Coaching Fires: 101
Did the Thunder blunder in its firing of P.J. Carlesimo?
According to one writer it did.
Kevin Sullivan, writing for Sports Business Journal, groups the management of the Carlesimo firing in with the New York Mets’ removal of manager Willie Randolph last June and the Oakland Raiders’ ugly dismissal of coach Lane Kiffin.
Sullivan, a former White House communications director and public relations executive for NBC Universal and the Dallas Mavericks, believes the Thunder could have sent a louder message to its fan base simply by use of better timing rather than the early-morning hour decision it settled on.
“(Sam) Presti could have laid out his vision and then introduced impressive assistant coach Scott Brooks as the interim coach for the remainder of the season. Brooks would have had the chance to look into the cameras and say: “I have clear plans to make the team play with more energy and passion,” precisely what he said on that Saturday night in New Orleans when everybody in Oklahoma City was watching OU dismantle Texas Tech.“
-DM-
Rose Wins Rookie of the Year
Chicago’s Derrick Rose has won the 2008-09 Rookie of the Year award, the league announced today.
Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook finished fourth behind Memphis’ O.J. Mayo and New Jersey’s Brook Lopez.
Rose received 111 first-place votes (574 points) from a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the U.S. and Canada. Players were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.
Mayo received five first-place votes and 246 points. Lopez received two first-place votes and 127 points. Westbrook received two first-place votes and 73 total points.
Rose, the No. 1 overall pick, ranked second among rookies in scoring (16.8 points per game), first in assists (6.8 assists per game) and averaged 3.9 rebounds while starting 80 of 81 games in 37 minutes per game.
-DM-
Updating A Previous Post
Just needed to make sure that readers are aware that the winner of the team’s Draft Lottery Challenge will NOT sit on stage at the Draft Lottery on May 19. The team sent out a press release today stating that “all fans 18 or older who are Oklahoma state residents are invited to submit a seven-word essay on thunder-nba.com explaining why they should represent the Thunder at the Lottery in May.”
But, again, the winner of the contest will only attend the proceedings, not sit on the stage alongside the other representatives from the league’s non-playoff teams.
When asked at a news conference last week who will represent the team on stage, general manager Sam Presti said the decision has not been finalized.
-DM-
Wanna Rep OKC At The Draft Lottery?
The Thunder announced Tuesday that one lucky fan will have the opportunity to attend the annual NBA Draft Lottery on May 19 when the league determines the draft order of the 14 non-playoff teams.
The Thunder has launched a Draft Lottery Challenge, asking fans 18 and older who are Oklahoma residents to submit a fun, creative, witty and entertaining SEVEN-word essay to Thunder.nba.com explaining why they should win the trip to the lottery.
The top three finalists will be placed on thunder.nba.com and all site visitors will be able to vote on the most creative entry. The Grand Prize winner will win round trip airfare from Oklahoma City to New York City, hotel accommodations, per diem for the trip and will head to the Draft Lottery at the NBA Entertainment studious in Secaucus, N.J.
Deadline for entries on thunder.nba.com is midnight on Monday, May 4. The team is asking fans to refrain from using draft eligible player names, numbers and schools. The winning entry will be announced on Thursday, May 7 at thunder.nba.com.
-DM-
Thunder 126, Clippers 85
Observations, news and notes from Wednesday’s 126-85 win……..
* D.J. White finally showed how much of an impact he could have on the boards. His three blocked shots weren’t half bad either.
* Earl Watson’s final three games were truly….(wait for it)…..amazing. OK, so I went to far. But I think his averages of 12.3 points, 8.7 assists and 4.7 rebounds more accurately depicted the type of player he really is.
* With 26 points tonight, Kevin Durant finished sixth in the league in scoring at 25.3 per game.
* Shaun Livingston returned to the place where it all started for him and delighted the Los Angeles Clippers’ fans. He had six points, seven rebounds, two assists, one steal and zero turnovers in 33 minutes. Nice gesture by (full-time) head coach Scott Brooks to give him the starting nod in his return to L.A.
