Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant has left Landmark Sports and is expected to sign with Roc Nation Sports, according to a report from the Sports Business Journal.

The 24-year-old All-Star has always had a hand in the music industry, so his move to sign with his music idol would not come as a surprise. However, Durant, who is under contract with the Thunder through the 2015-2016 season, is not looking for an agent from Roc Nation Sports. Rather, Jay-Z and the agency would just handle Durant’s marketing, according to the report.

On Durant move to Roc Nation, source says: "KD wants Jay Z to handle his branding. He had a chance to be with his idol and couldn't say no."

—
Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) June 08, 2013

The three-time scoring champion averaged 28.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 4.6 assists a game this season and would be the most high-profile athlete to sign with Roc Nation Sports.

Jay-Z is building up quite the roster for his agency, including Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano, Jets quarterback Geno Smith, WNBA guard Skylar Diggins and Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz. There were also reports earlier this week that DeSean Jackson is also interested in signing with the Roc after firing agent Drew Rosenhaus.

Check out Westbrook taking it all in in the photo below.

Photo via Twitter/@MySportsLegion

Lionel Hollins

Channeling a petulant player rather than the even-keeled personality one would expect out of a coach, Hollins led the Grizzlies’ post-trade whining after Rudy Gay was sent to Toronto in midseason. He has scoffed at statistical analysis even as his team’s owner and front office have obviously doubled down on the NBA equivalent of “Moneyball,” and he has left his most crucial wing defender on the bench at key moments against the Thunder.

Tony Allen is very much a part of the Grizzlies’ postseason rotation now, though, and the fact that the Grizzlies hold a 3-1 advantage is no coincidence. Just ask Durant, who has been far less effective when the NBA All-Defensive first teamer has been covering him.

“He’s a good defender, but they’re a team,” Durant told The Oklahoman. “They do a great job. They’re not going to let me play one-on-one with anybody. But he’s tough because he’s small and he gets up under you and he’s good at contesting shots.”

Allen played less than two minutes in the fourth quarter of Game 1 — the only game in the series Oklahoma City has won — and he spent an inordinate amount of time on the bench in Game 4 on Monday. (Allen played just 13 minutes in the second half of that game while Jeryd Bayless played more than 17 minutes, going 1-for-6 from the field in the process.) He did manage to harass Durant in the time he was on the court, however, forcing the slinky star to shoot less than 50 percent in the second half. If Allen is the only person who can stop Durant, it appears Hollins is the only person who can stop Allen from stopping Durant.

Fortunately for the Grizzlies, Hollins is doing a poor job of that.

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

Let’s just say Elaine would not be able to sustain a relationship with at least one fan in Memphis.

A highly dedicated Grizzlies rooter went to extremes for Game 4, using his entire head as a canvas for a horrifying facepaint job. The result was rather impressive from an artistic standpoint, but mostly it was just creepy.

Check out the fan going to great lengths to show his support in the photo below.

Photo via Facebook/Memphis Grizzlies

Rapper Macklemore has blown up on the radio in the last few months with songs like “Thrift Shop” and “Can’t Hold Us” on heavy rotation. When songs become popular like that, they tend to be everywhere, from bars to sporting events.

But the Seattle native has taken exception to his song “Can’t Hold Us” being played by the Oklahoma City Thunder at home games. It seems that the team has taken a liking to the song during the playoffs and has been playing it to get the crowd pumped up.

Macklemore, who is a big Seattle sports fan, took to Twitter to voice his displeasure over the unauthorized usage. Check it out in the tweets below.

RT @coug123: So apparently the OKC blunder are using @macklemore 'Can't hold us' as a song to hype up the crowd in their arena <-OH HELL NO!

—
Macklemore (@macklemore) May 13, 2013

“@Dschrempf: @KING5Seattle @macklemore that's ours and not okc!” <- Best tweet of the day

—
Macklemore (@macklemore) May 13, 2013

Photo via Instagram/@Macklemore

Photo of the Night

Marlins reliever AJ Ramos attempts the Iron Man Challenge at San Diego’s Broken Yolk Cafe. That’s a 12-egg omelette, three whole potatoes and two giant biscuits.

