Brooks' outburst very revealing
Thunder coach Scott Brooks is about as upbeat a coach as you will see. He’s constantly encouraging players and prefers to talk about a player’s strengths instead of their weaknesses.
That’s why Brooks’ late-practice, high-volume lecture to his team Wednesday afternoon at the end of practice was eye opening.
After players half-heartedly completed what’s supposed to be a fast-paced, 100-pass, spacing, ball movement drill, Brooks screamed some unprintable words and then told his team that he and his assistant coaches, all in their 40s and 50s, could go at that speed.
Brooks almost never uses R-rated language but his tongue lashing certainly got his team’s attention. Brooks informed players they would re-run the drill and go at game speed, not just for this particular drill but every drill throughout the entire season. Players responded by running the drill crisply and effectively.
This isn’t a team you need to crack the whip very often. Players showed up two weeks early for training camp. Many arrive early and leave late for practice. They even practice sometimes on an off day.
But Brooks’ vocal outburst was revealing if for no other reason than he refuses to accept half-hearted effort and he will continue to push, prod and challenge a young team to continue working hard to take their game to another level.
Normally self-motivated, players were reminded Wednesday at practice that Brooks is setting the bar extremely high as far as effort, engery and focus.
Thunder tempers expectations
Fran Blinebury, a long-time sportswriter in Houston who now works for NBA.com, wrote Kevin Durant and his Thunder teammates realize there’s national hype about them being a team on the rise but their primary focus is to improve on a daily basis.
Writing a story after the Thunder’s loss Monday night to the Rockets, Blinebury quoted Durant:
”It’s not a question of us not believing in ourselves,” Durant said. “We’re gaining confidence as we gain experience. It’s not a question of how far this team could someday go because the sky is the limit.
“But the only thing that’s going to get us from here to there is to keep our heads down, keep coming to work and getting better one step at a time. Hey, that’s how we got from there to here.”
Brooks said one thing Durant learned in the off-season was star players don’t always have to take the key shot, that sometimes it’s making a good play to set up a teammate, something Durant observed in last year’s playoffs.
The NBA.com article reiterates what coach Scott Brooks, general manager Sam Presti and players have been saying throughout training camp — hard work is their primary focus. If they do that they feel the wins and losses will take care of themself.
SI picks Thunder 11th
Sports Illustrated’s NBA preview issue is scheduled to hit newstands and mailboxes today.
SI picks the Thunder to finish 11th in the Western Conference.
The small preview on the Thunder centers around Kevin Durant accepting the challenge of being a team leader, evidenced by organizing invite-only games of UT players like Damion James and current NBA players like T.J. Ford, Royal Ivey and D.J. Augustin.
Even more revealing was Durant organizing crack-of-dawn weight-lifting sessions with his Thunder teammates.
The bottom line, SI says: “pencil in the Thunder as playoff contenders… in 2010-11.”
GMs give Thunder some love
For the eighth consecutive year, NBA.com conducted a survery of the league’s general managers. The Thunder was mentioned in a few categories.
The Thunder figured most prominently on two questions — the most improved team this season and player most likely to have a breakthrough season. James Harden also received some votes in various rookie voting categories.
Oklahoma City, receiving 13.8 percent of the votes, finished third in the most improved balloting behind Washington (48.3 percent) and the Clippers (17.2).
The question: Which Player is most likely to have a breakthough season is where the Thunder stood out, receiving one third of the votes.
Kevin Durant finished first in breakthrough season balloting, receiving 25.9 precent of the votes. Russell Westbrook tied for third with 7.4 percent.
Harden tied for first with 11.9 percent of the votes for the rookie most likely to be a “sleeper” success story. Harden also tied a distant second behind runaway winner Blake Griffin for rookie that will be the best player in five years.
In the honorable mention categories, Ron Adams and Mo Cheeks both received one vote each for best NBA assistant coach.
The GM survery produces interesting results which carry some weight considering these are the men who sign free agents, make trades and make draft picks.
2009-10 GM predictions are: Champion (Lakers), MVP (LeBron James), Rookie of the Year (Blake Griffin), Defensive Player of the Year (Dwight Howard).
Asked which player forces a coach to make the most adjustments, GMs selected LeBron (39.3 percent), Kobe (23.2), Dwight Howard (14.3) and Chris Paul (12.5).