* Speaking of Brooks, allow me to clear up something from Wednesday’s editions of The Oklahoman. Russell Westbrook was not and is not opposed to Brooks. He was simply saying that the decision was not up to him and never gave a firm answer one way or the other. But I know for a fact that Westbrook enjoys Brooks as a person and as a coach. In fact, while I was interviewing Brooks before the game, Westbrook gave his coach a hard five as he walked by.
* Westbrook played in all 82 games. The only other rookies to pull the feat: Luc Mbah a Moute, Mario Chalmers, Jason Thompson, Marc Gasol, Brook Lopez and O.J. Mayo.
* Since I’m on rookies, thought I’d mention that I’m turning in my ballot for 2008-09 awards in when I wrap this up. My three-man ballot for the ROY award will read, Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo and Brook Lopez.
* The Thunder flew back to OKC following the game and will meet the media bright and early Thursday morning before having exit interviews with Brooks and Presti and taking off. We’ll flood the session and collect lots of goodies one last time.
* Of all the things Brooks experienced in this historic Thunder season, the one thing he’ll remember most is how his players stayed strong throughout it all: “We all stayed together,” Brooks said. “The fact that they continued to work and push each other and get each other better, that’s what I will remember this year.”
* Durant told me before the game that he’s going to be more committed to a strenuous off-season workout schedule, one that includes lifting four or five times a week and eating three to four meals a day. Can’t wait to see him in October.
* Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy on the game….”I am not going to sugar coat it. Tonight’s game was the icing on the cake that is this season, and it was the worst possible way to end a season. In 30 years of coaching and playing, it is the worst I have seen.”
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Brooks Named Full-Time Coach
LOS ANGELES – The Thunder has lifted the interim tag from coach Scott Brooks, naming him the full-time head coach on Wednesday afternoon.
The exact terms of the contract are unclear, but the deal is a multi-year agreement.
Thunder general manager Sam Presti had previously maintained he would make a decision at the end of the season. But Presti pulled the trigger on the announcement prior to Wednesday night’s season finale against the Los Angeles Clippers to provide clarity to players, who will meet one final time for exit interviews in Oklahoma City on Thursday before scattering for the off-season.
“We are excited to have a head coach in Scott Brooks who believes in our philosophies and consistently leads with those values,” Presti said. “He has a passion to help our players develop, continue to foster accountability and sefless play and has the ability to communicate with every player on our roster.”
Brooks has received overwhelming support from his players and high praise from his peers for the job he has done since taking over for fired coach P.J. Carlesimo on Nov. 22, only 13 games into the season.
The Thunder enters Wednesday’s finale 21-47 under Brooks, but the team has become more competitive compared to the 1-12 start it sputtered to under Carlesimo.
Brooks’ tenure also got off to a 1-12 start, but the Thunder went 15-17 during a stretch from Dec. 19 through March 10, including a 10-9 mark from New Year’s Eve through Feb. 8. The Thunder’s average margin of defeat since Brooks took over is 5.6 points, 6.7 points fewer than the 12.3-point average margin of defeat the Thunder saw in 13 games under Carlesimo.
Oklahoma City, however, has limped to the finish line with a 4-13 record over the past 17 games going into the finale.
“If you look at what he’s done from the beginning of the season until now, he’s changed the culture of the way we play and the way we practice,” said Desmond Mason. “We’ve had a little roller-coaster ride, but he’s done an excellent job of getting us to understand what it really takes to win. The thing is for us to do it consistently…It’s just a building process and it takes time to jell and get that cohesiveness.”
The promotion marks Brooks’ first full-time head coaching job. He spent last season as an assistant under Carlesimo in Seattle and was an assistant with the Sacramento Kings in 2006-07. He began his coaching career with Denver as an assistant under former Nuggets coach Jeff Bzdelik and current coach George Karl from 2003-06.
“Coaching’s like anything else, you get better at it over time,” said Nick Collison. “So I think he’ll do nothing but get better with experience. But I think he’s done a really good job.
“He’s got a more difficult job than a lot of coaches of veteran teams because he’s got to try to develop guys but at the same time try to win games. I think that’s also something he’s done a good job of.”
