Because of some duties in fulfilling my requirement in being an American male, I chose to watch the Super Bowl yesterday and not write a recap of the game. And like I told my wife, had we won, I probably would have happily skipped into the office to crank out 800 words, but because of the outcome, I thought using the Super Bowl would be a good excuse to just ignore a really disappointing loss. But here’s all you need to know: Durant, Westbrook, Green = good (95 points). Rest of team = not good (23 points). Well, Nick Collison had a nice game, but geez, what a stinky loss. Although, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a “make the first, miss the second and get a tip-in” work live and I was impressed with Jeff Green’s execution there. Anyway, to the Bolts…
The Durant v. Oden debate is finally able to gain some traction: “Fair or not, Oden and Durant are destined to be linked in history. Like Aaron Burr and Alexander Hamilton, without the gunfire. And a look back at the 1984 draft offers both worst-case and best-case scenarios. Oden and Durant could be remembered as Michael Jordan and Sam Bowie, as a mismatch of a comparison that highlights Portland’s blundering. Or they could be remembered as Jordan and Hakeem Olajuwon, who combined for eight championships, eight Finals MVP awards, and six regular-season MVPs.”
Le Basketbawl’s midseason report: “We now know that the Thunder will not have the worst record in the history of the Association. Scott Brooks while an improvement over P.J. still has not shown that he is more than an interim coach.”
Hardwood Paroxysm sums up yesterday’s game pretty nicely: “The Definition of Awesome Futility: Kevin Durant; 33PTS 5 RB, 2 AS, 1 BL, Russell Westbrook; 34 PTS 6 RB 8 AS 1 ST, Jeff Green; 28 PTS, 13 RBS 5 AS 3 ST. And they lost.”
BDL Behind the Box Score: Timed up against a Cavaliers/Pistons game on national TV, this contest between two of the NBA’s worst teams was blacked out on the dish, and I gotta say, I’m a little cheesed off. Blackouts are something we have to live with every Sunday afternoon; they’re all over the pace as the NBA wants all basketball-watching eyes on what’s happening on the major network of its choice, but an overtime close one with 240 combined points? I’d like to know how, and why? Even the gamer is a little messed-up. Kevin Martin had 37 points on 24 shots, turning it over only twice in 49 minutes of play (that’s a tremendous accomplishment), Jeff Green had 28 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, one turnover, and three steals for Oklahoma City, and Thunder rookie Russell Westbrook got to the line 22 times (making 20), helping to overcome seven of 18 shooting and five turnovers. He had eight assists, and all six of his rebounds were on the offensive end.
Chris Bosh wants out of Toronto. I wonder… nah: “According to Stephen A. Smith in the video above, Bosh has “no desire to remain in Toronto.” In fact, CB4 already told Bryan Colangelothat he won’t re-sign. Thus, Colangelo is reportedly starting to explore trade options for Bosh, and Dallas and Miami are figuring to be big players in the Bosh sweepstakes.”
Fanhouse on Russell’s career-high performance: “But whatever: Russell Westbrook was insane in this one, scoring a career-high 34 points while getting to the line for 22 FTAs. Most of his work came slicing through and stuttering in the lane — very crafty work. On the other side, Kevin Martinput up 37 points on 24 FGAs in the Sacramento win.”
Get ready for Thor or ThUnderdog or Cumlonimbus the Mean Looking Cloud or Bolt maybe (just get Usain Bolt?) or Gary England. A mascot is coming this month (likely against the Hornets). Let’s pray for a non-embarrassment: “Team officials have chosen the yet-to-be-announced character and have completed the costume design but still have to iron out minor details, such as NBA marketing. According to Brian Byrnes, vice president of ticket sales and services, the mascot will be athletic, similar to Benny the Bull in Chicago and the Gorilla in Phoenix. The mascot will be capable of dropping from the Ford Center ceiling, tightrope a rail in Loud City and trampoline with the dunk team.”
Yes, I’m still complaining about Kevin Durant’s All-Star snub. And so is this guy: “Yes, the 11 wins is tough to reward, but last season’s Rookie of the Year has improved his numbers across the board, in particular in his shooting accuracy. A 43 percent shooter a year ago, Durant is connecting on 47.2 percent of his attempts this season, an impressive jump until you consider he has raised his three-point mark from 28.8 percent to 42.1 percent this year. The hype outpaced the performance last year, but he has become a multitalented threat this season, and the kind you just want to see in the playground atmosphere of the All-Star Game.”
Some interesting stuff from Elias: “Russell Westbrook scored 34 points, including 20 from the foul line, in the Thunder’s 122-118 overtime loss at Sacramento. Only three other rookies in NBA history made as many as 20 free throws in one game: Frank Selvy in 1954 (24), Rick Barry in 1965 (21), and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1970 (20). Westbrook’s teammate, Kevin Durant, scored 33 points in Oklahoma City’s loss. Over the nine seasons previous to this one, no rookie and second-year player both scored more than 30 points for the same team in the same game. But Westbrook and Durant were the second pair to do so in the last nine days. Eric Gordon (41 points) and Al Thornton (34) did it for the Clippers against the Thunder on January 23.”
