Thunder fades down the stretch, falls to the Nuggets 98-94

@Tim

Im not sure your point there Tim. Isnt 3-1 pretty dominant over the Jazz considering also that they're a terrible road team? All Im sayin is Im not impressed with them and how they match up w OKC. Lakers are beatable with the injuries they have. Lakers will wake up and Im not sayin it would be easy but the facts are there. Worst loss of the year for Lakers last game against OKC.

Just look at the thing objectively and not through the history of those teams. If you wanna talk history, the Jazz never have done well in the playoffs, even when they had their super team at the end of the Karl Malone years. Jerry Sloan is STILL there. Tell me how they are any different.

@Dylan

LOL!

The DON :I really have to get this off my chest….
I know we all love russ and how much he has improved. We love his overall production in games (statistically), but I cannot in good conscience say that I feel anything short of uncomfortable and insecure whenever he has the ball in late game situations and we’re in desperate need of a big play.
Does anyone here honestly feel comfortable with the ball in Westbrook’s hands in the last few minutes of a tight game? I do not at this point in his career. And the fact that his defense has completely deteriorated to the point where he is one of the worst defenders at his position in the league is troubling. As far as he has come and as much as we have other needs like 3-point shooting, we cannot overlook this deficiency of the Thunder. This may not be front and center of our conscience right now, but I have a terrible feeling that when we get to the playoffs and are playing in hotly contested battles where one or two possessions can swing the game in one team’s favor, that Russ will come up with one of his signature bone-headed plays and cost us a game or two and thus a series.
Just had to vent, because I can’t shake these feelings. Russ is making me very uncomfortable.

I concur
obviously he's a much better assist man - but his BBALL IQ leaves alot to be desired - he's also a little too emotional as well - you want your floor leader (PG) to be more steady, and have a short memory . . . he's not there yet . . .

@Steve
Agree. The Thunder are YOUNG and have made the playoffs in their SECOND year in a NEW market. THAT IS ONE HELL OF AN ACCOMPLISHMENT EXPECIALLY IN THE WEST. The Bobcats just make the PO this year after SIX years in Charlotte. Go Thunder!!!!

@C Dawg
Funny stuff there C Dawg, can't wait to see your post after they play the Lakers/Jazz in the first round.

@JFalc
while watching the game, i laughed at two things: 1) Russ turned the ball over and 2) JR just kept playing his game, ie one man tunnel vision ball. So it almost seemed natural he didnt see Melo on the floor. To give him the benefit of the doubt, it did look like Melo was just taking a siesta

Westbrook has improved his mid-range game a bit over last season but it is still below league average, even more so for perimeter players and the mid-range shot is still the worst shot out there on average.

Russ has been really weak in the clutch as well this season. Only 25 eFG% on his jumpers then and only finishes at 44% FG when he gets inside late in close games. his clutch stats are way down from last season. He is taking clutch shots 1/3rd less often now though, perhaps in response.

OKAY- What is it with the fear of the freakin Utah Jazz? We were 3-0 before the home cooked wonder in Salt Lake two nights ago. Think of this, the Jazz had a big lead ON THEIR HOME FLOOR, we STILL came back to tie for OT, take it to the wire, and would have been 4-0 if the ref had some guts to make a call.

Last I checked 4-0 is a series sweep. I would LOVE to face Utah in the 1st round. We have the best record against them of any of the other teams. We obviously match up well, and with the last OT game, we have a revenge factor on top of that. We would beat the Jazz handily if we were able to draw them. Go Jazz- I want you for the 2 vs 7.

The Lakers we could beat, but they do have championship experience.
The Mavs, although we have competed with them, match up well against us.
The Suns are beatable but are on a hot streak right now and I wouldnt want them in 1st round.
We arent going to play SA (though we could win that series) or Portland because the seeds are too low. Portland I dont want to play either because they have been so hot.

The JAZZ are the weakest possible opponent for OKC, anyone else notice this? The Rockets dismantled them last night while OKC should have won against the 2 seed and division leaders Denver. Bring on Boozer and Williams.

Mental and physical fatigue.

Russell's poor decision making is mental fatigue. Guys can't hit shots, physical fatigue. Thabo is a step slower than the beginning of the season, physical fatigue. Everyone and their mother jacking up a 3 pointer in the 4th quarter, mental fatigue. Our recent lack of defense, both.

