Thunder 111, Grizzlies 103
MEMPHIS — “Unbelievable. It’s a great feeling. Everybody came into the locker room and was all smiles.” — Kevin Durant on how it feels to snap a 14-game losing streak.
Win No. 2.
Wasn’t quite sure when we’d see it, especially after the Thunder dug itself a 14-point first half deficit, showing little to no desire to defend anyone in a white uniform. Memphis shot 63.6 percent in the first half, missing only 12 shot attempts.
But the Thunder deserves a lot of credit tonight for overcoming a great night from O.J. Mayo (30 points) and clamping down in the second half to walk away with its first road win of the year.
A few notes……
* The Thunder new-look lineup got off to a good start, with Russell Westbrook appearing as controlled as ever after being named the starter. He often tried to do too much when coming off the bench. But tonight’s game clearly was a step forward for him. He played with more patience and discipline, looking to get his teammates involved more than he has at any point this season. It resulted in just two turnovers. He scored 12 points with five rebounds, four assists and two steals.
* Chris Wilcox gets his first start of the season only to pick three fouls in his first six minutes. He was limited to 15 minutes on the night and finished with six points and three rebounds, ending his streak of double digit scoring performances at four games.
* Earl Watson played 30 minutes despite being replaced as the starter by Westbrook. The Grizzlies went small most of the night, allowing Watson to play the extended minutes. He responded by chipping in nine points with a game-high seven assists and five rebounds. It’s too early to tell how Watson’s play might be different in a reserve’s role, but he got off to a good start.
* Nick Collison played a season-low seven minutes tonight, but Brooks assured me that had everything to do with Memphis’ small ball lineup and nothing to do with Collison’s performance. Collison, Brooks said, is definitely still in the team’s rotation.
* Jeff Green’s 3-point stroke is looking better each game. He made 2 of 4 tonight, both of his makes coming inside the final six minutes and sparking the Thunder’s fourth-quarter rally.
“Scotty always tells me I’ve got to get at least 50 up before I leave the gym,” Green said. “He’s been preaching to me if I’m going to shoot them I’ve got to make them. So if the defense backs off me I’m going to shoot the ball. I’ve been practicing a lot and it’s been going in so I hope it continues to go that way.”
* The Thunder continues to take much better care of the ball under Scott Brooks than it did under P.J. Carlesimo, giving it up only 11 times tonight. Under Carlesimo, the Thunder averaged 17 turnovers a game. Under Brooks, the team is down to 11.8 turnovers per game in five games.
* OKC shot a season-high 38 free throws tonight, making 32 of them. Durant’s 16 tied a career high. Memphis got to the line only 24 times.
* One area of concern has to be opponent field-goal percentage. The Thunder entered the game allowing opponents to shoot an average of 47.1 percent from the field, fourth worst in the league. OKC gave up 57.7 percent tonight. The 14-attempt difference in free throws and 18 Memphis turnovers (which led to 17 points) helped the Thunder walk away with a win tonight. But the Thunder won’t win many games allowing teams to shoot 58 percent.
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Thunder-Grizzlies live blog
Russell Westbrook Starting Tonight
MEMPHIS — Scott Brooks has inserted rookie point guard Russell Westbrook into the starting lineup tonight in place of Earl Watson, marking the No. 4 overall pick’s first career start.
Chris Wilcox will replace Nick Collison as the Thunder’s starting center.
“We want to continue to look at different lineups,” Brooks said. “And I’ve said earlier that everything is going to evolve. We’re going to look at how guys play in different roles. Nothing is set in stone. We believe all of our guys have an important part in what they bring to the team. Tonight, we’re going with a different look. I just feel like we need to evaluate different lineups.”
Brooks said there is no timetable on how long he’d stick with this new look lineup, saying only “for a while.”
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Thunder-Timberwolves Live Blog, 7 p.m. Friday
Desmond Mason To Play Tonight
By Darnell Mayberry
Staff Writer
Thunder forward Desmond Mason has been cleared to return to the lineup tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves after missing the past six games with a sprained right elbow.
Mason is expected to play tonight, but Thunder coach Scott Brooks said Mason’s playing time will largely be based on his conditioning.
“He will probably get an opportunity to play depending on the way the game is going,” Brooks said. “But he is ready to play.
“He’s done a great job of staying in shape. But there’s a big difference between running on treadmills and Stairmasters and playing against NBA players and game conditioning.”
Mason hasn’t played since logging 22 minutes Nov. 15 at Philadelphia, when he was taken to the locker room late in the fourth quarter because of the injured elbow. He participated in team shootarounds Friday morning and Tuesday morning before the Thunder’s home game against Phoenix but has yet to return to a full-contact practice.
“But I feel comfortable where I’m at,” Mason said Friday morning. “It’s still sore, but (the medical staff) said it’s going to be sore. That’s not really the (issue). The (issue) is whether the ligaments hold up. And (the doctor) did some tests when I came in Thanksgiving morning and they liked the way everything looked. But it’s not as painful as it was four or five days ago.”
Brooks said Mason’s return would affect the team’s rotation, which Brooks shortened to eight players immediately after taking over for coach P.J. Carlesimo.
“Someone’s going to have to not play as many minutes,” Brooks said. “It’s going to be a game feel. I don’t know who that player will be tonight. We’ve been playing a lot of players a lot of minutes. Probably a few minutes will be taken away from a few different guys.”
But Mason will continue to come off the bench rather than be inserted into the starting lineup, Brooks said.
“I like what he brings off the bench,” Brooks said. “Everything is going to be an evaluation. But right now we like what we saw when he came off the bench.
