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SCOTT BROOKS
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Brooks on Westbrook: “First, he’s just playing hard. He’s playing with a lot of effort. His focus is there every quarter. His shot is falling. His mid-range game is good and he’s making that shot consistently … Defensively, he’s doing his job and he’s doing it consistently every time down the court. It’s not a position that’s easy because you either have the ball in your hands or you’re guarding the ball. And you can’t relax. You can’t take a play off because the point guard usually has the ball. He’s done a good job.”
Brooks on the escalating physicality: “When you play against a team in a series, it’s going to be a physical series. That’s how playoff teams are. That’s how they react to one another. We’re just focused on how we play and we just have to control our emotions because you play your best when you’re composed and you’re focused on what’s at hand and what’s at stake. I think our guys have done a good job. Last night there was a stretch where it kind of got away from both teams but those things happen.”
Brooks on if the team used to be soft and is tough now: “It’s nice having Perk around. I can act much tougher now. I wouldn’t say we were soft. We were young. When you’re young you’re still trying to learn about yourself. You’re trying to learn about the league. You don’t have time to focus on the little things because you’re just trying to survive. You’re in survive mode. I don’t think we were ever soft. I don’t look at Kevin [Durant] as soft, I look back then as Kevin was a young 19-year-old … With maturity you get stronger and you get tougher.”
RUSSELL WESTBROOK
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Westbrook on if he’s learned anything going against Jason Kidd or the Mavs: “Not really.”
Westbrook on if winning ugly matters: “I don’t really care what it looks like. In the playoffs it really doesn’t matter. We up 2-0, that’s all that really matters. It’s 0-0 now, so we got to try and go over there and get a win.”
Westbrook on if the team was soft and now is not: “I never thought we were soft. I don’t know where that came from. I never heard that, honestly. This is my first time hearing it so I don’t have an answer for you, to tell you the truth.”
NICK COLLISON
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Collison on if the team has played well: “We want to play better for sure. We don’t feel like we’ve played great basketball. But Dallas has a lot to do with that. They’re a really good team. A smart team. A lot of the adjustments we have to make are watching film and just trying to change how we play … We’d love to be able to figure out how to play better and execute better.”
Collison on the chippyness: “It’s stuff that happens, but I don’t think anybody really takes it too seriously. It’s just kind of on the outside in. We’ve all seen NBA games. It seems like it happens once a game, even in the regular season. So it’s not really a big deal. So we don’t give it much thought. I think it is important that you try to control emotions so something doesn’t happen like what happened with Rondo where you miss a game. Those things happen, guys are emotional, so it is important to try and avoid something like that that’s really going to affect a series. But overall I think most of that stuff is under control and isn’t too much of an issue.”
Collison on the team maturing: “The encouraging thing about Games 1 and 2 is that we’ve avoided a meltdown, or breaking down. Things haven’t really gone well for us either, but we’ve continued to play and made enough plays down the stretch. Last year we had stretches where we’d get in situations like that and we’d lose it for three or four minutes and lose the game because of it. We’ve been better with that this year … I think it’s just experience. You realize that what happened in the past doesn’t affect the next play. But you have to go through that to fully realize that.”
Audio via Randy Renner
On my morning commute, there's a place where the right-hand lane runs out just on the other side of an intersection. You can always tell the folks who are unfamiliar with the drive because they cross the intersection and pull over into the other lane of traffic without looking. Monday, I had a guy in a red car do this to me. Luckily, I could tell that he hadn't seen the signs showing his lane running out, so I let him merge in ahead of me. That's when I saw his Dallas Mavericks license plate holder and Mavs championship bumper stickers. It made me wish I was driving a a big old gas-hog of a car. I would have refused to let him merge, bashed him into the curb, and shown him my "Perk" bumper sticker. LOL
@TaoMaas TaoMaas getting chippy too!
well the two days of rest should help durants shot. For the season he is shooting 57.4% after 2 days rest and 45.7% from 3
@f5alcon
I think we should probably get comfortable with the fact that Marion is defending Durant well and that his poor shooting in the first 2 games weren't flukes. Durant to his credit is still getting to the line and affecting the game.
@anonymous12345 he has missed a lot of open shots though
@f5alcon Nice stat. But he had two days off before game 1
Where are the Kate Upton photos on this story?
@El Prez http://bit.ly/Iha0xF
@El Prez Royce probably doesn't have time to babysit us today. :)
He spoiled me. I thought since it wasn't a game day we might get some Victoria Secret's runway shots or something. Back to the Mavericks, eh? Some guys need more than just the x's and o's.
@f5alcon I know what you mean. I'm going to go park at a Carl's Jr. and hope Kate hops my car after I order that burger she promoted in the commerical. Let me know how the KD headphones work. I get Kate of my mind. When I was i younger--I looked like Mark Sanchez.
@El Prez the skullcandy commercial worked, i am going to buy KD headphones
Just think of the outrage from everyone if Westbrook got T'd up and tossed late in a game like Rondo did
@blueRAP
Thats easy..Royce would ask him about it and Russ would stand there and pretend he didn't hear the question
Also be glad KD is KD. His struggles aren't awesome by any means, but he manages to affect the game positively in both games (game 1 by getting other people involved, help defense, game 2 with getting to the line, both with rebounding). He's not a complete no-show like Boozer, who has scored 9 in both games.
We've some pretty terrible quarter performances from teams this playoffs. Clips in first quarter against Griz, Griz in the fourth quarter, but Bulls last night in the third was just as terrible. 36-14. Sheesh.
