Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
(Editor’s note: Royce is away this weekend, and I was otherwise disposed for much of Friday evening myself. So you’ll have to bear with us with only a short and late recap for this game. Back to business as usual for Sunday’s game. Thanks for reading.)
Well, that certainly feels better.
For the first time this season, the Thunder looked like one of the best teams in the NBA in burying an inferior opponent. And even though it sounds silly to label a 7-3 start to a season as rocky, that’s what Oklahoma City would have been staring at with anything less than a dominating victory. Thankfully for Thunder fans, that’s what was in store for New Orleans on Friday night.
The Thunder sprinted out to a 30-point lead in the first half and led by as many as 34 points in the second half, and the Hornets were only able to get the score to something approaching respectability because the Thunder starters sat out for the entire fourth quarter. OKC’s reserves didn’t acquit themselves well in getting outscored 28-16 in the final frame, but hey. If that’s the biggest complaint of the night, then nothing bad really happened.
For the Thunder, it was all about efficiency from the floor. OKC shot 54 percent from the field and made 14 of 29 3-point shots, terrorizing New Orleans from the opening tip. The Thunder actually compiled 31 dimes in this one, which is an amazing number for this team. The Hornets shot a sizzling 58 percent from downtown, but on only 12 attempts.
It’s tough to get excited about a blowout win that was supposed to happen, but still, this is the first time OKC has resembled anything dominant so far this season. These are the kinds of wins that contenders are supposed to pile up. So it’s a good sign if you’re an Oklahoma City fan.
NOTES
- Kevin Martin and Kevin Durant each scored a game-high 27 points, but Martin had 22 of those in the first half. His offensive explosion is as big a reason as any that the Thunder were able to jump out to the huge first-half lead.
- Kendrick Perkins was among players involved in a near-scuffle at halftime. Perk: Chill, man. We love it. But it’s only November.
- Russell Westbrook continues to struggle for the field, hitting only three of 11 shots and missing all four of his 3-pointers. Westbrook is now shooting below 40 percent on the season. Surely this slump will turn around any day now, right? Perhaps a good way to start is to not shoot nearly half of your shots from behind the arc when you are having an off night to begin with. But for a second straight game, he did a good job distributing when his shot wouldn’t fall, with 12 assists against only two turnovers.
- Spare me the lecture on plus-minus. But PJIII and Reggie Jackson were -12 and -9 tonight, respectively, in only 12 and seven minutes. Not exactly what you want to see from the two guys competing for that 10th rotation slot.
Next up: Sunday vs. Golden State.
Is there like a real "competition" for the tenth rotation slot?
Thunder looked damn good. Of course, everything looks better when shots are falling. Love the ball movement and altered sub patterns. Brooks might be onto something..
One of the things I liked during last night's game was that the Thunder didn't give up on Thabo when his shooting went cold for a bit. I think Thabo missed 2 or 3 in a row at one point. I'll admit that I was telling my wife, "Okay...I think that well ran dry for the night." But they kept getting Thabo the ball when he was open, he started hitting again, and they kept on rollin'. I think that sort of stuff is going to pay dividends later in the season because it reinforced the concept of moving the ball and trusting everyone...not just KD and Russ.
http://www.dailythunder.com/2012/11/saturday-morning-cartoons-k-mart-can-fill-it-up/
LFC v. Wigan in an hour. Come on, you Reds!
@ou_sas arsenal are smacking the spurs right now
@kennygee90 Yeah, but still plenty of time so we'll see if Spurs can come back from 2 down.
@kennygee90 Er, 3 down. Dangit Spurs!
So, the Lakers want Josh Smith but the Hawks want nothing of Pau Gasol. What if Presti sneaks in there with some picks and suddenly Gasol wears a blue jersey. The huuuuge payroll aside, what do you think?
