NBA Chat With Susan Bible 2/11/12

Please join Susan Bible for her NBA Chat each Saturday at 11:00 am EST. Susan is a Newlines Editor and a member of the fantasy team at HOOPSWORLD. She covers the Oklahoma City Thunder and the NBA at large. Drop in your questions now.

  1. san miguel lites

    Hi susan. I see kevin durant as a fusion of reg miller and scott pippen. Very clutch and scary and thats coming from me a laker fan. But lemme say that without durant westbrook is just a star not a superstar. Knowing that,last night i was watching d win by sactown . How come westbrook took over like a.horse with patches that he didnt wana pass d ball in d closing mins. Which by the way became turn overs. Cant coach brooks coach rwes? Is he coachable or ego man and cant swallow that he aint the man in the forth. Just an opinion. Love ur chats.

    • Susan Bible

      He’s coachable, and his ego isn’t out of control…Westbrook is an extremely confident player. Granted, the Kings game was bad, but it happens. Like you say, Durant is officially turning clutch, and in those times his hands are on the ball, right? The turnovers by everyone has to be addressed if they expect to advance in the playoffs.

  2. johny abbarientos

    Ok fantasy question u r the gm. Lets make rwestbrooks n cp3 same age no injuries. Who would u draft to pair with kd? Thanks! Exciting times when im reading chats here at hw

    • Susan Bible

      Exciting times indeed! Hand’s down, Chris Paul.

  3. pinas kay saya

    Ok lets say u got a say. And dwith will play for okc. But magics will ask for harden wbrooks n maybe one big.will u risk the chemistry of the team for a big name like dwith.lets say he will sign a long contract.

    • Susan Bible

      Dwith = Dwight Howard? And who is Brooks? Russell Westbrook? So you’re saying Westbrook, Harden and one big for a long contract on Howard? Who’s going to play point? Reggie Jackson? At first glance it seems intriguing, but it’s moot because Howard has no interest in Oklahoma City nor competing with Durant as the main man.

  4. taho at pandesal

    Would u be confident enough and say without injuries the thunder will be the champs n beat lebron in the finals?

    • Susan Bible

      I want to…but I can’t. Next year, maybe.

  5. blake

    Did u enjoyed blakes dunk on kperk?

    • Susan Bible

      I always appreciate Griffin’s athleticism, which I’ve been seeing up close and personal since his OU days. Did I enjoy that particular dunk being made on Perkins and the ensuing attention? Not so much.

  6. lambanog

    How do u describe the chemistry n friendship in okc’team. Who hang out on free time? And who has the kobe work ethic that arrives early and go home last with practice. I think okc players dont have a distraction or player who always comes late? Thanks

    • Susan Bible

      Since many of them are still young and don’t have families, I know for certain Durant, Westbrook, Cook and Harden (Maynor, too, when he was healthy / Green, too, when he was here) hang out all the time, playing videos and making music. I’m not sure if Reggie Jackson has been included in the fold, but I’d be shocked if not. I heard Durant, 23, say the other day that on the road, he values alone time now that he’s older. In the locker room, I see teasing between Ibaka and Aldrich. Lots of players gathered around cell phones and Ipads checking out music and pictures. Lots of laughter and talking and knowing glances. To me, it looks like Collison and Sefolosha are the most reserved and family-oriented. Perkins is like the wise veteran everyone listens to. Without question, it’s Durant who does the comes-in-early-and-stays-late thing. Perkins says he’s never seen an All-Star work as hard as he does. There’s not a weak link, personality-wise, or outsider-type and that’s all due to Presti hand-picking these compatible personalities. So I’d say the chemistry is at about the highest level possible.

  7. Tony

    Linsanity Susan!! What do you think? Out-dueling Kobe Bean.

    • Susan Bible

      I was happy that game was on last night so I could finally get a long, good look at Mr. Jeremy Lin. OK, I’m convinced. Not only is he an amazing player, he’s so composed. Any nerves he may possess cannot be detected by the human eye.

  8. Raj

    hi. T-wolves fan here. what it would take to bring o.j Mayo to minny?

    • Susan Bible

      Clearly they need a shooting guard. Mayo would love to jump into a starting lineup situation. Beasley for Mayo is the best scenario. I think it’s a good fit.

