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Oklahoma City Thunder Show Houston Rockets What a Playoff Juggernaut Is
It’s nice to fantasize about how James Harden can be incredibly good for 6-7 games in one series and make a fight out of the clash between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets, but in reality, it’s not even close to being a fair fight, with Kevin Durant leading Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka to an explosive and dominant start to yet another chase after the NBA championship, running all over a team that doesn’t seem to belong in the same league.
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Kevin Durant Needs 70 Points to Win the Scoring Title
The scoring title on its own doesn’t really matter, unless you’re someone like Kevin Durant, who really cares about these things. His only way of beating Carmelo Anthony this year is to score 70 points in the final game of the season, which would put him in a pretty impressive company of players who went all-in to make sure no one takes it away from them.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – What Need to Happen So They Finish First in the West
Getting a convincing win over the Golden State Warriors means that the Oklahoma City Thudner inched a bit closer towards securing the number one spot in the Western Conference, which means home court advantage until the NBA Finals, if they get that far, for the first time since leaving Seattle, although they still need a couple of things to happen first.
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Closest Scoring Title Races in NBA History
The NBA’s scoring title race is getting quite a twist over the last few weeks, as a red hot Carmelo Anthony, averaging 28.56 points per game, is threatening to break the hold of Kevin Durant, winner of the last three, surpassing the Oklahoma City Thunder player, who is currently stuck at second with 28.25 points, making it one of the closest scoring races in NBA history.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook Continues to Outscore Kevin Durant
If Kevin Durant had any chance of winning the scoring title for the fourth consecutive time, he probably needs someone to tell Russell Westbrook to stop shooting so much, although it probably wouldn’t help even if Scott Brooks, the head coach of the Oklahoma City Thudner if someone forgot, would go and scream it in his ear.
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Playing 3000 Minutes Means no NBA Championship
To win an NBA title, apparently, you need your star player to clock in less than 3000 minutes a season, as the meaning of an NBA minute has changed over the years, becoming more physically taxing as time goes by, which might mean player like Kevin Durant or Kobe Bryant (who might not even make the postseason) need to take a rest before this season is over.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Replicating NBA Playoffs Success Harder in 2013
A look at some advanced stats and overall efficiency suggests the Oklahoma City Thunder are still the best team in the Western conference, let alone the NBA, but their over-reliance on the individual skills of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, not to mention their struggles in head-to-head games against the conference’s best teams suggests reaching the Finals for a second consecutive season isn’t going to be this easy.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Kevin Durant & Russell Westbrook Not Slowed Down by Fatigue & Injury
Back-to-back road games against tough teams aren’t exactly the easiest ways to get wins in the NBA, but Kevin Durant, shaking off a bruised left calf, and Russell Westbrook, didn’t let the excuse of fatigue get to them, putting on another individual scoring clinic to put in the usual example of just how talented scorers they are.
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Oklahoma City Thunder – Russell Westbrook is Best When He Operates Solo
It’s hard to find point guards that have been as selfish on the floor as Russell Westbrook is, but when he doesn’t have to waste precious brain-fuel on defense and chasing other players, he also doesn’t really need any help in getting the ball in the basket, once again out-shooting and force once also out scoring and losing less ball than his co-star, Kevin Durant.
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Best NBA Players in the Clutch This Season
While LeBron James may not score more than some others in clutch situations, the fact that the Miami Heat are by far the best team in the NBA on both offense and defense, outscoring opponents by 32 points per 100 possessions in the final minutes of close games, more than double the pace-adjusted margin of the second-ranked team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, with a positive margin of 13.8 points per 100 possessions in clutch situations.