The guys need some rest. You can't be at your best when you play 40 minutes a night 4 nights out of 5.

That Melo injury was ridiculous. At one point he was laying there w/his hands behind his head like he was tanning at the beach!

I don't know if I believe he blacked out for a bit. It seemed like one of the "all-star didn't get my call" tantrums.

Chill out people, the thunder were supposed to be positioning themselves for a lottery pick right now not the playoffs. They might win 50 which nobody would have gave them at the beginning of the year, this is the time of year when veteran teams pull out all the tricks and get the calls and push the young teams around. It's a fricken miracle if the thunder make it to the second round.

I found this game loss more painful than Utah, cause you know in Utah we played our heart out till the last shot (which would have gone in if it weren't for that block). I think it is wrong for the NBA to come out and publicly say they made a mistake on a call. (even if they were wrong) I think it undermines the referee's. This probably should have been handled privately. The only good thing about all that is maybe the team won't get any fine.
I agree that thing with Melo was really weird. I still think he got a stinger, cause if you watch the reply he did turn his head into KD and if you have ever had a bad stinger in the neck it can put you down. Melo just didn't look like he felt good last night either so the combination of it probably made him black out for a few minutes. Can't the referees call an injury time out?
And - I think we need to get Etan Thomas whipped into shape quick - we need more bigs to face any of the teams.

@Bob
Although I agree with you, you can't mess with whats working so far. Its been brought up on this site before, but experimenting that fails at this point could be so much worse for the team/coach than sticking with the status quo.

Off-season though, I'd be irritated if these options aren't explored. I did question Durant's PT last night though. He must really be internalizing the play as of late and Brooks must be letting him play as much as he wants to.

@MastrMatt
I see where you are coming from. As I sat there, I clapped because he got up, and after attending enough OU/OSU games I know that the crowds will always show support for a player who gets up after an injury.

Without the benefit of commentators, side-line reporters, etc. however the crowd has to go on what it sees. We saw a Denver team refuse to acknowledge their player was down until the refs did it for them. We saw a Denver staff reinsert him into the game too soon for the type of injury he 'may' have had. We saw said player assisting an opposing team in a comeback to beat us. I can't see facial expressions, I can see buckets. I think OKC crowd deserves some benefit of the doubt as well here. It was all just so strange.

*side note* I refuse to boo players unless they fight. I'll boo some refs though, that parts fun.

The DON :
I really have to get this off my chest….
I know we all love russ and how much he has improved. We love his overall production in games (statistically), but I cannot in good conscience say that I feel anything short of uncomfortable and insecure whenever he has the ball in late game situations and we’re in desperate need of a big play.
Does anyone here honestly feel comfortable with the ball in Westbrook’s hands in the last few minutes of a tight game? I do not at this point in his career. And the fact that his defense has completely deteriorated to the point where he is one of the worst defenders at his position in the league is troubling. As far as he has come and as much as we have other needs like 3-point shooting, we cannot overlook this deficiency of the Thunder. This may not be front and center of our conscience right now, but I have a terrible feeling that when we get to the playoffs and are playing in hotly contested battles where one or two possessions can swing the game in one team’s favor, that Russ will come up with one of his signature bone-headed plays and cost us a game or two and thus a series.
Just had to vent, because I can’t shake these feelings. Russ is making me very uncomfortable.

I just hate his freaking elbow jumper... he attempts it even in fast-breaks. Turnovers late in the game have caused us problems too. I think Thabo is burned out for this season. He is 6-7 long and guards PG's like Billups. I know Billups would have killed us with Russ on him but a fatigued thabo is not the answer to a dominant PG. I dont think Weaver is the answer for our problem. For this season russ has to defend the pg even if he gets burned everygame. Next season with a healthy and fresh thabo we might put him on pg's but not this season.

Brooks wants the Lakers... he's smart. I wish the Lakers sign Derek Fisher again so they wont be that dominant for some years.

I really have to get this off my chest....

I know we all love russ and how much he has improved. We love his overall production in games (statistically), but I cannot in good conscience say that I feel anything short of uncomfortable and insecure whenever he has the ball in late game situations and we're in desperate need of a big play.