@diddoff who said the lakers are interested in josh smith? i just heard rumors but no one's reported that
@kennygee90 It's undeniably true that the Lakers, if they're missing anything to make Mike D'Antoni's offense flow, could use an extra shooter or two to float to the corners. It's likewise true, sources said, that the Lakers have had internal discussions for months about pursuing Smith, not only for his athletic gifts but also knowing that J-Smoove is one of free agent-to-be Dwight Howard's closest friends in the game. But if that's really who L.A. wants, there will have to be another team or two recruited into the deal to satisfy Atlanta's demands.
http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page/dime-121116-18/weekend-dime-steve-nash-mike-dantoni-get-second-chance
@diddoff I just seen the report on real gm ...seems your right
@diddoff Even if we could make the money work, I don't think the Lakers are too interested in making our team better :P.
@ERROR72 @diddoff I'd rather get Josh, or Horford, than Pau
@diddoff 2 expensive
brace yourself
http://cdn.bleacherreport.net/images_root/article/media_slots/photos/000/613/984/Andrew-Bynum-Hair-5_original.jpg?1352999442
@OkcBaby Andrew Bieber?
Great ball movement this game. Sometimes passing 4-5 times a possessions. Great sign
lmao a quote i found in a hornets newspaper
"Brooks on what Hornets coach Williams said to him at the end of the game — “He says he's going to meet me out in the locker room. He's going to kick my butt."
@Legendary_Dork rofl
some more stuff from the game. darnell stuff
http://blog.newsok.com/thunderrumblings/2012/11/17/thunder-110-hornets-95/#more-11815
http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1412236-royce-white-rockets-rookie-willing-to-walk-away-from-nba should we trade for him?
@No beard no fear stopped reading at bleacher report.
@No beard no fear No. He's very talented but he's not good enough for all these headaches. A real shame because he is a very unique talent with the combination of rebounding and passing.
Short Recap. Guess it was a lopsided game:) Like to see Lamb and PJIII worked in the rotation. If they are not going down to the D league. Could give us a little more flexibility even if they arent ready totally.
I'm predicting future! http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=bsvdeby mark my words
so we won?
@bmuelle21 kinda.
@supreme35 @bmuelle21 ehh . it was a close game the WHOOOOOOOOOLE way :P
Lineups:
17,8,+9,6.95,Westbrook,Sefolosha,Durant,Ibaka,Perkins
0, 2,-2,0.43,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Ibaka,Perkins
5, 0,+5,1.12,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Ibaka,Collison
4,2,+2,1.22,Westbrook,Martin,Sefolosha,Ibaka,Collison
10,6,+4,2.28,Maynor,Martin,Sefolosha,Collison,Thabeet
14,9,+5,5.67,Maynor,Martin,Durant,Collison,Thabeet
0, 0,+0,0.55,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Collison,Thabeet
9, 4,+5,2.80,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Ibaka,Perkins
7, 6,+1,2.98,Westbrook,Sefolosha,Durant,Ibaka,Perkins
17,21,-4,7.60,Westbrook,Sefolosha,Durant,Ibaka,Perkins
9, 9, +0,3.40,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Ibaka,Collison
2, 0, +2,1.00,Westbrook,Martin,Durant,Collison,Thabeet
7,10,-3,5.28,Maynor,Martin,Jones,Collison,Thabeet
0, 3,-3,0.92,Maynor,Jackson,Martin,Jones,Thabeet
2, 2,+0,1.87,Jackson,Lamb,Martin,Jones,Thabeet
7,13,-6,3.93,Jackson,Lamb,Liggins,Jones,Thabeet
I'm experimenting with a new format. Comments are welcome. Columns are Thunder points, opponent points, +/-, minutes, lineup.
@senseandsenescence Has our starting five been a + in any other games this year?
@Loud City Jimmy
Games 1, 3, 7 (or the first two loses and CLE) the starters were always negative when on the floor together.
Games 2, 5, 8 had a positive result from one of the times the starters were on the floor, but a net negative over the whole game.
Game 9 one of the times was positive and the other negative for a net positive.
