TheSportsPACK

Kevin Durant leads the Warriors in points, steals and blocks (bleacherreport.com) Kevin Durant leaving OKC was a huge disappoint to me. As a fan of small market teams, seeing Durand and Russell Westbrook having success in the NBA was refreshing to watch. With LeBron "allegedly" creating superteams, OKC has primarily built their team off of draft picks. In 3 consecutive years the Thunder drafted Durant, Westbrook and Houston Rockets point guard James Harden and in 2012 lost to the Miami Heat in 5 games. Questionable roster moves followed including trading James Harden to the Rockets for Kevin Martin and others; to clear cap space to keep rim protector Serge Ibaka. With season-lingering injuries to Kevin and Russell, the Thunder's window to win a championship were steadily declining The Oklahoma City front office received mostly negative criticism after the firing of coach Scott Brooks. Brooks who lead the Thunder to the playoffs each of his first 5 season was let ...

This NBA season has provided one of the closest MVP races in recent history. With a handful of players playing high caliber basketball there can only be one of them to take the league's best player award home. Many analyst have Steph Curry has there MVP frontrunner and I can't blame them. The Golend State point guard had led his team to the NBA's best record and in prime position to make a title run. Other may give a slight edge to the explosive Russell Westbrook. With all of the injuries to the OKC team, the All-Star MVP leads the league with 11 triple-doubles and is fighting with New Orleans for the 8th and final playoff spot. Both Curry and Westbrook are having an outstanding season but the MVP has to go to the Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden. James Harden is leading the Houston Rockets to a top 3 seed in the tough western conference. Most of the season the Rockets were without big man Dwight Howard which put an bigger scoring load on Harden. James Harden i...

Football is upon us but it's never a bad time to talk NBA hoops. A lot has change in the NBA since the Spurs won the title in June over the Miami Heat. LeBron's return to Cleveland, Carmelo staying in NYC and a host of other off season moves have most NBA teams feeling good about their chances to make a title run. Things can change between now and the tip-off of a new season but here are my five predictions that most NBA fans will not see coming. 1 . The Raptors will make the Eastern Conference Final The Toronto Raptors are coming off a surprising season finishing 3rd in the East with a 48-34 record. Despite getting knocked out in the 1st round by the more experienced Brooklyn Nets in 7 games, the Raptors have been quiet but very productive this off season. Resigning "boarder line all-star" Kyle Lowry was top priority for the Raptors who will also have the services of all-star and FIBA World Cup participate DeMar DeRozen. To boost their depth in the backcourt ...