Thunder stumble again, falling to Memphis 122-114

I wrote this down after Cameron Payne hit his buzzer-beating 3 to end the third and give the Thunder a one-point lead.

“The Thunder lead 80-79 going into the fourth but I hate the way they’re playing.”

They went down by 11 at one point in the fourth. Because Russell Westbrook is a silly person that does nonsensical basketball things, the Thunder were able to claw it back to three on two different occasions, only to watch Mike Conley hit a 3, to which Westbrook answered, then a person called JaMychal Green hit the dagger from the other wing. After that there were a few more things that happened, none of which all that important in actuality, and by the time the final horn sounded, the Thunder had lost their second straight and fifth overall.

Maybe this isn’t as telling a stat as I think it is, but the Thunder had 22 assists tonight on 41 baskets. Fourteen of those (assists) came from Russell Westbrook. The rest of the Thunder roster produced eight, with only one player recording more than one (Dion Waiters had two). One for Steven Adams. One for Anthony Morrow. One for Nick Collison. One for Enes Kanter. One for Cameron Payne. One for D.J. Augustin. It was last March all over again, except with a new coach and supposedly better available players.

Now, don’t misunderstand. This is no criticism of Westbrook. He was absolutely spectacular. Forty points on 13-19 shooting is something. Yes, eight turnovers. But that’s telling in of itself as well. Westbrook was shouldering the entire responsibility of the offense, working to either create a shot from himself, or someone else. The flow, the rhythm, the inclusiveness, the space — none of it existed. It was get out of the way and hope Russ makes a play. And he made many of them. Almost enough to win the Thunder a game.

The way the team functioned as a whole was disconcerting to me, especially following up on last night’s debacle against Boston. We can still use the “it’s early” card, because it certainly does apply. We can note that Kevin Durant didn’t play, and the Thunder tend to be a better team when he does. Heck, even not having Andre Roberson (flu) was a significant blow, especially considering Mario Chalmers just dropped 27 on OKC.

But the overall feel was just… off. It might be because of last season and how similar this is all feeling to that. The one-step-forward-one-step-backward routine they got stuck in, with an ability to stay close in every game, but an inability to beat the better-than-average teams. Had last season ended with a trip deep into the playoffs, I think we’d all feel differently. It didn’t, though. And unless the Thunder start growing like Billy Donovan says they will, it’s becoming more and more painfully obvious who they are. A team with some really, really great players. Who better play.

NOTES:

One more thought on that stuff: I didn’t expect a 6-5 start. I also didn’t expect Kevin Durant to be hurt again for three of those games, but I expected better. I assumed there would be some rough spots and some required patience, but these last two games — obviously without Durant — were pretty discouraging for me. I keep thinking that they’ll get whole and rip off nine straight, and they probably will. But then will they lose three straight after that?

Without Roberson, Kyle Singler got the starting nod. 12 minutes, 0-5 shooting, zeroes across the board except for a steal and four fouls. He also pulled up for a 3 in a 3-on-2 transition opportunity, bricking it long while also putting a toe on the line to make it a long 2. It was perfect.

I’m sure there will be a focus about the defensive rating with Kanter on the floor tonight, but here’s the thing: He’s not a rim protector, and when you’re as bad at stopping the ball as the Thunder guards currently are, you’re asking him to do something he can’t. D.J. Augustin was miserable on the ball defensively. Waiters bad. Westbrook was lazy at times. Morrow is Morrow. The Thunder defense stunk, and to me, it was a direct result of the guards getting cooked.

I will say this: If Memphis hits 12-17 from 3 on you, it could be a sign that it wasn’t really your night.

Allow me to vent momentarily: In basketball discussion on a polarizing topic, there’s no room for nuance. Everything has to be either/or, black or white. When it comes to discussing a player like oh, let’s say Enes Kanter for example, you’re either for him, or you think he’s the worst player that’s ever DRPM’d and kills everything he touches. I’ve tried to be pretty clear about Kanter, but even still, anything that’s not an overt blast on his defensive inadequacy is taken and regurgitated as glowing support. Let’s call this the Kendrick Scott Perkins Brooks Conundrum. My position is this, and let’s forget the money aspect for a second: He’s a bad defensive player that multiple season’s worth of metrics to back that up. But he’s also an excellent offensive player that can produce lots of points and rebounds, stats that while not “advanced,” are still very important stats. So on a team where you can play him as a role guy, he can be an effective, impactful player that helps you win games. If you’re playing him 39 minutes a night? Probably not. Although, I think it’s still premature to entirely evaluate him as a Thunderer, considering he’s played 38 games with OKC, and the majority of them with a patchwork roster. And scene.

Wait, wait. One more. I am torn about Kanter. On one hand, he puts up 16 and seven in 17 minutes and it makes me think he’s got to be in there more. On the other, it feels like Donovan is doing a nice job managing it, playing him enough for production but not so much to compromise. I don’t think it’s as straightforward a riddle to solve as some think. It’s as if some think the Thunder would’ve won this game had Enes Kanter not existed, but a very important part of basketball is getting points, and he is good at that.

That stop-in-front-of-a-defender-in-transition — or as I like to call it, the brake-check — is such a trash move. Chris Paul invented it and Westbrook is perfecting it. It requires two unseemly plays: 1) Going out of your way to try and bait a defender into a foul and 2) a flop. It’s gross and I hate it.

Holy crap Mario Chalmers had 27?!?!?

Hey, Cameron Payne played real minutes. Mostly because Roberson was out, but he saw time off the ball playing with Augustin in the first half, then a little time with Westbrook in the third.

After Payne hit that buzzer 3 to finish the third and Brian Davis had some thing about “trust” with Westbrook giving it up to him. Nah, that wasn’t trust. That was Westbrook trying to get off a shot come-hell-or-high-water, but almost getting blocked and desperately searching for a bailout. Good pass, though.

An issue with single-game plus/minus: Anthony Morrow has been neutralized offensively. He was 1-4, and the one make was a free layup with 10 seconds left.

Ibaka played well again.

The turnovers are back. 19 of them tonight.

The Grizzlies hit 12-17 from 3, but they shot just 44 percent overall. Where they beat OKC was they didn’t give it away (10 turns) and they made a ton of free throws (36). The Thunder hit 10 3s and shot 50.6 percent, but gave it away 19 times and made 21 free throws. That’s your game.

Just wanted to say I thought it was a really smart move by Dave Joerger to sit Z-Bo down the stretch. Playing JaMychal Green as a stretch 4 really opened the floor for Memphis and made them far tougher to match up with for OKC. Had Joerger just stayed big, the Thunder might’ve gotten away with keeping Kanter on the floor, except without KD to go “small” with, the Thunder were in a bind trying to play Ibaka away from the bucket on Green.

Next up: Home against the Pelicans on Wednesday