Two blow outs, a couple nail biters and one giant shot to the mommy-daddy button made this week an eventful one for the Thunder.
Joel and Brad give you their take including:
- Ibaka’s defensive improvement?
- The addition of Fisher
- Russell Westbrook’s recent domination
- What does it take to consider your own guy a dirty player?
…and much more!
Download, listen and comment.
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Do not fear DT'ers. Here's an appetizer pre-game preview before the entree we call "Pre-game Primer". Enjoy
http://nowthatsthunderbasketball.com/2013/03/05/los-angeles-lakers-vs-oklahoma-city-thunder-game-60-of-82/
just got approved for my martial arts scholarship!!, im trying to go undefeated today, i need a dortmund W, and a thunder W, and my day is madeeeeeee.
Anyone expect Otto parker to fall to us
porter
http://dailythunder.com/2013/03/is-russell-westbrook-the-next-kobe/
Move it or ibaka will slap you where it hurts.
@CLthunderfan Yes sir!
NBA draft.net updated today...
http://www.nbadraft.net/
@okcjim I think I'd be pretty happy if that's how it plays out
todays 5 on 5 on espn is a total joke. All about the lakers. But what else should i expect.
http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/5-on-5-130305/nba-state-los-angeles-lakers
@CLthunderfan I actually like Strauss' responses. Unlike everyone else spouting narrative-based claims ("They won a few games so they are BACK!"), Strauss just points out the truth (minus his one random claim about the Spurs). LA has won the last few games based on coin-flip luck, despite actually having a negative margin during that span. They have a chance at the playoffs, but primarily because the bottom seed is really vulnerable this year (which would be different if Minny had stayed healthy). They have no chance at the championship, and there's just nothing we've seen that would say a year older Nash-Kobe-Pau would get them any closer in the future.
@CLthunderfan FACT, THE LAKERS ARE BACK.
@OBoy @CLthunderfan To .500
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry https://docs.google.com/file/d/0BxNWYpO3yAoUeTBaSngxMVN4MDQ/edit?usp=sharing&pli=1
DT Predictions rankings
@booles Man... I don't recall putting the Lakers 3rd ...must be a typo lol.... And I didn't expect Houston and GS to take the place of Minny, Dallas and Memphis.....
@booles Thanks
@booles @Team Gatorade Bry Bry How in the world did vegas have the kings making the playoffs??
@booles @Team Gatorade Bry Bry I love how everyone picked the Lakers to make the playoffs....
Even better just realized that the average is the 1st or 2nd seed lol
@booles @Team Gatorade Bry Bry does this mean we all shouldve take the bet? how do the rules work on this?
@booles @Team Gatorade Bry Bry well except you @booles
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry minny at 7 and New Orleans at 8 sunk me haha
Chris Mannix @ChrisMannixSI
No suspension coming for Serge Ibaka, I'm told. Fine only for the crotch shot on Blake Griffin.
@Skyline @ChrisMannixSI YES WE WINNING TONIGHT
@Skyline @ChrisMannixSI Be funny if Kobe was scared now.
@sooner403 I don't understand why Kobe needed to say what he said. Chris Childs laughs at his "toughness"
@PKBOB @sooner403I laugh at Chris Childs's toughness. Those weren't even punches. You slow it down and look at how they connected, dude palm pushed him in the sternum. But because Kobe is high profile and somebody people love to hate, everybody acts like Childs actually put in some type of work
@Skyline @ChrisMannixSI insert Charles Barkley "role model " quote
I just had a great conversation with my friend (huge NBA fan) about the timberwolves. Last year I told him they were going to make the playoffs this year but unfortunately injuries happened.
What seed would you guys think the twolves would have IFFFFFF they were fully healthy? I think they will be fighting for the 5-6 spot
@SoCal Thunder well I picked them to get the 7 seed this year in the DT predictions challenge, but that doesn't mean much because I'm in last place...
@booles @SoCal Thunder
I forgot about this.... where are those rankings?
