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Weaver and D.J. White sent to Tulsa

by Joe on April 1, 2009 at 3:13 pm 10 Comments

Sort of surprising when I first read this, but I am starting to see some logic in it. Darnell Mayberry reported today:

Rookies D.J. White and Kyle Weaver have been assigned to the Tulsa 66ers, the Thunder’s D-League affiliate.

It’s the third time White has been sent to Tulsa and the first time Weaver has been sent down.

In four games with Tulsa, White has averages of 14.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists in 30.8 minutes. Weaver has played in 49 games for the Thunder, 17 as a starter, and is averaging 5.4 point, 2.1 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 20 minutes a game.

The goal is to get both players extended minutes with the 66ers, more than they currently would with the Thunder. Both players are expected to be in uniform tonight when the 66ers face the Austin Toros but expect both players to be recalled before the end of the season.

Weaver had his best month in March and is a solid part of the rotation as the 7/8 man. He shot 51% from the field and 41% from downtown and scored 7.1 ppg in March. My guess is that they want to keep him busy and get him some big burn (hopefully they let him run the point now that Livingston is with the big club). Most Thunder fans like his game at 20 minutes per night. Perhaps we can see what he does in Tulsa with say 36 minutes.

We only have one more game this week, on Friday, but next week is a busy week with 5 games. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Kyle back for next week’s 5 games.

I would like to see D.J. get a little burn with the big team also. This is the third trip down and so he can’t go down again this season if he is recalled.

Wednesday Bolts – 4.1.09

by Royce Young on April 1, 2009 at 8:01 am 15 Comments

HoopsWorld rookie rankings: “If Derrick Rose is the superstar point guard of this class, Westbrook is definitely right thunderbolt23 behind him. To know that he’s already scoring so well and seeing the floor so well is one thing, but he’s actually one of the better rebounders of the group as well. If the Thunder ever get back on track and become a contender, he’ll be a big part of it.”

Tony Mejia (I always think of Tony Almeda – he even sort of looks like him) on tanking: “Winning for spite — that, I understand. May as well go to town and surpass Oklahoma City and Minnesota and fall below the seven percent range as far as their top-pick chances go. Winning for the sake of winning? Don’t see the benefit. Developing talent is one thing, especially since many of these teams in contention for worst record are among the NBA’s youngest, but as far as I’m concerned, rattling off a winning streak at this time of year is counter-productive. It means sacrificing your scratch-offs. Watching Sacramento celebrate an overtime victory over Shaquille O’Neal and his Suns, all I could wonder was whether the Kings will be as thrilled come May 19. Coupled with back-to-back Washington losses, the Kings temporarily forfeited 51 lottery combinations.”

Kevin Durant says the team would be better off with Blake Griffin: “I’m looking to do what’s best for my team, you know?” Durant said. “And if the best thing I can do to help us win is to use myself to get traded for a game-changer like Griffin, then I’m going to do it. I’m a team guy and I just want to do everything I can do to make us better.”

Words about Shaun Livingston: “I like the future he has,” Brooks said. “He’s going to help. He’s a prospect we obviously like. We want him to get better as much as he wants to get better.” General manager Sam Presti said having Livingston spend time just up the road in Tulsa helped the Thunder evaluate him, and he believes the 6-foot-7 point guard has done what he needs to do so far to make progress on his way back to the NBA. Presti expected Livingston to join Oklahoma City’s summer league team to help continue his development leading up to next season.” Keep Reading…

Who saw that coming? Go ahead, raise your hands

by Royce Young on March 31, 2009 at 9:10 pm 14 Comments

Box score

Best. Win. Ever.

Ok, so that’s maybe a little strong, but I’ve got to tell you, there was something special about this one. About 40 different times, I threw my hands up and said, “Ppph, annnnd here’s where we blow it.” But somehow, someway, Oklahoma City had one more point than San Antonio in the end, winning for the first time on the road against a plus .500 team, 96-95.

That last minute was kind of a blur. I may or may not have blacked out. I remember Durant missing a shot or something, then the Spurs getting like six offensive rebounds before Tim Duncan tipped it in and then Russell Westbrook did something and then the Spurs threw the ball everywhere before a Michael Finley rainmaker missed. Something like that.