Players have also credited Brooks for his upbeat demeanor, something many felt was vital as the Thunder adapted to relocating from Seattle, labored through a 4-30 start and adjusted to a coaching change less than a month into the season.
“I think he handled the whole situation pretty well, just trying to keep the locker room and everything that we’ve been through positive because it was rough,” said rookie guard Kyle Weaver. “A lot of things happened these past few months. But he did a good job of trying to do what he could to bring us together and get us playing better. So I think he’s definitely done some positive things here to try to get us on track.”
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Blazers 113, Thunder 83
Observations, news and notes from Monday’s 113-83 loss to the Blazers…….
* You don’t know how bad I want to steal a line from Jay-Z for this entire entry and type simply, “What more can I say?” -DM-
* Just from looking at the players before, during and after games you can tell that they’re past the point of being ready for summer vacation.
* The company line after this one was stressing the importance of ending on a good note in Wednesday’s game at L.A. We’ll see.
* My question to coach Brooks and the players after the game was how much are we supposed to read into these blowout losses? That’s six losses in seven games this month. The defeats are by an average margin of 20 points.
* Nick Collison gave the best explanation, saying, “It just shows we got a long way to go. It’s who we are. We can’t hide from it. It’s on our resume so I don’t think you can forget it. You can see that we’re inconsistent. We’re capable of playing well but we’re also capable of playing pretty poorly.”
* Collison also had this gem, noting the difference between the Blazers and the Thunder, “We have potential to be good. But there’s a huge difference between having potential to be a playoff team and actually being a playoff team.”
* The difference in this one, like most losses for the Thunder this season, was defense. The Blazers had tight rotations, helped when someone got beat and closed out well on shooters. The Thunder looked like they didn’t trust each other on D all night.
* Again, why was Earl Watson benched for a month? The guy’s thumb injury is finally close to 100 percent and he shows us what kind of point guard he’s capable of being. He had a team-high 16 points with six rebounds and five assists tonight, making six of 10 shots and one of two from downtown. There’s not much of a chance of Watson being back next year, but why wouldn’t the Thunder make him the full-time backup and give him 20-25 minutes?
* Nenad Krstic and Nick Collison were about the Thunder’s lone bright spot other than Watson. Krstic finished with 11 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in only 20 minutes. Collison had eight points, five rebounds and three blocks in 20 minutes.
* The Thunder’s 31 points in the first half narrowly beat its season-low of 29 in the first half, set on Nov. 7 at Utah.
* The Blazers’ bench outscored the Thunder’s 55-37.
* The Blazers outrebounded the Thunder 54-36.
* The Thunder missed 10 of 12 3-pointers.
* Kevin Durant’s 10 points were his fewest since he scored six in just eight minutes at Dallas on Feb. 27. Said Portland coach Nate McMillan, “Our defense on Kevin Durant was solid. Travis (Outlaw) guarded him, but it was pretty much a team effort. Our approach on him was to not allow him to get anything easy. We had a some schemes on where we wanted him to go and I thought it worked out well.”
* Durant scored just 13 points against Portland in the Blazers’ 35-point win inside the Ford Center on April 3.
* I can understand Durant and Green (11 points, 3-for-7 shooting) having a poor night shooting the ball. What I don’t understand is how they look completely uninterested in having an impact in any other aspect of the game. They combined to pull down six rebounds, record zero assists and one blocked shot.
* Russell Westbrook is now one game away from playing in all 82 this season.
* Look for Jerryd Bayless’ one-handed dunk off an alley-oop on SportsCenter’s top 10. And Greg Oden’s. And Rudy Fernandez’s.
* After his monster 35-point, 18-rebound game on April 3, LaMarcus Aldridge scored just five points with eight rebounds.
* In the words of Jay-Z, “What more can I say?”
-DM-
Bucks 115, Thunder 98
Observations news and notes from Saturday’s game….
* At least the Thunder gave the home fans a good showing in the Ford Center finale. Tonight’s loss could be the start of an ugly three-game trip to end the season.