  9. Cliff

    Same as last year. Why is everyone over looking my Spurs? They are finding their groove, and now that they have a new Bruce Bowen or two (Green and Leonard) finding their stride, they are pretty dangerous. Splitter playing great ball, TP is playing out of his mind. What gives? Most PR’s have them at 7 or worse????

    • Susan Bible

      I think it’s just the way things are for the Spurs. They purposefully keep a low profile and minimize attention, quietly going about their business….then all the sudden it’s the end of the season, and they’re in the hunt. They like it that way. I’ll tell you, they made me snap to attention after the pounding vs. Thunder. Yep, ranked second in the Western Conference at 18-9 and you barely hear their name. Ginobili is returning tonight. Parker was just named an All-Star with a career-high 7.7 assists and free throw shooting (.794) per game. Duncan isn’t done at all. The Leonard kid is special. Splitter’s learning well. Bonner’s threes. They’ve got my respect. Soon, others will follow.

  10. Cliff

    Also, please note that Timmy D is putting up big numbers in limited minutes. His leadership and the rest of the team coming together, along with probably the best coach in the game = problems for the rest of the West!!

  11. Ray

    I’m a Celtics fan and often roll my eyes at Knicks/Lakers fans that overstate the value of their junk players. But I must admit, Jeremy Lin looks like a legit PG, whats your take on him??

    • Susan Bible

      Now that I’m over the shock, he seems legit…especially with the sound win over the Lakers last night. Dude scored 38 points at .565 shooting! I have to wonder what’s going to happen when Melo and Stoudemire return. And what about Baron? And we have to understand teams are now going to start designing their defenses with him in mind.

  12. alan siegel

    it’s no secret the lakers will have to try to make something happen by trade. beyond all the current speculation, is there a surprise out there that could happen that actually makes sense? i’m asking that in the context that all the other NJ, Orlando i.e: howard and d williams and resurrecting the houston deal or getting one of the ok guards like sessions or gilbert etc doesn’t happen. if you were the lakers GM is there something that no one is focusing on that you believe you could convince another team that a particular trade would improve both teams either by players cap spec whatever but for sure make each team better?

    • Susan Bible

      I don’t see a crazy-huge trade or signing beyond perhaps Arenas in the short-term. Looks like Kobe has blessed it, too. I think Howard-to-Lakers is a remote possibility. J.R. Smith as well, but the $$ and his desired role may not work. And as Eric Pincus detailed, a Gasol-for-Rondo deal may be on the burner. Read his article very carefully.

  13. HC

    Hey Susan, What would you think of a 5-point shot for the NBA? A player who makes a fg while at least one foot is touching some part of the center circle earns 5 points. It would add parity.

    • Susan Bible

      I’ve never heard that one before. I’m hesitant to make such a drastic addition to the rules. What do you think, chat readers?

  14. Mac

    The Houston Rockets currently have a better record than the Los Angeles Lakers (who just lost to a NYK team that had no Melo or Amare). Should LA fans be concerned? Its easy to say they can just turn on the switch, but as of now I would be surprised if they even won a single playoff series this year. Agree or Disagree?

    • Susan Bible

      Houston is 16-11 (4th in WC) and the Lakers are 15-12 (6th in WC), but there’s still 39 games left to play. I do think Lakers fans should be concerned, but I think they have a postseason.

  15. john

    Do you think that because James Harden did not make the all star game this year that this hurts OKC’s chances of signing him when he becomes a free agent?

    • Susan Bible

      Not at all. I think undoubtedly Presti finds a way to extend Harden (who is under contract through 2012-13) this summer. Westbrook agreeing to less than he could have earned will help a lot.

  16. matt

    Perkins is one of my least fav NBA players(along with Rondo, Pierce and KG, who got lucky against LAL with Bynum unavailable) but Griffin’s dunks are over rated. ditto with DH12.

  17. Devils Advocate

    How do you feel knowing one of the main reasons you have your job is due to affirmative action. Hoopsworld has the one token African American and the one female (to offset the other 15 Caucasian writers). Personally I would rather be hired on the quality on my work, not on extenuating circumstances such as this. Your thoughts

    • Susan Bible

      Wow — I think I’m still in shock to really answer this. You think they just needed a woman…so why not me? I had to prove myself with quality work initially; now I’m expected to keep producing quality work. Naturally. Like anyone. Believe me, I would be shown to the door if I didn’t.

      And on that bizarre note, the hour is up. Thanks to everyone for participating! See you next week…