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Some season stats to consider

by Royce Young on April 21, 2009 at 1:52 pm 9 Comments

As we go into the offseason and the discussion continues about what free agents Oklahoma City should key on or who the Thunder should set their eyes to in the draft, one good way to gain some perspective is to take a look back at the season in stats.

  • The Thunder ranked in the bottom 10 of the league in nine major statistical categories: 24th in scoring offense (97.0 ppg), 23rd in opponent points per game (103.1), 26th in field goal percentage (44.6), last in turnovers (16.2 per game), last in three pointers made (four a game), last in three point attempts (11.6), 20th in assists per game (20.3), 22nd in blocks (4.5 a game) and 29th in assist to turnover ratio (1.14).
  • OKC did rebound surprsingly well ranking sixth in the league in rebounds per game (42.6). But while the Thunder hit glass well, they did give up 41.2 rebounds a game for a differential of +1.4, which was in the bottom 15 of the league. But at the same time, nobody averaged more than 6.9 a game. It was all done by committee without one dominant rebounder.
  • Another thing the Thunder did well was steal the ball. OKC ranked 13th in the league with 7.4 thefts per game.
  • Again, the Thunder ranked dead last in both three pointers attempted and made. Jeff Green and Kevin Durant combined to make 193 of OKC’s 328 threes this season. Yeah, that’s 59 percent of the team’s total three point makes. Keep Reading…

Tuesday Bolts – 4.21.09

by Royce Young on April 21, 2009 at 7:39 am 18 Comments

Check, check it – Joe Smith – I mean – JOE BEAST, has released his debut rap album. Making a guest appearance is thunderbolt2313Desmond Mason on and be sure to listen closely to Murda Kapital/Lucifer: “Keep thunder like Kevin Durant and the fire gone…” or something like that. All I know is that he mentioned KD by name. DJ Switch, a local DJ helped Smith on the album and evidently it’s getting airplay here in OKC – though I wouldn’t know because my dial rarely moves away from 98.1. You can download the whole thing for free at or preview it at his Myspace. You got to love the cover Just Died In Your Arms Tonight.

Empty the Bench looks at the seven teams in the West that didn’t make the playoffs: “They have an exciting core of youngsters-Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook-who all can do a little of everything. They lost 14 games by 5 points or less, which should drop as this group gains more experience. Without anyone on the team averaging more than 6.9 rebounds, the Thunder were still seventh in the league with a +1.41 rebounding differential. Starters Nenad Krstic (center) and Thabo Sefolosha (guard-forward) weren’t present for a combined 95 games. Can wunderkind point guard Shaun Livingston continue his solid play in the summer league and actually play a full regular season?”

Joe and I both talked to Hoop China. Don’t worry, they translated it for us. Also, it looks like they interviewed Berry Tramel and Mike Baldwin as well: “I think if the Thunder can get Tony Parker, Chauncey Billups or Derrick Rose for next to nothing, then fine, let’s kick Westbrook to the curb. But otherwise, I don’t understand the questions about Westbrook.You’ve got a rookie point guard, who is only 20 years old, and didn’t get toplay much point in the past, who averages 15 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists a game for a bad team. He’s wonderfully athletic, and everyone thinks he will become a defensive stopper. He’s a penetrator deluxe. His flaws are that his decision-making is still shaky and he’s not a great shooter. There are about 29 NBA teams that hope the Thunder listens to the skeptics and moves Westbrook off the point.” Keep Reading…

Monday Bolts – 4.20.09

by Royce Young on April 20, 2009 at 10:06 am 20 Comments

This stupid thing called “the playoffs” is kind of going on now, so everybody is distracted and not writing thunderbolt2as much “Watch out for the Thunder next year!” articles. I mean, come on! Sixers vs. Magic or Kevin Durant’s offseason workout regimen? Give the people what they want!

