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In lieu of a win…

by Joe on March 15, 2009 at 10:08 am 0 Comments

Since I don’t have any great news about how we beat a top team, or we are fighting for playoff seeding, or anybody getting a triple double or something like that, satisfy yourself instead with the Dunk of the night on NBA.com, featuring our very own Uncle Jeff over Shaggy Robin Lopez.

About the third time I watched it I noticed it was a nice feed from Russell Westbrook. Check it out: as soon as he made the pass he started walking back to the other end of the court. HE KNEW that thing was going down!

Thunder 95-Suns 106

by Joe on March 14, 2009 at 11:46 pm 29 Comments

Box Score

Tonight the Thunder played the Slump Buster for the Suns, getting them off the shneid for a six game losing streak. The Thunder didn’t really lose this game or give it away, it was thoroughly taken from them by the Suns with their sheer hustle and grit-the best of it coming in the fourth quarter. The Thunder were completely outplayed in all areas of the game.

The Thunder opened up a nice lead nine point lead in the first quarter, which reached a high of thirteen at one point. It looked like the Defense that the Thunder had been displaying in the last 1/2 dozen games was going to continue into the Durant 2.0 era, but I think it was just a lot of spotty shooting by the Suns. The first quarter wound up being the only quarter we won of the four. We shot 51% in the first half but the Suns kept chipping away at our lead, aided by the Thunder’s 12 first half turnovers. Shaq picked up his 3rd foul just 3 1/2 minutes into the second quarter and I really thought we would get it done. At the half we still had a small lead, we were in charge of the boards, and the 12 turns only produced 8 points for the Suns. We were looking ok. Keep Reading…

Thunder at Suns: Pre-game primer

by Royce Young on March 14, 2009 at 1:51 pm 9 Comments

okc-thunder2 vs. p-suns

Oklahoma City Thunder (18-47, 5-27 road) at Phoenix Suns (34-31, 19-13 home)

TV: KSBI (Cox 15)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 9:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.7 (28th), Phoenix: 112.2 (4th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.5 (20th), Phoenix: 110.9 (24th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.7 (8th), Phoenix: 95.5 (4th)

A return to the desert to take on the Suns. You know, the team that scored 140 on OKC the last time they played. You know, scored 79 points on the Thunder in the first half. Yeah, that team.

But, luckily for OKC, the Suns aren’t in their “score 140 points on everybody” mode anymore. They’ve lost six in a row and allowed 118 points a game in that stretch. One thing to note about their losing streak – it was against the likes of Orlando, Miami, Houston, San Antonio, Dallas and Cleveland. Not exactly pushovers. In fact, since Alvin Gentry took over, the Suns haven’t really lost to anyone they shouldn’t have. They haven’t beat anybody they shouldn’t have, but still. Against sub-par opponents, they seem to really take care of business. But this doesn’t feel like the Nuggets game where a good team is desperate to get back on track. It feels more like a team is teetering on totally falling apart. So this is a big game for the Suns.

Kevin Durant is supposed to return, but I’m not sure how many minutes he’ll play. He’s said that more than anything, he’s concerned about his conditioning more than his ankle. And with the frenetic pace Phoenix plays at, KD may only see 25-30 minutes – which would probably be smart. Keep Reading…

Nenad Krstic: home versus away

by Royce Young on March 13, 2009 at 2:46 pm 8 Comments

OK, I’m absolutely obsessed with NBA.com’s hotspots. Like a 14-year-old that just discovered Google images, I get started with it and I’ll spend an entire afternoon comparing and contrasting with them.

I wrote after the Sacramento game the recent phenomenon (maybe that’s not the right word), with Nenad Krstic and his home and away jumper. It seems lately, at home he’s been automatic with it, but on the road he’s struggling a bit. Overall, he’s 28-43 (65 percent) from the floor in the last three home games and 9-34 (26 percent) on the road. Pretty solid difference there. Maybe he’s was fatigued with the four games in five days. Maybe they were simply just off nights, which happen to shooters all the time.