Does anyone here honestly feel comfortable with the ball in Westbrook's hands in the last few minutes of a tight game? I do not at this point in his career. And the fact that his defense has completely deteriorated to the point where he is one of the worst defenders at his position in the league is troubling. As far as he has come and as much as we have other needs like 3-point shooting, we cannot overlook this deficiency of the Thunder. This may not be front and center of our conscience right now, but I have a terrible feeling that when we get to the playoffs and are playing in hotly contested battles where one or two possessions can swing the game in one team's favor, that Russ will come up with one of his signature bone-headed plays and cost us a game or two and thus a series.

Just had to vent, because I can't shake these feelings. Russ is making me very uncomfortable.

@Elegy444

It felt like the round of applause was more clapping because he was leaving. Maybe it was just my perception. He didn't really come back like nothing was wrong. He looked in pain the rest of the game. He didn't have the same speed or intensity. He was also grimacing for the rest of the night. I just figured our people and our crowd was better than that. I think they let him play because he wanted to play. He's one that has played through pain before and through his stellar play, has earned the right to make that call. Now, obviously, if a doctor had said NO, he shouldn't have been out there. If a superstar player says I want to play and the doctor says he can't do any more damage, I don't care who you are, that player is playing.

we can forget about home court now. best case we get the 6 seed. at worst, SA finishes 51-31. i could see Portland finishing 1-3, which means if we beat Portland, and we can feel good about the 7.

i'm totally OK with playing Dallas in the first round. i live in Dallas, so I could attend the games. plus, i would feel good about our chances taken Dallas in 6 or 7 games. so as much as it pains me, i'll be rooting for Dallas to finish in the 2 seed, since in all likelihood we'll be the 7 seed.

@MastrMatt

The booing was weird, the play was strange. The fans booed him though after a significant round of applause when he got up and went back to the locker room.
However, being back in the game 10 minutes later like nothing is wrong will get you booed. If something was wrong why put him back in? That was a suspect move by Denvers staff b/c they shouldn't be taking chances with their star players health. You can't blame the crowd when Denver's coaches and players thought he was faking too.

My last game of the season. I got stuck in a long training session out of state through the first round of the playoffs. Unless we advance to round two...

So it's either beat Portland and most of our other games or face the Lakers. Of course that wouldn't even be our worst matchup.

How many times have we played Denver on the second night of a back-to-back? Real unfortunate scheduling here at the end of the season.

Other than that, I bet they get up for Phoenix. I just don't see them not bringing everything they have to that game.

1st - I had a good look at the Melo injury. I don't think he was faking a la Paul Pierce. I thought it was fairly classless that our fans booed him for the rest of the game. He spent the rest of the evening with a painful grimace on his face, which was contrary to the smile he sported before the collision with KD's bony hip. I'm not a Denver fan and I don't really like Melo, but he is a competitor and there was a definite change in his game after the hit. He looked in pain the entire rest of the game. Again, I thought it our fans had more class than to boo a downed opponent. The class and genuine hospitatlity is something we have been known for, but we failed miserably last night. Even if he was faking, which I don't think he was, shouldn't an elite, superstar, ultra-competitive, professional at least get the benefit of the doubt?

As far as the rest of the game, I though there were some pretty suspect calls, specifically the 3 second calls. The one on Ibaka was ridiculous. He had a part of one of his feet in the lane. After that, I started counting when Nene was in the paint and 80% of the time, he camped out there for 5-8 seconds. No call. I don't, however, think this can be blamed on the refs. We really have no one to blame. It was a choke job plain and simple. Bad passes, bad shots, bad rotations all happened in the last half of the fourth and a double-digit lead vanished.

Normally, I don't agree with a lot of the negative stuff Justin has to say on here, but I do agree that Sef has got to stop guarding the PG. He just isn't quick enough. RW needs to be that guy. He's big, athletic, physical and fast. Surely he would have done at least as good on Chauncey as Sef did, which would have allowed Thabo to guard someone else, or allowed James to get some more minutes since we essentially play 4 on 5 on offense with Thabo in the game. Crap .. isn't Chauncey 35? If RW can't stay with him, that's not good.

There were some good things about the game too. Nick Collision continues to show how valuable he is. Nenad showed some personality and argued with an official. Kevin Durant dunked on someone and made their momma feel it. Westbrook had an awesome dunk and even though the guys had tired legs, they should have won the game. They played suprisingly well for having come off that epic game in Utah.