Photo via Instagram/@theajramos

Tweet of the Night

What a finish.

What a finish by the Bruins...#BostonStrong

—
trey wingo (@wingoz) May 14, 2013

Video of the Night

Just your run-of-the-mill snowmobile BASE jump.

They may not ever get over the sting of seeing Kevin Durant play in Oklahoma City, where he has blossomed into one of the league’s brightest stars for the Thunder, but at least Durant remembers where he came from. Durant arrived at practice on Monday rocking the green and gold he wore for his first season as a pro. His retro Sonics snapback hat reportedly caused some murmurs as he fiddled with his iPhone.

Check out Durant’s fashion statement in the tweet below.

Kevin Durant rocking the throwback http://t.co/LxTCk8D0pJ

—
Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) May 13, 2013

Just when his team needs him most, Ibaka has disappeared offensively. His primary role is not as a scorer, of course, but the growing reliability of his mid-range jump shot and his abilities as a finisher created hope that he may be able to step up when Russell Westbrook suffered a season-ending knee injury in the first round.

Ibaka not only hasn’t stepped up, he has fallen and he can’t get up. He entered Monday’s Game 4 shooting 12-for-39 from the field in the Western Conference semifinals, following a ghastly Game 3 in which he missed two dunks and at least two makeable layups, using a conservative definition of a “makeable” layup for an NBA player.

Durant, who has played out of his mind since Westbrook went down, tried to take pressure off Ibaka by telling reporters what everybody already knows.

“We can’t let him put too much pressure on himself,” Durant said, according to ESPN.com. “It’s all in his mind. If he thinks he’s going to make those shots, he’s going to make them. He’s missed a few blocks, a few layups and a few open jump shots.”

Ibaka’s struggles do all seem to be in his mind, but that is the problem. He does not think he is going to make those shots that Durant mentioned. He thinks he will miss not only the 15-footers, but the putback layups as well. He looks like a mess.

This is not about asking a player to do things beyond his abilities. Thunder coach Scott Brooks has not called a single clear-out play for Ibaka in this series. Brooks, Durant and the Thunder simply are hoping Ibaka can do what he has done for some time, only with slightly more frequency. Ibaka shot a career-high 58.2 percent from 10 to 15 feet this season, according to HoopData, plus a career-best 47 percent from 16 to 23 feet. Many of those looks were created by Westbrook, but Ibaka has had no shortage of those types of shots against Memphis. In fact, the Grizzlies are leaving him more open now than ever, because they do not appear to respect his shooting one iota.

In 1997, Nick Anderson literally forgot how to shoot free throws. It was terrible to watch. Through the first seven years of his career, Anderson was a versatile scoring swingman and a reliable 70 percent free throw shooter. But in the 1996-97 season, his trips to the foul line began to look a lot like those of former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, who had departed for Los Angeles the previous summer. Anderson shot 40.4 percent from the line that season — or four percentage points lower than his previous career-low shooting percentage from the field.

Anderson’s free throw clanking negatively affected other areas of his game. He became less likely to play to contact and shot less than half as many free throws per game as he had the previous season. He shot below 44 percent from the floor for the first time in his career. The Magic, counting on Anderson to step up after O’Neal’s departure, were bounced in the first round of the playoffs by the Heat that season.

So far, the latter part of Anderson’s tale has not come true for Ibaka. The Thunder big man blocked four shots and grabbed 10 rebounds in Oklahoma City’s loss on Saturday, and his 3.0 blocks per game in the playoffs are identical to his regular-season mark. Although he is still feeling his way into being a top-notch NBA defender, he has done a much better job on Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol than the lead-footed Kendrick Perkins has.

Still, such massive problems in one area are hard to compartmentalize from the rest of any athlete’s game. An individual player’s duties are arguably less segregated in basketball than in any other sport. When Tom Brady throws an interception, he can immediately study the printouts of the play’s progression while his defense is on the field. Rick Ankiel lost a lifetime of pitching mechanics overnight, and it took him years to rework himself into an outfielder. Ibaka does not have the luxury of pacing the mound to cool down or phoning up to the coordinator’s booth to get a few tips. When the wheels come off, he has to sprint back on defense.

