Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images
Hold it. Put that candle stick down. Don’t throw it across the room. It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be all right.
I know you’re frustrated. I am too. What’s happened to Oklahoma City’s defense? What’s happened to Kevin Durant in the second half? What’s happened to the Thunder’s ability to close games?
My theory? They’re tired. They’re worn down. Heck, I’m tired and I haven’t done anything but sit on a sofa and blabber on about the game. None of these guys have ever played in important games in late April (except Nick Collison). They’ve never had to play this hard in Game 81. They’ve never really been on the road in an atmosphere like that. For the youngest team in the league, I see tonight as much a learning experience, as playoff preparation, as you can get.
But that doesn’t excuse everything. This team is too good to mentally fall apart like they did letting Jerryd Bayless go coast-to-coast to end the third. This team is too good to let Marcus Camby erupt for a season-high 30 points. Russell Westbrook is too good to go 31 minutes without an assist. Kevin Durant is too good to go 3-13 in the second half. They’re better than that. But when you’re playing in an atmosphere you’ve never been a part of, at a time you’ve never had to focus and play this hard, things you don’t expect to fail, do.
Again, I see this as a great teaching tool for Scott Brooks heading into this weekend where the games get a lot more important. Everything won’t be easy. And if you want to win, you’ve got to fight. Don’t believe me? Let’s watch that tape from Portland again. Bigger games are yet to come and if OKC is going to lose a game and learn from it, I’d rather it be Game 81 rather than Game 85 against the Lakers.
I don’t think there’s anything to read into with KD’s poor play in the second half these last two nights. I know some will and start all that “not clutch” bullcrap. The Blazers did a great job denying the ball and never let Durant get into a comfort zone. He had 21 in the first half on 5-7 shooting and just nine in the second on 3-13. This is after a 5-19 second half against Golden State last night, but I think it has to do with Durant being beat up. KD can score and he can do it when he’s been guarded well. He just didn’t get it done these last two nights and he’d be the first to tell you that. It honestly doesn’t worry me one bit. Remember, he’s never been in this situation and he’s just 21 years old. Give him a chance to learn.
Notes:
- After taking nine free throws in the first half and getting booed every time he drew a foul, Durant took only one free throw in the second half and it came on Nate McMillan’s technical. I think Kevin Garnett has gotten into everybody’s brain.
- What an atmosphere in Portland tonight. Their fans were a little edgy with all the booing, but they affected the game. That was the Blazers’ 112th consecutive sellout. They’re the model for the Thunder fanbase. They were all in their seats before tip-off and we’re active and loud throughout. OKC’s fans are awesome, but not THAT awesome. But I think we’ll get to that point really soon. We’re both one sport pro towns and we love our teams. They’ve had a lot of practice at this.
- Nick Collison played 20 minutes and didn’t grab a rebound. That seems almost impossible.
- One awesome thing: James Harden over Martell Webster. Heavens to Betsy. It’s a positive thing to see Harden coming around a bit here at the end of the season.
- Boy, tough night for Russell Westbrook. Zero assists, 5-14 shooting, five turnovers and he doinked a fast break dunk. Let’s just forget about this one.
- How many times will Westbrook lose the handle when gathering with two hands to go up at the rim? I’m kind of getting tired of that.
- Brian Davis said something about chicken salad and after Harden’s dunk said something like, “A-tisket a-tasket, there’s a defender in my basket!” I Googled that and it happens to be a nursery rhyme. I think the announcing crew is even a bit fatigued too. Maybe he has a bet or something with a friend that he’s going to work in as many nonsensical things as he can. That would explain it.
- This game was decided by Portland’s 10-0 run to start the second half. They came out and threw a punch and the Thunder didn’t counter. They let the home crowd back in it and got all momentum rolling for them.
- Points by half for the Blazers: In the first, 43. In the second, 60.
- Two impressive things I noticed: 1) Eric Maynor was running the offense much better tonight so Scott Brooks stuck with him for extended minutes in the fourth. And more impressive? Russell Westbrook was on the bench cheering on Maynor and not sulking, even after the tough night. I do wish Brooks would’ve hung with Maynor a little more the last five minutes seeing how it turned out, but Westbrook has earned those minutes.
