Nets reality check wounded Thunder, 116-85
Look, if you thought this was all going to become some kind of cakewalk after the game against the Nuggets, then either you’re an insane person or you’re, well, an insane person.
It was pretty obvious from almost tipoff that despite getting a little help back in Reggie Jackson, the Thunder were probably in for a long night against the Nets. The edge, the effort and the intensity the team had Saturday against Denver simply wasn’t there. And I don’t really blame them. Not only did they play in their third time zone in five days, but they had to watch yet another teammate check out of the game and head to the Thunder room accompanied by a trainer. This time, it was Andre Roberson who awkwardly fell and has a sprained foot, according to the team. We’ll see what his status is later.
The game itself, though, was ugly. The Thunder were mostly out of it by the end of the first quarter, minus a few spurts that trimmed the Nets’ lead to something like 14 or 15. The team and bench were trying to manufacture that spirit and energy, but it just wasn’t happening tonight.
I saw some flipping an emotional 180 from the positives vibes over the weekend, but this is the team for the next four weeks. Last game it was, “Hey, they might be okay after all!” and now it’s “Oh no they’re doomed.” This is just how it’ll be for four weeks. Some games things will click and their opponent will slack and they may be able to sneak up on a good team. Other games — like this one — they’ll get waxed. It’s not about thriving over the next month. It’s about surviving. Newsflash, they aren’t going 15-5. It’s going to be a battle to pick up seven to 10 wins, but that’s what they have to do.
The way this game played out, there aren’t really any sweeping positives to take either. An undermanned roster got completely smoked by a much better team. Jackson was decent in his debut running a team, putting up 23 points on 8-20 shooting with five assists and four rebounds, but he turned the ball over seven times and looked to entirely disrupt the offensive flow with selfish isos at times. That’s the concern to have as this team turns over to his hands entirely over the next month. With his brash comments about wanting the fame and profile of being a starter, he might see this more as an audition and less as an opportunity. I don’t want to assume that Jackson is in it for himself right now, but it’s hard not to wonder with the way he’s handled things over the past month.
Missing from this game was the same kind of togetherness, especially offensively, that the team played with against the Nuggets. Now, it’s only natural to point at Jackson and assume his addition upset some kind of formidable chemistry forged by that one win. That’s ludicrous. But what you could clearly see is the Thunder were playing a different style. Against Denver, the Thunder slowed the game out and methodically played out each set, possession by possession. The ball popped around getting touched five and six times a trip, hopefully finally landing in the hands of someone open. The pace tonight was actually slower (because the Nets play crazy slow) but the Thunder took more shots early in the clock in the halfcourt. They played this one like they played the Blazers, except Jackson isn’t near good enough to dominate a game on his own in the way Russell Westbrook can.
All that said, the Thunder lost this game on the defensive end more than anything. That’s what they have to rely on this next month more than anything. Which is tough when you’re playing with eight people, because defense requires energy and effort. And the Thunder don’t have a ton of that stuff to spare right now. Nick Collison talked about making teams score over five defenders, meaning getting back and forcing halfcourt possessions. The Nets opened the game up a bit and got far too many clean looks and unlike the Clippers, they made them.
This opening stretch of games was going to brutal for even a full strength Thunder squad. Once they get past the first five games, things will begin to smooth out a bit. Less compressed travel, more time to practice, rest and heal. You can’t live and die with each game right now. There might be some very high, highs and some very, very, VERY low lows. It’s just about working their way through this, trying to play each game one at a time and stumble their way into more points than the other team when possible. You can’t get discouraged and look at this loss as a sign of things to come. It counts the same as the three-point loss to the Clippers. Put it away and move on.
NOTES:
- Scott Brooks said postgame Andre Roberson won’t play tomorrow in Toronto. So that means the Thunder have two available guards: Reggie Jackson and Sebastian Telfair. Woof.
- Here’s something to raise an eyebrow at: Against the Nuggets, the Thunder dished out 24 assists. Tonight, 14. And 11 came from two players.
- I blame Kendrick Perkins. Zero points tonight big fella? It’s as if that 17-point outburst was some kind of fluke or something.
- Any time a Thunder player so much as stumbles, I immediately starting typing “[insert name] is down with an [insert injury] and won’t return.”
- Positive thing! Serge Ibaka is like, a good 3-point shooter. From other places than just the corners. That’s going to be something else when Westbrook and Durant return.
- Crazy thought from @FredKatz about that: Is Ibaka a 3-and-D guy now? And if so, is he the best one in the league? There’s some debate about what qualifies someone as a 3-and-D (exclusive to wing players?) but either way, Ibaka is an ultra rare combination of being an elite rim protector that shoots 3s.
- I’m pretty sad I didn’t get to watch Roberson check Joe Johnson for an entire game. Would’ve been a great test for him.
- Per ESPN Stats and Info: “Thunder are down 19 points at halftime, something that happened to them just thee times all of last season (lost all three games).” Make it four.
- Steven Adams was pretty solid tonight, scoring nine points with nine rebounds. He did fall down roughly 80 times, one of them being a hard one that caused some limping.
- Perry Jones scored 16, meaning he’s topped his old career-high in three straight games now. And he missed some pretty good looks as well. he finished 6-12 from the floor and I liked the shots he took and way he played. It did seem like he lacked a bit of chemistry with Jackson as there were some awkward possessions. Oh! And he also appeared to bang knees early in the fourth quarter and limped all over the court for a while which is great news.
- Bassy Telfair did some things tonight. He had 16 and six assists, making 5 of his 10 shots.
- The Nets shot 52.4 percent. The Thunder shot 39.0 percent. That’s pretty much the story of the game.
- Reggie Jackson got a real good idea of what it’d be like to go be The Man with the 76ers or Bucks next season. Fun, huh?
- I would love to know what Jay Z said to Beyonce when she surely asked him, “Who is No. 42 for the Thunder?”
- Michael Cage is pretty good so far. Brian Davis keeps tempting him to dumb down and say silly things, but so far, Cage has done a good job resisting and sticking with the basketball.
- My favorite part of the game was Brian Davis calling Reggie Jackson “Reggie Williams” not once, but twice.
- Man, the Nuggets have to feel pretty dumb right now, don’t they?
Next up: At the Raptors on Tuesday