@booles @Team Gatorade Bry Bry @SoCal Thunder Diligent TC is diligent.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @SoCal Thunder TC updated them last night.. hang on let me find them
@SoCal Thunder
I'm like you, I think Minny is pretty good when healthy.
Why were the Lakers the one team to not send a representative to the Sloan Sports Conference?
@booles Because Buss and D'Antoni are smarter than everyone else.
http://www.sheridanhoops.com/2013/03/04/bernucca-is-reckless-russell-becoming-relaxed-russell/
@O O O O O O
The one bad thing (and probably worst thing) I have NOT seen from Russ in a long time is his tendency to get sucked into one-on-one match ups against the other PG.
He use to take that stuff personally. Guys use to be able to get under his skin. Now he seems to stay more focused.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry i think russ game lend itself naturally to some sort of zen style... think as he grows older, he'll penetrate himself further, and less and less shit will get to him, lool then he'll start playing the game w an empty mind, and start balling something ridiculous from there. we need to get in him in front of phil jackson, and some bruce lee movies. smh, i dont think the league is ready for russ at 27.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @O O O O O O no longer commit charges either hes growing up
@Lost Ones I've definitely seen less of him trying to "blake griffin" guys on fast breaks... more methodical for sure.
@PKBOB @Team Gatorade Bry Bry @O O O O O O well that and he's better at achieving angles instead of using force. hes trying to go around people instead of threw them now
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry Instead of jumping over the guy (which is causing the charge), he is working his way around him. Definitely an increase in BBIQ/maturity from last year.
@PKBOB Interesting thought.... he does seem to use it a lot lately
@Lost Ones @Team Gatorade Bry Bry @O O O O O O It's that euro-step that he developed which is lowering his charges for sure.
Does anyone here think that maybe the NBA's shift from true post players to bigs with speed and range has extended what little was left of Kevin Garnet's career?
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry Garnett was/is a good post defender.
@PKBOB True.... but now he's effective at the 5, whereas before he could only defend the 4.
@PKBOB @Team Gatorade Bry Bry PKBOB, I agree. Not that Dwight isn't a great player, but he should have been a 25+ ppg scorer by now. He just isn't skilled enough to overcome every opponent the way other greats have and do. If he just would have been a passable free throw shooter I might think differently. But as it is, he's not Shaq good as a scorer to get away with Shaq level free throw shooting.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @PKBOB Garnett was often tasked with guarding Duncan, who is the last remaining great post-playing center. He got matched up with Shaq a lot too because he was always Minny's best defender. Sure, he wasn't going to stop Shaq-Duncan-Yao (certainly saw those matchups too) from scoring, but like I said before, nobody was stopping Shaq-Yao, and Duncan is an all-time great. Nobody was shutting down Garnett either, and that had nothing to do with lack of size on opposing teams.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @Keith00 Off-topic, but IMO, Dwight Howard has never lived up to his potential to this point (offensively).
@Keith00 @PKBOB
Kevin Garnet was never able to handle the better centers in the post. But, I see your point about dominant post players. Dwight Howard could have been that guy....... but he's still somehow a work in progress lol
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @PKBOB I'm not sure that things have changed as drastically as is being presumed. Garnett was always ABLE to guard the 5, but Minny wanted to limit how much punishment he might take. Chris Bosh would have been a fine PF in most any age. He's tall, long, and smart.
What needs to be understood is that certain all-time greats skew our perception. Nobody could guard Shaq in his prime, or Yao when healthy. Very few people ever have been built like Hakeem or skilled like Kareem. Players never needed to be burly plodders to guard 90% of the competition. The shift from post-players to stretch-bigs actually increases the need for athleticism (something that is lost much quicker with age). I think the longevity of Garnett just has to do with being an all-time great - he has farther to fall while remaining productive.
@PKBOB Both. There really aren't many guys coming up working on their drop step lol....
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry @PKBOB
Very true. This has also probably extended the career of Chris Bosh.
@Team Gatorade Bry Bry I'm not sure if the shift from true post players to bigs with speed is more by default due to the lack of good post players out there in today's game more-so than it being an actual shift or evolution of the game.