Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Thunder vs. Knicks

The Knicks lack of execution in the last minutes of the fourth quarter offensively were awful. With Carmelo Anthony on the bench for another game, the Knicks failed to score in the final 1:49 as J.R. Smith missed two jump shots in the last 32.9 seconds. OKC won, 95-94, at the Garden.
“It was a great fight,” Stoudemire said after the Knicks fell to 37-22. “We didn’t make a shot (in the fourth). We played great defensively. We got stops we needed but we didn’t make a shot.”
The Knicks only scored 13 points in the fourth quarter. Stoudemire made one shot in the fourth while Smith attempted nine.
    Smith had given a huge spark off the bench, making 14 of 29 shots overall and scoring 13 points in the third quarter as the Knicks built an 81-75 lead. But Smith missed his last four shots while Stoudemire was attacking Serge Ibaka and drawing fouls. Stoudemire played just five minutes and 36 seconds of the fourth quarter and earned a trip to the foul line, making all four of his free throws in the period, including two with 1:50 remaining to give his team its final lead at 94-93. Nothing Woodson tried in the final two minutes worked for him. He had subbed Kenyon Martin for defensive purposes with Stoudemire at the line, but Martin was whistled for his sixth foul when he fouled Kevin Durant 20 feet from the basket. Durant’s two free throws with 98 seconds remaining provided the winning points for the Thunder. Which is why he is the best player on the Thunder in my opinion.

Thursday, February 28, 2013

Derek Fisher's Life Story




Derek fisher was born on August 9th, 1974. He was born in Little Rock, Arkansas. Derek Fisher's mother was named Annette Fisher. She worked at a bank. His father, John Fisher, was an ex-military man who worked as a post office administrator.
  Fisher thanks his parents greatly, especially his father, for showing him from a young age the drive necessary to succeed in basketball, and life. Fisher started playing basketball at a very young age, mainly with his older half-brother, Duane Washington. His brother made it all the way to the NBA. He played for the New Jersey Nets and Los Angeles Clippers before his career was ended because of a cocaine addiction. 
  While his brother was in rehab, Fisher called daily to support him. When he called the first time Duane made him promise that he would never get involved with drugs ever. I thought that this was extremely sweet. <3

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Russell Westbrook's Life Story

 






Russell Westbrook was born in Long Beach, California. His parents are Russell Westbrook and Shannon Horton. He has one younger brother, Raynard, and has said that he admires former Los Angeles Lakers great Earvin "Magic" Johnson. Growing up in Lawndale, Westbrook had a childhood friend named Khelcey Barrs, a talented young small forward who had been attracting interest from major college basketball schools as a 6-foot-6, 200 pound high school sophomore. However, Barrs collapsed and died from cardiomegaly after playing a series of late night basketball games in 2004.



Westbrook entered Leuzinger High School as an unexpected 5-foot-8, 140-pound freshman point guard with size 14 shoes, not starting on the varsity team until his junior year. He did not receive his first college recruiting letter until the summer before his senior year. Westbrook eventually reached his adult height at 6′3″ that same summer.

Friday, February 15, 2013

Why 35?

At 8 years old Durant was playing on an AAU basketball team for Charles Craig. That was the first time he had ever been on a team. He was the tallest one and was very insecure, but Charles saw something special in him. He thought that Kevin was different from the other kids. Kevin went over to Charles house all the time and practiced drills and shooting,. They became very close almost like best friends. Charles Craig a.k.a. "Big Chucky" was supposed to be by Durant’s side when he signed his letter of intent to Texas, continuing the dream of becoming a professional basketball player. One of the reasons he never gave up this dream was because of his coach, he knew it would be hard but he still tried his best to do everything he could. Kevin sat in the Green Room on the night of the 2007 NBA Draft, eagerly counting down the final moments before he fulfilled his dream as the No. 2 overall pick. But Charles never showed up, Kevin was informed about his coaches death shortly after.
He died on April 30, 2005, he was the victim of multiple gunshot wounds. He was also 35 years old.
Since his freshman season at the University of Texas, Durant has worn jersey No. 35 in honor of Big Chucky. Charles had told him when he was 8 years old never to give up on his dreams and he never did.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Kevin Durant's Life Story

Kevin Wayne Durant was born on September 29, 1988 in Washington, D.C. He is 6' 9" and weighs 235 pounds. He grew up with his older brother Tony in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, just outside the nations capitol. They were raised by their mother Wanda Pratt and her mother Barbara Davis. Their father, Wayne Pratt, left the family before Kevin's first birthday. He came back into his son's life when Kevin was about 13 years old. Kevin was always the tallest boy in his class and was very self-conscious about his height. His mother asked his teachers to put him at the end of lines so that he wouldn't stand out as much.
Kevin and his brother loved playing sports, especially basketball. Their favorite team was the Washington Wizards, whose stars included Michael Jordan. Kevin Durant would later meet Jordan after being voted MVP at a high school tournament that created his name.