And lastly, how about we all pause a moment to enjoy Willie Warren’s unbelievable, incredible, awesome (baby!) posterization of some Iowa State stiff. I swear it looks like he hits his peak, and then rises like five more inches. What a dunk. Yeah, I think the Thunder could use him along with Blake too.
Thunderdog? lol
...sounds like $1 hotdog night or something. Hey Thunderfans! Come out down to Loud City this Friday for 1$ Thunderdogs!
I lean toward Top Dawg-esque mascot named "Thunderdog."
AD
February 2nd, 2009 at 13:55 | #10
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You guys got a guess for what the new mascot will be?…
I’m going with an athletic fuzzy buffalo named “Bolt”.
RESPONSE:
I actually like the nickname "Bolt" for a mascot. They hired the guy inside the squatch suit, they just need to get it out there already cause that guy is good at being a mascot!
In the last five games, our offensive efficiency has gone up about a point per 100 possessions, but our defensive efficiency has also gone up about two and a half points per 100. The loss margin was razor thin yesterday; being able to get a stop or two would have made all the difference.
I'm really proud of the guys not to be whiners about calls. If you watch the Hornets they are really bad about that (I love the Hornets) and last week against the Warriors they really got T'd up for complaining and it go in their head and I think it really messed up their game. Its like baseball - don't even complain about strikes and balls it won't help and then your out of there.
Hmmm... maybe I'm getting a little T happy here lately... That's two in just a few minutes...
Nads has flopped a couple of times... hasnt gotten the call either... That's a move that I think they should call a technical on as well... it is potentially dangerous for the players as we saw the other night when a guy flopped and Jeff Green kind of stumbled over him...
I'm also glad we don't have any floppers. I hated watching Karl Malone do it years ago, and I hate it now. The last couple of years it's been out of control. I blame the influx of European players. They watch the flop played to perfection in every soccer game ever played, and they translated it to their own basketball repertoire. Then the NBA drafts them all to play over here, and suddenly every 3rd guy you see play takes a dive if they feel a breeze.
personally, I think they (refs) ought to start calling T's on some of those guys who whine and cry so much... its frustrating watching them cry all the time... hope our guys never learn to do that.
I was disappointed with our defensive effort. I'd say that Watson and Atkins needs to work on their defense, but at this point in their careers, that's probably a useless gesture. For a long stretch in the game, the teams traded driving layups.
I was impressed with Green and Westbrook when it came to foul calls. I forget which King was shooting, but he shrugged Jeff off, and Russell came flying by to get a hand in his face. The guy made the shot and the ref blew the whistle for a phantom foul on Westbrook who didn't come close to touching the shooter. It was a terrible call, but Russell didn't retaliate or blow up in the ref's face. And when Jeff blocked that shot near the end of the game, it looked clean as a clock to me, but the whistle blew, and he didn't blow up either. I don't know if refs review game film or not, but they should be embarrassed if they do when they see those two calls. Kudos to Russell and Jeff for keeping cool. I see all the pouting I need from Tim Duncan and David West every year.
Actually, the turn overs in this game (bad though they were) didn't bother me as much as the lack of defensive stops. Too many easy baskets (lay-ups, dunks, uncontested perimiters). I mean, allowing 33 pts in the 1st Q, and then 63 pts by the half... sheesh!
I'm happy that the Three Amigos put up great numbers and Westbrook hit his season high (via very smart play going strong to basket and the free throw line). But c'mon, without good defense, what does it mean? The notion of allowing your opponents to make a gazillion points in the hope that you just might make a gazillion + 1 is terrible strategy.
You guys got a guess for what the new mascot will be?...
I'm going with an athletic fuzzy buffalo named "Bolt".
I was suprise with the OT... I thought after Jeff made the play to tie the game... that they'd come out with alot of energy and put it to the Kings during the OT... But really the reverse happened... and the common theme for the season continued... Turn overs, Turn overs, Turn overs... We've got to learn to value the rock... It's a chronic illness right now that we just cant seem to fix... Chalk it up to youth (I've been doing that all year) but sooner or later thats not going to be a good enough excuse...
Amen April. I could see the team expected to win and were really upset that they didn't.
The most disappointing loss in some time. It caused me pain for a couple of hours. Normally this stuff doesn't bother me but I think I felt pain for the guys cause I know how hard they have been working. It would be cool to beat Denver.
It hasn't been working for me either.
I've got the same problem AD (with thunderfans)
off topic... did thunderfans get hacked or something? its been blank for two days... or is it just me?...
I missed that... I'll have to go back and check it out on my dvr... I was to busy celebrating myself... oh Earl... what will we do without you?...
@jk
For me it's the fact that he played 34 minutes and scored 0 points more than his reaction that convinces me he needs to go.
Two thoughts from that game.
First the positive: If we get Blake Griffin, this loss coupled with the recent loss at the Clips may be the reason why.
Now the negative: As if I needed any other reason to know that Earl Watson must be moved, yesterday provided the best exhibit. When Jeff Green executed the make the first, miss the second, offensive rebound and put-back, everyone erupted. Russell jumped for joy. KD gave a Tiger Woods sized fist pump. Even Nick Collison raised his arms in happiness. Earl? He just stood there acting like he was ticked off that he had to play another five minutes.