Jeff Caplan of NBA.com: “The Thunder wanted this game badly, they said so beforehand. Last one before the break, national television showcase, a chance to notch a 40th win, but mostly to, yes, make a statement that they can go toe-to-toe with their elder, more battle-tested superstars in red and take them out. Yet on their home floor, the Thunder didn’t as much lay an egg as simply get bullied into submission by a more ferocious foe. Statement: Miami.”
Berry Tramel: “The night ended with the Thunder sipping champagne. Kevin Durant’s friend, Charlie Bell, proposed to his girlfriend on the Thunder hardwood, some 45 minutes after the Thunder-Heat showdown. Durant and his teammates celebrated with Bell when he got the answer he wanted. The same answer received by two brave romantics who, courtesy of the Thunder’s game operations, made public marriage proposals — one during a first-half timeout, another during the third-quarter Kiss Cam. So the night was not a total failure. But otherwise, this was a St. Valentine’s Day massacre.”
David Thorpe of ESPN Insider breaks down LeBron vs. Durant: “LeBron versus Jordan. Jordan assumed his status without anyone pushing him on the court — he was mostly driven by what Bird and Magic did in the past and used anything to motivate himself as we learned during his Hall of Fame speech. So with Durant on LeBron’s heels, it’s possible LeBron could end up with similar accomplishments to Jordan when it’s all said and done. One other thought: Durant is just 24 years old and comes back each season better than he was the previous season. If he can win an MVP trophy and a title or two in the next few years, he can make his own run at the Jordan Universe. Today, I see Jordan, Magic and Bird as the three best players in NBA history. If LeBron and KD win multiple championships, one day it could very well be Jordan, LeBron and Durant.”
Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com: “A Thunder-Heat game is one of the premier matchups on the NBA schedule. It was the centerpiece on Christmas Day. It is the oddsmakers’ pick to be an NBA Finals matchup. The Durant-James and Russell Westbrook-Dwyane Wade billings write themselves. And in the final seconds, the only drama was whether James could keep up some arbitrary streak that gained national interest because it was a new way to judge James with history. As he showed with the final flippant shot, he was numb to it. Someday, James may well be interested in getting into the tempting debates around his place and his rivals. For now, though, all that is noise he blocks out with his fancy headphones as he heads to Houston for another All-Star Weekend where he’ll be the guest of honor in every room he walks into. That is what his place in the game is for now.”
I think the Heat just have a major mental edge on the Thunder right now.
Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com gave OKC a B for last night: “No one saw that coming. Not in that building. In a game many thought had MVP implications, Kevin Durant couldn’t get into rhythm and struggled to keep pace with LeBron until the fourth quarter. A late surge from Durant was quickly thwarted by — of course — LeBron. Russell Westbrook shouldered the offense for much of the game, but in reality, the Thunder needed much more from Serge Ibaka.”
Darnell Mayberry: “Perhaps the most popular question after tonight’s game is does this force Sam Presti to make a trade. If you want my opinion, no. Presti rarely, if ever, is going to feel pressure to do anything from what I gather. He’s a patient man, one who has repeatedly stated his goal of putting the franchise in perennial contention, not giving it a one-year puncher’s chance. Add to that, he’s historically avoided altering his roster with just one team in mind, regardless of what people may think the basis of the Perk trade was. With that said, I find it hard to believe that Presti could sit up there, in his seat atop the lower bowl, and watch his team get crushed without thinking a move should be made.”
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports: “No longer does James seem hesitant to take the big shots. He’s also showing some swag on the court. Three times, he told the Thunder crowd to hush up after making key plays in the fourth quarter. Each time, the crowd went silent. James accepts why he draws comparisons to Jordan, but he doesn’t always like it.”
Andrew Gilman of Fox Sports Southwest: “Maybe the Thunder need another big man, but really, if OKC is playing Miami, smaller is likely the better approach. The Thunder would be better suited to get a scorer to go along with Martin and Nick Collison. Count on general manager Sam Presti to make an effort toward a move. The bench has to be a priority. This is a team trying to win the NBA championship, not just make the playoffs or advance to the second round. Not to overreact, but Thursday’s showing against Miami might give Presti an even greater sense of urgency. The bench had just 16 points and Martin was pretty much a no-show. He had nine points. Reggie Jackson scored seven. No one on else on the bench scored. You have to love the dive-on-the-floor-all-the-time mentality from Collison, but that doesn’t always equal offense.”
I’m in transit to Houston today, so just a note that things will probably be on the lighter side today.
