The Thunder bottom out in New York, 100-92
I don’t know. I just don’t even know.
I was going to start this recap out trollin’ talking about how the Knicks are hot right now and Kevin Durant was out and that the Thunder might be tired from their road trip and that there’s still 36 games left and that they just missed shots and how they got some bad breaks and that sometimes you have bad nights in the NBA and how you can’t lose your mind after one bad loss and that the Thunder are still a really good team and that they’ll be fine.
But nah, I don’t have that in me tonight. I don’t even want to try and have fun with this. I feel like Bane just suplexed me. The Thunder might’ve even broken me. This is the official low point of the season. This is rock bottom. It’s probably only going to get worse on Saturday as they travel to Memphis where there’s a strong likelihood they drop back under .500, but if the Thunder end up missing the postseason, this is the night I’m going to remember where it all unraveled.
I just have such a hard time understanding why it’s not working. This team is good. Let’s recap: Their subtractions off a team that won 59 games last season –playing 36 of them without a top five player — and went to six games in the Western Conference finals were Thabo Sefolosha, Derek Fisher, Hasheem Thabeet and Caron Butler. They haven’t been able to play more than 10 games together this season at full strength, which obviously disrupts continuity and chemistry, but still, there’s a body of work and a standard already in place that suggests they should be OK.
Except it’s like we keep getting taught this lesson over and over as the team plays inconsistently. Bad losses happen during an 82-game schedule. Rewind and look through the last five years and you’ll find plenty of them. But it’s like each one this season is a clue to something bigger, like we haven’t been paying attention to the signs. Or at least maybe I haven’t. I can get over losses in Atlanta and Cleveland to really good teams. But I can’t abide by following up what was truly a terrible performance against the Wolves with a putrid loss in New York. That’s telling me something that I need to start listening to.
What I saw tonight was a Thunder team that outside of Russell Westbrook, looked scared. As soon as the Knicks started making some shots and the game stayed close deep into the second half, they all tightened up. Like the fear of possibly losing this game was becoming a reality. Westbrook scored seven straight to get the Thunder within two with five minutes left, but the Knicks responded with seven straight of their own to put the game away.
Westbrook felt it too, I think. He tried to do everything on his own, for better and for worse. He scored 40, but on 13-30 shooting. He took a heap of terrible shots in the fourth quarter, but I’m not entirely sure I can blame him. What was he supposed to do, pass it to Perry Jones? Serge Ibaka inexplicably no-showed. The pick-and-roll game with Steven Adams dissolved. Dion Waiters didn’t play any down the stretch. Reggie Jackson did a whole lot of standing and watching. The Thunder didn’t play like a team for more than three consecutive possessions during any time in the game. It was a collection of individuals playing basketball in same colored jerseys.
Clearly, this team is better when Durant and Westbrook play together. They’re 14-7 blah blah blah. But that’s been the point all along: The hole they dug in November was merciless. There was going to be no more room for rolled ankles or sprained toes. If Durant and Westbrook were healthy for this entire season, no doubt in my mind the Thunder are something like 31-15 after 46 games. But that didn’t happen, and it’s exposed a lot of deep cutting flaws the team has.
I’m not ready to give up — because there still are 36 games left — but man, it’s getting to the point where the countdown of games is really just a ticking clock on this season. I believe in this team too much to genuinely throw my hands up and declare it over. But this feels like the moment where the pendulum is going to swing one way or the other. This is the moment the Thunder need their come-to-Jesus moment.
Which way are they going to go?
NOTES:
- Here’s what disturbed me about this game: The Thunder’s halfcourt offense was a complete wreck. They scored 92 points, but got 37 in transition. Against the Knicks porous defense, the Thunder had no answer how to break them down for good shots. Part of that was Russell Westbrook going Rambo, part of it was a product of the system they play within. There’s blood on a lot of hands tonight.
- What do you think the Thunder would have to give up to get Lance Thomas? He seems like a pretty decent player.
- It was only a matter of time before Carmelo Anthony shook lose. That was the thing: The longer the game stayed close, the more likely it was Melo was going to ice it. I thought Brooks gaffed big time coming back with Jones to defend him instead of going with Andre Roberson. Sure, Melo could’ve got on the block against the trimmer Roberson, but Jones isn’t exactly some sturdy dude. And with the way the offense was functioning, it’s not like Jones was that much of an improvement over Roberson. Heck, at this point I might even prefer a Roberson corner 3 to a Jones one. See what this team is doing to me right now? I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore.
- Ten assists total tonight. Four in the second half. And three of those four came in transition. That’s as much on Westbrook as anyone else. We’ve seen what he can do as a playmaker. Sure, Serge Ibaka was fumbling away everything thrown at him tonight, but Westbrook has to know better than to try and beat an entire shell every trip down on his own.
- In some ways, I feel like I should’ve waited until tomorrow to write this. Like I needed to really make sure I had everything straight and that I wasn’t joining the knee-jerk party. But man, after that, how can you not feel like this season is doomed?
- You know what this season feels like to me? A real education of how an NBA season can actually go. It’s been all good times in Oklahoma City since the team arrived. From 3-29 to a playoff appearance a year later, to deep postseason runs and contending for championships. Sometimes, though, it doesn’t go your way for a year. And this feels like OKC is getting a lesson of what that’s like.
- It’s hard to defend Scott Brooks in any way after a loss like this — and don’t worry, I’m most definitely not going to — but let me ask this: What does firing him really accomplish at this present moment? Do you think hiring a new coach tomorrow morning is going to fix what ails the Thunder? Do you think it will put them on the right track immediately?
- I’ve seen more than a few people question Durant’s toughness because he’s sat these last two games. If that’s you, shut up.
- If Lance Thomas had hit shots like he did tonight when he was with the Thunder, they might not be in this position. Oh, the irony.
- Cole Aldrich remains hilarious.
- Reggie Jackson buzzer clutched at the end of the first quarter from about 30 feet. It was shameless.
- Psst, Kendrick Perkins was a team-high +8 tonight (runs far away and hides).
- Can I sheepishly point this out again: Indeed, I said Scott Brooks is a good coach. But you may have also noticed that I still wondered if he’s the right coach for the Thunder. That question might be more up in the air than ever. I realize it’s hard for people to read past a headline, though.
Next up: At the Grizzlies on Saturday
