We only hear about the players-only meetings that work. They happen plenty around the NBA — the Cavaliers had them during their record losing streak — and they don’t usually work. But when they do, those meetings get a disproportional amount of credit.
That brings us to the tale of Kendrick Perkins and Kevin Durant, as told by Marc Spears at Yahoo.After watching the Memphis Grizzlies batter his Oklahoma City Thunder in the opener of the teams’ second-round series, Kendrick Perkins(notes) knew something needed to change. So he encouraged Kevin(notes) to gather the team together … and watch the game again.
Durant took Perkins’ suggestion and arranged for a players-only dinner at his house on Monday night. The team dined on a Thanksgiving-worthy spread prepared by Durant’s personal chef and watched every minute of OKC’s disheartening loss to the Grizzlies. The players stopped the video at times to discuss specific breakdowns. By the end of the evening, they were in agreement on what needed to be done to improve.
I’m pretty sure Scotty Brooks had some ideas about what needed to be done to improve, too.
But maybe the meeting helped supply some needed defensive energy and an edge of desperation. The Thunder did play harder. Serge Ibaka took away Zach Randolph’s room to operate, the Thunder pushed back and they evened the series at 1-1. Still a long way to go, but the Thunder looked like the Thunder in Game 2. Now we see how the Grizzlies adjust.
Maybe Memphis should have a team meeting….
