Thunder 99, Kings 98
Observations, news and notes from Tuesday’s game……
* For two of the worst teams record-wise in the league this was quite an entertaining game. Very competitive, too. Very, very ugly at times. But entertaining and competitive nonetheless.
* There were 18 lead changes and 13 ties.
* Both benches stood and cheered or encouraged their team much of the night, especially throughout much of the fourth quarter.
* Make that 5-1 without Kevin Durant.
* After talking to a few people tonight, I’m going to say Durant returns Monday against San Antonio. Durant was hoping for Wednesday at Denver and if not then definitely at Phoenix on Saturday. I’m saying Monday.
* Nick Collison didn’t play because of a sore groin. He’ll be a game-time decision for the Nuggets game.
* Jeff Green said his back felt great after it caused him to miss the past four games.
* Looks like Kyle Weaver will be the odd man out offensively now that Green’s back. He had only four shot attempts tonight, and you’ve got to think that’ll only decrease when Collison and Durant return.
* How about Thabo Sefolosha with another strong all-around effort? A season-high five steals tonight to go with 17 points, seven rebounds, two assists and only one turnover. Can’t overlook how he calmly stepped to the line and sank two free throws to put the Thunder ahead 99-95 with 3.4 seconds remaining.
* Nenad Krstic tied a career-high with 15 rebounds tonight, making up for an off night shooting the ball and helping the Thunder out-rebound the Kings 44-36. Krstic also had three blocked shots tonight, including two big swats in the fourth period. Said Krstic of the Thunder holding on in the final framed despite a turnover-filled, paint-chipping shooting stretch: “A month ago we probably would have lost this game. But we’re learning how to win these close games. We’re growing as a team. You can see it. The chemistry’s there. It’s really fun to play.”
* Malik Rose best summed up the Thunder’s encouraging play of late, attributing the recent surge to the team’s overall attitude: “Right now, we don’t have a playoff spot to play for. But we’re playing to get better.”
* Speaking of Rose, tonight was the first time since March 2006 that he has scored in double digits in back-to-back games. He paced the Thunder’s bench with 11 tonight. Said Rose, “I thank God for the opportunity. I loved my time in New York. I had a great time there, great teammates, great friends. But I just thank God Sam (Presti) came and got me out of there and brought me to Oklahoma City and gave me an opportunity to play. Right now I’m just making the most of it.”
* I have to admit I pulled the oldest jinx in the book on Rose tonight and knew I did the moment the words came out of my mouth, “Wow, the Thunder is 19-for-19 from the line tonight.” Sure enough, Rose stepped to the line as I was saying it and proceeded to bounce the first of two off the iron. Chalk up that one missed free throw on a 22-for-23 night to your’s truly.
* The Thunder’s assist-to-turnover ratio was terrible tonight, 15 assists, 24 turnovers. Green and Russell Westbrook had seven giveaways each and finished with a combined six assists.
* Still, one scout told me tonight that he loves Westbrook’s game. Said he’s going to be a special player once he gets the point guard position down pat.
* The Kings scored 21 points off the Thunder’s turnovers. But the only reason it didn’t backfire was because the Thunder scored 22 points off the Kings’ 22 turnovers. Well, that and the Thunder got to the line nine more times and made 11 more foul shots.
* Turn the ball over 11 times in the fourth quarter Wednesday at Denver or Saturday at Phoenix and the Thunder will, I repeat, will get blown out.
* Want to know what also helped the Thunder tonight? Kings guard Kevin Martin didn’t play the final 15 minutes. We could be talking about a different result if he did. Think the Thunder cares? Heck no. Its best player hasn’t played the past 329 minutes.
* Francisco Garcia was talking trash all night. Not sure why either. He got downright disrespectful with it when he hit a 3-pointer from the right corner, right in front of the Thunder’s bench with 8:30 left to play, and turned to Thunder coach Scott Brooks and shouted a few choice words in his face as he ran back down court. To be fair to Garcia, Brooks did start the dialogue, albeit with much lighter chatter. After a turnover by Garcia inside the final two minutes of the third quarter, one that occurred right in front of the Thunder’s bench, Brooks looked at Garcia and said, “You can’t be doing that.” Garcia replied his right hand was injured and he couldn’t feel the ball.