- The Blazers have awesome, passionate fans. But man, they can be mean. In the Daily Dime chat, they were on a full-on assault. You get a lot of wild comments in there, but when Portland took the lead late, you would have thought I pulled a Tonya Harding on Brandon Roy’s knee. I’m not going to be That Guy and judge an entire fanbase based on one Internet chat where some folks said some dumb things, but dang.
- Portland took 16 more shots than OKC tonight (80-64). This is a night after the Thunder chucked 104 shots against Golden State. OKC is just falling into the trap of playing their opponent’s game. Last night, they ran with the Warriors. Tonight, they slowed it down with the Blazers (85.0 pace). I don’t think the Thunder really has an offensive identity to start with, but letting your opponent consistently choose the flow of the game will give you problems.
- You know what? I’m secretly kind of excited to play the Lakers. It’s a nothing to lose situation for OKC. Granted, it’s a little bitter because if the Thunder gets that call against Utah, maybe we’re looking at the four-seed and home court, but again, who thought we’d be here anyway?
Obviously, Oklahoma City lost this game on its own with the bad execution and lack of ball movement (just 11 assists), but give a ton of credit to Portland. After getting news that Brandon Roy may miss the postseason, they needed someone to step up for them. Camby was huge. Andre Miller was excellent. Nicolas Batum chipped in some offense. They fought and scrapped and made plays to win. They won this game, and they did it with little help from the officials in the first three quarters. At one point, OKC had taken 33 free throws to Portland’s nine. Now, that number flipped to 36-27, meaning Portland went on a 18-3 run at the line down the stretch, but they held it together when they felt like they couldn’t get a call. Props for that.
This means the Thunder gets the eight-seed and will play the Lakers. I’m fine with that. We didn’t think we’d be here six months ago anyway and in early December when the team was playing well, we were all saying things like, “Making the playoffs and getting swept would be incredible. Heck, I just want 40 wins.” Now here we are looking at 50 and we’re upset at settling for the eight spot. My, how expectations can change over the course of a season. This season has been the step, the jump, the leap, this team needed to take. Remember, it’s a process. It just so happens the Thunder’s ahead of schedule. And we’re getting a fun, fantastic season as a result of that.
Next up: The regular season finale against Memphis Wednesday.
colloson should not have tackled lamarcas. they ended up in a heap just inches from the stantion causing an injury to his calf . it could have been soooooo much worse. I can understand him being frustrated but he went too far. think what you all would have thought if howard or lamarcas tackled durant in such a manner .
@Royce Young
So you're saying Collison attempted to injure Lamarcus Aldridge? Classy...
Hats off to the Thunder for all they've accomplished this year. It's always a little bittersweet when KD comes to town because I see him tearing up the league while Greg Oden limps around with a cane, yet again, but I guess the jury is still deliberating on that decision. I was at the Rose Garden last night and man, what an atmosphere. I thought the Thunder handled the raucous environment with poise and put themselves in a position to win until the crafty veterans took over. I guess old age and cunning still beat youth and skill, at least for this year, but I really like what the Thunder are doing. You're building the team the right way and Durant, Westbrook and Jeff Green all have a bright future in this league. I don't know what you were reading on the net but I just wanted you to know not all Blazers fans are delusional haters. I like the Thunder and wish them well, although I have to say that, given the Blazers' injury log this year, Collison might have shown a little more restraint. Good luck against the hated Lakers -- here's hoping they continue to be extremely beatable!
@B.V
Wait, you're wishing an injury on KD?
Classy.
Here's to Ron-Ron giving KD a "hard foul" like Collison gave LaMarcus. Good luck with that. Only takes one of those and we will see K.D. go into the similarly physiqued T.Mac storied career arc.
a few things from a blazer fan, first off, you are not insulting an entire fan base, we are all bias and crazy for our blazers, so yeah, we boo the officials and the opposing star player, and we talk trash on the internet, its a lot of fun. As for the thunder, playing the lakers is good, the thunder aren't going to the finals, so they might as well play the best team out there and get some experience, but they have no chance of winning, ron artest will put 18 bruises a night on durant
You guys are one classy fans! It's so hard to hate you because of all the perspective and respect you put into every post! I appreciate that! I definetely see the Blazers and Thunder dominating the West in the next couple if years -hopefully Western Conference Championship for both teams!
