Deadline Day proves NBA title race is down to three

That expectation came true. Instead of suffering without their second-best player, the Thunder improved across the board. Bigger roles made better players of

Ian Thomsen | Feb 21, 2014

Deadline Day proves NBA title race is down to three /

The return of Russell Westbrook, power of LeBron James and trade of Evan Turner highlighted Thursday. — The return of Russell Westbrook, power of LeBron James and trade of Evan Turner highlighted Thursday / Getty Images (3)

That expectation came true. Instead of suffering without their second-best player, the Thunder improved across the board. Bigger roles made better players of everyone from Serge Ibaka to Reggie Jackson to Jeremy Lamb, Perry Jones and Steven Adams. Now Jackson at 23 returns to his natural role as sixth man, after two difficult but helpful exposures as a starting point guard -- in the playoffs last year and again this season, when Jackson was more effective while helping the Thunder go 22-8 without Westbrook.

Isaiah Thomas is one of five players averaging at least 20 points and six assists per game this season. — Isaiah Thomas is one of five players averaging at least 20 points and six assists per game this season :: Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images

It has happened with every young star coming into the league, from Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to Isiah Thomas to Michael Jordan to Shaquille O'Neal to Kobe Bryant. They have little to express when they start out. In the beginning it's all about the video and the highlights, and then as they mature in public, they grow in depth. The same thing is happening right now with Kevin Durant. They become fascinating not only for what they do but also for how they make sense of their own lives. Always, without fail, there turns out to be more to them as people than the two-dimensional roles they play in basketball games on television.

The Knicks (21-33) have too many problems for one deadline move to solve their many issues. — The Knicks (21-33) have too many problems for one deadline move to solve their many issues :: Jim McIsaac/SI

G: J.J. Redick, Clippers

Published Feb 21, 2014

IAN THOMSEN

Senior Writer, Sports Illustrated Sports Illustrated Senior Writer Ian Thomsen, who joined the magazine in 1998, is one of SI's top basketball scribes. Along with writing columns and features for SI, Thomsen is a frequent contributor to SI.com. Before joining SI, Thomsen spent six years in Europe as the sports columnist for the International Herald Tribune, the world's largest international English-language daily. While at the paper Thomsen wrote about an array of sports for a global audience, including the major world and European soccer tournaments, the 1995 Rugby World Cup, Olympic Games, Ryder Cups, Grand Slam tennis events, Grand Prix auto races and, very rarely, cricket. Thomsen, who graduated from Northwestern with a journalism degree in 1983, was a feature writer for The National Sports Daily during its short, expensive run of 1990-91. His first job was with The Boston Globe, where he covered Doug Flutie's Boston College Eagles and all three of the Celtics-Lakers NBA Finals of the 1980s. Thomsen was a feature writer at SI before taking on the NBA beat fulltime in 2000. With Luis Fernando Llosa and Melissa Segura, Thomsen covered the 2001 scandal of overaged Little League pitcher Danny Almonte and wrote the first SI cover story on Kobe Bryant in 1998. Thomsen lives with his wife and two children near Boston.