* Garcia also asked the ref on several occasions in the fourth to make Chucky Atkins sit down. Funny exchanges.
* That Atkins is always standing up yakking.
* Arco Arena played Thunderstruck coming out of a timeout with 10:43 left in the fourth and the Kings on a 6-0 run. Shouldn’t teams know better than to play that song when the Thunder is in the building? You’d think that number would pump up, uh, the Thunder more than the home team or its fans.
-DM-
Thunder-Kings live blog
Green back, Collison out
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jeff Green will return to the Thunder’s lineup tonight against Sacramento, but the Thunder has lost power forward Nick Collison to a groin injury.
It leaves the Thunder with a starting lineup tonight of Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, Thabo Sefolosha, Green and Nenad Krstic.
Green said his back is 100 percent and he wouldn’t return if it wasn’t.
“Everything’s not going to be right on point right away,” Green said. “But I’m going to go out there and go 110 percent and be ready.”
But with the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow night in Denver, Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he is likely to limit Green’s minutes to less than the 41.1 he averaged in February but plans on playing his second leading scorer in both games.
“We’re going to definitely keep an eye on his minutes,” said Brooks. “We’re not going to go nuts. I’m going to be in constant communication with him throughout the game and see how he’s feeling and how his conditioning is. But Jeff is an incredible athlete and in great condition. I don’t see myself going into the 40s with him, but I can see low 30s.”
Kevin Durant, meanwhile, is still out while recovering from a sprained right ankle and the team is still listing him as day-to-day. He’s continuing to participate in pre-game shooting but the team is not going to rush him back and wants to make sure his ankle is completely healed before clearing him to return.
Also, Robert Swift has re-joined the team after receiving an excused absence from the team the past two games for personal reasons. He told me his 10-month-old son, Reiko Swift, needed surgery to fix overlapped growth plates in his head. Swift flew back to Seattle, where his son was in intensive care for two days and is still recovering in a hospital. He is expected to be released by the end of the week.
-DM-
Thunder 89, Sixers 74
Observations, news and notes from Sunday’s game……….
* The Thunder’s defense has been the key to its four wins in five games. Tonight’s Sixers total was an opponent low for the season.
* The Thunder’s opponents scoring totals in the past four wins — 74, 83, 87, 92.
* Opponents’ field-goal percentages in the Thunder’s past four wins — 39.4, 40, 42.5, 47.9.
* Balanced scoring has also helped make up for the loss of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Six guys in double-digit scoring tonight.
* Nick Collison has been playing up to last year’s production, helping the Thunder control the glass and giving OKC second-chance scoring opportunities. He had 12 points and 11 rebounds tonight.
* When Nenad Krstic is on, he’s on. And when he’s off, he’s really off. Tonight was a good bounce-back effort for the 7-footer — 20- points on 10 of 13 shooting to go with eight rebounds.
* Malik Rose might have been a good pick up after all, not just another veteran locker room presence. He’s really helped out an injury-ravaged squad and has been extremely effective in limited minutes, contributing on both ends and playing with good energy.
* I’m no doctor, but it seems you have to be pretty tough to miss only one game with a sprained MCL. That’s what Thabo Sefolosha did and was surprisingly effective defensively on Andre Iguodala. I thought Sefolosha would test it out to start the game but shut it down after the first quarter or definitely by the half.
* Thunder coach Scott Brooks, who hasn’t relied much on his bench since he took over, did a good job balancing the minutes in this back-to-back situation. Funny how Sefolosha played a team-high 38 tonight despite coming off the injury.
* Earl Watson said after the game that part of the balanced scoring is due to the Thunder having a better bench than people think.
* Watson also said his thumb injury likely will not fully heal until July.
