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Thursday Bolts – 11.29.12

by Royce Young on November 29, 2012 at 10:47 am 141 Comments

Sam Amick of USA Today: “They spent four months negotiating with him and his agent, Rob Pelinka, and anyone who had tracked the career of the team’s general manager, Sam Presti, knows of his tendency to act deliberately and, when necessary, swiftly. So with Harden hell-bent on landing a maximum deal of four years and $58.5 million, Presti dealt him (with three others) to Houston for veteran scorer Kevin Martin, rookie shooting guard Jeremy Lamb, two first-round picks and a second-round pick. Harden, who told USA TODAY Sports that the final offer from the Thunder was for four years and $53 million, said he was not aware that Houston was a possibility until the deal was done.”

Marc Stein of ESPN.com: “The results were fairly predictable, too. With Chandler Parsons (shoulder) and Carlos Delfino (groin) out injured and unavailable to stretch the floor — and Thunder defenders knowing Harden’s tendencies better than anyone — they smothered him with relentless aggression and precision. Harden wound up seeing six of his 16 shots blocked by a defense that made it immediately clear that there would be nothing resembling the lefty’s 82-point spree in his first two games after OKC stunned the entire NBA by trading him to Houston on Oct. 27 when contract extension talks collapsed.” Keep Reading…

OKC swarms Harden and handles Houston, 120-98

by Royce Young on November 28, 2012 at 11:35 pm 310 Comments

BOX SCORE

Entering tonight’s homecoming for James Harden, the big question was how the home fans would respond. Would they boo? Would they cheer? These are the stupid things we all care about.

But in the end, it was obvious: They were a whole lot more cordial and friendly than the Thunder were.

All that talk of this being any old game and No. 13 in red being just your usual opposing player? Yeah, right. The Thunder swarmed him, frustrated him, and completely locked down on him. Part of that is probably coincidental seeing as Harden is by far the best player Houston’s got. But there was a little extra motivation there too.

“Pride gets in and definitely you don’t want to be the one where he scored 30 against you,” Thabo Sefolosha said. “So definitely.”

Harden didn’t score 30. Didn’t score 20 either. He got 17, but it came on a miserable 3-of-16 shooting night that didn’t see him hit his first bucket until the second half. Keep Reading…

Rockets vs. Thunder: Pregame Primer

by Royce Young on November 28, 2012 at 3:56 pm 2,351 Comments

vs.

Houston Rockets (7-7, 2-4 road) vs. OKC Thunder (11-4, 7-2 home)

TV: FS OK (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 – 111.4 (3rd), Rockets– 106.4 (8th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.7 (10th), Rockets – 104.1 (15th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.5 (13th), Rockets – 94.9 (1st)

View from the enemy: Red 94

Some serious anticipation surrounding this one. For the first time since the big move, the Thunder welcome the sensation known as Linsanity to OKC.

What’s that?

Oh. And that James Harden guy comes back too. I guess that’s a big deal too. Keep Reading…

3-on-3: Reacting to Harden’s return

by Royce Young on November 28, 2012 at 1:10 pm 198 Comments

Bill Baptist/NBAE/Getty Images

The Beard comes back to Oklahoma City tonight. Just one month exactly after he left. As one person texted me, it definitely has that ex-boyfriend-is-coming-back-over-to-get-their-things vibe to it.

How should Thunder fans react to his return? And more importantly, with a month in the rearview mirror, how has this whole thing worked out? Keep Reading…

Wednesday Bolts – 11.28.12

by Royce Young on November 28, 2012 at 9:47 am 182 Comments

The most popular jersey list is out and LeBron is No. 1, taking over the spot from Derrick Rose who slipped to No. 5. KD has climbed all the way up to No. 2, edging out Kobe and Carmelo. Russell Westbrook jumps up to No. 12, making his first appearance on the list. Rajon Rondo is six, Dwyane Wade seven, Blake Griffin eight, Dwight Howard nine and Chris Paul 10.

Fran Blinebury of NBA.com on Harden’s return: “That’s all Harden, Durant and Westbrook could think about as they stood on the sidelines that night in Miami, arm-in-arm in defeat, side-by-side secure in the belief that they would keep moving ahead together. Did he consider for a moment that he would only return to OKC this season for just one game as an outsider. ‘To be honest, I didn’t,’ Harden said. ‘Especially coming off The Finals and basically being together (with Durant and Westbrook) all summer with the Olympics. It happened so fast, happened so fast … Everything happens for a reason and now I’m in a different situation.’ The Beard growing among different faces.” Keep Reading…

Practice Report: OKC prepares for The Beard’s return

by Royce Young on November 27, 2012 at 2:17 pm 555 Comments

Jesse Garrabrant/NBAE/Getty Images

Everyone knows that Wednesday’s game against the Rockets means just a little bit more. Even Scott Brooks, who broke from his “every game matters the same” script after practice Tuesday.

“No, it’s not just another game. I want to beat the Rockets,” Brooks said. “They traded me in the second championship year. It took me five years to get over Rudy Tomjanovich. Now we’re best buddies. But yeah, it’s still personal.”

OK, other than that, it’s not just any game for the Thunder. It’s the return of James Harden, which will surely be an awkward, somewhat emotional night at The Peake. Keep Reading…

Tuesday Bolts – 11.27.12

by Royce Young on November 27, 2012 at 10:44 am 133 Comments

Danny Chau of The Classical on Perry Jones III: “Jones’ freakish ability on the court had me smitten, but his self-awareness is what made me a real believer in his success. Despite a ridiculous NCAA suspension at the end of Jones’ freshman year—one of the NCAA’s using-a-bazooka-to-remove-a-ketchup-stain specials in its long-running conflict against picayune violations—Jones decided to return for his sophomore year, mature enough to know he wasn’t yet mature enough for the pro game. His time with P3 was a preemptive measure to help his body best defend against the unknowable future. It’s the kind of proactive effort that could have saved the prime years of Tracy McGrady’s career. Potential is fleeting, but Jones is doing what he can to protect it while he’s still young.”

Ken Berger of CBSSports.com on the lockout a year later: “As far as reducing player costs as a percentage of revenues, that goal was achieved almost immediately. The players’ share of basketball-related income (BRI) was reduced from 57 percent under the previous agreement to 51.15 percent for the 2011-12 season and to a sliding scale between 49 and 51 percent thereafter, based on revenues. The escrow system remains in place to account for any shortfall or overage in the amount of negotiated salaries. How that reduction is being achieved will be the most interesting and important aspect of the agreement. With only one truncated and one full free-agent signing period under the agreement so far, it’s too soon to conclude whether the player cost reductions are being achieved in a way that promotes competitive balance.” Keep Reading…

Westbrook punctuates OKC’s 114-69 blowout of the Bobcats

by Royce Young on November 26, 2012 at 10:24 pm 265 Comments

BOX SCORE

I knew the Thunder were up by a lot late in the second quarter. I was watching the game, but kind of not paying super close attention to it. The TV in front of me in the arena was on the Nets-Knicks game and on top of that with the Thunder up by a lot, I had started writing most of this recap.

Then Russell Westbrook regained my attention.

The Thunder were up 38 on the Bobcats with about 10 seconds left in the half. Some of you might’ve had the urge to flip over to Finding Bigfoot or whatever’s on TV on Monday’s or leave your seat early to try and get a head start on a little halftime snack. If you did, you made a big mistake. Keep Reading…

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