Moroccan Rachid El Murabity won the 165-kilometre Oman Desert Marathon for a fifth time last Friday, November 23.
Monday 3 December 2018
Power Rankings: Real Madrid end 2014 on top of the world
Shaka signs off for the winter break with his final ranks of the
year and, as they have been for pretty much the entire second half of
2014, Real Madrid are top.
Luiz Felipe Scolari soaked by Palmeiras squad after title win
After leading Palmeiras to their 10th Brazilian league championship on Sunday (25th November), coach Luiz Felipe Scolari was drenched by his players in a press conference.
Copa Libertadores cup final called o
No-one really knows when South America's premier club competition, the Copa Libertadores, will stage its final this year.
It
was due to take place on Saturday, but after an initial two-hour delay
for the kick-off, the match was postponed until Sunday.
Postponed Libertadores final to be played outside Argentina in December
ASUNCION
(Reuters) - The Copa Libertadores soccer final between River Plate and
Boca Juniors will take place in early December and will be played
outside Argentina after crowd trouble forced the game to be postponed
last week, organizers said on Tuesday.
Thursday 25 December 2014
Russ Westbrook: 'My job is to attack'
Updated: December 22, 2014, 1:57 AM ET
By
Royce Young | ESPN.com
Pelicans Hold Off Thunder
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"It's one game, man. I'm not going to keep answering questions about me not passing when we lose," Westbrook said. "When we won eight in a row, nobody said nothing about me not passing. So I don't want to hear it now."
Westbrook finished with 29 points on 10-of-27 shooting with eight assists. But in the final 3:45, during which the Thunder went scoreless, he went 0-of-6 with a turnover, which included a contested 3 at the buzzer for the win.
"Once I tried to attack, [Jrue Holiday] stopped me, so I got the ball back and I went for the win," Westbrook said. "Just missed."
More from ESPN.com
For his first 11 games this season Russell Westbrook was on point. But things unraveled late in the 12th, Royce Young writes. StoryThe Thunder fell to 13-15 with the loss, keeping them 1½ games out of eighth place in the Western Conference. The Thunder played the majority of the opening month without Westbrook or Kevin Durant, but since their return have won 10 of their past 13 games.
Again without Durant, who was sidelined a second consecutive game with a sprained ankle, Westbrook shouldered the majority of the Thunder's offensive burden, particularly late in the game, taking nine of the team's 22 shots in the fourth quarter.
"My job is to stay in attack mode and try and score and try to make plays happen," Westbrook said. "If I miss, then I miss. I'm going to live and die by that every night, regardless of what happens."
In the final five minutes, Westbrook took eight of the Thunder's 11 shots (two were offensive putback attempts), with two turnovers. His last assist came with 3:59 left in the third quarter.
"Nah, nah, nah," he said when asked if his teammates weren't getting open. "I'm not going to blame my teammates for anything, man."
Westbrook has played in 12 games since coming back from a fractured hand, scoring at least 20 points in all of them.
For the first time, Westbrook played without a protective cover on his right hand.
"Different, different," he said. "It was actually weird, but I'll get used to it getting back to my normal thing."
Thunder need both Westbrook & Durant
December, 24, 2014
Dec 24
2:51
PM ET
By Michael Schwartz, ESPN Stats & Information | ESPN.com
Matthew Emmons/USA TODAY SportsThe Thunder are a vastly different team with both Westbrook and Durant on the floor.
When Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook missed the majority of November while Oklahoma City slumped to the bottom of the Western Conference, it appeared the Thunder would be fighting for their playoff lives the rest of the season.
However, once their stars returned at the beginning of December, the Thunder quickly resumed their place as an elite team in the Western Conference, albeit one with a deficit in the standings.
How big of a difference have Durant and Westbrook made, and where do the Thunder stand in their playoff push?
The Durant and Westbrook Effect
When the Thunder don’t have both Durant and Westbrook in the lineup, they are just 6-14, a .300 winning percentage that would put their record in the area of the Lakers and Jazz as one of the worst teams in the West.
But the Thunder have won seven of the nine games in which both stars have played, and one of the losses came on the road against the 23-4 Warriors when Durant missed the second half.
Overall, the Thunder have averaged 14 points higher in the games both stars have played and shot almost five percentage points better from the floor.
The Dynamic Duo
Durant and Westbrook have shared the floor for almost 200 minutes this season, and the Thunder have outscored opponents by 16.6 points per 100 possessions in that time while shooting 49 percent.
The Thunder have also pushed the pace, averaging 100.6 possessions per 48 minutes, according to NBA.com, which is in line with Golden State’s league-leading pace. For the season, Oklahoma City ranks 18th in pace.
Westbrook’s Incredible Start
Statistically, Oklahoma City’s best player this season has been Westbrook, who is averaging a career-high 28.2 points to go along with 5.8 rebounds and 7.1 assists. His rebound and assist numbers are in line with career averages, but his previous career high in points is 23.6 in 2011-12.
What’s most incredible is that Westbrook is putting up those numbers in just 31.7 minutes of action per game. In NBA history, there have been 68 different seasons entering this year in which a player has averaged a 25-5-5, and all those players averaged at least 36 minutes.
Having lost three of four after their seven-game winning streak, the Thunder are now 2½ games behind Phoenix for the final playoff spot in the West. That deficit should be no problem for the Thunder if Durant and Westbrook stay healthy based on how well they have played with their stars.
Over the last four seasons, the Thunder have won over 73 percent of their games played by Durant and Westbrook. If they win 73 percent of the rest of their games, the Thunder would comfortably be in the playoffs as the No. 7 seed with 52 wins, based on current standings.
According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Thunder have a 60.5 percent chance of reaching the postseason. If the Thunder do become a playoff team, they will have overcome the worst 15-game start by a Western Conference playoff squad since the 1996-97 Suns rebounded from a 1-14 start to their season.
Of course, most teams that start 3-12, as the Thunder did, can’t rely on stars like Durant and Westbrook to save them.