Ps...pleeeease kick some serious Laker ass! Oh and go Blazers! ;)
thomas :true blazer fans post at blazersedge.com, not on the daily dime
For what it's worth, I think Blazer's Edge is my favorite team blog out there, even including my own.
true blazer fans post at blazersedge.com, not on the daily dime
Collison has been on the team with the best record- 52-30. It is was based on offense.
All 5 playoff experienced players were on teams that won a series. Ollie was a team that went to the Finals, but he was a 5-6 minute a game back-up to Iverson.
By the numbers Korver has been fine on defense this season in Utah, 1 on 1 and team-wise. Though it was coming off the bench and it is about his best season defending.
Kapono defense was generally been lesser, especially team-wise.
If you use a guy like this, you need a good system and help around them. The Thunder could probably fit one in for part-time minutes, if the put the right mix around them.
The burst of offense lately has raised questions about how much they need this kind of guy. Maybe they only need him to help in the 4th quarter. If so, you get a vet, if you can.
Go blazers!!
I got the feeling the the team would prefer to play the Lakers over the Nuggets.
justin :Kev, unsurprisingly, hits the nail on our head with respect to our defense. So often we get caught up collapsing on the ball with two or even three people that one pass to the perimeter kills us. Or it leaves a man open to rebound.
Our discipline defensively just isn’t there consistently enough to make this defensive style work. There has to be communication. It’s frustrating watching Andre Miller suck in four of our guys and have to recover 15 feet out to shooters; it’s not good defense.
I appreciate the kudos Justin . . .
I'm not too upset about this game. It turned out pretty much how I thought it would. As I go back and read through my pre-game comments before tip-off, it's pretty much what happened.
Portland is just ready for this time of the year, and we aren't.
Bring on the Lakers. Might as well embrace this, it's really here and it's really happening.
@The DON
I definitely agree with that, I can't stand one more full year of Thabo starting.
The only thing I can question is about Durant, I don't think he struggles that much on the 4th, for me, it's a matter of not being able to solve hard defenses against him when no one around him is able to shoot.
If Harden and Ibaka develop into what they have potential to be, the burden will be much easier on Durant and he won't be facing triple teams on every single play in the 4th.
one thing that's IMPERATIVE for KD though: start passing the ball better.
he's got potential, with his height and handle, to be a great passing forward, and he's mediocre at best, terrible when double / triple teamed.
@Sam
It is very interesting that shaq join thunder.Jermaine and Camby are the best C what we can get I think.If Presti choose Orton,they can be good teachers
I am getting a little tired of the KD standing at the top of the key, tightly guarded, with a hand out, asking for the ball. The offense sets plenty of on-ball screens but zero off-ball screens. What happened to KD coming off a screen, getting the ball in rhythm at the elbow and knocking it down. We saw that alot early in the season and now it is completely gone.
Yeah, the way we're positioned now, we cannot afford to put the fate of our starting center spot in the hands of some youngster that we need to develop and wait on for 3 years. We can definitely get a young guy to develop for the future, but we need a veteran, a proven commodity, that we can put on the court and depend on immediately
what about draft prospects? Bundle to move up,take best available, or trade for a legit veteran player? What veteran bigs can we get not named Marcus Camby?
@justin
I really like that PF rotation. With a solid veteran center to switch out with Nads, that would be a fun and athletic group. Serge has good touch around the rim, do you think he can hit anything deeper? Jeff's 3 pointers come at good times. I don't know if the lion killer has that in his repetoir.
@The DON
Yeah .. but what about everyone wearing the headbands and full-body armor? Would you support that? If only we can get them to all wear goggles or face masks too ..... hmmm ..... wouldn't that be sweet!
I'd add that if we add a center and go with Ibaka / Green at PF instead of chasing a high priced commodity, it should be a veteran.
@justin
Why Than-Q kind sir
@MastrMatt
You're absolutely right. I completely left out Brooks. In conjunction with our players getting better, Brooks has some blind spots he needs to improve on also
Ibaka is far more effective when he's at PF next to either Collison or Krstic. He's not nearly as productive when he's at C.
why can't Ibaka play the five? Few bigs give him real problems from a pure mismatch level. People like Camby abuse him primarily because they have the veteran wiles to force him into foul trouble. Experience can and will help.