Through all of Ibaka’s issues, the Thunder are far from dead. They have lost two out of three games in a tightly contested series in which the average margin of victory has been 4.6 points. It is a testament to Durant’s greatness that the Thunder are a few misdirected bounces from being ahead in the series.

The Thunder are asking Durant to be superhuman. That is OK, because the evidence suggests he is capable of it. All they are asking of Ibaka is remember the things that made them choose him over James Harden, and to do those things once again. It’s all in his mind.

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

Fittingly, the Grizz have a bone to pick with Kevin Durant and OKC, as well. While the Clippers were responsible for Memphis’ 2012 demise, it was the Thunder pulling the trigger on their playoff run back in 2011. Don’t think that Zach Randolph, Mike Conley and company have forgotten.

After falling to the Thunder in Game 1 over the weekend, Memphis managed to turn things around and steal a victory on the road in Game 2. The win effectively transferred home-court advantage from the No. 1 team in the Western Conference to the scrappy Grizz.

In elementary terms, it’s a race for three wins now, and three of the remaining five games will be played in Tennessee.

What’s more, the Thunder have been, and will continue to be, without superstar point guard Russell Westbrook. Westbrook’s torn meniscus couldn’t have come at a worse time for the reigning Western Conference champions, as their second-round opponent has made a name for themselves overachieving and humbling top-caliber competition.

The circumstances have aligned as such that Memphis has effectively leapfrogged the Thunder in the eyes of fans, critics and oddsmakers alike. Their 10-1 odds of winning the championship sit higher on the list of NBA futures than OKC’s 18-1.

Randolph’s 19.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game have paced the Grizzlies thus far, but their attack has been a balanced one. Center Marc Gasol’s 18.5 points and Conley’s 17.9 have given head coach Lionel Hollins more than enough options to help put points on the board.

Veteran Tony Allen as well has emerged as an immeasurably valuable asset in the playoffs — someone who basketball purists can appreciate but who may not get the recognition he deserves in the box score.

Still, if it seems bold to consider the Grizzlies favorites against OKC, that’s because it is. That’s what makes this postseason such a fascinating one. Though the Thunder are no doubt weakened by Westbrook’s absence, they still boast MVP-caliber forward Kevin Durant and a competent supporting cast.

Pull up a chair, sit back and enjoy. It’s playoff time.

This post is presented by Bovada

Right?

They can’t. They have no Russell Westbrook, who is sidelined for the rest of the playoffs with a knee injury. They have no James Harden, who was traded to Houston five days before the start of the regular season. They only have Kevin Durant, surrounded by a bunch of tough but limited players. And Durant alone is not enough.

Is he?

The Thunder had their difficulties dispatching the Rockets with a 3-0 lead in the first round after Westbrook went down, and for long stretches of Sunday’s Game 1 against the Grizzlies in the second round, those difficulties continued.

The Thunder did not have enough interior presence to deal with Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. They did not have enough backcourt scoring to make Mike Conley work on the defensive end. In the absence of two All-Stars who helped carry Oklahoma City to the NBA Finals last season, the Thunder were asking Durant to do too much. At least, it seemed like they were asking Durant to do too much.

The trouble with that logic is, Durant is defying all logic. He was immense down the stretch of that game, outscoring the entire Memphis team in final seven minutes, 50 seconds. His pull-up game-clincher in transition may have been the highlight shot, but Durant did his best work well before that. That fact that he had any energy left to make that bucket was one of the more amazing aspects of his performance.

Durant has been arguably the league’s best scorer for the past three years, but this year his game has evolved. Carmelo Anthony seizing the scoring title from Durant late in the season was a symptom of that evolution. Durant scored a game-high 35 points in Game 1, yet scoring was not his most impressive contribution. He also grabbed 15 rebounds and dished out six assists in 43 minutes; the rest of Oklahoma City’s starters had 15 rebounds and six assists combined. He blocked two shots, one less than shot-blocking specialist Serge Ibaka. He committed three turnovers, as many as Kendrick Perkins, who had a fraction of Durant’s touches.