* Couldn’t help but to picture Bucks guard Ramon Sessions in a Thunder uniform next season. He’ll be a restricted free agent this summer, turned only 23 today and can play both point guard and shooting guard. I wouldn’t be surprised if Sam Presti went after Sessions much like he did Nenad Krstic and Utah’s C.J. Miles, signing both player’s to offer sheets that weren’t overly expensive but pricey enough that their respective teams had to think long and hard about matching. Because of Milwaukee’s cap situation next season, $64 mil and maybe more depending on Charlie Villanueva’s situation, the Bucks might not be in a position to keep him around.
* Richard Jefferson destroyed OKC tonight. His 13 of 21 shooting doesn’t tell the story of how hot he was thanks to a 1-for-4 7:27 in a meaningless fourth quarter.
* Russell Westbrook is growing before our eyes, folks. He’s putting up all-around numbers pretty regularly and now more than ever is really making a concerted effort to get his teammates involved first before looking for his own offense. His 13 points, seven rebounds, six assists and one turnover in only 26 minutes were another step in the right direction.
* Don’t know what happened to Jeff Green tonight. He was a non-factor offensively and couldn’t rise to the challenge of being the guy who slowed down Richard Jefferson defensively.
* Shaun Livingston was 7-for-7 from the field for 14 points off the bench. He had only two assists, but to see his offense coming along is a good sign.
* Earl Watson played for the first time since March 11. He had a nice all-around game with five points, seven assists and four rebounds, leaving coach Scott Brooks to say Watson will get some minutes in these final two games.
* Brooks said he had planned on giving Watson the minutes anyway, but it helped that Thabo Sefolosha missed the game after dislocating his left index finger on Friday. Sefolosha will miss the final two games because of the injury.
* You knew it was embarrassing when…. Damon Jones entered the game with 6:50 remaining.
* Most interesting lineup of the season….Earl Watson, Russell Westbrook, Kyle Weaver, Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. Brooks was trying to match up with Milwaukee’s small-ball lineup of Luke Ridnour, Richard Jefferson, Joe Alexander, Luc Mbah a Moute and Charlie Villanueva.
* Brooks said Nick Collison remains day-to-day with a thigh contusion.
* I don’t think we’ll see Durant Green and Westbrook lose much playing time, but we could be in for a good amount of D.J. White, Kyle Weaver and Shaun Livingston in these final two.
* Thunder is taking the day off Sunday before getting back at it Monday against the Blazers.
-DM-
Nuggets 122, Thunder 112
Observations, news and notes from Wednesday’s game……
* What’s worse at this point? Playing with more energy but still being incapable of executing down the stretch like the Thunder has shown in its last two? Or not showing much fight whatsoever and losing by 35 and 18 on your home court as OKC did in the previous two? I think we all know the answer, but both are bad to watch. The former perhaps tougher because it’s the same thing time and time again.
* Add a bench scorer to general manager Sam Presti’s shopping list this summer. Doesn’t have to be a high-priced guy. Just a player who you can count on for 12 to 15 each night. The Thunder has zero true scoring threats off the bench. A few guys who can knock down shots, but nobody who can create for himself and others and make a play when the shot clock is winding down.
* Watching J.R. Smith (14 points) and Linas Kleiza (17 points) come off the bench and bury shot after shot, it becomes evident how much more of an advantage teams have with a potent scorer in reserve.
* Russell Westbrook was very good tonight. Like a true point guard should, he got his teammates involved early, dishing five assists and taking only two shots in the first quarter. He let the game come to him tonight and really ran the offense as well as I’ve seen all year. He had five turnovers, but as coach Scott Brooks pointed out in his postgame comments, some weren’t his fault.
“He is getting better,” Brooks said. “He did a great job of passing. He did a good job of really controlling the game tonight.”
* Unfortunately for OKC, Chauncey Billups did a better job. His third quarter scoring changed the pace of the game and gave the Nuggets momentum going into the fourth. Finished with 16 points and three assists in the period.
* Westbrook’s 14 points and 11 assists were his ninth double-double of the season. Among rookies, Westbrook ranks sixth in double-doubles.
* Along the lines of point guards and ball distribution. The most interesting and perhaps telling stat of the game was the assists. In the first half, the Thunder had 17 assists. The Nuggets had seven. In the second half, the Nuggets had 19. The Thunder had eight.