* In other injury-related news, Jeff Green (sore back) is starting to look better and he could be upgraded to probable for Tuesday’s game at Sacramento. He was joking around and horse-playing with teammates before tonight’s game, showing no signs of having an injured back. My guess is he returns to the lineup against the Kings.
* Robert Swift is expected to join the team in Sacramento after missing the past two games because of personal reasons.
* I kept looking at Sixers center Samuel Dalembert tonight wondering if the Thunder would attempt to trade for him in the off-season. Dalembert is a year older than New Orleans center Tyson Chandler but an even better shot blocker and almost as good a rebounder. Dalembert has also been durable, playing all 82 games in three seasons, including the past two years as a starter. And his contract, while hefty, is actually slightly cheaper than Chandler’s, about $500,000 cheaper in each of the last two remaining seasons.
-DM-
Thunder-76ers live blog
Hornets 108, Thunder 90
Observations, news and notes from Saturday’s game………
* First to the biggest news of the evening, a Kevin Durant update. Durant is hoping to play Wednesday at Denver. He told me after the game that if he doesn’t play against Denver he definitely will play Saturday against Phoenix.
“I’m getting better,” Durant said. ”Right now it’s still a little sore when I wake up in the morning. We’re trying to get that out. But as of right now it’s getting better. Only thing I can’t do is probably run as fast as I used to. I just can’t sprint. I’m jumping on it a little bit but other than that I’m alright.”
Durant shot jumpers before the game for the second straight game, showing his shooting touch is still there even despite the gimpy ankle.
* Jeff Green also took part in light shooting before the game. He said Friday that he wanted to play Wednesday against the Wizards and felt good enough to play tonight. Thunder coach Scott Brooks said he’ll be a game-time decision for Sunday’s game at Phoenix but it doesn’t look like he’ll play.
* Thabo Sefolosha tested his sprained left knee about an hour before the game and was thinking he could go before he and the training staff decided it was best for him to sit out. It looks like he’ll be out against Phoenix as well.
* Robert Swift did not travel with the team due to personal reasons. It’s unclear if he’ll be with the team against the 76ers.
* Where does that all leave the Thunder? With eight healthy bodies and likely the same mix-and-match bunch we saw tonight for at least one more game.
* Oh yeah, that’s assuming that hard fall Kyle Weaver had at the end of the game doesn’t flare up in the morning. Weaver said he fell on his rear end and had the wind knocked out of him, which is why he couldn’t get up. But other than normal soreness, he said the injury shouldn’t be serious.
* The Thunder took 22 3-pointers tonight without its best 3-point shooters available. Huh? Brooks said he was OK with that since they were playing against a smaller lineup and he felt the shots were open.
* Tyson Chandler finished with 12 points and eight rebounds. I was never able to catch up to him before or after the game to discuss the rescinded trade. But here’s what he had to say in today’s Times-Picayune.
* One game after I thought it wise to give Chucky Atkins minutes, he comes out and misses five of six 3-pointers. Go figure.
* Nenad Krstic struggled to knock down anything tonight, and Chandler played volleyball on the glass against him although the final stat sheet doesn’t show it. Krstic finished with six boards.
* The Thunder shot just 39.8 percent.
* I understand Nick Collison is a blue-collar player who is all about hustle. But two shot attempts?
-DM-
Thunder-Hornets live blog
Sefolosha Out Tonight Against New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS — Thabo Sefolosha has been scratched from the lineup tonight against New Orleans.
Thunder coach Scott Brooks walked into the locker room at about 6:10 p.m. and pointed at Damien Wilkins before erasing Sefolosha’s name off the dry erase board that listed tonight’s matchups. Wilkins will get the start in Sefolosha’s place.
Jeff Green (back) and Kevin Durant (ankle) have also been ruled out tonight. Center Robert Swift is not with the team due to personal reasons. That leaves the Thunder with just eight healthy bodies, putting Brooks in a challenging position with the second of a back-to-back set coming Sunday night at home against Philadelphia.
“The guys who are going to have opportunities to play, we just want them to play hard when they get minutes, whether they get an extra five or six minutes or they’re getting an extra 20 minutes,” Brooks said. “We just have to play hard and play well and play together as a team. That’s all I can ask for from our guys.”