Just like last time, OKC did it with defense. And just like last time, after the first quarter, it didn’t look like there was going to be any defense. The Spurs were backcutting, hitting wide open shots and just ripping the Thunder up as they scored 32 points. Luckily, Kevin Durant re-discovered his awesomeness and had 14 first quarter points, en route to a game-high 31. But defense: After the first, the Thunder just got physical. Duncan was not going to get anything easy. Green, Collison and Krstic did their best to push him around and frustrate him. Westbrook, Kyle Weaver and Thabo Sefolosha were playing up-in-your-face, on-the-ball man-to-man. They were closing out, rotating and best of all, San Antonio was missing shots. That helps. Keep Reading…

Thunder at Spurs: Pre-game primer

by Royce Young on March 31, 2009 at 12:16 pm 17 Comments

okc-thunder7 vs. sa-spurs1

Thunder (20-53, 6-30 road) at San Antonio Spurs (48-25, 26-11 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 7:30 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.1 (28th), San Antonio: 108.2 (13th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.2 (20th), San Antonio: 103.9 (5th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.6 (8th), San Antonio: 88.5 (26th)

A stat to consider: The Spurs are 28-10 when their “big three” of Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili play. And Ginobili is back and expected to play tonight. Awesome.

We all remember last time, a defining 78-76 win over San Antonio in which OKC shot 36 percent from the field, was outrebounded and trailed at one point by 17 and yet somehow won. In that game all five Thunder starters were minuses while the entire bench was pluses. A strange but excellent win. One big helper in the last game was the Spurs went 3-19 for three. They’re a good shooting team and OKC can’t expect that kind of performance again.

And the Thunder’s going to have to grind another one if they intend to win again. San Antonio is the best defensive team in the league and the OKC offense has sputtered a bit lately. The Thunder hasn’t scored 100 points in 15 games after topping the century mark in seven of 10 before that. Keep Reading…

Shaun Livingston signed to multiyear deal; D.J. White recalled

by Royce Young on March 31, 2009 at 9:14 am 27 Comments

From the AP, via NewsOK.com:

Oklahoma City Thunder have signed former first round draft pick Shaun Livingston to a multiyear contract. Thunder vice president and general manager Sam Presti announced the signing Tuesday. Terms of the agreement were not announced.

Very interesting. The fact that this isn’t a 10-day contract or even just a one-year deal is surprising. Livingston wasn’t doing a whole lot to wow anyone in Tulsa, averaging 9.5 ppg, 6.0 apg and 3.5 rpg in almost 30 minutes a night in 11 games. Not exactly numbers that blow you away. But the dude has talent which is why he’s a 6-7 point guard that was taken No. 4 by the Clippers in 2004. The Thunder’s clearly looking for a legit backup point guard and it looks like the Chucky Atkins experience isn’t working out so well. The draft is always another option, but Livingston is a quality semi-veteran that’s going to give solid minutes.

UPDATE: “Livingston will be with the Thunder for the remaining nine games and throughout the summer. Thunder fans can expect to see him in uniform before the regular season ends, although it won’t be tonight in San Antonio, where he joined the team today and will participate in this morning’s shoot around.”

Also, D.J. White has been recalled. So he really needed one more game in Tulsa to get ready? Weird.

Tuesday Bolts – 3.31.09

by Royce Young on March 31, 2009 at 8:08 am 3 Comments

Well, I caved. Daily Thunder is now Twittering. I know, how lame. Twitter was so two months ago. But hopefully it will be an easy way to stay thunderbolt2323 updated with new stories and the like. And also, because I’m sure you’re all just dying to know what I’m doing at 10 p.m. on a Tuesday night. Just put my feet up on the coffee table. And now I’m taking a sip of Diet Dr. Pepper. Is someone at the door? Oh, that’s just the TV. How many characters do I get with thi– You know, that type of stuff. I also reserve the right to randomly stop and abandon it whenever I dang well please.

The Puns are Starting to Bore Me draft redux: “OKC, Kevin Love: Speculation says that the Thunder will draft Blake Griffin if awarded the no.1 pick in the 09 draft. Why wait until then? The Thunder get a legit double/double guy in Love to place alongside Kevin Durant while still keeping Jeff Green at the 4. They miss out on a PG, but with the 09 draft stocked with guards, they can afford to pass on one this year.” If you’re wondering, Russell Westbrook was taking third by the Wolves.

