Monday Rewind: Feb. 25-March 2

Thunder Come Up Short in Denver, Nuggets Win 121-112

• Remember when Oklahoma didn’t have a professional sports team? The game vs. Denver was Russell Westbrook’s 800th career game in an OKC uniform. #Blessed

• Is it me or did Isaiah Thomas get some outrageous calls in this game?
• I’m not even sure the rule book covers the following, but it felt wrong at the time:

• Also — this was something:

• Russ apparently approached the kid’s father and told him to keep his kid in check. People love when you do that.
• I am 100 percent Team Russ here. And really, it seems like everyone outside of Colin Cowerd (and the loud guy on the Sports Animal) seem to think Westbrook handled it perfectly.
• Like… Don’t let your kids hit NBA players. That’s not cool.
• Anyway, the Thunder made a fourth quarter run, but ultimately fell to the Nuggets by nine. Second loss in a row.
• Nikola Jokic is amazing. 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 10 assists. Steven Adams will need to be better in that matchup to beat Denver in a series. Nerlens Noel will need to foul less.
• The Nuggets are for real. Curious to see just how far they can go in the playoffs. They’re 3.5 games up on OKC in second place in the Western Conference. They trail the first place Warriors by 1.5.

Thunder Lose Third Straight, Sixers Take 108-104 Victory in OKC

• Worth noting that it kind of feels like Russ has been taking it to the rack less since the Philadelphia game.
• Paul George would begin his absence due to a sore shoulder in this one. Markieff Morris started in his place.
• Keef finished with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting. Not bad.
• Jerami Grant has been great since the All-Star Break. 23 points on 10-17 shooting, 6 rebounds vs. the Sixers.
• We’ve seen this a lot lately, but the Thunder were down most of the game. They came back, but couldn’t finish. Third straight loss.
• In the grand scheme of things, I really like that this team has built up the identity of never giving up. That will be important come playoff time. Unfortunately FINISHING games is also pretty d*rn important as well.

Spurs Hand Thunder Fourth Straight Loss, Beat Thunder 116-102

• Do we hit the panic button yet?
• Nah. Listen, I’ve been on the Paul George – MVP train for a while now. To the extent I thought he should have been more than in the conversation,  I thought he took the lead at one point.
• PG is the Thunder’s most valuable player this season. When he misses time, the team will struggle. Save me the “One player shouldn’t dictate how well we play” stuff. YES THEY SHOULD. Especially when they’re a MVP and DPOY candidate.
• I digress.
• So, this finish by Jerami Grant was INSANE:

• Butttt the Thunder lost by 14 and it didn’t even feel that close. Fourth loss in a row.

• I’m right here. I chastised everyone for throwing Schroder into the trade machine all season. I love what he can do off the bench, but woof. He’s been awful since the break.
• Woof: 13.8 PPG, 5.3 APG, 2.2 TOV, 29.9% FG, 21.2% 3P in six games since the All-Star Game.
• Assuming he breaks out of the slump, I do think Schroder is going to win a playoff game by himself at some point. We’ll see. The last few games have been rough.

Westbrook, Thunder Come Alive Late, Defeat Grizzlies 99-95

• What can I say about this game?
• It was mostly trash.
• Even I was screaming at the TV — just wishing Westbrook would stop shooting threes (4/13 3P).
• Can we talk about double-techs? They’re stupid. And that’s not just one person’s (my) opinion. No one likes double-technicals.

• Ultimately Schroder’s technical didn’t effect the outcome, but it could have, right? Look what happened to Trae Young yesterday after receiving a double technical:

• The refs rrrreeeeeallllly need to cool it with some of these technicals. A double-tech is pretty much admitting “Hey, I wasn’t paying attention to see what the problem was, so you both get one.”
• Anyway, Dennis was pretty bad again. There was a point in the game where I didn’t want him or Russell touching the ball at all. Just let Big Daddy Ray take us to the promised land.
• And thennnnnnn the Thunder’s did that thing where they play awful basketball, then make a run late.
• This time, the Thunder won.
• Because of course, it was Westbrook’s three-point shooting that ended up saving OKC. What an emotional roller-coaster it is to be a Russell Westbrook fan.
• Why does being a Brodie fan feel so personal? When he started hitting threes I felt like I should dig up every bad thing anyone said about Russ during the game and laugh in their face. The thing is, those people were totally justified. Being a Westbrook fan: It’s fun. It’s miserable. It’s chaotic. I don’t know what to do with my hands.

Everything Else

• This art by Lee Olsen is pretty great. If you haven’t, check out his stuff.

• The colorways of the Why Not Zer0.2 are getting hard to keep up with. Russ seems to bust out a new one every other game.

• And this is totally a “Reptar” installment, right?

• Paul George was named the Western Conference Player of the Month for February: 35 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 5.4 APG, 38.6% 3P. He should come back.

Weekly Forecast:

• Really hard to predict these games when MVPG is sidelined. This week is going to be extremely difficult and I’d consider 2-1 a great outcome. That being said:
• LOSS vs. Timberwolves (64% Confidence) | I hate the Timberwolves and last time we played them Nerlens Noel was called for a foul while unconscious.
• LOSS vs. Trailblazers (70% Confidence) | The Thunder are in Portland and that doesn’t bode well. I’m anxious to see how friendly the Thunder are to Enes Kanter now that he’s on a Western Conference rival.
• WIN vs. Clippers (75% Confidence) | I can’t see the Thunder going 0-3 this week.
• Rough week. Luckily next week offers a welcomed reprieve with games against the Jazz, Nets, Pacers, and Warriors. Four teams currently in the playoffs.