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Thunder vs. Timberwolves: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on March 29, 2013 at 3:19 pm 1,408 Comments

okc-thunder vs. m-timberwolves

Thunder (53-19, 21-14 road) at Wolves (25-45, 16-18 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 112.3 (2nd), Wolves– 102.6 (24th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.4 (4th), Wolves – 105.4 (12th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.7 (8th), Wolves – 92.6 (11th)

View from the enemy: A Wolf Among Wolves

The last time the Thunder played in Minnesota, they lost a disappointing TNT game as the Wolves got hot from outside, Nikola Pekovic chewed up OKC’s bigs and J.J. Barea put on one of his patented destroy-the-Thunder lightshows. Keep Reading…

Friday Bolts – 3.29.13

by Royce Young on March 29, 2013 at 10:18 am 184 Comments

BoltsLogoNew1Chris Palmer of ESPN.com on who runs the floor best: “Westbrook is a one-man fastbreak, often zigzagging in traffic with the ball as fast as most players can move in a straight line without it. His athleticism is such that he can turn nearly every defensive rebound, steal and even made basket into a fastbreak opportunity. Because the he advances the ball so quickly, the defense is rarely in a position to slow him down. Few guards can control a game’s tempo by pushing and finishing so frequently the way Westbrook does. But maybe his most effective weapon is stopping at the foul line and rising up for a picture-perfect pull-up. Since the defense has to protect the rim, he can release the shot nearly uncontested every time. With better shot selection he could top this list. How to stop him: Frustrate him into forcing the action. Making him use his athleticism against him by trying to create transition opportunities where there are none has been effective in getting him to commit offensive fouls. He believes so thoroughly in his athleticism that he rarely gives it up on the break.”

For some reason, Skip Bayless summarized his hot sports take about Russell Westbrook in a column:
“Durant? He WANTS “Russ” to be Kobe Westbrook. Durant has developed a LeBron Complex, sounding like he wants to BE his best buddy LeBron as well as beat him. Durant now seems obsessed with doing all the little things — the all-around things — while leaving the big things (shot attempts) mostly to Westbrook. Advantage, “point guard.” Still, I believe I hit a nerve in Durant last year, one that stays raw. I believe that deep down, Durant knows I’m right: Westbrook ultimately will prove to be more burden than benefit. I found it interesting — maybe even telling — that after Durant criticized me last year, his mother readily agreed to join us on a show we did in Oklahoma City before Game 2 of the Finals. On air, she thanked me for always supporting her son. Mother knew best?” Keep Reading…

Thursday Bolts – 3.28.13

by Royce Young on March 28, 2013 at 11:15 am 957 Comments

BoltsLogoNew1Steve Marsh of GQ on the NBA’s style wars: “Consider the OKC Thunder. When they’re in uniform, Westbrook and his All-NBA teammate, forward Kevin Durant, are the league’s youngest, most exciting Batman-and-Robin act; in street clothes—the term feels nearly archaic—they are two opposite fronts in the NBA’s escalating style wars. If Westbrook is the NBA’s Kate Moss, then Durant is trying to become its Kate Middleton—aristocratic and punctilious. Whereas Westbrook invites regular hazing from Charles Barkley and three-quarters of Twitter for dressing like a badass Ziggy Stardust in glammy Neil Barrett silver-leather shirts and Givenchy hoodies, Durant keeps it on the Take Ivy tip, seldom venturing far from the prepped-up hipster look favored around the league of late, pairing his Air Jordans or AF1s with various combos of custom-tailored cardigan, collared shirt, and corduroys. He’s running for president, not leading an insurgency.”

Berry Tramel on Derek Fisher: “Against the Wizards, Fisher made some solid plays. A couple of steals, an assist, a rebound. What appeared to be solid defense. And though we joke about the intangibles, truth is, Fisher does bring them. Experience. Calmness. Readiness. A locker room presence. Heck, for all I know, Fisher serves as some kind of dorm monitor for the still-young Thunder. Maybe everyone shapes up with Fisher and his five NBA championship rings around. I don’t have a problem with Fisher playing, so long as his minutes don’t get too high. Brooks played Fisher 20.4 minutes a game last season, then upped that to 22.3 in the playoffs, same as Thabo Sefolosha. Which is just nuts.” Keep Reading…

Thunder cruise over the Wizards, 103-80

by Royce Young on March 27, 2013 at 10:56 pm 323 Comments

BOX SCORE

With the Wizards woefully shorthanded and playing the second night of a back-to-back, the Thunder’s focus was obviously on winning first, but along with it, to get better.