As an aside, I did notice that The Birdman was dressed out on the bench, but didn't play. I was 2 rows behind the Nuggets bench and the dude looked higher than a kite the entire game. Seriously. KMart was there and during a timeout, they did a story about a kid with cancer that is raising money to help other kids beat cancer. He watched the video intently and clapped loudly for the kid and enouraged the rest of the bench mob to really encourage the youngster. He also chatted with some of the kids around the bench and was a pretty decent guy to everyone there.

@hurricane_season
You're right. The fact that we can reliably expect to compete with the best teams in the league on a nightly basis is reason for celebration in and of itself.

Also, add me to the list of people who was baffled by the lack of Serge in the second half. I know Denver went small, but it's not like Serge is slow or plodding or anything. Putting him in alongside Collison really helps us protect the rim, and would make it easier for our perimeter guys to do their jobs. Did Brooks talk about this after the game?

@hurricane_season

I agree. I think it also comes down to how well you execute down the stretch against good teams, and even without a few key players Denver is a very good team, that was rested and motivated. Billups was playoff MVP not long ago, Carmelo was a co-captain of team USA... and they are used to executing in a half-court offense.

We don't play in a vacuum, the Nuggets had something to do with the comeback... they haven't won 50 games because they give up once they are down by a dozen points in the 4th. We were tired, made some poor decisions and they certainly knew coming into this game that we would probably be running on fumes at the end of the game.

Some disagree but I believe we did compete last night... I think we compete game in and game out as well as any team in the league!

And besides, its not like we're getting blown out. A couple of lucky bounces at the rim for the last two games may have made all the difference.

@DL

It does seem strange that he didn't give Durant more of a breather and that he didn't play Serge more, especially considering the 4 games in 5 nights and the incredibly long and intense game the night before in Utah.

At the same time Brooks is damned if you do and damned if you don't when he loses, and even when he wins. As fans we have the privilege of feeling like we would have done it differently... if things work out and the team wins we forget about what we would have done but if the team loses we feel that our strategies would have made the difference and of course we are always right even if there is no proof that things would have worked out for the better.

If Brooks had sat Durant, who again was the leader the floor last night and sometimes the only viable option, fans would have felt that had cost them the game.

As a last comment now I want to mention how impressed I am with KD's toughness and leadership after watching him these last few games. I remember earlier in the season people were saying he wouldn't take over late in the game... Wow look at him now! Someone called him a 'choke' here... impressive fan-man-ship I say. If KD is a choke than anyone who ever missed a single shot must be a choke.

@Sammy

I agree, regardless who we face in the first round, and any subsequent round, we are the underdog's and not supposed to advance. I will certainly root for us and we could pull off the upset but we aren't supposed to beat any of these teams (IMO).

How many teams with a second year point guard and rookie back-up have ever won a series?

What team that isn't an accomplished half-court team has success?

How many second year coaches have won playoff series? How many teams that won a total of 23 games the previous year even make the playoffs with essentially the same personnel, no offense to the 3 key rooks here... what we have 3 rooks in the 9 man rotation)?

All that being said I still have this incredible hope that this team can pull it off... partly inspired by how hard they compete and just how quickly they have grown but... it still will be a tall order to win a series!

This is a lot of fun... Go Thunder!

@hurricane_season

That's a very good point! Also with the Lakers Thabo might be more valuable because he would be used to guard Kobe... against some other teams it is less obvious how he can have as positive an impact. All players have some holes in their games and yet coaches have to figure out how best to use what players they have available and usually that is mostly restricted to players who are in their normal playing rotation. Like it or not we will mostly be going with the current 9.

@JFalc

Somehow don't see Brooks or any of the players not calling a timeout if Durant (or any other Thunder player) was on the floor like Carmelo was tonight. That's one of the reasons why I love this team. Very strange sequence.

Really nice to see a few positive comments here even after losses and not just constant hyper-critical comments. Or praise em to the hilt one minute and tear em apart the next minute comments.

@holdmymartian

It is extremely hard to find coaches that are great at building up and developing teams and ones who can take a team that's almost there and make them champions. I think we are very lucky that Brooks is very good at the first already so early into his coaching career.