“He does bring something that we love. He’s tough. He competes. He’s a team guy. We want everybody to do those things. We feel that we’re taking steps going in that direction.”
Mason is averaging 8.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 10 games.
Thunder-Cavaliers Live Blog, 6 p.m. Wednesday
Durant: "I want to be here as long as possible."
CLEVELAND — Welcome to the Land of LeBron, where talk around here centers on whether King James will flee to The Big Apple in 2010 more than whether he can lead a suddenly dangerous Cavs team to an NBA title in 2008-09.
The Cavs enter tonight’s game against the Thunder coming off a 119-101 road thumping of the Knicks inside Madison Square Garden, giving New York fans and media a glimpse of the player who could become the most sought after free agent in NBA history and one the Knicks are desperately trying to get their hands on.
The Knicks traded Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to the Clippers last week and Jamal Crawford to the Warriors on the same day in an attempt to clear salary cap space for the long awaited summer of 2010.
Oklahoma City is currently projected to have the most salary cap space available of any team that summer, with just under $8 million committed in salaries. But while it’s highly unlikely the Thunder will be so much as a blimp on LeBron’s radar, OKC has its own star, Kevin Durant, to focus on signing to a contract extension before Oct. 31 of 2010.
Unlike James, who has kept Cavs fans on pins and needles by continuing to say he’ll weigh all his options, Durant is firm on his commitment to Oklahoma City.
“I want to be here as long as possible,” Durant said. ”That’s what I tell everybody. I want to be part of the organization for my whole career if it can happen. So I’m not thinking about it at all.”
Durant doesn’t foresee teams clearing the books to make a hard run at him like franchises have done to try to land James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. If their teams don’t sign them to extensions (which is highly unlikely), Durant could be joined by fellow 2007 draft class members Greg Oden, Al Horford, Jeff Green, Thaddeus Young and Al Thornton as potential free agents following the 2010-11 season.
“(It won’t be) like LeBron,” Durant said. ”I doubt that. But we’ll cross that bridge once we get to it.”
Durant, who is friends with James, called the frenzy over his potential free agency “something new for the game” and “good to see.”
“First of all, I know he’s flattered,” Durant said. ”Growing up, being sought after as a player is something you always dream about. But I think he knew it would happen eventually. It’s going to be fun to see what happens.”
Durant: “I want to be here as long as possible.”
CLEVELAND — Welcome to the Land of LeBron, where talk around here centers on whether King James will flee to The Big Apple in 2010 more than whether he can lead a suddenly dangerous Cavs team to an NBA title in 2008-09.
The Cavs enter tonight’s game against the Thunder coming off a 119-101 road thumping of the Knicks inside Madison Square Garden, giving New York fans and media a glimpse of the player who could become the most sought after free agent in NBA history and one the Knicks are desperately trying to get their hands on.
The Knicks traded Zach Randolph and Mardy Collins to the Clippers last week and Jamal Crawford to the Warriors on the same day in an attempt to clear salary cap space for the long awaited summer of 2010.
Oklahoma City is currently projected to have the most salary cap space available of any team that summer, with just under $8 million committed in salaries. But while it’s highly unlikely the Thunder will be so much as a blimp on LeBron’s radar, OKC has its own star, Kevin Durant, to focus on signing to a contract extension before Oct. 31 of 2010.
Unlike James, who has kept Cavs fans on pins and needles by continuing to say he’ll weigh all his options, Durant is firm on his commitment to Oklahoma City.
“I want to be here as long as possible,” Durant said. ”That’s what I tell everybody. I want to be part of the organization for my whole career if it can happen. So I’m not thinking about it at all.”
Durant doesn’t foresee teams clearing the books to make a hard run at him like franchises have done to try to land James, Dwyane Wade or Chris Bosh. If their teams don’t sign them to extensions (which is highly unlikely), Durant could be joined by fellow 2007 draft class members Greg Oden, Al Horford, Jeff Green, Thaddeus Young and Al Thornton as potential free agents following the 2010-11 season.
“(It won’t be) like LeBron,” Durant said. ”I doubt that. But we’ll cross that bridge once we get to it.”
Durant, who is friends with James, called the frenzy over his potential free agency “something new for the game” and “good to see.”
“First of all, I know he’s flattered,” Durant said. ”Growing up, being sought after as a player is something you always dream about. But I think he knew it would happen eventually. It’s going to be fun to see what happens.”
Thunder-Suns Live Game Blog, 7 p.m. Tuesday
Brooks Gets Butterflies
Scott Brooks admitted this morning that he was nervous before making his debut as interim Thunder coach Saturday night in New Orleans. I asked him if he got butterflies before the game and he said, quite matter-of-factly, yes.
“And you know what, I expressed that to the players,” Brooks said. “I believe in telling the players how I feel and I want them to tell me how they feel. And I told them, ‘If you’re not nervous you don’t care about what you do.’
“As a player, I was nervous for every game from sixth grade on. Because I think if you’re passionate about what you do then you should be nervous, you should want to do well and produce. And yes, I was nervous and I will be tonight and the rest of the season.”
Perhaps that’s why Brooks cracks jokes in the huddle when the game is on the line. You know, break the ice, ease the tension.
“He’s more laid back,” said Kevin Durant of his new coach’s huddle presence. “He jokes around, believe it or not. When we were down five or six (in the fourth quarter against the Hornets) he was joking around.”
When I asked Brooks what the past few days have been like for him, whether he’s lost sleep, he candidly spoke about the impact of his move just a few seats to the right on the bench.
“It’s a great way to lose weight,” Brooks said. “I’ve lost like five pounds the last three days. I wake up in middle of the night more often now.”
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