BallerBlogger’s final grades: “Thunder: C-After firing the dunce P.J. Carlesimo, and hiring Scott Brooks, the Thunder actually started to resemble a basketball team. Kevin Durant’s shooting stroke is golden, and Jeff Green is a lengthy, athletic sidekick. If Russell Westbrook ever develops, the Thunder will have quite an impressive threesome. Finding a defensive-minded shooting guard is a necessity, as is losing the notion that Robert Swift is a reliable NBA center. There’s certainly more growing pains to go through, but give the Thunder a couple more seasons and they’ll begin taking the West by storm.”

Again, Paul Woolpert out as 66ers head coach: “Woolpert arrived in Tulsa after winning three CBA championships with the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA, where he finished as the fifth winningest coach in CBA history.  The 66ers are owned by the Oklahoma City Thunder, and as such, I’d assume Woolpert wasn’t in charge of many basketball decisions other than coaching.  If that is indeed the case, this would seemingly be a personality conflict, as Woolpert’s known to be a bit of a hot head – ejection from his first D-League game included.”

The Painted Area’s awards: “Russell Westbrook would have been on this list for much of the season, but from March 22 on, he averaged a putrid 12.4 ppg on .346 FG% shooting, as OKC stumbled home to a 4-9 record after showing some promise midseason.” Keep Reading…

Who’s staying and who’s going

by Joe on April 19, 2009 at 10:04 pm 17 Comments

Now that the season is over, I am already thinking about how this team might look come training camp in October. The particulars of course can not be known until they happen, but I thought it might be time to look at the odds  of our four free agents coming back for next season or not.

I don’t have any special insight on these matters, I just thought I would examine the salary implications, the fit, and the intangibles surrounding each player and the team going forward.

Desmond Mason : odds for returning 30%

Desmond is in a unique situation in that he’s stated publicly that he would like to be back, and he has connection with the fans from his playing days at Oklahoma State and with the relocated Hornets. He seems to be a positive influence in the locker room, and despite his puny offensive production, the Thunder played some of their best basketball of the season in January with Des in the starting lineup. Des replaced Damien Wilkins as a starter  for the Dec. 19th game against the Toronto Raptors. Prior to that game the team had lost 8 straight. As you may remember the Thunder got the win against the struggling Raptors that night. Over the next 6 or so weeks the team had some of it’s best success, but a closer look reveals there is more to the story.

Mason started 18 games during that stretch and the team was 8-10, which was a revelation for the team at the time.  But during those 18 games, the Thunder also had it’s easiest schedule of the season. In those 18 games with Desmond as a starter, 10 of the teams we matched up against were sub .500 at the time, and 11 of the games were at home.  It should also be noted that in the run up to that win against Toronto, the Thunder had been very competitive, almost getting wins despite Brooks experimenting with Wilcox in the starting lineup for 5 games and Petro for three; so there was  a ton of roster changes during this time. Also, after the win against Toronto with Des as the starter, the Thunder lost five consecutive games. Keep Reading…

An early look at 2009-2010

by Royce Young on April 19, 2009 at 12:41 pm 37 Comments

I love the offseason. It’s really almost as much fun to me as actually playing games. Moving parts, roster changes, players working on their games, speculating… it’s fun. Time to start looking at who could be here, who might not be and just the overall (and very early) outlook for next season.

By John Mietus
Special to Daily Thunder

It’s a summer of reckoning for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Next season brings renewed optimism and expectation for the club. We as fans of the team must expect things to improve and we must expect to see major changes next year in the win/loss column. The players, who I and many others believe have the right talent to win at the NBA level must piece together “unexpected” victories and become a “surprise” team contending for the playoffs. Progress can only be measured in small increments, but this year’s version of the club has made significant strides during the course of the season. Scott Brooks has done an excellent job keeping the Thunder competitive to the very last week of the season, there is no question that the team had no interest in “tanking” in order to improve draft position. I believe this is good karma for both coach and ball club, not conceding an inch even when making the playoffs is a dream long dead. Brooks continues to demonstrate he is the right man for the job of leading the Thunder into next season.