Games 4 and 6 all times the starters were on the floor they outscored their opponents and obviously were a net positive on the game.
@senseandsenescence Horray for CSV!
Nice to see a game where the team didn't have to rely on small ball to get anything done, though this is probably one of the easiest teams to play small against.
@Jooseppi Yeah the format change is to make it easier for me. The commas are staying, but the arrangement can be changed if it is difficult to read.
@Jooseppi @senseandsenescence
Agree. Like the new format.
(Thanks!)
@senseandsenescence Easy to red for me. Intuitive way to share the extra information.
i was really impressed tonight with the win. Even though the hornets were 3-3 they still brought about threats. Davis for one, and outside shooting *our bane* . plus their point guard has been known to light it up, but we pretty much subdued him.
Kd was on fire, more of that please. Ibaka was a dominating presence in the paint and hit some nice shots. Thabeet was also a presence and he altered a lot of shots too. I was ecstatic to see another thabeet steal and near fast break lol
K mart...damn man..all i gotta say. He came out and just RAINED PAIN down on the hornets. That was making up for NOT playing yesterday :P . Perk was.........*moving on*
I love the sub system btw. Having durant get more rest and coming in later helps. Russ wasnt in shear attack mode tonight but he DID focus on D and he can be quite the terror. I cant believe he has so many assist. When we play that way its scary.
if we do end up playing the heat again, i want martin to do what he did tonight, the heat have sacrificed Defense from the arc and even in the lane *really bosh is your center lol* for pure offense and fast break. Heat says PIIF on traditional line ups. they want nothing but 3 point shooters and their bulldozer named lebron.
thabeet had 9 rebounds, 2 blocked shots, 1 steal and 3 points
perk: 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 blocked shot, 4 points
and hes our starter. meh.
@Legendary_Dork Can't measure it in just stats...
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@MisterJohnsonOKC what happened?
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@MisterJohnsonOKC @supreme35 Probably the conservatives.
#isindependent
One thing is Durant i dont think rested before we took everyone out, right? I dont think thats sustainable if thats the new substitution pattern..
@Thunder S I think this should be a staple on our team. No reason not to have at least 1 of Russ/KD on the floor at all times. With Martin on our team now we should always have at least 2 of our big 3 on the floor at the same time.
@dream catcher @Thunder S +1
@Thunder S He sat late in the 1st quarter.
Get the kids down to D-League, for their own sake.
They need confidence. D-League isn't exactly going to build that, but it will help, rather than going into the big leagues and not having a place.
I had high hopes, but they need some sort of a confidence booster.
@D-MC would be fun to watch Lamb go for 30 a night down there...
@dream catcher @D-MC Totally.
@Jooseppi Hmm... Come to think of it, we don't use the word Durantula much this season, do we?
@D-MC Unsolicited child rearing advice: tell your son Durant is Spiderman.
@MisterJohnsonOKC @HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 My boy is 3 months and a week old. So far, he likes basketball, football, and wrestling.
@MisterJohnsonOKC @HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 Lolz. I have a room with my lovely fiance and awesome little boy.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 Eh I shall keep a lot of myself secretive, but no problem dude.
@D-MC @ThunderChick2010 Oh, please easy on her ;)
Anyway, today I had a chance to know more about you, D-MC, and I really appreciate you gave me a chance.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 Don't compliment her. She will think she has two magic lumps of awesomeness.
@ThunderChick2010 ThunderChick. Since you said "Feed the Hawk," everybody came and the conversation went way way long. You must have a magic wand.
@MisterJohnsonOKC @HerseyHawkins @D-MC .................. not sure if i want...or DONT want that......
@Legendary_Dork @MisterJohnsonOKC @D-MCYou just called my middle name.
@HerseyHawkins @MisterJohnsonOKC @D-MC D: *traitor*
@Legendary_Dork @MisterJohnsonOKC @D-MC Don't worry. I will not tell Royce. Just tweeted.