Had Durant been the slightest bit less efficient or shown marginally worse decision-making, the Grizzlies grit ‘n’ grind their way to a 1-0 lead in the series. Durant was that efficient, though, and his decision-making was flawless. Tayshaun Prince, the man assigned to guard him for much of the night, looked gassed by the end, not the other way around. The Thunder are very much alive in the championship discussion if Durant can keep this up — and that is the overriding question.

Even a 24-year-old in such impeccable shape as Durant can only carry this heavy a load for so long. Lactic acid eventually wins. He may be able to survive for the first two games of this series, then recuperate during the three-day break before Game 3, but after that the schedule gets tougher.

The Thunder and Grizzlies would play every other day between games four and seven, giving the young star little time to recover from his do-everything, 40-plus minute outings. Even if the Thunder somehow make it past the Grizzlies, Durant would have to find enough energy to contend with the Spurs or Warriors, and after that, the Heat. There is no way Durant can keep this up for another month and half.

Is there?

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

His absence has not kept him from talking a little trash, however.

After the Rockets took Game 5 on Wednesday, narrowing the Thunder’s lead in the series to 3-2, White took to Twitter. He dissed the Thunder before directly talking some smack to Kevin Durant.

And... that's why you play the games. That @okcthunder team just looked shook. "They're looking shaky baby." #RedNation

—
Royce White (@Highway_30) May 02, 2013

@KDTrey5... Y'all are looking SHAAAKYY BAAABYY. 😳 #RedNation

—
Royce White (@Highway_30) May 02, 2013

If Durant was fazed, he did not let on. When the Thunder star was apprised of White’s comments on Friday, he was puzzled.

Kevin Durant's response to Royce White's trash talk on Twitter: "Who is that?"

—
Darnell Mayberry (@DarnellMayberry) May 03, 2013

For all the talk about the Celtics trying to become the first team to wipe out a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-seven series, the Rockets’ position is just as favorable heading into their own Game 6 on Friday. White will not be a part of it, but he stands ready with his smartphone or tablet, eager to offer some more trash talk, 140 characters at a time.

During the Rockets’ postgame show late Wednesday night, a toddler waddled onto the court with his pants around his ankles as the Comcast Houston reporters gave their two cents.

You tell ‘em, baby.

Check it out below.

Jeremy Lin

Lin hurt his chest in Game 2 of the series but returned to play Game 3. After that game, he shrugged off the effects of his injury, saying everyone was dealing with pain and that he should be able to play through. But his poor stat line from that game — 1-for-6 shooting, two points, one assist and one turnover in 18 minutes — suggested otherwise.

Coach Kevin McHale said after that game that he had to decide whether Lin playing injured would be a boost to the team, and he ultimately chose to keep Lin on the bench for games 4 and 5. The Rockets, meanwhile, won both games, as Oklahoma City continues to struggle without point guard Russell Westbrook.

Lin has now made his playing preference clear.

“They’ve taken away my freedom to choose whether I play or not,” he said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “If it was up to me, I would have played Game 4 and Game 5.”

The Rockets appear to have found a winning combination, at least for the moment. Houston hosts Oklahoma City on Friday night for Game 6.

But Jeremy Lin isn’t blaming his chest contusion for coming up empty in Game 3 of the Rockets’ playoff series against the Thunder, and he likely won’t blame it if coach Kevin McHale decides a partial Lin is better than no Lin at all in Game 4.

Houston fell to Oklahoma City 104-101 on Saturday, with Lin’s lackluster performance just one of the Rockets’ many problems in the loss that put Houston in a 3-0 series hole. McHale said he’s still thinking about whether to put Lin on the floor for Game 4, which is Wednesday.

“That’s a big decision for us,” McHale said, according to The Houston Chronicle. “He couldn’t do a lot of stuff [in Game 3]. We’re going to have to wait and see. It doesn’t do any good for him to play if he can’t help us. We’ll see.”

