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.”
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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Closing the Book on Carlesimo
My mission in New Orleans Saturday night, the first day of the Scott Brooks era, was to get the scoop on what happened to fired coach P.J. Carlesimo, to find out where he went wrong and whether he lost this Thunder team.
But as one player graciously told me after hearing me receive company line after company line before the Thunder took the court against the Hornets, “You know we’re going to take the high road.” Not that it was needed, but that confirmed there was more to the story of Carlesimo’s dismissal. More to it than the Thunder’s 1-12 record, its 10 straight losses, it’s league-worst averages of 17 turnovers, 12-plus point defeats, 40 percent field-goal shooting and its second-to-last ranking of 89 points per game.
Some have claimed the Thunder did indeed tune out Carlesimo, while others either never were fans of his or suggest it wasn’t his fault.
But Thunder players did say all the right things Saturday, wishing Carlesimo the best in his future endeavors and even going as far as taking the blame for his downfall. Here are their comments in full. It’s long, but all told it gives you an idea of the mood of the players, all of whom felt some sort of change was needed but stopped short of saying it should have started with Carlesimo’s job.
EARL WATSON
On his reaction: “It’s never easy, especially when you realize that in this type of game everyone’s involved, everyone failed, not just P.J. So we wish the best for him. We wish we could have done a lot more to help him. But this is where we at right now.”
On whether a change was needed: “It’s not up to me to decide if a change was needed. I feel like whatever the coach wants to do we try to make the best out of it and we try to make it work.”
On whether P.J. lost the team: “I just feel like it was a difficult transition for him coming into the situation. Only he can really answer that question.”
On whether the team respected him: “I’ve always respected P.J. I always will. That’s just me.”
On what went wrong: “I don’t know.”
KEVIN DURANT
On his reaction: “I didn’t know it would happen. It caught me off guard. It was a shock. This is my first time going through this. Some of the older guys went through coaching changes and things like that. But P.J. was my first coach when I came into the league so this is something that’s going to stick out to me. When they announced it to the team it came out of nowhere and I was a little shocked. But we got to move forward. We got to move past that. Scotty Brooks is our guy now. I believe in everything he’s going to do for us so we just got to continue to get better.”
On whether a change was needed: “It’s not my position to say if it was needed or not. I think we were getting better. Obviously the front office wanted to make a decision so that’s what they did. But I’m just not in a position to say we needed that or P.J. was a bad guy. We just got to, as players, do our part to help this team win.”
On whether the team respected him as a coach: “I would say so. He demanded a lot out of us. Every day in practice he brought that fire and every day in the game so I would say we respected him. I know I did a lot.”
On whether P.J. lost the team: “I think that was all on us how we were losing and how we were playing. We told ourselves that it’s not on the coaches it’s on us. Because we’re out there playing. That’s the main thing, we got to play hard.”
DAMIEN WILKINS
On his reaction: “I was a little shocked. I think P.J. worked extremely hard to have us as prepared as he possibly could for every game last year and this year. I think we put a lot of blame on him when we didn’t do enough looking in the mirror. That’s unfortunate for him.”
On whether P.J. lost the team: “I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. We were all so frustrated by not winning. I think it was even more frustrating to lose the way we’ve been losing. It’s hard for everybody.”
On whether a change was needed: “I think anytime you start off 1-12 and you’re losing games by an average margin of like 20 points (really 12) or being down by 20 in every game a change somewhere is needed. That doesn’t always mean it’s with the coaching staff. Unfortunately, in this business it always ends up being the coaches first. Whatever happens after that happens. But it’s unfortunate it had to be coach P.J. to be the first one to go. But I guess a change had to come from somewhere, whether it was going to be in our lineup or whether it was going to be our coach. I think we all felt that. At some point we had to change up something. Something had to be done to try to get us on track to try to salvage this season before it gets out of hand.”
NICK COLLISON
On whether P.J. lost the team and a change was needed: “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to say. We were struggling. We’ve been struggling obviously. But I don’t think you can say a coaching change is going to change everything. We’re not doing a very good job of anything right now. So it’s going to take a lot to change how we’re doing. I think when a coach gets fired like this it’s a reflection on our entire team, not just him. It’s not just his fault. We’ve all struggled and we’ve all failed so far.”
On whether the team respected P.J.: “I think P.J. had the respect of guys. I think to a man most everybody liked P.J. and thought he was fair. That’s the way I felt about him. Things just get tough when you’re having a year like this. Things have happened, but I equate that more to the frustrations of the losing than to people not having respect for P.J. I think everyone in here pretty much respected P.J.”
CHRIS WILCOX
On whether a change was needed: “I don’t know. A change was definitely needed but I don’t know if it necessarily needed to be P.J. because at the end of the day we’re on the court.”
On whether P.J. lost the team: “I don’t think he lost the team. I think us as professionals, we just didn’t come and compete every day. It’s not the coach.”
DESMOND MASON
On why the move was made: “It’s hard to put a finger on it. That’s something that Sam can speak on more. I know, for me, we want to win basketball games. For us, we have to go out and do our part as a team, the five guys on the floor to give us an opportunity to do that. Just like players, sometimes coaches make mistakes with play calls or the rotation or things like that. But again, the players still have to go out and do their part and play hard.”
On whether P.J. lost the team: “I don’t think he lost the team and I don’t think the guys stopped listening. We have a young team and that’s something that veteran type teams do. Guys kind of say, ‘You know what, forget this I’m going in my own direction.’ But we got young guys that want to go out and compete and they want to do well and they’re trying to prove themselves in this league. So a guy like Russell is not going to make a conscious decision to go out and say, ‘You know what, I’m just done.’ He hasn’t played but 12 games. So I don’t think that was the case. I just think it was a case that we had gotten frustrated as a team with not winning basketball games. We had gotten in situations where we make runs on teams or we get leads and teams start attacking us and we just could figure out how to fight back. And those things were just frustrating as a whole.”
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