OK, so don’t panic.
Actually maybe panic a little. Heck, I don’t care how much you panic, because at this point, any amount of it is kind of justified.
Panic about this season, or this Thunder team? Nah, they’re good. 39-14 at the break and on a crash course to contend for the Western crown. Panic about having the chops to beat the Heat? Yeah, that might be alright.
The Thunder’s fourth quarter comeback was valiant and inspiring, but it was mostly empty. They cut a 23-point lead to eight, but the outcome was never genuinely in doubt. I was certainly proud of the way the Thunder never packed it in, the way they clawed to the finish, the way they fed off a starved, emotional crowd to at least give a little hope. It reminded me a bit of Game 2 against the Spurs where OKC fought back to make it close, building a little positive momentum and belief out of it. Maybe that happened tonight.
But the events of the first half were downright shocking. Russell Westbrook was asked postgame what the mood was, if losing a sixth straight game to Miami — the second consecutive at home — was disappointing. He wouldn’t go there. He used a different word.









To heave or not to heave?
It’s easily the worst, lowest percentage shot in basketball.
No, not a Kendrick Perkins 3-pointer or a Dwight Howard free throw.
It’s the end-of-quarter halfcourt heave.
According to Elias, a halfcourter is attempted about 27 percent of the time to finish the first, second or third quarter (it’s rare you see a heave to finish the fourth). For the season, there have been 758 games played in the NBA total, meaning roughly 205 halfcourt heaves. And total, there have been three total halfcourt or beyond makes. Three. Crunch the numbers and that means the league is shooting roughly combined 1.5 percent from halfcourt and beyond. Keep Reading…