With 18 losses this year coming by six points or less the Thunder seem primed to better their overall record in 2009-2010. Even a 50% improvement in “close games” would be a major leap forward in the standings. And this belies the fact that the club has yet to fully decide on its roster going forward. We’re sitting on a heaping pile of draft picks, right now based on record: three of the top 34. Considering the success with drafting Russell Westbrook fourth last year and the additions of Jeff Green and Kevin Durant the year before, there’s a good chance the team can add at least one, if not two contributors via the draft alone this offseason. In addition, the Thunder are so far below the salary cap that they’ve got plenty of room to maneuver in that area as well. The sun is shining on Oklahoma City. Keep Reading…

Thunder will represent in two summer leagues

by Joe on April 18, 2009 at 3:32 pm 14 Comments

Over at the team site Chris Silva has some bullet highlights from a  post season interview with Sam Presti.  There’s a lot of stuff in there and it’s worth the read, but here is my favorite part:

The Thunder will participate in both the Orlando and Las Vegas Summer Leagues. Westbrook will play only in Orlando. Serge Ibaka and DeVon Hardin, whose rights are owned by OKC, will probably play in both leagues. Shaun Livingston, D.J. White and Kyle Weaver will also play this summer.

Awesome! Both summer leagues are the bigger, better alternative to the low budget less expensive Rocky Mountain Revue that the previous owners always ran the Sonics through. The Vegas league especially is a pretty big deal. Last summer it had 21 NBA  teams participate. The Orlando had 6 teams (one of which was OKC-before they were the Thunder) and Westbrook and Green were first teamers.  There will be plenty of coverage of our young guys there and our two new draft picks. You can read the rest of the article here.

It’s just one short month plus one day until the draft lottery (May 19).  I think our luckiest player should go and represent us when the ping pong balls come out of the hopper. After Jeff Green’s game winner bank shot against GSW,  and his missed free throw putback for the win against Sacramento, Green should be there with a truck load of OU colored rabbits feet.

The playoffs start tomorrow and we didn’t get invited

by Royce Young on April 17, 2009 at 12:26 pm 21 Comments

Man I really wish Oklahoma City was in the playoffs. It just looks like so much fun.

But since we’re not, who will you be rooting for? Everybody’s got that backup team that they’d like to see win if your team can’t. I would have said Portland until Jason Quick informed me that “OKC blows”. But you know what? I like Kobe. I don’t know why, but I just do. So I wouldn’t mind seeing the Lakers win. I would say the Jazz because I love Jerry Sloan and I’d love to see him get a title, but come on, they’ve got no shot. Also, for some reason I’ve always liked Mark Cuban, so the Mavs making a run would be all right with me. This year’s playoffs should be awesome and even though my team’s not involved, I’m still excited to watch. So who’s wagon are you jumping on?

(Also, Hardwood Paroxysm is hosting the TrueHoop Network Playoff Smackdown. My first round picks are in so click there if you want to know the correct picks. Because you know, I’m never wrong. Except in my March Madness pool where I finished fourth. Darn you Louisville.)

Friday Bolts – 4.17.09

by Royce Young on April 17, 2009 at 8:03 am 13 Comments

Bleacher Report finals power rankings with OKC at No. 24: “My personal favorite losing-team to watch currently, the thunderbolt2312OKC Thunder will be much better next year. Kevin Durant will be an All-Star, and rookie Russell Westbrook will have another year of adjusting to NBA play under his belt. Imagine if the Thunder land another scorer in the draft?”

Kevin Durant took home CelticsBlog’s MIP award: “Though his defense still has a ways to go, Durant made progress in every aspect of the game this season with the most significant coming in his jump from 51.9 to 57.6 true shooting that accompanied a scoring increase from 20.3 to 25.3 points per game.  It took just two years for KD to become an elite scorer in this league, and his rebounding, passing and ability to take care of the ball all took a step forward this season as well.” 

Chris Silva has the scoop on all the exit interviews for the team. Lots of great information here: “Green will head back to his hometown of Washington, D.C., where he will take more courses towards his degree in Women’s Studies at Georgetown.” Jeff Green is majoring in Women’s Studies? Weird. “If he had to grade his performance this season, Green said he’d give himself a ‘C.’” I’d give him a B+. “Away from the media, Westbrook did say that he might wear protective sleeves on his arms next season; his arms were covered with bruises, scratches and scars from attacking the rim on a regular basis.”  Keep Reading…

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