OKLAHOMA CITY - Thunder general manager Sam Presti is aware of coach Scott Brooks critics. [url=http://www.airforce1norge.com/]N

OKLAHOMA CITY - Thunder general manager Sam Presti is aware of coach Scott Brooks critics. Nike Air Force 1 Billig . An NBA Finals appearance in 2012 fueled expectations, so when San Antonio beat the Thunder in Oklahoma City this season to close out the Western Conference finals, it didnt go over well with some locals in this era of winning coaches getting fired. Naysayers also believe Brooks offensive strategy gives point guard Russell Westbrook too much freedom at the expense of MVP Kevin Durant. Presti did his best to squelch the talk on Thursday. After all, he said, the Thunder finished with the second-best record in the NBA this season, despite numerous injuries to key players. "Scotty, I think, did an excellent job," Presti said. "I understand, we all have a tendency to look at the last game and the last series. I respect it. Thats part of sports. I cant do that." Brooks took over for P.J. Carlesimo during the 2008-09 season and led the team to a 22-47 record. The team has won at least 61 per cent of its games each season since. Brooks has a 293-170 record with the Thunder. "Hes stacking successful seasons on top of each other, increasing our odds to take a really unique amount of time that weve been successful and extend it to a very, very unique amount of time," Presti said. Durant said this week that he feels Brooks is the man to keep things moving. "Thats our guy," Durant said. "Im riding with him." Brooks has praised Westbrook while often publicly pointing out his three-time All-Stars need to find a balance between shooting and passing when he attacks. Westbrook also spoke highly of Brooks this week. "Hes done a great job of having confidence in me personally," Westbrook said. "Theres times when things have gone south and hes the only one that always — regardless of what happened — always had my back. Regardless if people were saying I was doing this or doing that, I was being selfish, he always was the first person to step up and have my back and support me regardless of whats going on." Brooks will have plenty to work with. Durant is signed through 2015-16, and Westbrook and defensive ace Serge Ibaka are signed through 2016-17. Backup centre Steven Adams figures to be a prominent part of the future. The 20-year-old from New Zealand improved dramatically late in the regular season while Kendrick Perkins was out with an injury, then continued to get better in the playoffs. Presti sees Adams talent, but says he has work ahead. Perkins is still a solid defender, but his offensive limitations allow defences to pay more attention to Durant and Westbrook. When Presti was asked about the amnesty clause, which allows a team to waive one player without his salary counting against the cap or luxury tax, he hesitated before offering perspective. He said though Adams was solid against the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio, Perkins played a key role in the grueling seven-game series against Memphis. Presti said he wouldnt consider waiving or trading Perkins unless it could help the team strategically long term. Shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha is an unrestricted free agent who lost his starting job during the playoffs. Caron Butler, a mid-season pickup, is an unrestricted free agent. He had his moments, but was out of the rotation by the end of the playoffs. The team has the option to keep Hasheem Thabeet, a 7-foot-3 backup centre. Thabeet played little, even while Perkins was injured. Presti was non-committal in each case. Presti seemed uncertain what unrestricted free agent Derek Fisher will do, but said he will be successful whatever he decides. The 39-year-old guard has been connected to the New York Knicks head coaching job. "We have absolutely no reason to expect Derek to keep us informed of his plans," Presti said. "The only thing we have a right to do is to support him because hes left an impact here in a positive way." __ Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/CliffBruntAP Nike Tanjun Norge . The future hall of famers stole the show at the Bell Centre on Tuesday night, with Jagr moving into seventh place in all-time goal scoring and Brodeur stopping 29 shots as the Devils downed the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Nike Blazer Norge . Vargas (8-3) allowed four singles and two walks while striking out five, allowing only two runners from a diluted Twins lineup to reach second base. Mike Moustakas and Jarrod Dyson hit RBI singles in the second inning against Kevin Correia (4-10), and that was all Vargas needed. http://www.airforce1norge.com/nike-roshe-one-norge.html .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night.(SportsNetwork.com) - After splitting the first two games of a four-game road trip, the Edmonton Oilers have to face a Detroit Red Wings club they havent defeated in regulation since 2009. Edmonton will try to snap a five-game skid against Detroit when the clubs collide at Joe Louis Arena on Friday. The Red Wings have lost two straight and four of their last five games, putting them two points back of the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Oilers are coming off a heartbreaking 6-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Thursday despite the game being tied going into the third period. David Perron and Mark Fraser lit the lamp for the Oilers, who had won three of four going in. Ben Scrivens took the loss, allowing all six goals on 37 shots. "I dont care how good they are," said Oilers coach Dallas Eakins. "We were able to play with them for two periods. We should be able to do it for 20 more minutes. Weve got to be stronger on pucks against stronger forechecking teams like this." Perron has two goals and two assists over a four-game point streak, while Fraser scored his first goal in 111 games. His last tally came on March 2, 2010. Taylor Hall, meanwhile, had an assist to give him six points in his previous five games. The Oilers could go back to Viktor Fasth in net tonight. He made his Oilers debut on Tuesday in a shootout win over the Minnesota Wild. He is 1-1-0 with a 3. Air Force 1 Herre Norge. 61 GAA in two previous games versus the Red Wings. In the last meeting between the teams on Nov. 2, Detroit picked up a 5-0 road win over Edmonton to extend its series winning streak to five straight games. The Red Wings are 12-0-2 in their past 14 versus the Oilers overall. Detroit was bested 4-1 by the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, getting a goal from Danny DeKeyser. Jimmy Howard was a scratch due to the flu, with Petr Mrazek making 33 saves in his first start since Jan. 12. "Its a disappointing loss, but weve got to regroup and get back at it," Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock said. "Theres no time to feel sorry for ourselves." The Red Wings are dealing with a long list of injured players, one that includes Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, Daniel Cleary and Darren Helm. Tomas Jurco recently joined that list due to a fractured rib suffered on Tuesday. Detroit has already lost 294 man games this season and prospect Teemu Pulkkinen could make his NHL debut tonight in place of Jurco. The 22-year-old has 26 points and 51 points in 60 games in the American Hockey League this season. He will be the ninth player to make his NHL debut for the Red Wings in the past 14 months. The good news is that Howard has recovered to start tonight and is 9-1-2 with a 1.96 goals against average in his career versus the Oilers. ' ' '