We're four weeks into football season, and you know what that means, right? Well, no, it doesn't mean that Atlanta Falcons Running Back Devonta Freeman, the league leader in touchdowns, is the best tailback in the NFL. No, it doesn't mean that it's officially soon enough to fire head coaches (Think the Dolphins might have missed the memo on that one). And hell-to-the-no, it does not mean that I want to hear about your fantasy football team.
Football is in the air, which means basketball is quietly creeping in. With training camps opening for all NBA teams, and the first set of preseason action getting underway, an offseason filled with questions is almost ready to be followed with a season (hopefully) full of answers. It doesn't matter if it's a low-quality practice scrimmage shot off some beat reporter's iPhone, or random rumblings coming out of training camp. It's been too long since the draft for my fellow basketball junkies, and any NBA news will do. Just give me my fix, man.
Kevin Durant vs. Stephen A. Smith
Riddled with a nagging foot, a hobbled Kevin Durant played just 27 games last year. The 2014 NBA MVP is ready to set the league on fire this season, and Oklahoma City Thunder fans are pumped to finally see Durant back on the court. With a player of his caliber coming back to the hardwood for the first time in months, it's only fitting that a superstar welcomes him back, right? So, who is KD's first opponent going to be?
How about ESPN's Stephen A. Smith? In Durant's first clash back from injury, he went back-and-forth with the famed sportscaster in a game of he-said, he-doesn't-know-shit. Here's what basically went down: Smith said Durant was considering leaving OKC for the Los Angeles Lakers, which prompted Durant to call Smith a liar. This resulted in Stephen A. Smith absolutely going off on KD, which you can watch in the video above - it's the perfect mixture of professional basketball and evil Ric Flair.
Willie Cauley-Stein is fat.
Let me preface the title above by adding that Willie Cauley-Stein is not that fat. Compared to other big men in the league, he has a fairly skinny body type (think Tyson Chandler). What is hurting the Sacramento Kings sixth-overall pick is that he's drastically out of shape. According to CSN Kings insider James Han, “He (WCS) is going to open the season at 14 minutes a game, if he’s lucky. When you show up to camp and you can’t run up and down the court twice without being so winded you have to pull yourself off the court, then something’s wrong.”
As a dude that also regularly finds himself out of shape, I'm kind of leaning towards WCS's side. But what if I was a Sacramento Kings fan? What if I had just watched my team take a huge leap of faith by drafting this guy sixth overall? And what if that same guy we took a gamble on showed up to training camp right after wolfing down four Whoppers? Basketball greats like Shaquille O'Neal and Allen Iverson are legendary for being out of shape and not taking practice seriously, but Willie Cauley-Stein is a rookie that shouldn't even currently be mentioned in the same breath as those previously-named greats. It might be a good time for WCS to hold off on Super-Sizing that Big Mac.
The NBA's Six Million Dollar Man
I've never watched an episode of The Six Million Dollar Man, but I'd be disappointing Uncle Sam if I didn't know of it's infamous introduction. "A man barely alive," says a stern, male voice, "Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology."
It wasn't too long ago that Paul George suffered the worst basketball injury on television since Louisville's Kevin Ware got hurt in the Elite Eight. Many wondered if George would be able to come back as one of the league's best players, and this doubt was fair. As a player whose strongest asset lies in his upper echelon defense and ability to create his own shot on offense, it's hard to believe that PG-13 will be the same, elite player.
Of course, calling Paul George the "six million dollar man" is borderline offensive. We're talking about "The 20 Million Dollar Man" here - the Indiana Pacers and fans worldwide have a lot invested in the 25-year-old from Fresno State. George is thankfully young enough where it's more than reasonable to see him recovering from this injury, as bad as it looked.
There are early rumblings about George playing power forward this season, and whether that's the smartest thing to do. Playing an obvious wing to play a position where he'll be notably undersized almost every game–that must be great for a guy who just snapped his ankle in half, right? The arguments and moments of doubt will be major headlines throughout most of training camp, but man... I'm just happy to see this guy berating opponents on the hardwood again. Things may never be the same for Paul George, but it's a relief to see he's still keeping it PG-13.
