Week in Review: Meltdown

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I don’t know if you’ve heard, but as a result of last Thursday’s blown fourth-quarter lead against the Golden State Warriors, the Thunder are tied with the Philadelphia 76ers for most losses after leading through three quarters with 10. It’s a quasi-surprising stat because, (a) the 76ers had at least 10 leads to start the fourth quarter, and (b) half of the Thunder’s 20 losses involve blown fourth-quarter leads.

The platitudes from the locker room are as predictable as a Nicholas Sparks’ novel. The Oklahoma City organization always stays on message, pointing to the big picture and not getting too high or too low over any one result. It’s an admirable trait, and one that is absolutely necessary with an 82-game season that inevitably will have its lows.

The consistent Thunder-spin is evident in this Kevin Durant quote after the Thunder’s stunning loss to the Los Angeles Clippers last Wednesday:

“We lost a few games. Lost some tough ones. But at the end of the day we’re playing basketball, something we love to do every single day. When you look at it like that it’s not as tough as you think. But losing does suck. And we hate losing. But at the end of the day we’re still in a good spot. We’ve just got to climb out of where we’re at right now.”

But there comes a point where a reasoned reaction rather than an alarmed one becomes a cliche rather than a mantra.

“How many games we got left?” Durant said after the Warriors game. “Twenty? Twenty games to go before the playoffs. That’s when the real season starts so we want to play good basketball at the right time and keep grinding it out.”

The idea that the “real season” is the playoffs is a red herring, however. Not only does the regular season matter for obvious reasons like playoff seeding, but it gives you 82 games to develop good habits critical for playoff success. Experts and fans alike are ready to crown the Warriors or the San Antonio Spurs in large part because of their success in the regular season.

With quality opponent after quality opponent on the schedule over the final games of the year, a little concern could go a long way toward the Thunder resolving their issues. On the other hand, if the Thunder don’t take this final opportunity to get better, the “real season” might not last a “real” long time.

THE GAMES

• Loss at the Los Angeles Clippers on March 2, 98-103
• Loss at the Golden State Warriors on March 3, 106-121
• Win at the Milwaukee Bucks at on March 6, 104-96

THE BEST PLAYER

Kevin Durant. Over the last three, Durant’s numbers have been eye-popping, 31.3 points, 11 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Due to staggering, he’s playing fewer minutes with Russell Westbrook, which probably has something to do with his incredible numbers, but that additional responsibility has translated into more turnovers–6.7 turnovers a game last week.

Honorable mention: Last week, Anthony Morrow had a net rating of +227.3. Granted, Morrow played only one minute over the last three games, but that’s a pretty good net rating!

THE WORST PLAYER

Diandy Foyters (aka Dion Foye and Randy Waiters). Diandy Foyters stats last week: 8.7 points per game to go along with 5 rebounds and 3 assists on 10-38 shooting and 4-19 from three.

THE BEST PERFORMANCE

Kevin Durant against the Golden State Warriors. If you can overlook the ungodly 9 turnovers, Durant torched the Warriors. He scored 32 points on just 17 shots (which included 11 of 17 from the field and 10 of 11 from the free-throw line). He also nearly racked up a triple-double, grabbing 10 rebounds and handing out 9 assists. And how about this for crazy, Durant had just one 3-point attempt.

Honorable mention: Russell Westbrook’s 10th triple double was a weird one. Westbrook took just 7 shots (making only 3), but somehow ended up scoring 15 points along with 11 assists and 10 rebounds. Now with 10 triple doubles, Westbrook trails the league-leader in triple-doubles, Draymond Green, by just one.

THE WORST PERFORMANCE

The Thunder’s fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Clippers. In the fourth quarter against the Clippers, the Thunder gave up 35 points (while managing to score just 13), squandered a 22-point lead to start the fourth as well as a 16-point lead with 7 minutes to go, managed just one field goal over the final 7 minutes, and had 6 turnovers in the quarter.

In the month of March, the Thunder allow an average of 30.3 points in the fourth quarter alone, against just 18.7 points of their own.

THE BEST PLAY

Oh my putback.

Steven Adams with the nifty put back off a Serge Ibaka miss.

THE WORST PLAY

Dion Waiters blows a layup.

Only Waiters has the magic to turn a wide-open layup into a contested reverse (h/t: DailyThunder commenter eallen7).

THE WEEK IN PREVIEW

• Vs. the Los Angeles Clippers on March 9 at 8:30 pm (ESPN)
  Prediction: Thunder finally get a win against a quality opponent in a nail-biter.
• Vs. the Minnesota Timberwolves on March 11 at 7:00 pm (FSOK)
  Prediction: Make it three straight for the Thunder after a win over the T’Wolves.
• At the San Antonio Spurs on March 12 at 7:30 pm (ABC)
  Prediction: As they tend to do to many opponents, the Spurs clinically dissect the Thunder and rack up a double-digit win over the Thunder.
• Vs. the Portland Trailblazers on March 14 at 7:00 pm (FSOK)
  Prediction: Thunder give up 110 points, but manage to win.