Billy Donovan Articles - Page 9

The Oklahoma City Thunder ended their season in disappointment yet again on Tuesday night, as they suffered a Game 5 defeat at the hands of Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers. Barely a couple of days into the conclusion of another rather forgettable year, and already the whispers pertaining to the potential firing of […]

For the third straight year, the Oklahoma City Thunder were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, prompting questions on whether or not changes will have to be made before the start of next season. While some may believe it’s time for OKC to trade Russell Westbrook, the majority of their fans still believe […]

Portland Trail Blazers center Enes Kanter seems to be having a lot of fun with his new team. After being waived by the New York Knicks a couple of months ago, the Oregon-based franchise signed him for the remainder of the season, and he quickly became an integral part of the team’s rotation. Apparently, the […]

Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Paul George went for a double pump dunk as the time expires, as if he wants to show that he has no respect for the Portland Trail Blazers. The dunk at the buzzer drew raves from fans, as there is a gentleman’s agreement between two teams to let the time expire […]

The Dallas Mavericks will be on the sidelines once the postseason starts in less than two weeks, likely watching the Oklahoma City Thunder as they perform during the Western Conference playoffs. Despite that, the Mavs pulled off an upset win Sunday, in which rookie point guard Jalen Brunson showed out. Thunder head coach Billy Donovan […]

Paul George is still one of the leading candidates for the NBA’s Most Valuable Player Award. His two-way play for the Oklahoma City Thunder has been superlative, and he has helped OKC stay in the top three in the Western Conference standings for most of the season. But since George went down with a shoulder […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Paul George likely isn’t going to be ready to go Sunday against the Memphis Grizzlies. Asked after Saturday’s defeat to the San Antonio Spurs, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan stated that his “guess” was that his squad would be down George for the third consecutive game due to a shoulder injury: […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have a massive matchup against the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night. Despite that, head coach Billy Donovan says there’s no extra hype for the game. Thunder coach Billy Donovan when asked about any extra hype leading into tonight vs. Nuggets: “I’m not really wrapped up in Denver, we’ve played them twice. […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off an epic double overtime victory against the Utah Jazz from Friday night. It took a Paul George final-second effort to finally seal the win for the Thunder, to the absolute delight of head coach Billy Donovan. According to the 53-year-old coach, his team exhibited the type of grit […]

The mystery of Oklahoma City Thunder wing Alex Abrines continues. Alex Abrines has been sidelined since Christmas for unknown reasons, and even though he is currently on the active roster, he is still “not in a position to play right now,” according to Thunder head coach Billy Donovan. Billy Donovan says Alex Abrines is “not […]

Russell Westbrook showed his full array of skills with a monster triple-double effort in Thursday night’s 122-116 win over the New Orleans Pelicans. The Oklahoma City Thunder coach Billy Donovan lauded his star’s versatile effort to pull out the win and help keep the third seed in the West, doing so in more ways than […]

Carmelo Anthony’s one year with the Oklahoma City Thunder last season was a disaster, but Thunder head coach Billy Donovan still believes Melo can contribute to an NBA team this year. Carmelo Anthony is still on the Houston Rockets’ roster, but he will be either traded or waived before the Feb. 7 trade deadline. Anthony […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder absorbed an upset 138-128 overtime loss at home against Lonzo Ball and the Los Angeles Lakers Thursday night which would have been easier for Thunder head coach Billy Donovan to accept if it weren’t for his team’s pathetic perimeter defense. An obviously frustrated Donovan spoke in front of reporters following the […]

Oklahoma City Thunder big man Nerlens Noel suffered a very scary head injury during his team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday night, as he took an elbow to the face from Timberwolves wing Andrew Wiggins while trying to contest a dunk and then took a hard fall. Noel lay relatively motionless on the […]

The UCLA Bruins recently fired head coach Steve Alford and have started to look elsewhere for his replacement. There have been plenty of rumors about who might get the job, including former Chicago Bulls and Iowa State head coach Fred Hoiberg. Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was asked about his interest in the position on […]

Despite a turbulent season thus for Oklahoma City Thunder stud Russell Westbrook, team head coach Billy Donovan has not lost one bit of confidence in his cornerstone superstar. According to the 53-year-old coach, he is not losing any sleep in what many people perceive to be a roller coaster of a season from Westbrook. “Whatever […]

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook has experienced his share of struggles after trying to morph into a more effective player. Despite posting a triple-double for a third straight season, the 11th-year guard is struggling mightily with his shot, shooting only 42.6 percent from the field, 24.1 percent from deep and a worrisome 62.1 percent […]

Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook has been struggling to shoot efficiently this season. He has the worst field goal percentage (42.1) and three-point percentage (24.2) since the second year of his career. It’s been an issue and has really hurt the Thunder’s offense, especially since Westbrook is taking nearly 20 field goals and […]

Oklahoma City Thunder Paul George absolutely torched the Utah Jazz on Saturday, as he led his team to a razor-thin victory against their Northwest rivals. Following the 107-106 victory, Thunder head coach Billy Donovan was all praises for his 28-year-old superstar forward. “He really got into an unbelievable rhythm and a flow,” Donovan said, via […]