@MisterJohnsonOKC @HerseyHawkins @D-MC i think its time we amnesty royce..hes just not working out anymore :P jk jk
#startthepetition
@D-MC @MisterJohnsonOKC @HerseyHawkins agreed. and we are some of the most outgoing *and dashingly handsome* commenters here DANGIT.......UUUGH it doesnt have the same appeal
@MisterJohnsonOKC @Legendary_Dork @HerseyHawkins Not the biggest fan of that. I need my expletives to prove my very occasional points.
@MisterJohnsonOKC @D-MC @Legendary_Dork Sorry, Mister Johnson. We didn't mean to talk dirty. Oh, wait...
@Legendary_Dork @HerseyHawkins Seriously though...butt?
@D-MC @HerseyHawkins royce is um...hammering down on the cursing..:(
@HerseyHawkins @Legendary_Dork I am getting a lot of "awaiting approval" for my comments.
@Legendary_Dork @D-MC That's all we need. No?
@D-MC @HerseyHawkins all i read was insane huge tits!!!
@Legendary_Dork @HerseyHawkins Eh, the Hong Kong girl had huge tits, but uh...she was insane. She had a Japanese roomie that was hot, then she left, and was replaced by a plain Japanese roommate.
@HerseyHawkins @D-MC all? lmao
@D-MC Now you have all my ears.
@D-MC @HerseyHawkins #superjealous
maaaaaaaaaaaan, dont be holding out on the hotties D-MC!
@HerseyHawkins Durant is horrible. Though that is where I dated a girl from Hong Kong with her Japanese roomie. She was hot as hell.
@Legendary_Dork @D-MC I can do better than that. I can run very fast.
@HerseyHawkins @D-MC hes easy to spot , hes the giant duck. probably named dolan or something :P
@D-MC Good. I just google-maped both Denton and Durant. Try to find a place to umbush you ;)
@HerseyHawkins @D-MC *flinches like marc gasol* D:
@HerseyHawkins It's not that bad though. Convenient to Dallas and Fort Worthless.
@D-MC OK. I will strictly stay behind you.
@HerseyHawkins Eh, it's a hipster college town...you would do best to avoid all the assholes with their beards and vests and vinyl records.
@D-MC @HerseyHawkins know whats REALLY odd, we hav a player...named..*wait for it*..............................
DURANT on the team :D lololololololi
@D-MC Thanks. I might visit Denton, and scare DTers there as well. ;)
@HerseyHawkins Denton. Three hours south of OKC, 45 minutes to an hour northeast of Dallas. I am originally from Durant, which is oddly still 3 hours from OKC.
@D-MC Thank you, D-MC. Which part of Texas if I may ask? My sister used to live in Houston, and visit there a few times.
@Legendary_Dork @D-MC Watch out my Perk scowl. Gwaa..
@HerseyHawkins Understandable. Glad to have you bro! I live in Texas, but am Oklahoman and have family there.
@HerseyHawkins @D-MC terrorize? you have yet to accomplish this goal :P but welcome.
@D-MC In 90s, I lived in Seattle, became die-hard Sonics fan. Team moved, and I followed. I have never been to Oklahoma, but just started planning to visit there, watching Thunder game, and terrorize DTers.
@HerseyHawkins Ah. What got you into basketball here?
Yes. Actually, my friends call me "Old Fart" in Japanese.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher So you are more than 26?
@D-MC @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher Longer than your age, I assume.
Now I have to feed you with my best Perk scowl.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher So how long have you lived in Nippon?
@D-MC @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher But joking aside, I want to see our Rookies play some longer minutes in Talsa.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher Horsepoo. The harem is mine!
@D-MC @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher I can give you a big bear hug when you visit me here. But don't take over my harem, please.
@HerseyHawkins @ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher I want to be fed.
@ThunderChick2010 @dream catcher @D-MC I got your love. Thank you.
@HerseyHawkins @dream catcher @D-MC
Feed the Hawk!