In fact, that was the message on the whiteboard in the locker room pregame. “GET BETTER!” it said. In all caps just like that with red marker, too. And a few stars around it.

Mission accomplished? Eh, hard to say. The game was mostly uneventful and a bit uneven. And sort of downright odd. Get this: The most shots a Thunder player took tonight was 10, by Kevin Durant. Russell Westbrook only took eight — which surprised even him — Serge Ibaka eight and Kevin Martin nine. Keep Reading…

Wizards vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on March 27, 2013 at 3:48 pm 1,669 Comments

w wizards vs. okc-thunder

Wizards (26-44, 7-27 road) vs. Thunder (52-19, 31-5 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 112.3 (2nd), Wizards– 100.0 (30th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.6 (5th), Wizards – 102.4 (4th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.8 (8th), Wizards – 92.1 (14th)

View from the enemy: Truth About It

The Wizards without John Wall: 5-28. The Wizards with John Wall: 21-16. So if there are any thoughts that tonight’s game will just be another cakewalk for the Thunder, think again. The Wizards are still a bit dysfunctional, but they are an improving young team that can pose real danger. Keep Reading…

Video: KD and Wade haunt each other’s dreams

by Royce Young on March 27, 2013 at 12:47 pm 169 Comments

New Gatorade commercial featuring Dwyane Wade and Kevin Durant. Neat concept, but I have to say, it would’ve been executed better if it were LeBron and not Wade. Because I think KD might actually have nightmares about LeBron.

After the jump, a thing KD did for Jimmy Kimmel Live: Keep Reading…

Wednesday Bolts – 3.27.13

by Royce Young on March 27, 2013 at 11:21 am 75 Comments

BoltsLogoNew1Henry Abbott of TrueHoop looking ahead to playoff matchups: “This stat geek’s delight and James Harden reunion tour could be a wake-up call to the Thunder. The Rockets won’t roll over for anyone. By the time the Thunder move on, they’ll be battle-tested. The rest-sensitive Spurs aren’t that far ahead in the standings, however, and are unlikely to go all out every game down the stretch, however. Catching them would mean homecourt advantage in a likely Western Conference Finals matchup, which has some real value.”

Darnell Mayberry on Wall vs. Westbrook: “The matchup will pit two of the most electrifying point guards in the game against each other but, for Westbrook, it will simply be another opportunity to string together more success over other elite players at his position. Since the start of the 2010-11 season, the year Westbrook became an All-Star, Westbrook is 18-18 in head-to-head matchups against Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, Tony Parker, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Kyrie Irving and Wall. He has a losing record against only Parker (2-6) and Irving (1-2). With the exception of a few occasions, Westbrook and his marquee matchup generally have canceled each other out. That wasn’t the case throughout much of Westbrook’s first three seasons, when his supercharged emotions either got the best of him or spurred him to a victory in the showdown.” Keep Reading…

Are the Thunder the most dominant team in the league?

by Royce Young on March 26, 2013 at 3:25 pm 1,295 Comments
Screen Shot 2013-03-26 at 3.22.28 PM

Fernando Medina/NBAE/Getty Images

The Thunder are on pace for an eye-opening average margin of victory this season. Currently, they’re beating teams by an average of 9.2 points per game, which is the highest margin for a team since the 2007-08 Celtics.

I’ve touched on this myself, but Tom Haberstroh of ESPN.com dug into this today and as expected, did a better job of it anyway. But here’s the overlying question: Based on this, are the Thunder’s the league most dominant team? Keep Reading…

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Headlines

  • Serge Ibaka named first team All-Defense
  • Report: KD reaches settlement in ‘Durantula’ lawsuit
  • Derek Fisher fined $5,000 for flopping
  • Durant finishes runner-up to LeBron for MVP
  • Thunder-Grizzlies second round schedule released
  • Report: LeBron to be named 2012-13 MVP
  • Kevin Durant on Royce White: ‘Who is that?’
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