Perkins and Thabeet turn the ball over 25% of the time they get the ball! I think part of the reason our small ball lineups are so good is that we don't waste possessions passing the ball to our centers. I'm officially on the Jermaine O'neal bandwagon to replace Thabeet. He's cheap, he scores, he shoots 80% FT, he is on a non contender playing off the bench. Brooks can stay big for the same number of minutes just sub O'Neal with Martin unless Perkins is playing well. If Perkins gets hurt like he did last year, Thabeet will play 10-20 minutes a game. Anybody want to see Thabeet against Duncan or DJ or Gasol? Perkins is too integral to the leadership and defensive mentality of the team to trade him, but Presti needs to give Brooks a quality alternative. O'Neal won't correct the lack of passing or defense against Miami but if our bench can be dominant against Miami it will help level the playing field a little.
SMH http://dailythunder.com/2013/02/the-time-an-ou-football-player-talked-smac-to-lebron-and-lost/
@OBoy Jones III pack it up, were moving!
the difference between Miami and OKC is simple...the game has now slowed down for Lebron, like it does for the great players when they hit their prime..it hasn't yet for KD and Westbrook...hence why i think chauncey billups would be more important than any big man OKC could get...Durant can put up similar stats as Lebron but he's nowhere near the player that Lebron is just because Lebron has matured and is in the prime of his career..in 3-4 years KD and Westbrook might put up the same stats as this year but will be better players...I know OKC will make a trade after this game, im just curious to see who it will be now..I'll just hope Wade doesn't win another ring...
@kennygee90 for once i agree with you. lebron was way to comfortable last night, all his shots were basically gimmies. sef guarded him with plenty of space to spare.
@Legendary_Dork @kennygee90 If Lebron is hitting the outside shot like that there is nothing you can do. Either Lebron has to go back to normal or nobody else is going to be able to compete. I believe Lebron will go back to normal. No way he can continue to play at this level.
@kennygee90 Lebron the best player in the league no stopping him on either end, we have no equivalent at the moment
@Lost Ones @kennygee90 kd is up there man, you act like kd is a scrub or something lol. overall athleticism and play making he has durant on. Kd has a better killer instinct and a better scorers mentality
@MostJadedGamer @Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones its not westbrook's fault its durants....Durant is trying to play the perfect game trying to pick his spots like Lebron does, but he can't against the Heat...he has to go all out ..Westbrook is doing what durant doesn't want to do
@kennygee90 @Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones Westbrook simply won't allow him to do that. That is the problem. Durant is never going to come close to reaching his potential as long as he has Westbrook as his pg.
There are many times where Westbrook simply won't pass Durant the ball. There are many times where Durant is open for 3, and Westbrook instead decides to take a pullup jumper.
@Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones KD is not Lebron but he has a skill set that can't be stopped...the problem for KD is that he wants to pattern his game like Lebron's but i think he should be more like Kobe ... an assassin that just takes over the game..he needs to be a volume shooter and a gun slinger
@Legendary_Dork @kennygee90 KD a scrub not at all, he just cant match what lebron does nothing wrong with that no one can. We have no clear advantages against them.
@Lost Ones @kennygee90 nobody has an equivalent of lebron
@f5alcon @kennygee90 I agree
From 2010-11 to 2011-12 we were 1-7 against the Spurs including our two playoff losses in San Antonio. We lost those seven games by an average of 10.8 points.
From 2011-12 to 2012-13 we are 1-7 in our last eight games against the Heat including four straight losses in the playoffs. We lost those seven games by an average of 7.4 points.
The Spurs were both more impressive than Miami in the playoffs and regular season last year, and the histrionics around here after going down 0-2 in the playoffs was comedic.
Yes, losing all these games against Miami sucks and does suggest that something has to be done to give ourselves the best chance of beating them, but the fatalism around here over these losses is outrageous. Especially after what this team did last season against the Spurs - a team that was better than Miami up until they came against our buzz saw, and we had just as much trouble with beforehand.
@[censored] There is a striking difference between Miami and spurs.... the comparison isn't fair at all.Miami Has Better Athletes then us, Better role Players then us, and possibly a better coach. Miami has the Athletes to disrupt whatever we do offensively spurs lack the ability to defend durant or westbrook. We also Loss to them in a Playoff series(beat spurs), and is currently have a 0-6 losing streak against them . Not to mention they also have lebron james.
aint looking good http://oi52.tinypic.com/2qlvqdw.jpg
@Lost Ones It seems daunting right not but I can assure you that these same kinds of proclaimations were made about the Spurs. We can't defend their shooters, we can't contain dribble penetration, we can't defend the PnR, their bigs pass too well, their bench is more productive, we can't beat them in San Antonio.