In voting for the best player at each position runaway winners were PG (Chris Paul), SG (Kobe Bryant), SF (LeBron James) and C (Dwight Howard). The only close balloting was Tim Duncan was named best PF followed by Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki.
Which player would you start a franchise with: LeBron (78.6 percent), Dwight Howard (14.3)
Similar to media polls and national preseason publications, GMs are hit and miss on their predictions.
Last season GMs correctly picked the Lakers as the champion, LeBron James would win the MVP and Miami would be the most improved team.
GMs last season missed the mark on the Eastern Conference champion (Boston), Defensive Player of the Year (Kevin Garnett), Rookie of the Year (Michael Beasley), Coach of the Year (Gregg Popovich) and the team that made the best moves (Philadelphia).
Scott Brooks Is Not A Fan Of Plus/Minus
Keep your head up, KD. Coach Brooks has your back.
We know how Kevin Durant feels about plus-minus statistics.
On Tuesday, Thunder coach Scott Brooks shared the same apathetic attitude regarding the stat-based analysis.
“I look at it,” Brooks said. “But very few of my decisions are based on plus-minus. I go with the players that I think are going to best help put us in a position to win games. And there are so many variables that go into plus-minuses.”
For those that don’t know, plus-minus is a stat that documents how a score swung while individual players were on the court. For example, if Durant enters the game with the score tied at 50 and checks out with the Thunder ahead 60-50, he gets a +10. If he leaves the game and the Thunder trails 60-50, he gets a -10.
Well, the ESPN.com NBA blog, TrueHoop, last Friday wrote a post titled “The Kevin Durant Conundrum,” examining Durant’s contributions to the Thunder (or lack thereof) from this statistical stand point. The piece concluded, “Any way you slice the +/- numbers, (Durant’s) one of the Thunder’s worst players.”
Durant responded Sunday afternoon with 139 characters on his Twitter page.
“I love all the REAL basketball fans who appreciate hard work, passion and love for the game …and not jus “plus and minuses”…wateva dat is!”
The blog followed up with a “Memo to a Young Baller,” a 1,700-word post attempting to analyze Durant’s performance and explain why certain deficiencies in his game have led to a negative plus-minus rating. Around the Internet, a debate has since brewed.
Brooks, however, isn’t big on nouveau statistics such as plus-minus, PER, true shooting percentage and rebounding percentage.
“I’m probably not smart enough to internalize it,” Brooks joked. “But there’s so much feel that factors into the game.
“I appreciate the work that stat people do. But I haven’t seen enough where you can tell me that you can coach the game on stats alone. The best players are going to play and are going to help you win…I just know Kevin is a pretty good player.”
Brooks said he only occasionally looks at plus-minus numbers. He called that form of analysis “an afterthought.” He remembers when teams started tracking plus-minus toward the end of his career and having an inflated figure. It generally happened when he played on bad teams and got the garbage time minutes when his team already trailed by 20 but he was on the court when a late run was made and the final margin shrunk to 10.
Naturally, Brooks, a former point guard who played 11 NBA seasons, focuses more on traditional stats like turnovers, assists, free-throw attempts, rebounding and field-goal percentages for both teams. And Brooks doesn’t read too much into assists, he said, because it’s a subjective stat given at the scorekeeper’s discretion.
“I look at the stats that players and coaches understand,” Brooks said.
“When I talk to the team, I talk to the team in numbers we all can relate to. If I say, ‘We got 13 percent of every missed shot,’ I don’t think it goes through. Because it didn’t with me as a player and it doesn’t with me as a coach. I think players want to know, ‘We gave up 14 offensive rebounds.’ Or ‘Etan Thomas had six offensive rebounds.’ I think if you put a number and a face on it, players can grasp it and it can help you.
“Obviously you want to come out plus on every game you play. But there are so many factors and variables that take place that you can’t really judge the guys just on that.”
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Thunder Power Lunch Chat Transcript
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Nash, Gentry like Thunder’s future
Include Suns star point guard Steve Nash and Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry among those who like the Thunder’s potential.
After Monday’s preseason game at the Ford Center, both Nash and Gentry proclaimed the future is bright in Oklahoma City.
They just differ on how long it might take for the Thunder to be a force.
“I think they’re a terrific team,” Nash said. “They’re very long, athletic. They have a lot of versatility. They have guys who are shooters, guys who can penetrate and guys who can post up. No matter what people say about them being a team of the future I think they’re going to be a very good team this year.”