Lin appeared to aggravate his chest injury in the first half of Saturday’s game, when Kevin Durant reached for the ball and hit Lin’s arm. Lin left the game but returned in the second half.

Lin said the injury affected his game, but he wouldn’t assign blame.

“It’s limited me some, but everybody is hurt, everybody is dinged up,” he said. “I’ve just got to find a way to get through it, and if I step on the court, I need to be prepared to play and play well. If you’re injured, you can’t be on the floor. If you’re on the floor, you’re OK. That’s kind of the way it is.”

Lin first injured his chest in last Wednesday’s loss to the Thunder.

Westbrook is out indefinitely after the Thunder disclosed Friday that their All-Star point guard suffered a torn meniscus in his right knee during Oklahoma City’s Game 2 win over the Rockets. Since the timetable for every knee injury is different, Metta World Peace‘s recent return less than two weeks after meniscus surgery is not much of a guideline. The only thing we do know is that the Thunder will immediately become a much, much worse team, and all the critics who believe Kevin Durant and the Thunder will be better off without him are about to be shown just how wrong they are.

No matter what happens in this series — which Oklahoma City still figures to win — the Thunder will not be better without Westbrook. That was a popular conversation topic in Boston as it related to the Celtics after Rajon Rondo‘s torn anterior cruciate ligament, but the Celtics’ current difficulties against the Knicks have stopped such talk. Rondo’s absence exposed some shortcomings in the Celtics’ offense, and now Westbrook’s absence will reveal precisely how much the team has improved without James Harden.

Without much delay, the loudest voices who decried Oklahoma City’s preseason trade of Harden piped up with an I-told-you-so on Friday. A headlining trio of Durant-Westbrook-Harden fell short of an NBA championship a year ago. Minus Harden, the Thunder were going to need even more from Durant and Westbrook, and for most of the regular season, they got it. Minus Harden and now Westbrook, Durant’s abilities and leadership will be tested like never before.

This is Durant’s last chance to win a ring before the murmurs start. Karl Malone and Charles Barkley know what those sound like. There were mitigating circumstances for Durant last year, in his first trip to the NBA Finals, and Westbrook’s injury is a massive factor this year. But those excuses will not matter in June if Durant enters another offseason without a title. All that will matter to the majority of casual fans is that he remains ringless.

For all the ill-advised shots he takes, Westbrook helps relieve some of that pressure on Durant. For all the hemming and hawing about the supposed need for Westbrook to be more of a distributor, it is revealing that prior to this season, Westbrook had averaged eight assists or more in two of the last three years — and the year in which he didn’t was the year the Thunder made it to the Finals. Westbrook is the X-factor to the silky smooth Durant, the guy who adds unpredictability to an efficient yet still-developing offense in Oklahoma City.

As impressive as Westbrook and the Thunder have been, however, there is a dissenting group that wonders how much of that success is due to the player and how much is due to the environment. Two years ago, another dynamic point guard faced similar questions. Even in a season that would earn him the league’s Most Valuable Player award, Derrick Rose was doubted by some who wondered if coach Tom Thibodeau and a capable supporting cast were boosting Rose’s perceived worth. After the Bulls’ short 2012 playoff run, those doubts have largely evaporated, but it took Rose’s extended absence to prove once and for all that the Bulls need Rose as much as it originally appeared.

The Thunder could be entering such a moment of truth without Westbrook. They could band together and make another deep playoff push, in which case all credit would be due to Durant, Serge Ibaka and coach Scott Brooks. The Thunder may be able to play better for a time, just as the Celtics did briefly without Rondo and just as the Bulls suddenly are without Rose, but they will not be a better team for the long haul of the two-month postseason.

For too long, Westbrook has caused viewers to throw up their hands in disgust when he took one of his beloved pull-up jump shots or seized the momentum away from a hot-shooting Durant. On select possessions, it could seem that the Thunder would be better off if Westbrook were not there. But one play here and there is much different from a full 48 minutes and who knows how many games. For Durant’s sake, we can only hope that those who insist the Thunder are better without Westbrook turn out to be correct.

