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Summer League wrap: Thunder 83, Scrapple 62

by Royce Young on July 9, 2009 at 2:36 pm 29 Comments

BOX SCORE

Make that 3-1 in Summer League play everybody. Are we going to get a trophy for this?

I can’t say enough about Serge Ibaka (15 points on 5-8 shooting, two rebounds, two blocks). We knew he was athletic but he really runs the floor well. Russell Westbrook dropped a sweet assist on The Big Congo and Ibaka flushed it with authority without missing a step. He also had two monster rejections and showcased three or four sweet post moves, including a nice little baby hook in the third quarter. I really think Ibaka has a good shot at making the opening night roster. Vegas will be big for him, but I’m sure he’s really impressed Thunder management.

Russell Westbrook had another fantastic game (19 points, nine assists) and one thing about his seven turnovers – I think you can realistically cut them in half. A very good number of them just weren’t his fault. Teammates weren’t anticipating a pass, dropped it or gave it away before they secured it. Russ also hit a pretty three in the third quarter. And if you noticed on it, he was ready to shoot when he caught it. His feet were totally set, his body squared and he went straight up with it. No wasted movement, just a pure stroke. If he hits that shot this year, he’ll score 20 a night, easily. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about Westbrook’s back-down, turnaround fadeaway jumper. That was saweet. Keep Reading…

Summer League Open Thread: Day 4

by Royce Young on July 9, 2009 at 11:46 am 127 Comments

Oklahoma City Thunder (2-1) vs. New Jersey/Philadelphia Scrapple (0-3)
Time: 2 p.m. CST
Watch the game HERE!!!

Tony Meija hinted in an article on Tuesday that Russell Westbrook and D.J. White may sit out the last two days of action, so we may not see them today. But we don’t really know. James Harden sat the first half yesterday, but I’d imagine he’ll see a solid amount of playing time today as well as Serge Ibaka who didn’t play at all (he was just resting). And who knows if Shaun Livingston will dress as he sat Tuesday after playing Monday. We’ll just have to wait and see.

Kyle Weaver played much, much better yesterday scoring 12. He asserted himself and played point guard for a lot of the day. He’s desperately trying to develop a consistent 3-point shot, but for the most part, he’s just taken forced threes. Robert Vaden went 1-7 yesterday so I’m sure he’s aiming to come out and impress. And we can only hope that if Moses Ehambe gets in, he at least fouls someone or turns it over.

Tip at 2 p.m. CST.

Thursday Bolts – 7.9.09

by Royce Young on July 9, 2009 at 7:45 am 73 Comments

Chad Ford ranks the summer for each team (Insider): “The Thunder are the “it” team among NBA junkies, who have a thunderbolt235 crush on Sam Presti for quickly turning a bad team into the best young team in the league. Kevin Durant is a superstar in the making. Russell Westbrook could be special. And Harden is a nice addition — a savvy guard with an old-school game who will be fine playing third fiddle to Durant and Westbrook. If you factor in that last year’s other draft pick, Serge Ibaka, has been looking pretty good in summer league, and that Mullens has enormous potential, the Thunder appear to be bursting at the seams with talent.”

The Blazers are planning to make a “generous offer” to Paul Millsap: “After a series of trades fell through this week, the Trail Blazers have settled on their next target: Utah power forward Paul Millsap. Although Millsap is a restricted free agent, meaning the Jazz can match any offer, the Blazers are preparing what one source called a “toxic” offer designed to exterminate interest from other teams.”

The Cavs will re-sign Varejao: “Cleveland is committing to Anderson Varejao long term. Sporting News’ Sean Deveney has learned Cleveland agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract with the free agent forward after passing on several sign-and-trade proposals. Deveney also reports the Cavs likely will make Varejao their starting power forward, giving them a frontcourt of Varejao, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal.” Keep Reading…

Summer League wrap: Thunder 94, Celtics 82

by Royce Young on July 8, 2009 at 4:18 pm 24 Comments

BOX SCORE

Another fantastic game. And by fantastic, well, I think you know what I mean.

The Thunder mixed it up today with a different starting lineup and a lot of the non-roster guys saw a lot more playing time. The starting five were Westbrook, Vaden, Livingston, D.J. White and DeVon Hardin. Livingston was back and looked great after sitting yesterday’s game and Kyle Weaver (12 points, 4-5 from the floor) asserted himself much more and was far more aggressive on the offensive end. I actually noticed him today.

James Harden didn’t play at all in the first half but came on in the second to score nine points and on 2-4 shooting. He also had three terrific passes in a short time span, including one beautiful bounce pass to D.J. White for a dunk. Harden’s vision and feel for where his teammates are is just awesome. When Westbrook flies through the lane and goes airborne I get the feeling he’s on the way down and thinks, “Oh crap, where do I go with this?” Harden on the other hand is seeing where he could go with it as he’s slashing through the lane and before he takes off.

Westbrook today though, was excellent again. He may have had four turnovers, but I only can remember one being his fault. Three times a perfect pass went through a teammates hands (I’m talking to you, Byron Nelson Mullens). Russ scored 26 (9-16 shooting!), tossed out five assists, had four rebounds and had five steals and appeared completely in control for the full game. He never really had a bad stretch of poor decisions. One play that stuck out to me: On a fast break, Westbrook had the opportunity to go 1-on-2 or pull-out. He went ahead and took on the two defenders, but didn’t attack the rim recklessly without a Plan B. He took his time, drew both defenders and dropped off a beauty to D.J. White for a dunk. Keep Reading…

Summer League Open Thread: Day 3

by Royce Young on July 8, 2009 at 1:30 pm 173 Comments

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1) vs. Boston Celtics (1-1)
Time: 4 p.m. CST
Watch it HERE.