@The DON
The only thing I would add is that Scott start leaning a little more on Mo Cheeks for some help in late game situations. I always thought Mo got a raw deal and is a really, really good coach. Scott has got to improve his rotations and game plans for tight 4th quarters. Handing off to KD, ala Lebron just isn't getting it done.
Also ... we need to get everyone wearing the headband and full body suits like James and Kev ... we would look like a bunch of tall, futuristic type robots and that would be awesome.
@The DON
Agree with everything here...
These are the keys to us truly becoming a championship contender:
-Harden gets the starting shooting guard spot from day 1 next year and is allowed to go through growing pains and develop into that role. We CANNOT keep getting zero offensive production from the shooting guard position, when we have a desperate need for scoring/shooting and when we already have a guy on our roster who without a doubt has the ability/potential to fill these needs. We cannot afford to not accelerate Harden's development by giving him that starting spot.
-Ibaka must keep developing and become a starting caliber power forward, moving Green to the bench. This way, we get the traditional PF that we need, and the best bench player in the league in green, who will be our lamar odom/toni kukoc.
-We must get an adequate center
-KD must keep developing and get more comfortable in pressure situations, because even if everything I have listed goes right, none of it matters if your go-to guy can't deliver in 4th quarters
-Westbrook, as far as he has already come, has got to get MUCH, MUCH better. He has to keep developing a jumper, and he has got to shed whatever mental issues he has that makes him panic and get completely out of control in pressure situations. That is not a skill issue, that is a mental issue and he needs to work on his basketball IQ
@MastrMatt
It's gone on for longer than last night. It's our whole defensive philosphy. We need to get better at man to man defensive and quit with the switching and gimmicks because nobody wins titles that way.
@Royce Young
I agree with you Royce. Collison could have really hurt him if he wanted too. He hugged him. It was definitely flagrant, but without the intent to injure. Nick still might get a call from the league office and be required to make a nice tax-deductible donation, but it wasn't dirty. He isn't that type of player.
@justin
Yeah .. I was curious about that last night. I didn't see the point in collapsing on a guy when all he had to do was pass it right back out to an open guy for either a jumper or that guy could swing it back down quickly to yet another open guy for a layup. It seemed like we would send 3 people to collapse on one guy and then take forever to get back to whomever they were supposed to be guarding. By the time they found them again, the biscuit was in the basket (ha!) and we were going to inbound the ball again.
Dave :Royce, you write in the DDL chats as though they’re are only read by Thunder fans. They’re not.
I was a little upset with your characterization of Collison’s foul on Aldridge as just a hard foul. Really hard to take the rest of the commentary seriously. You know that intent has almost nothing to do with whether a foul is flagrant or not – any NBA fan does. It has to do with whether the action is dangerous or not
Well, I take offense to that. How does an opinion on something like a hard foul make it hard to take me seriously? We're there LIVE chatting about the game giving immediate reaction. I've always said it - I know I'm biased. I know I'm a homer. I'm not hiding anything. What I say in there is what I really think. I'm not trying to shade it either way to please the masses.
On Collison's foul, I thought it was a horrible play on first look. Then on replay, it was clear to me that Nick was trying to "wrap up Aldridge" and just prevent the layup. He grabbed the arm and then they started to fall. So Nick tried to grab Aldridge and hold up him, but they went spilling down.
I didn't say it wasn't a flagrant. I said it wasn't dirty. Nick didn't mean anything by that. He wasn't taking a cheap shot at Aldridge. It was just a hard foul gone wrong.
Kev, unsurprisingly, hits the nail on our head with respect to our defense. So often we get caught up collapsing on the ball with two or even three people that one pass to the perimeter kills us. Or it leaves a man open to rebound.
Our discipline defensively just isn't there consistently enough to make this defensive style work. There has to be communication. It's frustrating watching Andre Miller suck in four of our guys and have to recover 15 feet out to shooters; it's not good defense.
@holdmymartian
Yeah .. Brendan Heywood is just a little bit better than Gortat. I'm not sold on Gortat at ALL. Especially after this year. Maybe if we got him on the cheap, he would be re-energized by a new scene and our young guns. I definitey wouldn't want to use up too many of our assets to get him. But I'm also not Sam Presti and I don't have the info he does and I am definitely a football guy pretendig to be a basketball guy during the NBA season. So there are others way smarter about that stuff than me. Now if you want to discuss the OU defensive backfield .......