Have a question for Ben Watanabe? Send it to him via Twitter at @BenjeeBallgame or send it here.

The Thunder announced the injury Friday.

Westbrook was hurt in Game 2 of the Thunder’s playoff series against Houston on Wednesday night. Rookie Patrick Beverley lunged into him trying for a steal in the second quarter and his hip collided with Westbrook’s knee.

Westbrook has never previously missed a game in his four NBA seasons.

The Rockets have a pretty good answer.

Chandler Parsons was doing his best to get out on Sefolosha, but just one thing was impeding his progress — the mighty arm of the 6-foot-10, 270-pound Kendrick Perkins.

Perkins clearly grabbed hold of Parsons’ arm with two hands and held him as Sefolosha lined up and popped the shot. The Thunder now lead the series 2-0.

Alas, referees sometimes miss calls, even huge ones like this. Check it out in the video below.

As the playoffs get into full swing, SI has another cover with Thunder forward Kevin Durant, which includes a quote from the young star that could mean trouble for the rest of the NBA.

“I’ve been second my whole life. I was the second-best player in high school. I was the second pick in the draft. I’ve been second in MVP voting three times. I came in second in the finals. I’m tired of being second … I’m done with it.”

Gomes and the words “Boston Strong” can be seen in the top corner of the Durant cover as well.

Check out the amazing SI covers in the photos below.

Photo via Twitter/@RedSox

Photo courtesy of Twitter/@si_vault

The sidelined Anthony will take the title with no contest from Durant.

Durant posted a photo on his Instagram account on Wednesday morning stating that he will sit out of Wednesday night’s game. He offered a message to those disappointed that he wouldn’t be going for the scoring title saying, “Oh well!”

Anthony is averaging 28.7 points per game this season, and Durant is averaging 28.1 per game. Even having played in 14 more games than an injured Anthony, Durant would have needed a monster night to catch up.

Check out Durant’s message in the photo below.

Photo via Twitter/Bleacher Report

The league fined Durant $25,000 for making a “menacing gesture” at the Golden State bench after throwing down a fast-break dunk in a 116-97 win over the Warriors. The “gesture” didn’t seem to be anything too scandalous, but the league determined it was enough to warrant a financial penalty.

“Kill ‘em and pray for ‘em after the game, ” Durant told reporters, describing his reaction. “It’s nothing against the team I’m playing against. Come out with a mindset and be friends after the game.”

Check out the dunk and the celebration in the video below.

In his first year with the club, Harden has emerged as the superstar Oklahoma City Thunder fans always knew that he was. Unfortunately for the OKC faithful, it took a ticket out of town (and out from the shadows of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook) in order for him to achieve that level of success.

Not only has Harden solidified himself as one of the game’s most fascinating scorers (and its fifth most prolific at 25.8 points per game), he’s also turned the Rockets back into a legitimate contender.

According to Bovada, Houston has just 75-1 odds of winning the NBA championship, but ask any Western Conference team  just how much they’ll enjoy a first-round matchup with the upstart, energetic franchise and you’ll get a groan of displeasure.

This Friday it will be the Grizzlies getting an opportunity to try out the Rockets, on Houston’s home floor no less. While Memphis holds an overwhelming advantage in the sportsbook (with NBA futures hovering at and around 30-1 odds), nothing is certain in the ridiculous Western Conference.

Will Harden, coupled with unheralded free agent acquisitions Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, be enough to push this Houston club over the top? The Rockets have finished ninth in the West playoff picture in each of the past three years, a phenomenon you can imagine that’s getting quite stale in Texas.

While there may be a few years before the Rockets show an ability to contend with Harden’s former club, or even the aging-yet-permanently dominant San Antonio Spurs, this game has the making of a potential upset.

Get a sneak peek at what to expect out of the Rockets when they ply their trade against a Grizzlies club bettors have come to know over the course of the past few years. The Grizz may not be the sexiest choice available on the NBA moneyline, but their routine success has them in a safe position heading into the final week of the regular season.

Bet on the NBA as the playoffs fast approach.