I really hope Josh Smith is OK. I also hope the postseason gods stop taking players as tribute.
@Jooseppi It seems like the gods out East are the angriest.
Dont mean to be a debbie downer, but a part of me feels we are just not smart enough to win it all this year. i would love to be wrong though and im still rooting like mad for it to happen.
@Thunder S I think this is much of the reason no one really picked us to win it all, if they even picked us to make the finals. Young teams, traditionally, just don't have the experience and acumen required to pull out all the tight games they will need to win it all. It took MJ, Pippen and co. 7 years to win their first title.
Our crew is talented enough, but as you are alluding to, that is not enough in itself. I think the matchups are in our favor, but I also said I didn't think we could beat the Spurs even if we had home court. Our guys aren't dumb, but they still have a lot to learn.
@Thunder S
Thunder S . . . Here's your Daily Affirmation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIETlxquzY
@Thunder S .KD didn't play well in most of these games against Mavs(of course he has made 2 buzzer beats which gave us 2 wins) but We are 5-1 now.I think it is a good signal which shows we are playing better team basketball now.
@Thunder S *dislike* we are playing extremely better than last year. Last year dallas would of steam rolled us, our guys would of caved in ect.. We are playing an extremely confident mavs team that things were just a first round bounce, cept...were 2-0 now.
I actually dont think we're playing poorly, contrary to what the national media says. its just that dallas is underrated. any team would be having trouble with them.
@Thunder S we played some close games against denver last playoff but people only remember we were 4-1 against them now.
@shiki @Thunder S The first game and closing game were nail biters
@Thunder S we're in position to close the series in 5 which is what everyone predicted...look at the WCF last year, that was a super close 5 game series
Lakers still lame....
Philly fans saying stupid crap like "we're ganna win the championship" and "no one can beat us, not the Heat, OKLAHOMA Thunder, not the Lakers Next time someone say OKLAHOMA Thunder im ganna back hand smack you. F.y.i Sixers fans you beat a rose-less bulls.
@ElMexiThunder Don,t know why the Oklahoma Thunder thing bothers you. Everyone knows Oklahoma City is the only big city in Oklahoma. The rest of the state is basically suburb of Oklahoma City. It will be really cool when all they have to say is Thunder and everyone knows it's Oklahoma City. Like the Lakers or Celtics. No need to say Los Angeles or Boston.
@garyadamsatrix @ElMexiThunder No, it really isn't. That's like saying that Cleveland is the only big city in Ohio. You're really not familiar with geography if you're gonna argue that. You can't say suburb when Tulsa is 110 miles away and has a population of almost a million people by itself. There is a difference. OKC is not the entirety of Oklahoma, in the same way that Atlanta is not the same as Georgia, or New York City is the same as New York.
@ElMexiThunder And I was rooting for them because of the annoying bulls fans. Is there any way they both lose this series. Lol
@Thunderman @ElMexiThunder same thing grizz clippers
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/25582/harden-or-durant-who-would-win-a-kate-upton-flirt-off EPIC
@OBoymuzik Lol at one of the comments
"Cole Aldrich would've closed the deal."
@dancassidy35 This made me appreciate the commercial so much more...JIM BEEZY
I hope the Thunder don't get rattled and get embarrassed Thursday night. You think Terry is annoying now, imagine a Dallas victory like the one in January 100 - 87. Game 3 really worries me. I want us to be totally in drivers seat when Saturday comes because it would truly be "win or go home" for Dallas. Talk about pressure.
I really love the results of tonight's games so far.
Ty Lawsons shoes are silver and orange
How are the nuggets this bad????
@OBoymuzik They can't pound inside against the big lakers as they can against other teams.
They can run the lakers out of the building if they keep pushing the pace.
Several people had asked about the If You Live in Oklahoma . . . pregame video. I just found this on youtube. It's not the best quality, but you'll get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YG-r8F2ElYI
@ThunderChick2010 I uploaded that. hooray me!
@ThunderChick2010 Nice video, but I mostly wanted to watch it just so I could hear the bullhorn effect right before the player introductions. I absolutely love that sound!
Bulls are bad and their fans should feel bad
Lol finally all these annoying Bulls fans will shut the hell up
I need another drink
What
@ILikePancakes
Sorry about your Flyers. . . . :)
@ThunderChick2010 God dommot
@ILikePancakes I'm hoping that was a Futurama reference, because that's why I 'like'-ed it....well, that and the drinking.
ive said it once and ill say it again, after listening to OTHER announcers i miss our guys :( . i can only imagine how ape shit they went when KD hit that last min shot.
@Legendary_dork they're still playing the games on fox sports im pretty sure...
@booles i didnt think they were.....or could for that matter. sorta like how TNT and ESPN cant show the same game...ratings and what not..idk maybe im a total maroon lol
@Legendary_dork @anonymous12345 @booles no bro, the show the games on fsok but only first round.
@Legendary_dork @booles Yeah, I watched both games on FSN because, well, dammit I love Brian Davis.
@Legendary_dork @anonymous12345 @booles No I'm 100% certain this round is on the local channel.
@Legendary_dork @anonymous12345 yeah they for sure are... because last night i watched on TNT then switched to fox sports for the postgame... then after thunder live they started the replay immediately
@anonymous12345 @booles i havent seen it pop up on tv though . every time i would look at Fox sports it would be like MLB or something.
@Legendary_dork @booles Yeah, first round they still have local broadcasts.