(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
I’m kind of sort of shell-shocked. A lot of times last year and even in a game this year, I had no idea what I watched. And I mean that in a bad way.
But tonight, I really don’t know what I just saw, in a great, grand, wonderful way. Holy smokes what a beatdown. Oklahoma City pounded the defending Eastern Conference champs 102-74 in front of a third sellout crowd at the Ford Center. And I’m not even sure it was that close.
I know what some are going to jump up and say. Harumph! The Magic only suited eight players and were shorthanded! Harumph! If you want to use that as an excuse, fine by me. All I know is that the Thunder absolutely smacked one of the league’s best teams with one of the most dominating players in the league. So excuses or not, the scoreboard cares not.
It’s funny, because I couldn’t have been more wrong about this game. I thought the Magic had a major matchup advantage coming in. But I guess I had Dwight Howard’s triple-double emblazoned in my brain from last year in a game the Magic beat OKC just as a bad. But this was worse. I thought the Magic would torch the Thunder from the outside. Nope. Orlando went just 3-16 from 3 and shot 36 percent overall. I thought Howard would have his way in the post. Wrong again. Superman had just 20 points and seven boards, but he wasn’t as good as the numbers seem. OKC frustrated Howard in every way on the post. And I had just a bad feeling in general. Well, that appears to have been incorrect as well. I like being wrong.
And while this game wasn’t close after halftime, the most important part of it was the last five of the third quarter. OKC had built a solid 20-point lead halfway through the frame. Last season, the opponent would go on a 10-2 run to close the period to get the deficit manageable headed to the fourth. And you’d have to fight to finish with a win. Not tonight though. The Thunder put their foot on the gas and sped into the fourth and then went to lightspeed after that. I think OKC could have made the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs actually.
It’s actually kind of difficult to recap what happened because it was such a laugher. So here are some quick thoughts:
- Kevin Durant would like to give a big Eff You to plus/minus this evening. How does a +35 do you? And Westbrook put up a +41 (!!!). More impressively, somehow in a 28-point win, Kevin Ollie put in a -11. I don’t know how you do that, but The Motown Singer accomplished it.
- Oh, and I think Durant has rebounded from his airballing – 28 points, 11-17, 2-6 from deep, five assists, four boards, and two turnovers in just 32 minutes.
- Obviously, quite an effort defensively. I’ll say this, maybe the best defense the Thunder played all night was letting J.J. Redick shoot. He went 2-11 and 0-6 from 3. If you wanted a word to describe how Redick played, I think it would be “poorly.”
- Westbrook finished with 17 points and 10 assists, and though he had five turnovers, he played solid. He went 3-4 from 3, 5-12 from the floor and did awesome work on Jameer Nelson. Westbrook is just so active defensively. Some of his turnovers are just momentary brain farts, but I’ll trade those for the countless number of plays he made tonight.
- I don’t think there is any coincidence in Westbrook’s assist numbers and Nenad Krstic’s good shooting games. Observe: In the first two games, Westbrook had 23 assists. Krstic went 12-19 from the field. In the last three before Orlando, 16 assists and Krstic was 4-20 in those three. Westbrook can almost get Krstic those 18-foot jumpers at will. And when Krispy is knocking them down, it makes Westbrook look very good.
- Everybody did great work on Dwight Howard. Etan Thomas was physical with him. Krstic played him solid and held him up long enough for help to come. And on the glass, the entire Thunder roster attacked. OKC outrebounded the Magic 45-30 and that’s with the Thunder only grabbing four offensive boards. OKC had Orlando as a one-and-done outfit tonight and when a jumpshooting team isn’t hitting and they aren’t getting second chances, it’s going to spell a night like tonight.
- I am ready to chair the campaign for Thabo Sefolosha to make first-team defense. I challenge anyone to play better, more active and inspired man-to-man defense than Thabo in these first six games. His line was beautiful (13 points, 3-3 from 3, 10 rebounds, two steals, two assists), but he just gave no room to any Magic shooter. He covers up so many mistakes single-handily for the Thunder with his effort and help defense. He’s this team’s most valuable player so far. No doubt in my mind.
