OF COURSE Austin Rivers is a Rocket. And OF COURSE he was effective against the Thunder on Christmas. The dude even looks like the Grinch.
As has been the case lately, George was awesome and Russell Westbrook struggled. So I pose this question: Is Westbrook holding the Thunder back from their full potential or are his struggles part of a necessary transition too fully unlock this Thunder team?
George was out for this game with a quad contusion.
Just a guess, but it sounds more like the Thunder found a nice little gap in the schedule to rest PG, who has been playing outstanding as of late.
The obvious question was how Westbrook would play without PG. Oh boy, did that not disappoint: Westbrook dropped 40 points on 17-of-29 shooting, grabbed 12 rebounds, and dished 8 assists.
I can’t help but notice how comfortable Russ looked without PG. And that’s totally okay. Russ has been knocked his entire career for not adjusting his game.
My money is on Westbrook figuring this all out eventually.
How about ABDEL NADER!?
Yes that’s how you spell his name “Abdel”… Still pronounced \AB-duel Nay-der\
18 points on 7-of-13 shooting for Nader. He also pitched in five rebounds.
So now we’ve seen good things from Diallo, TLC, Burton, and Nader. The Thunder have their fair share of trade bait.
I really do like them. But the new font is a bit jarring probably due to the fact that the original Sunset unis hold a special place in my heart.
This was a really tough loss to swallow. The Thunder stormed back and make a fourth quarter comeback. Paul George was blazing hot. And then it all just… stopped?
Westbrook struggled from the field again. 9 points on 4-of-22 shooting.
A day after trolling Oklahoma fans on Twitter with an “SEC FOOTBALL” tweet, Patrick Patterson looked pretty darn good.
2Pat comes in and drops a cool 8 points in 6 minutes of play in the second quarter. pic.twitter.com/kp9zASmxxc
Here’s another highlight that I can’t get over. Steven Adams, all 7 feet 265 lbs of him, ends up on the floor twice in a span of 20 seconds leading to a Westbrook layup:
Steven Adams should be an NBA All-Star. His stats might not make that clear but it’s plays like this that make all the difference. pic.twitter.com/3TOIK6YNy9
Yes, I do think Steve should be an All-Star, but I really don’t see it happening. The West is way too deep. Such a shame. Imagine the soundbites we’d get.
I fully expect that sequence to make it into the pre-game hype video within a week.
A brutal meltdown late. One of those games where you just need to go take a shower afterwards. Some questionable calls/no-calls down the stretch, but just overall a really bad performance in the final moments.
Really weird scheduling. The Thunder will get another shot against the Mavericks on Monday night at home.