Gentry, though, warns Thunder fans need to be paitent.
“I don’t want anyone to jump the gun on them,” Gentry said. “You don’t make that jump from 23 wins to 55 wins in one year. It’s a process. What Scotty (Brooks) is trying to do — and he’s doing a great job — is establishing a culture of playing hard, competing and doing things the right way.
“He’s well on his way to having this team in a good situation a year or so from now. I know everybody is anxious to make a big jump but that’s hard to do. I had a young team as the coach in LA with good, young players. It’s hard to win (close games).”
Gentry said in time the Thunder will be a viable threat in the Western Conference.
“Everybody here has to be patient,” Gentry said. “The fans have to be patient. The ownership has to be patient and management has to be patient. They have a good guy running the team. They have great assistants I think you’ll see help develop these players. When you look at their roster, they have a really, really bright future.”
Nash, Gentry like Thunder's future
Include Suns star point guard Steve Nash and Phoenix coach Alvin Gentry among those who like the Thunder’s potential.
After Monday’s preseason game at the Ford Center, both Nash and Gentry proclaimed the future is bright in Oklahoma City.
They just differ on how long it might take for the Thunder to be a force.
“I think they’re a terrific team,” Nash said. “They’re very long, athletic. They have a lot of versatility. They have guys who are shooters, guys who can penetrate and guys who can post up. No matter what people say about them being a team of the future I think they’re going to be a very good team this year.”
Gentry, though, warns Thunder fans need to be paitent.
“I don’t want anyone to jump the gun on them,” Gentry said. “You don’t make that jump from 23 wins to 55 wins in one year. It’s a process. What Scotty (Brooks) is trying to do — and he’s doing a great job — is establishing a culture of playing hard, competing and doing things the right way.
“He’s well on his way to having this team in a good situation a year or so from now. I know everybody is anxious to make a big jump but that’s hard to do. I had a young team as the coach in LA with good, young players. It’s hard to win (close games).”
Gentry said in time the Thunder will be a viable threat in the Western Conference.
“Everybody here has to be patient,” Gentry said. “The fans have to be patient. The ownership has to be patient and management has to be patient. They have a good guy running the team. They have great assistants I think you’ll see help develop these players. When you look at their roster, they have a really, really bright future.”
Documentary “Sonicsgate” Released
The documentary “Sonicsgate” has been released online. It examines the Sonics’ move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. You can see the two-hour documentary at www.sonicsgate.org or watch the videos posted below. It’s done in two parts.
Sonicsgate HD Part 1 of 2 from sonicsgate on Vimeo.
Sonicsgate HD Part 2 of 2 from sonicsgate on Vimeo.
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Looking past preseason scores
In sports, so much rests on the final score.
Because teams are judged by wins and losses, that final verdict often is all that matters.
But in preseason one must look past final scores. The Thunder has started 0-2 but there is reason for optimism. Having covered the Dallas Cowboys for seven seasons a decade ago, the final score at halftime of preseason NFL games was more important than the final score.
The reason? In most games, starters played the first half, sometimes only one quarter, and then turned it over to backups and free agents trying to make the team. The NBA preseason provides more playing time for star players but often times it’s down-the-roster players or free agents that will be cut that are on the court in the fourth quarter.
In the preseason opener, Oklahoma City’s top eight players essentially outscored Memphis’ top players by around 10 points, only to have backups fail to hold the lead. Saturday at New Orleans, it was somewhat of a similar story, although the Hornets reinserted star point guard Chris Paul in the final minutes to pull out a win.
If you look past the 0-2 record, you would notice some very positive signs:
1-Russell Westbrook has played very well in both games (18 assists, 3 turnovers)
2-Nenad Krstic has scored 24 points in only 36 minutes
3-Serge Ibaka (16 pts, 9 reb., 2 blk Saturday) is showing he might not be spending as much time in Tulsa as we thought. The 20-year-old Congo power forward might be playing more minutes in the Ford Center than expected.
The one negative, a HUGE negative, is OKC has been outrebounded in both games and has surrendered 31 offensive rebounds. That’s a trend that must improve or all of coach Scott Brooks’ preaching about improving defensively is hollow if you can’t get a defensive rebound to get a stop.
But overall, there’s been improvements in most areas Brooks has harped on during two weeks of camp.
Thunder fans finally get to judge for themselves. The first preseason home game is Monday night against the Phoenix Suns.