This team's persona is phenomenal and part of that has to do with the people that management has provided him with but still a lot of credit also goes to the coaches.

I just checked on Bynum's status--he's not even cleared for running or jumping yet and the playoffs are a week away! With Bynum out and Odom in the starting lineup the Lakers have the worst bench in the league. Their starting point guard is one of the worst in the league. And Artest has been awfully inconsistent both on offense on defense recently. This team is very, very vulnerable.

Can't play Durant 45 minutes two nights in a row. The coaching staff is burning this guy out, they must preserve his legs. The offense didn't completely break down: Durant had some very easy jumpers at the end of the game that he would ordinary bury if he had his legs.

A day of rest and the Thunder are going to whip Phoenix. Thank goodness there won't be any back to backs in the playoffs. This end of season schedule is awful.

I'm really not scared of the Lakers right now--that team is injured, incohesive and not championship material this year. Utah and Phoenix are both much better teams right now. If we get the Lakers it'll be a very close 7 game series. We have as good a chance against them as anybody. Bring them on!

Defensive Breakdown

Well, you can’t really blame the loss on the defense. In the second half, the defense tightened up and gave the Thunder a chance to win. The team score was +28 (a little above average). Nick Collison and Kevin Durant were huge in that “defensive run”. Still, the problems defending the point persist. Billups was guarded by no less than four people. The usual three struggled (Thabo, Westbrook, and Maynor). Even Harden got a couple of cracks at Billups, and Chauncey made him look silly. I am calling for Scott to give Weaver a few cracks at defending the point since no one else on our team can get it done. Weaver is a little shorter than Thabo, but Kyle is still pretty long, and he can move his feet better. Kyle is also a very willing – so why not???

Nick Collison (+15)

• Drew charge on Joey Graham (11:50)
• Drew Charge on Joey Graham (11:30)
• Block Aaron Afflalo (10:20)
• Stop on J R Smith (9:20)
• Block (Carmelo Anthony) (8:10)

Nick did the above in a four minute stretch at the beginning of the fourth quarter. That’s excellent production. We should start calling him goalie.

Kevin Durant (+14)

His complete defensive body of work:

1st Quarter

• Contest Aaron Afflalo (11:50)

3rd Quarter

• Picked Carmelo Anthony clean (off man) (4:40)
• Block (Chauncey Billups) in transition (3:30)
• Gave up Penetration to Chauncey Billups (Nick Collison Foul) (2:40)
• Forced turnover (Anthony travelled) (;40)
• Deflection and Contest on J R Smith (EOQ)

4th Quarter

• Block (Aaron Afflalo) in transition (9:10)
• Block on Carmelo Anthony (off-man) (;17)

Looks like Kevin was energized off last night’s letdown. He hadn’t looked that great in transition in awhile. I hope this game wasn’t an aberration.

Nenad Krstic (+5)

Russell Westbrook (+4)

Serge Ibaka (zero)

Jeff Green (-1)

Thabo Sefolosha (-2)

Eric Maynor (-3)

James Harden (-4)

@jhoan

remember what the expectations for this team was at the start of the season? the boys have done well to blow those away and that is something we have to keep in mind. we're 18 games over .500 with a chance to finish at 20+ games and its what, our core's 2nd season together (KD, Green, WB)?

Facing off against the Lakers will probably be easier than going off against Steve Nash's Suns, Deron Williams's Jazz, Billups's Nuggets or even Kidd's Mavs and why is that? Because if there's anything the last two games have showed us, its that we get wasted by elite point guards and guess who's guarding Westbrook if we pull LA? Derek Fisher.

I'm not expecting a miracle upset by any stretch of the imagination if we pull the 8th seed, but with Bynum out and the Lakers in turmoil (even though they are sure to ramp it up in the post season), pulling Kobe is something I'd rather do than get any of the other top seeds who have point guards that can burn us.

@jhoan
i think we are losing faith in our coach. look how far we have gone. imo this is the best place we could be right now. we have a taste of bitterness in our mouth and could cause some damage in the playoffs.