But while for the season his overall field goal percentage numbers aren’t that different home vs. away (50 percent at home, 44 percent on the road), there is a pretty large difference on Krispy’s signature shot, the distance jumper.

HOME

picture-12 Keep Reading…

5-2 without KD? Umm, you thinking what I’m thinking?

by Royce Young on March 13, 2009 at 8:21 am 57 Comments

It seems like every paragraph about the Thunder these days makes some reference to OKC winning games without Kevin Durant. And true, the Thunder’s put together their best stretch of the season with their best player on the bench. No denying that.

The Thunder is 5-2 in their last seven with a three-game winning streak squeezed in there. Needless to say, it has brought up talk of the Chewing Ewing Theory and people wondering if KD was the actually the problem. Maybe they’re joking or maybe they’re serious. Who knows. Oh, and keep in mind, for four of those games there was no Jeff Green either (and OKC went 3-1 without him). Double Ewing Theory? No. No! No no no no no no.

You make think the stats are there and it may make sense to say it. Yes, the Thunder’s defense has been night and day better with KD on the bench. It’s not secret that Durant isn’t a great defender, but he more than makes up for it by putting the ball in the basket – a lot.

Look, OKC really turned everything around New Year’s Eve. The team won that night against Golden State and then went 7-7 in January, shedding all that “worst team ever” jibberjabber. But February wasn’t as kind to OKC, with the team going 3-9 and 3-8 with KD in the lineup. Then he goes down with an ankle injury against Dallas and the Thunder pushes the Mavericks to overtime in Dallas and then goes 5-2 without their star.

But let’s be realistic here: The only game out of those five that OKC really shouldn’t have won was at home against Dallas. Other than that, wins against Memphis, Philly, Sacramento and Washington were kind of expected. In February, eight of the 12 opponents the Thunder played were above .500 and in playoff races. OKC played the Lakers twice, New Orleans, Portland twice, Denver, Dallas and Phoenix. Oh, and seven of those 12 were on the road. And you know, OKC’s kind of stinky on the road. Keep Reading…

Friday Bolts – 3.13.09

by Royce Young on March 13, 2009 at 7:57 am 3 Comments

thunderbolt2310 Quite a Bedlam game last night. (Must….not….complain….about…. officiating….)

Russell Westbrook in this week’s SI: “While Westbrook sees himself as a point guard, Brooks still plays him off the ball at times. Defensively, Westbrook can handle both spots: His nearly 80-inch wingspan helps him pester two guards, and he has the lateral quickness to stay with ones. Brooks would like to see Westbrook, already a physical defender, cultivate an in-your-face style similar to that of the Hornets’ Chris Paul. “Paul will bump and bang with you,” Brooks says. “We want Russell to play like that.”

Another “what if the Blazers had drafted Durant?” story: “When I plug a straight Durant-for-Oden swap into the ESPN Trade Machine, it shows that the Blazers’ win total would increase by two while the Thunder’s wins would drop by five. Assuming those are for-the-rest-of-the-season numbers, that would equate to about nine additional Blazer wins over the course of the entire season. They’re projected to win 52 games at their current pace, but with Durant in the lineup that number would rise to 61. That would make the Blazers the fourth-best team in the NBA (behind the Cavs, Celtics and Lakers) and the second-best team in the West. And that’s without Bosh or Stoudemire.”

HoopsWorld on Russell Westbrook’s evolution: “A couple of months ago Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl had a twinkle in his eye when talking about some of the best rookies in this season’s draft class. And in typical Karl style, he took a position not many others were taking at the time. “I’m voting on (Russell) Westbrook,” said Karl. “His stride, his power and his courage to learn a new position. I think in March and April I’m going with Westbrook.” Turns out, Karl was on to something. While both Derrick Rose and O.J. Mayo have been impressive, Westbrook has quietly been just as good. An underrated part of Westbrook’s success has been interim head coach Scott Brooks. During his time in the league as a player Brooks was a smart and crafty point guard who relied more on his basketball I.Q. than his physical skills.” Keep Reading…