Rest the starters for sure if fatigue is the reason we been losing all these leads. Start Mullens and see if he can even function out there. I say start Harden, Maynor, Mullens, Ibaka and Thabo and see what happens. That could be the team anyway soon if Durant,Green,and Westbrook don't resign. haha Lakers in six.@f5alcon
Hey, most Portland fans are pretty good, but we've got our trolls. Now if you play the Lakers, you may find their trolls worse (just because of the volume) but Portland fans have a bit of resentment because of Oden's knee and the chants of "BUST!" even though his injuries haven't been chronic like Walton or Bowie. So have patience with Portland's trolls, they are just cranky right now.
@MastrMatt
Gortat also wanted to go to the Mavs and start.
@Elegy444
Isn't that what we've been doing the last few games? Hasn't turned out so well.
@justin
Agree. Gortat hasn't earned his extension at all. I've watched a handful of his games and he hasn't done anything. Except foul.
@P
Calipari and Kentucky has a lot of recruiting help and gets a pick from the litter. I can't remember if Orton commited before Calipari but I remember Orton being hyped even though he missed most of his senior year to a torn ACL.
I've read where Krstic has actually talked to Gortat about coming to OKC. I'm sure it would be a smooth transition. We will at least sign an older player so we might at least get a decent one.
@j-mo
Houston lost Yao and has been playing with D-Leaguers and New Orleans lost CP3. We all know about Portland's bad luck and our good luck of catching a broke Utah team. It is highly unlikely we will have only one starter missing just 7 games next year.
@f5alcon
50 wins matter, and the home game matters. If I was coaching I'd tell the starters to step on them quickly, get up by 20, and take a break with about 20-25 minutes.
well now that memphis doesnt matter, do we rest the starters
@Justin
that's what I'm saying.
I'm not in to giving up a spot to a guy who's supposed to be good but playing bad. Especially not for a guy who's supposed to be mediocre but has played well.
Gortat's been awful this year, why does anyone want that guy?
@j-mo
definitely!... & that includes a bad stretch, where we lost 2 games with ridiculous leads (3 if you count up 12 at Portland), lost 1 game due to a no-call.... & yet still showed our capabilities by holding a Phoenix team that's running thru everyone to like 90 points or something.
Last week we were staring at home court advantage in the west.
I think the Thunder is in a GREAT position.
Hardens dunk was #1 on Top Ten plays. And the SportsCenter crew laughed at the "tisket a tasket" line.
Let me rephrase that -- I don't mind getting orton. Because it's not mortgaging the future. Whatever he provides would be icing.
I'm not so hype about acquiring mich more than a solid veteran with a winning pedigree.
I think the current thunder lineup has proven it can compete with anyone in this league. & sometimes that grass on the other side isn't so green. I don't wanna mesh new players. We have the youngest team in the league & made the most noteworthy improvement. Without adding anyone to the rotation aside from 2 rookie bench players. Mull on that for a second.
You have to be very careful managing teams in today's NBA. 1 wrong move can set you back 10 years. I live in Philly, I've seen it 1st hand. Numerous times.
:(
@holdmymartian
Of course an injury is going to hurt a team, but how in the world would it make a "big difference in our standings"? We're in 8th and 8th is 7 full games ahead of #9 (and 1st out of the playoffs) Houston. Even if had an injury and we won 5 less games, we're still in 8th spot, so that would not affect our standings at all.
I hate it when B. Davis says, "The Thunder is up by a stickman." I hate it when B. Davis says, "Thunder wins!" or "The Thunder plays hard." Drives me crazy. Say, "The Thunder win."
I'm confident ibaka is our big man of the future.
I'm confident harden is our shooter.
We have been extra fortunate considering injuries.
But I also believe that we may be the best at player development. The strides durant, westbrook, & ibaka have made (even thabo) - are significant. & rarely seen in the league. If we can duplicate that, & harden can do the same, well be fine.
I like krstic. I agree an upgrade is in order. But like I said, I don't like tinkering with a good thing.
I'm not a fan of calipari, so I'm giving DO the benefit of the doubt. But cousins didn't play a great deal of minutes. So if orton was his backup, why didn't he play/produce more? Like I said, you guys are in okc & are surely more familiar with him. I'm not sure how fond I am of another long-term project at this time.