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Nets vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on January 2, 2013 at 4:46 pm 1,813 Comments

vs.

Brooklyn Nets (16-15, 5-8 road) vs. OKC Thunder (24-6, 16-2 home)

TV: FSOK (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 113.3 (1st), Nets– 106.2 (11th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.4 (9th), Nets – 106.5 (21st)
Pace: Thunder – 92.5 (8th), Nets – 87.8 (29th)

View from the enemy: The Brooklyn Game

Tonight, Thunder coaching legend P.J. Carlesimo returns to Oklahoma City in what’s assured to be an emotional night at The Peake. What’s that? Oh yeah. The Thunder went 1-12 under Carlesimo, and 20-62 with the Sonics in 2007-08. Keep Reading…

What’s up with Russell Westbrook’s shot?

by Royce Young on January 2, 2013 at 2:52 pm 111 Comments

Russell Westbrook hasn’t shot the ball very well this year. It’s become a bit of A Thing. With Westbrook, the mid-range game is off, but he’s also not finishing. And it’s killing his shooting percentage, which is down to 40.4 percent, close to his rookie level of 39.8 percent.

Part of it is that Westbrook lacks consistency. Consider this: Westbrook hasn’t had back-to-back games where he’s shot 50 percent or above from the floor yet this season. In fact, Westbrook has only hit 50 percent of his shots six games out of 30.

On a TrueHoop TV, David Thorpe diagnosed it like this: Keep Reading…

TGR 86: Thunder in 2013

by Thunderground Radio on January 2, 2013 at 12:08 pm 110 Comments

Happy New Year! This week Brad and Joel recap this past week’s games against the Heat, Mavs, Rockets and Suns, and discuss the following topics…

Any answers for LBJ?

Is Perk getting big minutes crucial to team chemistry?

Analyzing Reggie Jackson as a backup point guard

Should a beat writer for a team be a fan of that team?

Checking out the Western Conference standings

…and tons more.

Download, listen and comment.

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Wednesday Bolts – 1.2.13

by Royce Young on January 2, 2013 at 9:53 am 84 Comments

Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com in a 5-on-5: “This feels like his year. With his improvement as a rebounder, defender and playmaker, Durant’s all-around game no longer pales in comparison to LeBron’s. Statistically, KD has been the most valuable player so far this season. Despite the threat of Chris Paul, the annual summer Durant MVP hype will finally translate into an actual trophy this spring.”

Rob Mahoney of SI.com says KD is winning MVP: “But Durant and the Thunder — despite a great start after the departure of Sixth Man Award winner James Harden — have been almost completely eclipsed by the Knicks’ shiny success, the Lakers-inspired schadenfreude and the Heat’s occasional malaise. Durant may have years of feel-good coverage working in his favor, but in the most impressive season of his career he’s been oddly under-covered. That quiet isn’t likely to last, but in today’s world of minute-to-minute reporting it’s almost refreshing to see Durant very quietly close the gap on three-time winner LeBron James to the point where he makes for a credible MVP choice.” Keep Reading…

Tuesday Bolts – 2013 Edition

by Royce Young on January 1, 2013 at 9:35 am 1,306 Comments

Happy such and such to you and yours. Hope it’s awesome and whatnot.

Former Thunderer Lazar Hayward says he met a spirit: “I’ve actually touched into another piece of my life with some spiritual stuff,” Hayward said. “I’ve been going to see some mediums. I’ve seen two. They’ve both said the same thing. I’ve actually been able to see a spirit when I’ve been in one of the meetings. I can’t talk to them yet but I have seen them. … [Mediums] are people who can see and talk to spirits. I actually had a friend go there. They were able to speak to their brother who has been dead for about six years now. That’s exactly what a medium is.”

J.A. Adande of ESPN.com listed the Thunder as his second best moment of 2012: “The Thunder’s arrival in the NBA Finals. It was at once the culmination of a project that turned around a team that started in Oklahoma City by losing 16 of its first 17 games only four years earlier and the beginning of a constant in June. Of all the goofy getups Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant wore during the playoffs, the Western Conference championship caps were the best look.” Keep Reading…

Thunder cruise into 2013 with 114-96 win over Phoenix

by Royce Young on December 31, 2012 at 10:48 pm 249 Comments

BOX SCORE

Play the Thunder on New Year’s Eve, and you lose. It’s basically science at this point.

Oklahoma City improved to 5-0 on Dec. 31 with a fairly routine 114-96 win over the struggling Suns.

The Suns cut OKC’s lead to two with about nine minutes left, but Nick Collison had back-to-back buckets, Thabo hit a 3, Russell Westbrook hit a layup, KD dropped a couple free throws then hit a jumper and the sealer was a Westbrook steal that he laid back to Serge Ibaka for a dunk to put the Thunder up 11 with 4:50 left.

Two big storylines from this one, both kind of related to one another: Keep Reading…

Suns vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on December 31, 2012 at 4:31 pm 1,022 Comments

vs.

Phoenix Suns (11-20, 2-13 road) vs. OKC Thunder (23-6, 15-2 home)

TV: FSOK (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CT

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 112.8 (1st), Suns– 104.5 (16th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.2 (9th), Suns – 108.4 (27th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.7 (8th), Suns – 92.3 (10th)

View from the enemy: Valley of the Suns

The Thunder are 79-0 on New Year’s Eve (note: actually 4-0 in the OKC era). And one of those wins includes beating the Suns on Dec. 31 (last season). So what I’m saying is, history is on the Thunder’s side here. Keep Reading…

Thunder Player Power Rankings: 2012 down, 2013 ahead

by Royce Young on December 31, 2012 at 2:17 pm 72 Comments

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

For the Thunder, 2012 was pretty good.

A whole lot happened. An NBA Finals appearance, the heartbreak that came with losing that, three players winning Olympic gold, one of them being traded, the emergence of Kevin Martin, the development of Kevin Durant and a 12-game win streak. That’s just the quick and dirty.

Question is, will 2013 be better? That’s very much up in the air, especially with the Western Conference revving up. The Clippers look absolutely unstoppable. The Spurs are of course good. The Lakers seem to be putting some things together. The Grizzlies, Wolves and Warriors are all improved from a year ago. The race to the Finals this time around could be quite the challenge. Keep Reading…

Brooklyn Nets (16-15, 5-8 road) vs. OKC Thunder (24-6, 16-2 home)

Phoenix Suns (11-20, 2-13 road) vs. OKC Thunder (23-6, 15-2 home)

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