Orlando Observations: Day 5
For the first time all week, the Thunder was out-hustled and outplayed by another team. The Jazz beat OKC to loose balls, took advantage of numerous defensive lapses by the Thunder to run their offense effectively throughout the game and turned the contest into a layup drill in the second half.
Add to that, the Thunder couldn’t get much of anything going on the offensive end, scoring more than 15 points in only one quarter. OKC was plagued by turnovers (20), poor shot selection and simple misses (37.9 percent shooting from the field, 2-for-12 from 3-point range) and sloppy execution all day.
Final score: Jazz 70, Thunder 60.
Don’t know if it was the white jerseys, the fifth game in five days or the Jazz just playing that much better. I’m going to say it had a lot to do with the absence of Russell Westbrook, who sat out the finale. At any rate, the Thunder wrapped up its 2009 appearance in the Orlando Pro Summer League at 3-2, a very encouraging start to the summer league schedule not because of the record of course but the way the young guys played and competed throughout the week.
Not much to say from this one, so I won’t bog down this post with minor details. Check out the box score to see who did what. Meanwhile, I’ll lace you with some words from coach Scott Brooks, who told me in a telephone interview just before tip-off that he was actually proud of his team’s effort heading into the final game. I imagine he wasn’t so pleased with what he saw over the next hour and a half after hanging up the phone with me.
But first a few observations and notes.
Serge Ibaka looked solid again, continuing to show off a smooth shooting touch from 15 to 17 feet and some nifty footwork on the interior. On one possession, he hit his defender with an up-and-under move starting from the left block and got a trip to the foul line. It was a advanced move that was pretty impressive for a player who is supposed to be raw. Ibaka had eight points, three rebounds and one blocked shot in 19 minutes.
James Harden absolutely destroyed Kevin Kruger. I actually felt worse and worse for Kruger with every drive and finish Harden had. Harden finished with 14 points, five rebounds, three steals and one assist in 33 minutes. He left the game early with what appeared to be cramping but came back and finished strong, even running the point a good amount after he returned.
Kyle Weaver sat out with a left thumb injury. He had tests done on the thumb and is questionable for Vegas pending the results of the examinations, which the Thunder should know today.
Westbrook will play in the Thunder’s first game in Las Vegas against Memphis on Sunday, making the match up that much more interesting (and watchable if Friday’s game is any indication of what OKC looks like without him). Westbrook is the Thunder’s best driver to the basket, and No. 2 overall pick and All-World shot-blocking machine Hasheem Thabeet will be lurking in the middle for the Grizzlies. Got a feeling neither will back down from the challenge.
The Thunder is expected to bring in one more point guard for Vegas who was not on the original summer league roster. Don’t know who that player is yet, but with Weaver a question mark and Westbrook playing in only one game OKC will need someone to turn to at the position in addition to Livingston. Veteran point guard Keith McLeod already is on the roster, and according to this roster, Tony Durant, the older brother of Kevin Durant, will make an appearance in Vegas. But Tony Durant, a Towson University product, is a 6-foot-7, 245-pound forward.
D.J. White finished strong, scoring a game-high 17 points on 7-for-10 shooting to go with three rebounds.
Byron Mullens followed his 18-point performance with a two-point, six-rebound effort on 0-for-7 shooting. And Robert Vaden still can’t find his rhythm — three points on 1-for-6 shooting. He did pull down six boards.
On to Brooks.
ON RUSSELL WESTBROOK
“I think the leadership that Russell has displayed has been tremendous. Guys have really followed his lead as a point guard. You have to establish that early in every game and I think he’s done a great job with that.”
ON JAMES HARDEN AND BYRON MULLENS
“I thought they’ve handled themselves very well considering this is their first taste of NBA basketball. I know it’s summer league, but you still have to go out and display what we’ve taught them the last four or five days of practices. And they’ve done a good job of doing that, taking what they’ve learned on the court and applying it to the games.”
ON SERGE IBAKA
“Just his approach is very, very powerful because he looks at you, he’s very coachable and he wants to get better. It’s in his heart that he wants to be a player in this league. And the energy that he brings to the game defensively with rebounding and being able to block shots and alter shots, I think that’s going to improve as he gets more comfortable playing NBA style of basketball. But the short time that we’ve had him he’s been great to be around.”
ON THE APPROACH GOING INTO VEGAS
“It doesn’t really change. Our philosophy is going to be the same. We still need to get after it and compete, make our teammates better and play for the team.”
I’ll have more in Sunday’s paper on the start of the Vegas Summer League, now known simply as the NBA Summer League.
-DM-
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