I got three things for this game. a) maybe durant shouldt bulk up because he put carmelo on his and b) i'm guessin the thunder are about 3 yards(using football reference) away from being an elite team. thats extremely good compared to how they were supposed to end this year. c) if we win out we will get #7 seed and on the opposite side of the lakers. isnt that a good situation?

im losing hope. i think were going to be hosting the Los Angeles lakers... still a great season but having a young coach along with a young team will eventually bite you in the bottom and now its happening. with experience it wont be as bad..

melo should have been called for 3 seconds

Portland became a must win if we want to avoid the 8 seed because that game also decides the tiebreaker. Doubt we pull ahead of San Antonio. I guess I'll pull for Utah to win out. I don't know if that's the easiest road for the thunder, but that's the series I want to see.

As for this game? I thought we'd lose coming in, the end of the third/beginning of the fourth was brilliant, the best stretch of defense we've seen in a long time. Then we couldn't finish. I'm gonna chalk it up to fatigue because it's too frustrating otherwise. On the bright side, at least we have room to peak for the playoffs.

I don't think the thunder will win a series, but I'd be ecstatic to be proven wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09LzgzFeVng

Clip of Melo. I'll have it in the Bolts tomorrow too.

@Vince
Agreed, especially tonight when he didn't have any fouls.

I was working tonight, so didn't get a chance to watch, but in reference to JG's question about Ibaka...

Since March 1st, here are Ibaka's stats (a bit of rounding, since I'm not doing exact calculations for April games):

20.4 MPG, 7.5 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 1.6 BPG, 1 assist (total -- love you Serge, hee hee). And he's shooting ~58% from the floor and ~75% from the line. Translate that to 35 minutes a game (granted, he's not going as often against the starting 5 as Krstic) and that's something like 13/10/2. I was huge on the "let's take it slow" train with Ibaka but I'm off now. He needs more minutes. He's good enough and by all accounts he seems smart enough and mature enough to handle some growing pains and frustration. No reason left for him to be playing 11 minutes.

Anyone have a clip of the Melo sequence?

@JFalc
No, he does not. Easy question.

We're going to be tied with SAS and POR after tonight.

SAS has MEM, @DEN, MIN, @DAL so you figure they will go 2-2 at worst. They hold the tiebreaker on us.

POR has DAL, @LAL, OKC, GSW.

We have PHO, @GSW, @POR, MEM.

I'd say it's 50-50 whether or not we get the eighth seed. We can't afford to lose either GSW or MEM games. And we have to beat one of Portland or Phoenix.

It's going to be tough.

How crazy was it that JR Smith crosses the half court line and doesnt call a timeout but instead goes to the hoop with Denver's star player still lying there right in front of him.

Does JR Smith have anything resembling a brain in his head?

I don't agree because in the AP article, it stated that before they allowed the ball to be inbounded, one of the refs asked Denver if Denver wanted to call a timeout and Denver declined.

To allow such a thing to happen WITHOUT DENVER calling a time out would lead to players just faking injuries to get 'extra' time outs, that arent charged as time outs.

I want to read the DENVER papers tomorrow to say what they think about that sequence and the coaching/decision making during that sequence.

In addition to everything else, this game also featured a halftime performance worse than Jazzercise.

@JFalc
Well the real issue is that they allowed OKC to inbound the basketball after a stoppage of play with Melo sprawled out on the floor. Melo went down, got called for travelling, there was a stoppage...and right about there is where they check on a fallen player before continuing the game.

The refs should not have given the Thunder the ball and started counting on the inbound unless they were sure Carmelo was going to get up and was 100%.

But yeah, one of the weirdest things I've seen in a long time.

The Carmelo "injury" sequence was one of the weirdest things I have ever witnessed.

It was like his own team didn't believe him or didn't care.

I was real close to the play and didn't see the potential for an injury, as it happened in real time. Crazy thing is no intentional foul by Denver and, then no T.O. by Denver...then J.R. Smith drives to the hoop with his guy laying there. It was surreal!!! What is going on? Aren't these guys teammates? Don't these guys live together? Why no time out by Denver in that spot.

Then the refs bailed Denver out by changing the 'traveling' call to a jump ball. The refs didnt have the guts to let the ball be inbounded yet again with Melo lying there and Denver refusing to call a timeout.

Unreal sequence.

P.S. Refs shouldnt be calling timeouts for Denver. Refs arent there to advocate for one team or the other. Denver are big boys...if Denver wanted a time out, they should have called one. Refs stopped play (unnecessarily) to 'make' Denver call a 20 second time out.