@Lost Ones @[censored] The Spurs are still very scary. We really need to get homecourt on them. I don't think we beat them again if they have homecourt again.
@[censored] It's details Justin, I know you are trying to rationalize and defend your stance that we didn't need a 3/4 for the Heat, like Lost Ones and I told you but you are just starting to sound foolish defending that tired notion.
@[censored] Not from me you can go back and look over my post in fact i picked us the win
@[censored] well said, but you know how far facts go around here justin, and besides. THEY HAS LEBRON! THE GOAT! :P
@Legendary_Dork @[censored] the difference is with the Spurs we couldn't defend the pick and role for the longest time. We finally figured it out in the playoffs. The only thing I know of that we could possibly figure out is not playing Perk and getting another piece to guard Lebron. We just flat out don't match up with the lineup Brooks plays and he's not going to change it.
@Legendary_Dork LeBron is great and if he plays like this in the playoffs, well, everyone can pretty much pack their bags.
@OBoy Jones III need to watch that movie now.
@[censored] heat are on a streak right now, of course they are playing well. but i think the pacers or knicks can take it to them in the east.
@f5alcon @[censored] @Legendary_Dork simple solution: Thunder sign treaty with MonStars from Space Jam so they don't steal our talent.
@[censored] @Legendary_Dork simple solution, make sure they stay at the skirvin and get the ghost to keep him up all night.
Very good blog read by Tramel over at newsoksports on breaking down the numbers versus Miami going small. Good stuff.
you guys can be afraid of miami all you want, im not, and neither is this team ;)
Forget beating miami in a series; as far as i'm concerned we will have trouble beating them on our own homecourt as well. They have zero fear of playing us at the peak that should be a good indication as well.
@Lost Ones With the current roster, OKC will never beat Miami in a meaningful series... Need to make a change!
@Lost Ones playoffs are a different kinda monster man.
@Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones They have age, experience and are not phased in OKC. Remember the game where Russ fouled LeBron hard? You could see how uneasy our guys were after that
@Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones Because of the pressure of Miami's crowd, they wanted to hang Russell and you could see it impacted us
@Legendary_Dork 1-2 since the finals at home and 6-0 period with a less talented squad.
@THUNDERtownSOUND @Lost Ones the mavs, the spurs, and even at a time the lakers all took it to us, we adapted and fought on, you guys act like the heat are be BEST TEAM EVER, no other team will BE THIS GOOD lmao
@Legendary_Dork hmmmm we got older and both those teams main-stars regressed with age? coincidence or no?
@Legendary_Dork @Lost Ones No one has owned the Thunder like the Heat... Not the Lakers nor the Spurs. Besides, the changes we made, made us better than both of those teams. Now it is time for another change.
@Lost Ones spurs always seemed to have our number, and remember when the lakers did too.?? i do
some things i did see last night that did have me happy. Reggie playing off the ball and doing well, 2 times we intercepted the heats FULL COURT PASSES, and being aggressive at the rim worked well.
The amount of heart and fight we have in us is amazing. i know we lost but we tried and tried . You can say all you want that miami laid down and let us back in, but an older thunder team would of been blown out by 30 at that point.
@Legendary_Dork Dude lebron was on the bench game was over moral victories are far gone.
@Lost Ones and yet, he came back in..hmmmmm funny that
@Legendary_Dork Are you talking about the Robert Swift Thunder team? Please clarify.
@El Prez just a few years ago, whenever 3rd quarters were our vice and we just stopped playing whenever we got down lol
@Legendary_Dork Whatever bro, you know damn well that Krstic would have put up 40-10 against this Heat team.
how does our coaching staff convince russ and kd, two of the most accomplished one on one players in the league today, that ball movement should be the answer from the start, and more importantly, when things bog down? especially when they're so talented that iso-ing it up leads to wins 99% of the time? it's a crutch that we opt to way too frequently. it's very hard to unlearn those habits twice a year and a few times in the playoffs.
@yarkmu to me this is the key. Go back to the regular season game in OKC where we stomped them last year. We were getting easy buckets because both KD and Westbrook were drawing in the double team and then making the right pass for a high quality shot. For some reason, this was no where to be found last night. It's like, against the Heat, our stars suddenly stop trusting the rest of the team.
@yarkmu They move the ball most of the time. Not against Miami though.
@ILikePancakes @yarkmu Has to do with miamis defense, they have the athletes to trap unlike 95% of the league.
TBJ finally asked Russ if he's a cat or a dog.
"I'm a wolf!"
@OBoy Jones III #TorontoReppin #TBJ
@OBoy Jones III *honeybadger* fixed ;) lol