div><p class="source">TNT</p></td></tr></table></p>
<p>The Thunder will probably still win this series.</p>
<p>Durant is good enough to win one of these games by himself, and the Rockets are still a terrible defensive team.</p>
<p>But going forward OKC has all sorts of problems. Since Westbrook went down, they've been unable to do the things they did successfully with him, and there doesn't appear to be a fully developed Plan B.</p>

The Russell Westbrook Injury Has Hurt The Oklahoma City Thunder More Than We Ever Thought

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table full"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5351434e69bedd2d5fc60a41-1200-799/durant-lebron.jpg" border="0" alt="durant lebron" /><p class="source"><span>Ronald Martinez/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div>The NBA playoffs start on Saturday.</p>
<p>We're still a few weeks away from the marquee match-ups we all want to see (Heat-Pacers III, anything in the West). So consider this your basketball appetizer.</p>
<p>We went through every first-round series and picked the winners.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/535141576da811980e49ed37-1200-840/tim-duncan-12.jpg" border="0" alt="tim duncan" /><p class="source"><span>Christian Petersen/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>San Antonio Spurs (1) vs. Dallas Mavericks (8)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: The Spurs eat bad defensive teams alive.</strong></h3>
<p>The Mavericks are <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2014.html#misc::9">the worst defensive team in the playoffs</a>, based on points allowed per 100 possessions. This is a very bad thing when facing the Spurs.</p>
<p>The Lakers were the worst defensive team in the playoffs in 2012-13 ... the Spurs destroyed them in a four-game sweep.</p>
<p>The Jazz were the 2nd-worst defensive team in the playoffs in 2011-12 ... the Spurs swept them too.</p>
<p>This is a simple one.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Spurs in four.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/527bee8869bedda608df1732-1200-800/183657673.jpg" border="0" alt="Kevin Durant" /><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Oklahoma City Thunder (2) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (7)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: Seeds lie.</strong></h3>
<p>The Grizzlies were <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/player/gamelog/_/id/3206/marc-gasol">40-19 with Marc Gasol in the lineup this year</a>. That winning percentage (.677) is better than Houston's and Portland's, and would have made them the 4-seed in the West.</p>
<p>This has been an awkward match-up for OKC. The Grizzlies are the slowest team in the NBA at 89.9 possessions per game. They play big, which means Oklahoma City will play lineups that feature Kendrick Perkins, which hurts them on offense.</p>
<p>The Grizz knocked the Westbrook-less Thunder out of the playoffs last year. They also pushed them to the limit in 2012. But this year's OKC team is better than those two, largely because of Kevin Durant, and Memphis still doesn't do enough on offense to win four out of seven.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Thunder in six.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/535141afeab8ea4b0ad0860d-1200-830/blake-griffin-17.jpg" border="0" alt="blake griffin" /><p class="source"><span>Al Bello/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Los Angeles Clippers (3) vs. Golden State Warriors (6)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: The Bogut injury is huge.</strong></h3>
<p>This is the most exciting first-round series because these two teams <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/With-playoffs-Warriors-Clippers-rivalry-grows-5411618.php">actually dislike each other</a>.</p>
<p>Proof:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/50e59129ecad04a62e000017/blake-fall.gif" border="0" alt="blake griffin fall gif" /><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/2013/1/3/3830696/blake-griffin-is-a-karate-master">SB Nation</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/warriors/2014/04/14/andrew-bogut-injury-broken-rib-playoffs-golden-state/7720827/">Andrew Bogut injury</a> really hurts though. Golden State was the 4th-best defensive team in the NBA this year, and the Aussie is one the big reasons why.</p>
<p>The Warriors had a similar injury in last year's playoffs when David Lee went down. They responded by going small, torching the Nuggets, and giving the Spurs a surprisingly hard time in the Western conference semifinals.</p>
<p>That won't happen with Bogut. The Warriors got away with going small last year because they had Bogut holding things together on defense. If they try to go small this year, Jermaine O'Neal or Lee will be manning the paint ... which is not ideal.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Clippers in five.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/535141f5ecad04953149ed38-1200-800/damian-lillard.jpg" border="0" alt="damian lillard" /><p class="source"><span>Ronald Martinez/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Houston Rockets (4) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (5)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: Points!</strong></h3>
<p>Clips-Dubs might be more exciting because of the potential for Matt Barnes to punch something, but Rockets-Blazers is going to have all of the points.</p>
<p>Neither team is particularly good on defense. Houston is <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2014.html#misc::9">13th in defensive efficiency and Portland is 17th</a>. </p>
<p>Both are very good offensive teams. Houston does it by getting to the free throw line more than any team in the NBA. It might not be the most beautiful brand of basketball, but they're 4th in the league in offensive efficiency.</p>
<p>Portland is even better, ranking 2nd in offensive efficiency. They create extra possessions by taking care of the ball (3rd in turnover rate) and grabbing a ton of offensive rebounds (3rd of offensive rebounding rate) - which should hold up against Houston's relative ineptitude on the boards (20th in defensive rebounding rate).</p>