FreeDarko on KD’s quote to the Boston Globe and more: “Durant has more of an uphill battle in this respect, since despite his college hype he’s been all but invisible this season. Still, this can’t last much longer, and if next season the recognition comes, and the fans flock, by 2010 OKC might not be a joke any longer. But more importantly is Durant’s conviction, even good-natured shock, and just how brilliantly-engineered this team’s future is. Sam Presti is smart. Sure, being surrounded by bikinis and beaches is nice, as would time spent in a national spotlight you don’t have to earn. And yet we’ve seen that the Knicks can tumble into oblivion, even before the economy collapsed. Presti will not mess up when it comes to developing this team and its players. You could say similar things about Pritchard. If team markets are becoming more and more negligible, and the perilous state of all things financial makes the astute GM more precious than ever, how far are we from Presti being what keeps Durant in OKC?”

I like how KD has been say glowing things about Oklahoma City all year but when some major newspaper in the northeast quotes him on it, everyone perks up. And why does everyone seem so shocked by him saying he loves this city? Keep Reading…

Scouts talking about Blake Griffin

by Royce Young on March 30, 2009 at 12:21 pm 17 Comments

From Stephen A. Smith’s story on Tyler Hansbrough and Blake Griffin. Some great quotes on Griffin’s NBA potential.

“Blake Griffin is a man,” one NBA scout said. “You can end whatever speculation there is right now. Come June, he will be the No. 1 overall pick in the draft by anyone who gets it. Anyone.

“The only way that doesn’t happen is if he elects to stay for his junior year. His skills are too superior to everyone else. He can score at will. He’s a ferocious rebounder with quick jumping ability. He’s about to be the player of the year. There’s ‘star’ written all over this guy.

“Tyler Hansbrough is a very good player with a place for him on the next level. He’s simply too good a kid, too productive and too hard a worker not to be picked somewhere in the top 15. But Blake Griffin is just special. They shouldn’t be mentioned in the same sentence.”

After watching Blake for two years in college and four in high school, I’m honestly starting to wonder if he’s the type of player you sell the farm to get. People can question the little things about him – free throw shooting, defense, mid-range jumper – but he’s got those tools. They just weren’t always on display. He didn’t need the mid-range game because he could post up any player in America. His defense sometimes didn’t look great because he was concerned with foul trouble – OU couldn’t afford for Blake to not be on the floor. And his free throw shooting numbers look bad, but he’s got a great release and a small mechanical hitch. Nothing some good coaching can’t fix.

Blake Griffin is an incredibly special player because he combines unreal ability with passion, intensity and outstanding character. Regardless of where the Thunder lands in the lottery, I know I’m doing just about anything (within reason) to get Blake. He’s worth the price tag. Maybe you don’t think he fits well or there’s a place for him. Trust me, a guy like this, you find a place.

And don’t count the Thunder out of the Griffin Sweepstakes quite yet – if you have the worst record in the league you get just a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick. That means there’s a 75 percent chance you don’t. Right now, OKC stands at 8.8 percent. The Bulls had just a 1.7 percent chance last year and won the top spot. It can happen people.

One of these is not like the other

by Royce Young on March 30, 2009 at 9:56 am 20 Comments

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Take a good look through there. Which one of those names doesn’t belong? Let’s see, by position: PF, PF, C, PF, C, PF, C, PF, C, C, C, PF, C, PF, PG, PF, C, PF, C.

Double-take? That’s right, Russell Westbrook is 16th in the Western Conference in offensive rebounds per game. A point guard - A POINT GUARD – right in the middle of all those names. In fact, he’s 30th in the entire league in offensive rebounds per game. He’s first in point guards by 49 offensive rebounds (Andre Miller is second with 106) and he’s sixth in all the rookies right behind Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (does he have an abbreviation for that mouthful? LRMaM? Can we just call him Mbah?) and right in front of Greg Oden.

Westbrook even had a game earlier this year where he recorded eight offensive boards (some good power forwards never do that in an entire career) and he’s got 11 games where he’s got five or more. (David Lee’s had five or more 17 times, Emeka Okafor 17 times, Pau Gasol 16 times and Paul Millsap 16 times. That’s numbers three, four, five and six in offensive rebounds in the league. And Westbrook, a 6-3 point guard, has 11. Amazing.)

More than anything else, this stat tells the story about Russell Westbrook. He may not make the best decisions. He may turn it over a lot. His jumper may be a work in progress. His court vision may not be there yet. He may the force the issue sometimes. And maybe you think he’s not the answer at point guard. But the guy plays ball. He works, he hustles and he does every stinking thing he’s capable of to help the team win. Say what you will about Russ and his defienciencies (which he has plenty), but the guy is an absolute, all-out ballplayer.

Thunder (20-53, 6-30 road) at San Antonio Spurs (48-25, 26-11 home)

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