Here we are at hump day of the Orlando Summer League. Probably right about now Russell Westbrook is saying, “Ugh… just three more days of this.” Yesterday there was some more encouraging play out of Serge Ibaka and James Harden, and Westbrook did better shooting and distributing, despite five turnovers.

Of course the highlight today will be Oklahoma City taking on former Thunder great Robert Swift. I actually considered flying down to Orlando just so I could see it in person. I would be thrilled if Serge/D.J. /Byron could throw one down on Big Robert. And I would cry if the opposite scenario happened.

It’s the dynamic duo of Mike Sweetney and Robert Swift vs. the twin towers of Byron Mullens and Kyle Hines. The NBA on TN– I mean the Internet! Where Summer League Happens.

Wednesday Bolts – 7.8.09

by Royce Young on July 8, 2009 at 7:43 am 178 Comments

A great story about Serge Ibaka and how he’s catching people’s attention: “Through two days at the Orlando Pro thunderbolt234 Summer League, Congo native Serge Ibaka has gained a lot of admirers. Whisperers are circulating about how Oklahoma City managed to pick up on a unique 6-foot-10, 19-year-old lottery-level talent under everybody’s nose, especially given the enviable stockpile of young skill players the Thunder have managed to draft over the past few years.”

Joe whipped up a few numbers on Harden: “I just did a quick calculation. Our offensive rating was 107, our defensive rating was 107.7. Harden is like a man among boys. His two game averages are: 28.9 minutes, (54.5%,)(44%),(80%) 4.5 rebs, 2 ass., 2.5 pf, 1 steal, 2 turns, .5 block, 18 ppg. That’s an eFG% of 63.6%. I know these games are somewhat meaningless, but it’s great to see how well he does a little bit of everything, including putting the ball in the basket efficiently, which is why most of us were so high on him, and why I think he will really help the team.”

Oklahoma City’s city council approved the new practice facility set to open in 2010: “The city council approved final plans for the project Tuesday. The council also awarded a multitude of contracts for pieces of a $100 million renovation of the Ford Center to bring it to NBA standards. The practice facility will be located near Britton Road and the Broadway Extension. It will include practice courts, locker rooms, a strength and conditioning area, sports medicine area, team offices and storage areas along with furniture, fixtures and equipment.” Keep Reading…

Summer League wrap: Pacers 91, Thunder 88

by Royce Young on July 7, 2009 at 6:58 pm 38 Comments

BOX SCORE

Indiana beat Oklahoma City 91-88 on some stupid Summer League technicality, but that’s not really important. Some life-changing thoughts about the game…

James Harden has so much control of his body it’s ridiculous. It’s very Manu-like, but he doesn’t fall backward when he attacks like Manu does. It’s more straightforward like Brandon Roy and he always gives himself a chance to put a shot up on the rim. Harden could be the ideal iso player late in games and between him and Westbrook, OKC may shoot 200 free throws a game. Harden was excellent again today (19 points on 6-13 shooting), hitting a couple open threes and also passing the ball extremely well. I haven’t been able to get a good read on him defensively, but the fact that I haven’t noticed him all that much on that end of the floor is probably a good thing. He did get his hands on a couple passes and showed some nice anticipation though.

B.J. Mullens’ jumper looked incredibly good – for about a quarter. He swished a beautiful turnaround jumper then nailed a nice 18-footer, but then came up completely empty on a post jump hook and badly bricked a couple jumpshots after that. But hey, you can’t hit them all. One thing that’s becoming painfully obvious about Mullens besides the lack of a post-up game is his defense. Roy Hibbert absolutely had his way with him (24 points, eight rebounds). He’s slow on the rotations and he gets bullied in the post. He’s got to get stronger and he’s got to get tougher if he wants to bang with elite NBA bigs. Keep Reading…

Summer League open thread: Day 2

by Royce Young on July 7, 2009 at 12:27 pm 312 Comments

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) vs. Indiana Pacers (1-0)
Time: 6 p.m.
Watch the game live here.

One incredibly obvious thing that I’m sure we all know but yet I’m still going to point out: We can’t get too worked up either way about anything from these games. Russell Westbrook struggled at times, Serge Ibaka looked really good and Robert Vaden didn’t play hardly at all. But it’s just one Summer League game.

I was certainly impressed with Harden’s skill and assertiveness on the court, but I’m not ready to say he’s an All-Star. What if he goes 2-10 with six turnovers today? You just have to keep it all in the proper perspective. I hope to see Russ a little more in control today, but it’s not like he played bad yesterday. Playing with mainly guys that aren’t exactly “pros” yet, he still put up 22 points and nine assists and while he had four turnovers, three of those were in the first half.

I think Westbrook will be entirely shut down at some point, and I have a feeling he’ll play a little less today. But I hope to see him a little more adjusted to his teammates and to turn it over and be in control of both himself and the game a little better. And I want to see Serge Ibaka dunk on someone’s face.

Tip at 6. Let’s go Kyle Hines!

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