Kevin Durant says Oklahoma City Thunder are raring to go – NBA Update
NBA super star Kevin Durant believes his team will be ready to go whenever the NBA lockout comes to an end. The Oklahoma City Thunder forward doesn’t believe the lockout will have too much of an impact on the teams preparations.
Durant pointed to a number of factors as proof that his team was better equipped to deal with a post lockout situation. Key among them was familiarity within the roster.
“We have experience with each other, and bonding together is really going to help us,” Durant said according to Yahoo sports.
OKC have a roster which has been together for more or less the last couple of years. Only Kendrick Perkins is a newbie in the starting line-up, he arrived from the Boston Celtics during the last season. But the big guy settled
in seamlessly and exhibited great understanding with power forward Serge Ibaka, as well as the rest of the team.
OKC also have the advantage of tied down players. When the lockout ends, they are least likely to scurry around to sign free agents or re-sign players because they already have 14 players under contract. The only one who’s contract
will need a renewal is Daequan Cook, and that shouldn’t prove too much of a hassle.
Kevin Durant also revealed that his team has taken some steps to make up for the lack of a training camp.
“We’re kind of having a training camp with all these workout sessions. …We’ve been doing a lot of things we do in games with the pickup games.”
“It was very helpful for us. I don’t think we are going to take a step back.” Durant said.
The two time NBA scoring Champion is one of the elite players in the league, and in him the Thunder have a trump card not many can match. Durant was instrumental in his side’s playoffs run last season, when they reached the Western
Conference Finals with a very young team.
The addition of Perkins in midseason gave the side a very solid defensive platform, allowing the likes of Durant and live wire point guard Russell Westbrook to dazzle on the other end of the court.
In addition to these superstars, the Thunder have a number of young, up and coming players. Serge Ibaka established himself as a premier blocker in the NBA last season and also showed a bit of finesse around the basket.
James Harden, the bearded shooting guard sensation, provided inspiration time and again coming off the bench, and many consider him worthy of a starting position this season. Add to it the likes of Nick Collison and Eric Maynor,
and Oklahoma City look pretty impressive indeed.
Now they are looking to use the lockout to give them another edge next season.
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