<p>Houston has been playing pretty well, and they have loads more experience. But we have to pick at least one upset here. </p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Blazers in seven.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5342a794eab8ea29496d57c1-1200-762/roy-hibbert-8.jpg" border="0" alt="roy hibbert" /><p class="source"><span>Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Indiana Pacers (1) vs. Atlanta Hawks (8)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: The Hawks play the Pacers weirdly tough.</strong></h3>
<p>If you're looking for a Big, Huge, Surprising Upset, this might be your best candidate.</p>
<p>Indiana's struggles have been well documented. They played like crap after the All-Star Break. Without making any fundamental changes to their strategy, they got worse in every area all at once. They <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/indiana-pacers-collapse-fatigued-2014-4">might be tired</a>. They might have <a href="http://www.sportsworldnews.com/articles/11983/20140415/paul-george-stripper-catfish-rumors-and-roy-hibbert-poor-play-have-pacers-on-upset-alert-in-round-1-video.htm">off-the-court issues</a>. They might be sad because <a href="http://nba.si.com/2014/02/20/danny-granger-trade-pacers-sixers/">Danny Granger got traded</a>.</p>
<p>Who knows. The point is that they have the statistical profile of an average team over the last two months, not a 1-seed.</p>
<p>But that's not the real reason to be thinking upset here. The real reason is that the Hawks seem to have Indiana's number. As <a href="https://twitter.com/johnschuhmann">NBA's.com John Schuhmann pointed out earlier this week</a>, Atlanta has the most efficient offense against Indiana of any team in the East.</p>
<p>The Pacers have the best defense in the league at 99.3 points per 100 possessions allowed. The Hawks scored 104.7 points per 100 possessions against them.</p>
<p>Intriguing!</p>
<p>The problem with picking this upset is that the Hawks probably stink. They had a 38-44 record. Even if Indiana plays as badly they played in the last two months, they could still win this series.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Pacers in six.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5351429269bedd6a63c60a3b-1200-858/lebron-james-heat.jpg" border="0" alt="lebron james heat" /><p class="source"><span>Jim Rogash/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Miami Heat (2) vs. Charlotte Bobcats (7)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: LeBron owns the Bobcats.</strong></h3>
<p>We're big believers in the Miami Heat "gears" theory. Therefore, we're just going to assume their sloppy play over the last few weeks is irrelevant and everything will get better when the playoffs begin.</p>
<p>So let's talk about a crazy LeBron James thing. He's really, really good against Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who's one of the better young wing defenders in the league.</p>
<p>His stats against him this year (<a href="http://stats.nba.com/featured/playoffs_2014_heat_bobcats.html#jefferson">from NBA.com</a>):</p>
<ul>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Minutes: 23</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Shooting: 18 for 30 (60%)</span></li>
<li><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Fouls drawn: 6</span></li>
</ul>
<p>That's insane.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Heat in five.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/535142c96da811df1249ed38-1200-801/deron-williams-9.jpg" border="0" alt="deron williams" /><p class="source"><span>Bruce Bennett/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Toronto Raptors (3) vs. Brooklyn Nets (6)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: The Nets are goofy.</strong></h3>
<p>These have been two of the best teams in the East, record wise, since the beginning of 2014.</p>
<p>The Nets have done it by going small.</p>
<p>We've seen a bunch of teams do this in recent years, most notably the Miami Heat. But the Nets aren't your typical small-ball converts. They don't push the pace, and still do a ton of stuff in the post by sticking large guards on the low block.</p>
<p>Rebounding is an issue as a result. Brooklyn is <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_2014.html#misc::19">28th in defensive rebounding</a>, which could be an issue against a Toronto team that ranked top-12 in both offensive and defensive rebounding this year.</p>
<p>At the end of the day these teams are pretty close, and it might come down to experience. The Nets have guys who've played in <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/matchup/_/teams/celtics-lakers">Game 7's of NBA Finals</a> and conference finals. On the other hand, Game 1 of this series will be the biggest game most of these guys on Toronto have ever played.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Nets in seven.</strong></h3>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/535143066bb3f7450fd0860e-1200-742/joakim-noah-3.jpg" border="0" alt="joakim noah" /><p class="source"><span>Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></div></p>
<h2><strong>Chicago Bulls (4) vs. Washington Wizards (5)</strong></h2>
<h3><strong>Thing to know: Prepare for a rock fight.</strong></h3>
<p>This could be an ugly one. </p>
<p>These are two of the five worst offensive teams in the playoffs, and two of the four best defensive teams in the playoffs. Joakim Noah and John Wall are spectacular individual players who do things on the basketball court that no one else does. But Chicago's slow-paced, suffocating style on both ends of the court should make this the lowest-scoring series of the first round.</p>
<p>Wall and Bradley Beal have the potential to get hot and run away with a few games. But Chicago is playing really well right now, they have <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nba-playoffs-chicago-bulls-americas-team-2013-5">a history of outperforming expectations in the playoffs</a>, and they have the best player on the floor in Noah.</p>
<h3><strong>Pick: Bulls in seven.</strong></h3>

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