Oklahoma City Thunder star Russell Westbrook is not exactly playing great basketball lately. At least not in terms of shooting the rock. After his 3-for-17 performance in the Thunder’s win over the Utah Jazz on Saturday night, Westbrook is shooting just 35.2 percent from the floor, 26.0 percent from 3-point range and a shocking 55.8 […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have picked up head coach Billy Donovan’s option for the 2019-20 campaign, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. The option represents the fifth year on his original deal he signed back in 2015. Since taking over the Thunder ahead of the 2015-16 campaign, Donovan has gone 168-106, making him the fourth-winningest […]

Paul George is having an MVP-caliber season for the Oklahoma City Thunder, and his growing chemistry with head coach Billy Donovan is a big reason for his success. Donovan initially tried to design plays to put George in specific situations, but this wasn’t what PG-13 wanted. “At times he’s like, ‘Stop — just let me […]

There’s a prevailing thought around the league that Oklahoma City Thunder star point guard Russell Westbrook is a hard player to coach due to his aggressive style of play and demeanor. As a result, it appears Thunder head coach Billy Donovan has had to scale back his offensive sets, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN. […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are patiently awaiting the return of superstar Russell Westbrook. The dynamic point guard has struggled with injuries for most of the young 2018-19 season. He has only played in seven of the team’s 14 games, but the Thunder still have a solid 9-5 record. Head coach Billy Donovan’s prayers for Westbrook’s […]

Thunder star small forward Paul George scared some fans in Oklahoma City Thursday when he said he’s dealing with a left foot injury he initially suffered during the preseason. Head coach Bill Donovan, however, has known about it for a while. George, who re-signed with the Thunder in the offseason on a long-term contract, says […]

BetOnline.ag has released the latest odds on the next head coach to be fired in the NBA. Tom Thibodeau — +300 Billy Donovan — +200 Scott Brooks — +250 Fred Hoiberg — +400 Luke Walton — +450 With Tyronn Lue fired by the Cleveland Cavaliers this past weekend, these odds seem to be pretty spot […]

Andre Roberson was the starting shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder last season, but Billy Donavan is hinting that Terrance Ferguson is the frontrunner for the job right now. Roberson went down with a left knee injury about halfway through the 2017-18 season. While he was making tremendous strides towards recovery, a setback will […]

Paul George spurned all other potential suitors for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Despite many expecting him to return to his native California to play for the Los Angeles Lakers, George decided that his place was in Oklahoma City. And according to Billy Donovan, he never really doubted George’s intentions. Donovan relayed this feeling to Brett […]

Oklahoma City Thunder general manager Sam Presti spoke at length during today’s press conference, giving his ultimate vote of conference to head coach Billy Donovan continuing in his role, despite an underwhelming season. The Thunder massively underachieved after scoring two perennial All-Stars in Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, managing a fourth seed in the West […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan explained his reasoning for sitting Carmelo Anthony as long as he did during a Game 5 win over the Utah Jazz. While his All-Star teammates Russell Westbrook and Paul George played 44 and 45 minutes, respectively — Anthony played a mere 25, going only 2-of-6 and recording a […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder mounted an assault on the Utah Jazz during the second half of Game 5, rallying from a 25-point deficit to tie affairs at 78 by the end of the third quarter. While the Thunder would march on to avoid elimination and win last night’s contest, head coach Billy Donovan won’t go […]

Despite a firm promise to shut down his matchup, Ricky Rubio, in Game 4 against the Utah Jazz, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder was unable to fulfill it — mired in foul trouble for most of Monday night’s game. Prior to the end of the first quarter, a cutout of Rubio’s head fell […]

Oklahoma City Thunder head coach Billy Donovan is looking to polish his team’s rough edges despite an encouraging 116-108 Game 1 win over the Utah Jazz on Sunday night. The Thunder benefitted largely from a hot-shooting night from Paul George, who led the team with 36 points on 13-of-20 shooting and 8-of-11 from deep — […]

Despite being down by as many as 18 points in the first half, the Oklahoma City Thunder were quickly able to battle back against the Portland Trail Blazers on Sunday. Unfortunately, with the Thunder down 108-105 and with possession of the ball for the final shot, Thunder star forward Carmelo Anthony continued his shooting struggles […]

Corey Brewer’s landing with the Oklahoma City Thunder couldn’t have been a more perfect fit. A defensive-minded forward with a spark-plug mentality was a definite sticker for a team that was lacking the defensive intensity previously provided by Andre Roberson, who was ruled out for the rest of the season. Yet despite his Florida ties […]

After finding out last week that Corey Brewer has reached a buyout with the Los Angeles Lakers, Billy Donovan and the Oklahoma City Thunder did not waste time in reaching out to him and securing his services. Having coached him during his stint with the Florida Gators, the veteran head coach knows him more and […]

Despite a key bounce-back win over the Orlando Magic on Monday, the Oklahoma City Thunder didn’t get to the free-throw line as often coach Billy Donovan would have liked. According to the helmsman, this was no fault of his two catalysts, Paul George and Russell Westbrook, who had done plenty to merit some shots at […]

The NBA G League is starting to gain some traction as a destination for high school players who may not want to go to college and be subject to the NBA’s one-and-done rule. One of the advocates of high school graduates joining the G League if they go undrafted is Oklahoma City Thunder head coach […]

The experiment of putting together three All-Star caliber players in reigning MVP Russell Westbrook, former Indiana Pacers forward Paul George, and New York Knicks centerpiece Carmelo Anthony was a major risk for the Oklahoma City Thunder. While this team put on paper would contend with the likes of the Golden State Warriors and the newly-formed […]