* Thunder shouldn’t feel so bad with the way Chris Andersen was swatting shots left and right. His seven swats tonight bump his average to 5.0 over the past four games.
* The right side of Kevin Durant’s hip might be bothering him a little more than he’s leading on. He was grimacing a little tonight but played through any discomfort or pain en route to a team-high 31 points. Durant was originally injured by a shot to the midsection by San Antonio guard Michael Finley on March 31.
* Shaun Livingston showed more flashes that he’s on the right road to recovery. He had a few passes tonight that made you drop your jaw and a couple of dribbling moves that defied logic. But there are still times that show he’s got a ways to go. On one fast break, he never bothered to challenge an Anthony Carter layup despite having a five-inch height advantage over the Nuggets point guard. It’s little things like that that tell the full story of where he is in his recovery.
-DM-
Spurs 99, Thunder 89
The question started off simple, a softball some would say.
Nick Collison’s answer, however, was all-too revealing, one that explained a significant sore spot for the Thunder.
“I think what you can learn from their team is when it comes down to big possessions they always get a good shot,” Collison said when asked what his younger teammates can learn from San Antonio. “They know what they want to do and they do it. Sometimes with our team we’re just kind of out there and whatever happens, happens. Sometimes it’s good and sometimes it’s bad.”
And sometimes it’s ugly.
It was ugly in the fourth quarter of Tuesday’s 99-89 loss to the Spurs inside the Ford Center.
Ugly because the Thunder missed 14 of 20 shots in the period. Uglier because Kevin Durant attempted only two of those shots.
Durant scored a team-high 24 points with seven rebounds and six assists in 40 minutes. But as has been the case more often than not this season, he vanished in the fourth. Did so again Tuesday, scoring just two points on a pair of free throws despite playing nearly 10 minutes in the final period.
While San Antonio stubbornly ran its offense through Tim Duncan and Tony Parker — the two combining for 10 of the Spurs’ 20 shots in the decisive fourth quarter — the Thunder relied on the “whatever happens, happens” approach.
How else do you explain Oklahoma City’s best player attempting only two of the team’s 20 shots in a tightly-contested fourth quarter? Russell Westbrook had five attempts. Shaun Livingston had four. Collison, Nenad Krstic, Kyle Weaver and D.J. White each had two. With the exception of Livingston, each of them played almost half the minutes Durant did in the final period.
Things look worse when you consider the second of Durant’s shot attempts was a too-little-too-late 3-point heave with 50.9 seconds remaining and the Thunder trailing by 12.
“I just play my role,” Durant said. “I just run the plays Scotty calls. I trust him that we’re going to get a good shot every time down. We got good shots, but we just got to do a better job making them. Of course as a competitor, as a player, I want the ball in my hands. But I feel confident in my teammates that they’ll hit shots. So I’m not worried about it at all. Whenever my number’s called I’ll be ready.”
Maybe it’s time for Durant to call his own number.
Before he ever evolves into a great player, Durant must first develop a killer instinct, an attitude and swagger that displays some selfishness when the game is on the line.
Brooks insisted he was fine with Durant’s 0-for-2 fourth quarter performance.
“The thing I liked about Kevin’s game tonight is he competed,” Brooks said. He challenged himself defensively to get rebounds and he did that. He challenged himself to contest shots and he did that. Good teams that are strong defensive teams, they’re going to make your best player make plays and Kevin passed the ball well tonight. He had six assists and probably could have had a couple more…I don’t mind him not taking shots. I like KD and all of our players to make the right play. Is he getting the ball? Is he making the right play? That’s what I look at. I thought he did that tonight.”
Durant recorded just one rebound, zero assists, zero steals and zero blocked shots in the fourth quarter. While his Thunder teammates did indeed miss shots, the ball rarely ran through Durant on most possessions in the fourth. That’s seemingly a bigger problem than the minimal shot attempts.
At some point someone, whether it’s Brooks, Westbrook or Durant himself, has to realize Durant can be a game-changer. But as we’ve seen so many times this season in the fourth quarter, it’s often whatever happens, happens while Durant is standing around the perimeter placing too much faith in his coaches and teammates.
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