- James Harden in 19 minutes: five points, five assists, four rebounds, two steals, no turnovers. And how about the two passes he had in the fourth. One was a gorgeous draw-and-dish to Etan Thomas. The other, he pulled Gortat to him and passed it between The Hammer’s legs to Durant for a dunk. No rookie feels the game better than Harden. His numbers may not be blowing anyone away, but the guy is an unselfish playmaker. Perfect piece for this team.
- OKC shot 9-16 from 3 and hit four straight in the second quarter to pull ahead heading to halftime. Big plays there by Sefolosha (hit two), Durant and Westbrook.
- Orlando missed 13 free throws. I’m sure SVG was pumped about that.
- Nick Collison played an excellent 18 minutes. Again, the box score doesn’t do him justice. He made a bunch of hustle plays, took a charge and just played his rear off. You’d expect nothing less from him. Just another night at the office.
- Again, the Thunder just beat the NBA runner-up Orlando Magic by 28. Marinate on that for a minute.
The Thunder moves on with two very winnable games and could very well be looking at a 5-3 record heading into a matchup with San Antonio. I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but it’s clear this team is nothing like the one from last year. Not even like the team that was playing solid ball in April. These guys are hustling, helping, playing unselfish and best of all, playing awesome defense. When they’re making shots, they can beat anybody. Seriously. Any-body.
Next up is a roadie in Sacramento against the Kings Tuesday night.
@kev
yea I would say russels good games are directly related to Krstic's jumpshot. When that starts falling we see Russ the PG. when its not falling we see Russ the SG that plays point.
@Kev
I disagree. Krystic's output is directly related to his "success" as a jump-shooter. He was 7-12 last night and 1-8 against Houston. Nuff said...
@Dan
Good points on Krstic.
With him getting hot early, it pulled Howard away from the basket quite often, allowing us to get easier D Rebounds. Jis post defense was solid enough. Gave Dwight a couple of bumps to slow him down until the offside help came.
Krstic's offensive ouptut is directly related to Westbrook's willingness to pass . . .
Going back to last year, Kristic averaged 2 more points a game in our wins, but more importantly, when he had 16 points or more, we won 5 of the 7 games.
I just noticed an interesting trend. In games in which we win, Kristic is averaging 16 points, in games we have lost, he is averaging 3. Hmmmm, maybe the key isn't that the Big 3 all have great games, but that we have scoring from down low. I think when Kristic is on, it opens up the whole offense, but when he isn't, then the opposing D can key on the Big 3, and we aren't nearly as efficient. I think this just goes to show that if we had a good big man scorer, and I don't count Uncle Jeff, we could be an elite team.
Defensively, Russell was ordinary/mediocre - as usual . . .
Did anyone think to watch how Russell played off the ball last night when he was getting minutes at the 2??? I noticed but I just forgot to focus on him to see how well he did.
The reason I ask is because, with the way Harden creates, it sure would be nice if he could share a little time initiating the offense just to change things up. I'm sure Russ can be just as valuable off the ball as he is with the ball.
And Thabo seems to be doing a bit better job distributing the ball. He might not be getting big assists, but he is really helping to just keep the ball moving.... and making his open shots WOW!
Still on a contact high from that game last night! I knew it was going to be a good one as soon as KD came to the scorers table to check in. He was smiling a laughing and even winked at Thunder Man (kid who sits on the front row behind the scorers table with a mask and cape on! EVERY GAME.)
Even though Thabo's perfect 3 for 3 from 3 was the highlight of the game for me, I think Krystic made the difference for us. He managed the very difficult task of not backing down from Howard inside, and then was ON with his 18-footers! Which was a very good thing for him, because if he had had another crappy shooting night, I think he should have been in serious jeopardy of having his minutes/starting job snatched!
