Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are two amazing rookies allowing the Oklahoma City Thunder to cruise along the playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. The first game they put up 72 points against the Nuggets in their 107 to 103 win where Durant scored 41 points and Westbrook scored 31 points. Durant shot 13 for 22 and Westbrook shot 12 for 23 which combined for a 55.5 percent for shooting. The first game was controversial with Perkins’ putback which may have been a goal tending and it was also the decisive play that allowed the Thunder to stay in the lead to win. The way I saw it, it looked like a decent tip in and it did not seem to be a goal tending play. The second game the Oklahoma City Thunder walk all over the Nugget with a 106 to 89 win but the two rookies only came with 44 points and they had more help from the other players starting and off the bench. The Thunder also dominated the glass by out rebounding Denver with 54 to 31 rebounds. If the Nuggets do not find a way to stop Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, they are going to have a hard time having a chance to win this playoff match-up. The other players on the Thunder team will only get better and if they are having a hard time stopping the rookies, they will have a handful to handle this series.

On a side note, the Sixers did make it to the playoffs but they are playing the Miami Heat and are trailing 2 games in this series.

The Eastern Conference

As the fight for the top place in the Eastern Conference goes on, the Boston Celtics lose to the Chicago Bulls 97-81. The Boston Celtics are slowly starting to dwindle down as a threat in the Eastern Conference with the consecutive losses the past couple of weeks. The Chicago Bulls are giving everybody a run for their money as possible MVP Derrick Rose and his teammate are plowing down teams left and right. Derrick Rose lead the team in points, 30, and assists,8. Carlos Boozer led the team in rebounds with 12 rebounds. The Celtics were a weak team overall with their top scorer being Paul Pierce with 15 points. Derrick Rose alone accounted for almost three of the top scorers on the Celtics and then the other Bulls took care of the rest. The Boston Celtics are 54-24 and the Chicago Bulls are 58-20. The division is still really close between the Heat, Celtics, and the Bulls but it seems that the Bulls are on a pace that cannot be stopped at the moment. I personally do not like the Celtics too much but it is disappointing for me to see a team to fall back this much. The lack of a big man down low is hurting their defense especially against players like Derrick Rose. The Bulls on the other hand have great chemistry with each other and with Derrick Rose on fire and on track to become MVP the Chicago Bulls will be one of the teams to watch for during the playoffs.

Suspensions and FInes

During last night’s game between the Washington Wizards and the Miami Heat, there was tension and a bit of violence which led to the ejection of some players following with fines and suspensions. Washington Wizards’ rookie, John Wall, has been fined and suspended for one game for throwing a closed-fist and forearm to the midsection of Ilgauskas. This started by Ilgauskas giving Wall an elbow to the face which aggravated Wall to act as he did. Both players were ejected and as Ilgauskas was being ejected he made some obscence gestures which he was fined for. John Wall will be serving his suspension when the Wizards host the Cleveland Cavaliers on Friday, April 1 and Ilgauskas was fined $25,000 and Juwan Howard was also fined $35,000 for his behavior on the court as well. The game ended with the Miami Heat coming on top with a 123-107 victory over the Wizards.

It’s very disappointing to see athletes be angry over nothing and start “crap” for no apparent reason. As professional athletes, I expect them to keep their composure even when others may provoke them to do otherwise. John Wall’s reaction is somewhat understandable because he is a rookie and he didn’t necessarily start the conflict, but for Ilguaskas, he should have toned it down and as someone who has been in this league for some time, he should have known better. In addition, I feel that these punishments, fines, and suspensions are not enough to keep players from doing this again. There needs to be something more severe so things like this can be prevented and the game of basketball can be enjoyed for what it is.