vs.
Charlotte Bobcats (11-16, 1-12 road) vs. OKC Thunder (14-14, 7-7 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.0 (18th), Bobcats – 99.2 (27th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.8 (10th), Bobcats – 100.1 (3rd)
Pace: Thunder – 92.2 (18th), Bobcats – 90.9 (26th)
View from the enemy: Queen City Hoops
I think we all know the fear here. The L-word. Letdown. Oklahoma City did what we all truly hoped for with the three-game road stretch – won a game. But while coming back at .500 is huge, it doesn’t mean anything if the team doesn’t capitilize on it these last four games of 2009. And that means starting tonight with a winnable home game against the Bobcats.
The more this team wins and the more competitive they play against the elite, the more important these should-sin games become. And honestly, Scott Brooks has done a good job of getting this team to play for most should-win games. Against sub-.500 teams, OKC is 9-2 and the two losses really aren’t THAT shameful – a roadie against the Kings (who are very good at Arco) and a home loss against the Clippers (who aren’t really that horrible). So with Charolotte sitting at 11-16, this is definitely a take care of business kind of game.
The Bobcats coming in have lost three of their last four, but won most recently at home against Detroit Tuesday night. For the most part, they beat bad teams, save wins against Denver, Cleveland and Atlanta. So the Cats are definitely capable of beating anyone. They may be 11-16, but they have some talent. But then again, they are 1-12 on the road and a team with aspirations of the playoffs shouldn’t lose to a team like that.
THE MATCHUPS
One defining matchup in this game: Kevin Durant versus Gerald Wallace. It really will come down to that. Obviously Durant is the better player, but Wallace is a very nice defender and an awesome rebounder (he’s leading the league!). Wallace is the Bobcats main scoring weapon too. Again, Durant is the better player, but that doesn’t mean Wallace can’t outplay him.
Thabo will likely guard Stephen Jackson who is a creator and distributor from his two-guard spot. Russell Westbrook has a favorable matchup against Ray Felton who while has had a nice year, isn’t a great defender. And inside, I’m anxious about Tyson Chandler’s “return” to OKC. The Thunder has a major matchup advantage I think with the combo of Krstic and Ibaka there. And Jeff Green on Boris Diaw should lean the Thunder’s way. Really, across the board, this looks like a good match for OKC.
Again, it’s about taking care of business and moving on to the next game. Getting to 14-14 was really big, but it doesn’t mean anything if you lose games you shouldn’t. The crowd will likely be sparse due to bad OKC weather, so early energy should be something to look for.
Tip at 7:00 CST. Go Christmas Thunder.
@chris
I'm aware. The 6th grader in me thought it was funny.
@Scott H
Molest also means to harass or bother someone. It doesn't strictly refer to sexual molestation.
Nick Collison - Molester? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y_8XgtswMrc
OTOH he's shooting under 37% from the field in December :(
Russ has an A:TO ratio higher than 4:1 in the last five games.. and his A:TO is 2.75:1 for the month of December now which is a respectable number.
We all make somthing easy to be difficulty.We get 10 points lead 2 times,but cannot surely say We win until the last minute
Stephen Jackson is such an awful player. Charlotte might have been able to ride Mohammed and Felton to a nice lead in the first quarter if Captain Jack wasn't bricking eight shots.
Durant was +17 and Jackson was -18. Nice.
Good win! Russ with six assists and zero turnovers, probably should have been 8-9 assists with the missed layups I saw.
It was good to see the team get a win without the bench really playing well at all. Charlotte's a good defensive team if anything and the offense was more or less effective.
Phoenix win feels real good now.
@The DON
You are toeing the line. Clean it up, lose the confrontational tone or I'll have to do something about. I enjoy your contributions and passion, but don't jab at people.
@The DON
Agreed, they are truly horrible.
justin :LOL are we lucky this is the Bobcats.. those turnovers.
Yup yup...
Also, Thunder seriously need to give the ball to anyone but Westbrook in the closing secs... Don't get me wrong, he's playing very nice tonight. But, just compare to what he did and what Harden did with the possesion... Then, you can see the what else Westbrook can improve as the point guard of the team. However, I do think he did good for the team overall and especially his shots were falling.