Thursday Bolts – 3.12.09

by Royce Young on March 12, 2009 at 8:11 am 21 Comments

An excellent article in the Kansas City Star (hat tip: jk): “Here in Oklahoma City, where the Sooners and Cowboys have thunderbolt239 long ruled the sports landscape, it’s an NBA team with an underwhelming 17-46 record that’s capturing the time and attention of Oklahomans. And with the Ford Center sitting at the center of the Thunder’s ascension, the Big 12 tournament that’s rolling into town this week is no longer the only high-profile ticket in town. Take notice, Kansas City. This is the impact an NBA franchise can have in that time between the Super Bowl and the start of baseball.”

The Lost Ogle on the Swiss diff: “Before the trade deadline, most Oklahomans knew only that Switzerland produces good chocolate, helpful pocketknives, secretive banks, and hot blondes. Little did we know that the country could also provide difference making basketball players. An afterthought dealt by the Bulls after their “blockbuster” trade which netted them John Salmons overloaded the team at the wing, Thabo Sefolosha’s being moved was not picked up by the media until well after the league’s deadline had expired. Just mere weeks later, the Thunder’s acquisition of the Swiss national in return for a late first round pick in a weak draft class is already being billed as the steal of this year’s trade season.”

Dime had a Q&A with Nick Collison and Jeff Green: “Dime: So I was just talking to Nick about the move to Oklahoma City. How are you liking it so far? Jeff Green: Oklahoma is wonderful. Great people and the weather is lovely. Different from where I grew up in the Maryland/D.C. area. You know, everything is fast paced, a lot of buildings. Oklahoma is kind of relaxed and always willing to help and lend a hand. It’s a lot of space, ya know. It’s quiet. I think it’s good for us, gives us a lot of down time. Time to relax.” And you got to love the answer about going to eat after every game and going bowling with Russell and KD. I love that that these guys are best friends. Keep Reading…

So much for another three-game streak

by Royce Young on March 11, 2009 at 10:10 pm 6 Comments

Well, that’s pretty much exactly how I envisioned this going down. A couple of runs by the Thunder to Thunder Nuggets Basketball stay “in it” but never really completely being “in it.” The Nuggets needed this game badly and they played like it, taking down OKC 112-99.

But you have to credit the Thunder for hanging tough at times. There were a couple of points where the game teetered on stepping into blowoutsville, but OKC got some buckets and at least pushed the Nuggets to the end. The largest lead Denver had was 19, but the game was in the 10-14 range most of the way.

This was game number four in five days and there were definitely some tired legs on the Thunder side. But OKC stayed semi-close because of the free throw line. The Thunder hit 30-32 from the stripe and they had to, because the jumpers absolutely were not falling. The Thunder shot 40 percent, hit 3-13 from three and only made something like nine shots outside of the paint altogether.

It was pretty evident early that the Thunder was going to have trouble. The Nuggets were back-cutting and getting easy looks in the paint. It seemed like probably 20 or so of Denver’s 31 first quarter points came on layups and dunks (they shot 12-17 in the first; OKC was 8-22). The interior defense and the rotations just weren’t there. I don’t know if it was hangover from the night before or what, but the team just looked a bit flat. OKC turned it over six times alone in the first quarter en route to 16 overall, but that sort of stuff put the Thunder in catch-up mode early. And it didn’t help that they couldn’t hit a jumper to save their life.

But per usual, the Thunder went on a solid 17-5 run to close to within five in the second quarter. OKC turned up the defensive heat and started running a little more and getting easy looks. That’s what you do when you can’t make an open jump shot – you get out in transition and try and get easy looks and layups. Earl Watson – who had probably his best game of the season – key a lot of it, taking every outlet and every inbound pass and ran with it. He pressed the pace and it led to some good shots. Keep Reading…

Oklahoma City Thunder (18-47, 5-27 road) at Phoenix Suns (34-31, 19-13 home)

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