Big Monday

I want to quickly talk about the NBA and specifically the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Huh?

Yes, I know. On a night that my Jayhawks are likely to grab the Big 12 title (or at least a share of it), I want to talk about the NBA. But if there is one player in the NBA I would want to see it is Kevin Durant.

I have seen Lebron, and he is amazing. But in my opinion, he is an amazing athlete. He does have some amazing basketball skill, but more than anything he is an athlete. Kevin Durant is a scorer, and possesses Hall of Fame type basketball skill.

KDur (a joke if you deal drugs) has scored 25 or more points in 28 straight games. Only one player in recent history has done more, and that's Michael Jordan. During those 28 games, the Thunder are 20-8. And Durant is only 21 years old. He has only been in the league for 3 years.

This may seem like some rambling, but I am really impressed by this. Even when Lebron was coming along, he didn't have this good of an offensive season that early in his career. Neither did Kobe. Iverson may have been close, but he was a college player and older at the same point in his career in the league.

He's currently shooting 48% from the field, 38% from 3, 88% from the line and throwning in 7.5 rebounds per game just for kicks. He is doing all of this, while playing the fourth most minutes of any player in the league and does so by averaging just over 2 fouls a game. And based off of his career averages, he is dishing out more assists, blocking more shots and snagging more steals.

.........

Ok, quick first reaction to KU's victory (I type this with KU up by 22 with 7:20 left in the game). X is playing out of his mind. And tonight, doing it early helped settle the team. Collins, Aldrich and McMorris were all just a touch off and needed someone else to score. X was there.

Also, I dont know that I've talked much about it here, but in order for KU to succeed (by succeed I mean make a run at the final four) Tyshawn Taylor has to be a factor. Tonight, he did not make a flashy impact like he did saturday against Colorado, but he has been solid. He made a big 3 early, played solid defense on a good freshman in Mason-Griffin and didn't make any boneheaded plays.

With Morningstar in the starting lineup, KU could win it all. With Morningstar, you know what you are going to get. Solid, smart basketball, with not a lot of flash and some pretty decent shooting.

With Taylor in the starting lineup, KU can do one of two things: win it all convincingly, or fall flat on their face. He is the Y factor (do you really think I'm going to use X?) for this team. He has the talent to take the ball to the rim and finish. He has the talent to hit big 3's. He has the talent to be a force on defense. But......

Does he have the head? This is the same palyer that broke his hand in a fight with the football team (the Jayhawk football team... ugh). This is the same player that was upset with his playing time, not understanding his role and thought of transferring (and posting some of that on his facebook page... ugh).

Watching him the last 2 games as a starter, I am optimistic for the future version of Tyshawn Taylor. But it is a cautious optimism.

To end the night.... I think that Bobbby Knight is a good color commentator. He is my favorite because he tells it like it is and points out the little things, the fundamentals. That said, he struggled tonight to just talk about nothing.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk, six for KU!

DDSF