It's a must/should win game and Thunder did put put the Bocats away even though it was kind of hairy until the last 3-4 mins...
This game wasn't won by us, it was lost by the bobcats. They handed this one to us on a silver platter. I have zero positive feelings from this win
justin :@The
DON
Look man I’ve been ignoring your jabs at me, it really isn’t necessary. If you disagree with any of my opinions feel free to give your own and we can have a discussion about it. Otherwise, if you have nothing to add, don’t add anything.
http://i994.photobucket.com/albums/af61/mogklav2/1258873835498.png
bobcats send a gift,and KD gets it
Harden with an erection-enducing pass to KD for the dunk
LOL are we lucky this is the Bobcats.. those turnovers.
@The DON
Look man I've been ignoring your jabs at me, it really isn't necessary. If you disagree with any of my opinions feel free to give your own and we can have a discussion about it. Otherwise, if you have nothing to add, don't add anything.
LMAO @ RW "seems" t be playing well
This guy, even when attempting to say something positive, just cannot help but inject a slight hint of negativity in his comments
$100 says Justin is a goth
@andrew
Because I missed the portion of the game where he was hot..
Collison is turning me on tonight
There it goes again wide open three. Horrible defense..
damn it! bobcats still hang there
justin :
We’re lucky the Bobcats are such a bad three point shooting team. Our transition defense has been horrible, though I haven’t seen all of the game.
Russ seems to be playing very well.
Haha I must ask you why the word "seems" was necessary in that statement
We're lucky the Bobcats are such a bad three point shooting team. Our transition defense has been horrible, though I haven't seen all of the game.
Russ seems to be playing very well.
Steven Jackson,got a big mouth his team is getting all the foul calls.
Random thought of the night:
KD should spend the entire summer with Tim Grover. He will surely add another gear or two to KD's physical ability and I think that will really take his game to another level
Larry Brown's face when Stephen Jackson was jawing with the ref was hilarious.
Damnit Harden with 2 missed ft's but great job to recover the ball and get us another possession
Harden miss 2 Free throw
James Harden making some nice plays.
I just realized Jeff Green is on our team. He made me forget his existence tonight
Interesting situation with our second unit out there and Charlotte sending out all their starters pretty much.
I bet as soon as Harden hit that jumper, justin immediately threw his remote at the TV
@Dan
I've been there before on a play like that. You're looking at the clock and think you have to hurry. Instead of finishing your shot, you pull your hand off too fast and rush it. Exactly what Russ did.
This will be an interesting 4th Q. Even though they have the awful road record Charlotte's played a handful of close games.
I think we should be ahead by more than this, though.
The DON :
Harden = already better than Lebron
Very true.
justin :
Power went out just got the game back on.. saw Russ miss a 3 then air ball a jumper then I checked the boxscore and see he was 9-11 from the field before that. He must have been on fire.
Seems like the last few games we’ve upped the tempo on offense and sacrificed some of the effort on the other side..
Westbrook was red hot form midrange, but he cant make a layup to end the quarter lol
@justin
You sound over-joyed whenever Ibaka so much as misses a shot. Clearly you have no agenda.
F*** this fake thug Stephen Jackson
Ibaka has looked like ripe doo doo.
Thanks for listening to my expert advice KD and going to that fadeaway
wow Ibaka has thrown up a number of bricks tonight of epic proportions
Power went out just got the game back on.. saw Russ miss a 3 then air ball a jumper then I checked the boxscore and see he was 9-11 from the field before that. He must have been on fire.
Seems like the last few games we've upped the tempo on offense and sacrificed some of the effort on the other side..
Come the F*** on westbrook! A pull up 3 after not making a single pass?
Harden = already better than Lebron
we are getting killed on the switces - we try and overplay and throw the ball right over the top . . .
Thabo needs to be instructed that he is to never attempt another field goal attempt for the remainder of his natural life
KD playing HORRIBLE defense tonight . . .
If RW can keep hitting that midrange J at this rate, look out