KD was ON FIRE with his defense! That steal that he took coast to coast was worth the price of admission all by itself. He had those long arms waving around the whole time, and I really can't remember seeing him standing around on defense even one time, and usually it is very obvious. 32 minutes may be a sweet spot for him, and if our bench continues to produce (except for that CRAZY lineup of 4 guards plus Etan--WTF Brooksie?!?) he CAN only play 32-38 minutes a game.
Overall very, VERY enjoyable basketball people--THUNDER UP!!!
Any chance Harden's future is as the backup PG on this team? That doesn't sound real attractive for the #3 pick in the draft but he's done so well creating shots for others and had such a hard time getting good shots for himself. Plus Brooks won't even let him guard the athletic 2's because he's had a hard time with them. A couple of times in the Lakers game they had Westbrook guard Kobe and Harden guard Fisher. He's going to be a backup one way or another anyways because Sef is playing so well.
Taz-Maniac :
Wasn’t win #3 last year the New Years win?
The 3rd win was toronto in mid Dec. 4th win was new years, though we probably make 4 wins this week.
anyway, that was a great win, we had another good week OT loss to lakers and an average loss on the road to houston.
*beginning --my bad
I'm so proud of the way we're playing "team" b-ball. This is so freakin' cool having a NBA team of our own...AND they don't suck anymore!! WOW! Thunder! I'm loving my 38-44 prediction.(especially with the tough benning of the schedule.) Heck, we might just go .500!
KUDOS THUNDER!!
@Warren
I miss the replay as well, especially after attending the game. Sometimes I wonder why the refs call what they do, watching the game afterwards usually clears up any questions I have.
For example, in the second half Westbrook got an offensive rebound then scored. Somehow that was taken away, and I'm still not sure why.
Floppy Punch! :Add me to those looking for the replay. If my Cox DVR could handle conflicts, I would set up an auto-recording. It can’t, so I won’t. And I forgot to set a manual recording before heading to work. I did get to listen on the radio though, and every time Pinto described an awesome play and I heard the crowd go wild I would picture my DVR at home–not recording.
that stinks - sorry you missed it . . . I don't know why they dont replay it in the middle of the night or something . . . I guess infomercials pay more . . .
We have to take the same intensity
a) on the road (see Detroit)
b) when we are losing
we can't be frontrunners - yes I know we aren't a playoff team (yet) but playoff teams do it when times are hard . . . let's go take care of business onTuesday and Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Add me to those looking for the replay. If my Cox DVR could handle conflicts, I would set up an auto-recording. It can't, so I won't. And I forgot to set a manual recording before heading to work. I did get to listen on the radio though, and every time Pinto described an awesome play and I heard the crowd go wild I would picture my DVR at home--not recording.
Defensive Domination II
Defensive MVP – Thabo Sefolosha (+13)
Thabo rebounded from a mediocre outing on Friday. He recored three steals, a block. Just as important, I only recorded two mistakes. Ho-hum - another very good defensive game.
Kevin Durant (+10)
Excellent job by KD. I usually see of litany of mistakes on defense from KD. Tonight, there were only two. I am sure everyone saw the great steals he had, as he was great in the passing lanes. But my favorite play involved Thabo and KD. In the third quarter, Jayson Williams was dribbling the ball in the deep corner and was covered. KD read the action and predicted a pass to the top. KD went to the key to cut off Pietrus. He basically got there the same time as the ball. Last year he would have been late or would have not bothered to go at all. He forced Pietrus to drive. Thabo left JJ Redick to help cut off Pietrus. Thabo then recovered to prevent a Redick three. Redick then drove and attempted a bounce pass after Thabo and Krstic cut him off. Thabo then stole the ball on the pass. Great stuff – and KD started it all.