-DM-
Thabo Sefolosha Joins The Walking Wounded
Thabo Sefolosha has sustained a sprained MCL and is listed as day-to-day.
Sefolosha only shot free throws during today’s practice and his status for Saturday’s game at New Orleans is unclear. Coach Scott Brooks labeled Sefolosha a game-time decision.
If Sefolosha is unable to play against the Hornets, he will become the fourth injured player on the Thunder’s roster, joining forwards Desmond Mason, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green.
Green talked to the media today and said his sore back feels “great” but is unsure whether the medical staff will clear him for Saturday’s game. Durant participated in light shooting today and is walking around without favoring his sprained right ankle but he’s likely doubtful for Saturday’s game. Both Green and Durant will travel.
-DM-
Thunder 88, Wizards 83
Observations, news and notes from Wednesday night’s game……..
* The Thunder is showing some of its best effort of the season without its best two players. It’s not a new concept. Teams generally play more inspired ball when they’re shorthanded.
* OKC is starting to show it’s capable of closing out in the fourth quarter and weathering the storm when teams make runs. The Mavs went on a 16-2 run in the fourth on Monday and the Thunder held on to win. Tonight, the Wizards started the fourth on a 14-4 run and the Thunder closed on a 16-7 run.
* Earl Watson played pretty good, setting up guys and attacking on pick-and-roll plays. Still not quite sure why he’s insistent on jumping in the air to make a pass, though.
* Kyle Weaver is starting to prove he can hit a big shot when called upon. After the Wizards put the finishing touches on their 14-4 run to start the fourth and took a four-point lead with 7:05 remaining, Weaver came out of a timeout and nailed a 3-pointer to cut the deficit to one.
* Thabo Sefolosha is looking better and better each game — 15 points, eight rebounds, four assists, three blocks.
* After being outscored 16-0 in fastbreak points by the Mavs, the Thunder outscored the Wizards 7-0 in fastbreak points Wednesday.
* Russell Westbrook is doing a much better job of setting up his teammates. He finished with eight assists tonight and could have had 16 if his teammates made more shots.
* Nick Collison is the unsung hero tonight — 12 points, 10 rebounds, 5-for-5 from the field. What more can you ask for?
* Damien Wilkins came to play and made the most of a rare opportunity. His seven rebounds came as a shock.
* The Thunder proved once again that playing at a slower pace that focuses more on quality shots and good defensive possessions is the way for the team to win. When OKC speed the tempo and get into a shootout, it’s almost guaranteed the Thunder is taking an L. Brooks said as much in his post-game press conference.
* Robert Swift had a big impact with his defense, rebounding and as a screener in limited minutes.
* Could Nenad Krstic be what Oklahoma City saw in David West? The guy doesn’t seem to miss from 17.
* With Kevin Durant and Jeff Green out, I say give Chucky Atkins some minutes. There are several points throughout the game that The Thunder needs someone to make a shot and can look only to Westbrook, Watson, Weaver and Sefolosha as guys who can create off the dribble. Problem there is none of those guys are a consistent shooting threat.
* Speaking of Durant, he is no longer wearing his protective boot on his right foot. At least not permanently. He sat on the bench without it tonight, shot 3-pointers before the game and was seen doing light jogging on the treadmill at this morning’s shootaround. Maybe he really will return faster than expected. I still have my doubts.
* Jeff Green missed his second straight game with a sore back and is still listed as day-to-day. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him sit Saturday at New Orleans as well. Not because he can’t go but because the team doesn’t want to rush him back. Green has established himself as one of the toughest guys on the team so even if he doesn’t play Saturday it seems the team will have to lock him in the locker room to keep him out Sunday.
* Shout out to Brent Weber, the Thunder’s sideline reporter, for toughing it out and carrying out his job tonight. Right arm wrapped in a sling and all from a broken wrist stemming from Tuesday’s media practice. Get well soon, Brent.
-DM-