Nick Collison (+7)
I am appreciating Mr. Nick more and more as I watch the defensive side of the game. He drew two more charges today and only had one mistake (alley-oop given up to Superman). What I liked the most? He closed out well on a perimeter player (Pietrus) – twice. More great stuff.
Etan Thomas (+6)
You have to LOVE a fiery competitor. Etan Thomas thought he forced a jump ball against Brandon Bass. The refs thought otherwise and called him for a foul. Etan Thomas was visibly upset and it did look clean. The best part was the time and score. At that time, the Thunder was up TWENTY-NINE with two minutes left. How can you NOT like that?
James Harden (+4)
He is getting better. He is still making too many mistakes, but his closeouts are better, and he is actively looking for steals. Keep it up.
Jeff Green (+4)
Shaun Livingston (+3)
Finally, a good outing from him: no mistakes.
Russell Westbrook (+1)
D J White (zero)
Nenad Krstic (-1)
Kevin Ollie (-4)
Overall, this game didn’t rate as high as the Lakers game, but we will take it!!!!
I have been trying hard not to get ahead of myself, but this team is making it more and more difficult for me.
Westbrook 1.6 A/TO.
Harden 9.5.
This starting lineup had been used 19 minutes per game the first 5 games. Does it stay more up near where it was, at tonight's level (13 minutes is down 30%) or will it go lower? Something to watch.
Starting lineup had their second best +9 or perhaps best performance (considering this opponent, compared to the Kings) of the season so far.
They also played their fewest minutes of the season, only 13 minutes.
Which of these will the next games follow?
Playing a starting lineup 18 minutes per game is extremely rare, like once or twice every few years league-wide. Usually only done when it is real good. Last season just one team used a lineup 12+ minutes per game- Boston with a +10 lineup.
I am all for lineup concentration- if it works consistently.
Jameer Nelson's -37 is now the worst +/- of the season so far
3 AND FREAK'N... um... 3
Sweet.
Three straight on the road. While two are against sub-par opponents, this is a big stretch.
@Patrick
Throw out VC since last year when we played Orlando VC wasn't there. Are you saying that Lewis would have scored 28 more points than his replacement? Orlando's worst defeat in the last two years was by 32 points from New Orleans. This was 28!
If the Thunder play like they played tonight, like they played in the first two games, like they played against LAL, they are potentially in every game they play. In 6 games, the Thunder's worst game was an 11 point loss to Houston. I will take that any time.
Now if we can win at SAC (without KM) and at LAC (without Blake), we are now 5 and 3. I could live with that. Even a split would be 4-4!!!
Howard hasn't been himself for a few games now. You can tell by the numbers he has been putting up compared to his usual eyepopping production. He mentioned in his blog his shoulder is quite sore at the moment and I imagine this is a big reason.
Orlando should rest him and something might need to be done about how many hard fouls he receives each game.
Nevertheless, fantastic stuff by the thunder.
@Steven
Yep, good point there. Nice to see the minutes down a touch.
another positive to come out of this that I've seen Royce worried about is the minutes the big three played. Green only had 22 (mostly foul trouble) Durant 32, Westbrook 35. Kind of surprised that they were in with about 6 minutes left and we were up over 25 but overall these wins aren't just nice for the short term, but they also help you in the long run and save up some energy for later in the season
That type of win against that type of team ("depleted" or not) is a major accomplishment and could create some HUGE momentum that could carry us a long way through this somewhat difficult first half of the season... Keep it up boys!!!
+10 for the Kessel Run.
I am still in shock.
@Patrick
While the Thunder were not made to pay when they helped on Howard, I'm still encouraged by the fact that they were able to frustrate Howard and Gorat all night. Any time you can limit those two it is a good night.
While I appreciate the Van Gundy comments, if Lewis and Carter are playing, I think that it would have been a game down to the wire. But that too would be OK. If within the course of 8 days you could almost win on Portland, LAL, and blow out Orlando, I will savor that feeling...not to mention that we are 3 and 3!
Yeah, it's a nice win, but I think everyone needs to settle down. Orlando didn't play well, plus they had no VC and no Rashard Lewis.
I'm out of town and missed the game, so I don't have too much to add tonight, but I just wanted to mention that it was a huge win (even without Lewis and Carter) and I'm very excited about the progress of the team!
But this should cap off the night. Does everyone remember this? We already have more wins than we did when this was taken last year: http://twitpic.com/nm9pl
@Dan
wow...
"The Thunder are much better than us right now. They would have beat us if we had everybody. They would have beat us here or in our place. We're just not as tough as they are right now." ~ Van Gundy
Warren :
Last year after every game, fox sports would show a replay of the game. Does anyone know why they are not doing it again this year?
I'd like to know this too. I was at work and didn't get to watch. I would really love to see this one with my own eyes.
Anyone notice that at the end of the game, Orlando walked off the court to the locker room with 5 seconds to go. No handshakes, nothing, gone.
What I love, and my perception on why we are doing so much better is along with improved defense is the fact that when 4 of the 5 starters are on the bench, the bench players are not a negative. While they may not gain over the other team (especially the quality teams) they do not bleed points either.
There was a point when it was mostly bench players where we went from 1 down to 5 down over about a 5-7 minute period. In fact, it was the stretch when neither team scored for around 3 minutes. I'll take that at this point!
Wasn't win #3 last year the New Years win?
The beauty of this team is their all-around commitment. These guys aren't limiting their contributions to one stat. You'd pick at least three guys to get a double-double before you mention Thabo. Eight players logged assists, and every player rebounded. A blowout will do that for you, but nevertheless I'm liking the versatility and commitment of these players.
I wouldn't look past the kings, after a big win like this going on the road, they scored 115 tonight, so even without Martin they can score, and in the last game we were helped by Thompson's absence for much of the game due to foul trouble.
Nice win. I couldn't believe how long Orlando was stuck on 49 points....over three minutes in the third before they got off of it.
This was just a night where there was a perfect confluence of really poor shooting by Orlando and really nice shooting by OKC. Lots of other things came into play like Royce said, like the rebounding, the stout defense. But I can't believe how many open jumpers Orlando clanged. Crazy.
But, success leaves clues. We held them to a defensive efficiency of 85! Obviously the best of the season, but we've held 5/6 of our opponents well below the league average with our defensive efficiency. My hat is off to the players and the coaching staff.
A great win.
I failed to mention it, but Orlando had just 30 points in the second half. That's tremendous.
Enough +/- the same this year as last year. Last year we were 3-29, this year we are 3-3. The difference is obvious. We are better.
I'm satisfied with being 3-3 at this point. Of course 4-2 would be very ideal but when you looked at the schedule before the season and someone said we would be 3-3 I'm sure most everyone would have taken it. Big win if we want to possibly make the playoffs this year
Sweet game. I'm loving the +/- stats.
It feels out there. I mean, it's a major rush. I mean, it feels radical in kind of a tubular sort of way, but most of all, it feels out there.
Previous statement about the pass between Gortat's legs was about Harden... obviously.
I wish he got a bit more respect from the ROY watchers... hopefully he has a nice breakout game soon.
Oh, one other thing that I thought was interesting. Once Brooks realized that he could contain Howard and Gortat, he went with some interesting small lineups, playing like three or four different combos with four guards.... Harden looked really good playing between RW and Thabo, too. He is still a bit of a defensive liability, but you have to LOVE his offensive game.
If Sef and Krstic are both hitting this team is really tough.
Ibaka is apparently not in the picture anymore. DJ White has been the next post player off the bench the last two games.
White hasn't been effective at all and Livingston hasn't looked good at the 2 either.
JJ Reddick is not very good at all. Especially when he's off. Sefalosha made him look silly.
Green had some bad luck tonight. He really had 6 ticky tack questionable fouls. Luckily we didn't need him though.