Ramifications of Spurs loss
Three losses the last four games have essentially squashed the Thunder’s chances of earning the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the playoffs.
Oklahoma City is still in the running for the No. 4 seed. But it probably will take 53 or 54 wins to finish in the top four which means the Thunder would have to go 11-2 or 12-1 the rest of the season which isn’t realistic because of a demanding schedule.
Despite a recent tailspin — the Thunder’s worst week in more than two months — the sky isn’t falling. The Thunder will make the playoffs. Oklahoma City probably could go 4-9 the rest of the season and get in. A 3-10 or 2-11 finish might even be enough. That’s the cushion they built by going 17-3 over a six-week span.
The impact of losses to Charlotte (blowing a 19-point lead), Indiana (the biggest embarrassment all season) and San Antonio (couldn’t sustain early 14-point lead) is seeding.
Analyzing Western Conference contenders’ schedules, the best guess is Oklahoma City will still finish as the No. 6 seed. The Spurs’ win Monday, though, could make it a battle for the No. 6 and No. 7 spots. San Antonio now owns the tiebreaker which will force OKC to finish one game ahead of the Spurs.
San Antonio and Oklahoma City have the two most difficult schedules down the stretch which could give Portland an opportunity to climb as high as No. 6. The Spurs’ schedule is absolutely brutal.
After playing the Hawks and Thunder, the Spurs host the Lakers and Cleveland then end the week with a road game Sunday at Boston. And San Antonio still has to play Orlando, Phoenix, Denver, Dallas and has another game with the Lakers.
That’s why if the Thunder can right the ship they can still finish as the No. 6 seed with an outside shot at No. 5 if the Suns were to stumble a couple of times against a so-so schedule.
Regardless of where OKC is seeded, the Thunder will be an underdog in the playoffs. Still, every team wants to avoid the No. 8 spot and a first-round matchup with the Lakers. That’s why Sunday’s game against Portland is HUGE!!!
OKC has two less losses than the Trail Blazers. If the Thunder wins Sunday night in the Ford Center they would clinch season tiebreaker, putting them in prime position to finish ahead of Portland.
Just making the playoffs is a huge step for a young team that won only 23 games last season. The Thunder will more than double that total, one of the top 10 turnarounds in NBA history.
Home-court advantage no longer looks realistic. But considering most preseason predictions didn’t give the Thunder a shot at finishing .500, much less make the playoffs, competing for the No. 6, 7 and 8 seeds is something players, coaches and fans would have taken in a heartbeat back in October.
Thunder vs. Spurs Live Chat
Ugly loss, pivotal game
A loss Sunday at Indiana was perhaps the Thunder’s worst performance of the season. It makes tonight’s game against the Spurs, the first game of a pivotal four-game homestand one of the most important all season.
A win tonight in the Ford Center puts the Thunder two games in front of the San Antonio Spurs. Oklahoma City would be in good position to finish as the sixth seed or higher.
A loss tonight in the Ford Center puts the Thunder in a precarious position of possibly falling to the seventh or eighth seed. San Antonio would be tied with OKC and the Spurs would own the tiebreaker having clinched the season series.
One game won’t make or break the season. But it’s a huge game. The Thunder has exhibited a bounce-back mentality all season. They’re also catching the Spurs at a good time.
Point guard Tony Parker is sidelined by a broken hand. San Antonio is an older team, challenged by back-to-back games. The Spurs have to be fatigued, having lost a grueling overtime decision Sunday night in Atlanta. They probably didn’t check into their hotel around 2 a.m.
The Spurs, though, have been playing some of their best basketball in recent weeks in large part because Manu Ginobili has been playing well the past six weeks.
In San Antonio’s two wins over OKC, Ginobili made a diving-out-of-bounds, game-saving play in an overtime win in the Ford Center in January, then blocked Kevin Durant’s shot, the key play in a win in San Antonio last month.
The loss Sunday at Indiana didn’t knock the Thunder out of contention for the No. 4 seed, i.e. homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs. But it was costly. It also continued a recent alarming trend in which the defense has slipped noticeably.
OKC took advantage of a soft schedule the past month to solidify making the playoffs. But now comes a demanding 14-game stretch run. Of all the West contenders, the Thunder has the second most difficult schedule the final three weeks, trailing only the Spurs, who play OKC, the Lakers, Cleveland and Boston this week.
It might take 53 wins to finish as the No. 4 seed. That means the Thunder would have to go 11-3 the rest of the way, a daunting challenge considering the schedule.
Fifty wins, though, might be good enough to finish as the sixth seed. To get to half a hundred, the Thunder must go 8-6 the rest of the season. It won’t be easy but it’s a realistic goal, especially if OKC can post a pivotal win tonight over the Spurs.
Pacers 121, Thunder 101
News, notes and observations from Sunday’s 121-101 loss at Indiana….
- The Thunder loss this game on the defensive end. The Pacers did whatever they wanted to do offensively, jumping out to an 18-6 lead and shooting 56.5 percent in the first quarter. Indiana shot 51.7 percent for the game, as the Thunder allowed every single player on the Pacers’ roster to do what he does well offensively.
- All five Indiana starters scored in double digits. Four of them had 15 points or more. Three of them had 20 or more.
- The Pacers scored 93 points in three quarter. That’s all you need to know about this one.
- Indiana’s 121 points sets a new opponent season-high for the Thunder. Denver had the mark with 119 points set back on March 3.
- Anyone concerned with the Thunder’s defense? If you’re not, perhaps you should be. That’s now five times in the past nine games that OKC has allowed an opponent to shoot 50 percent or better. When the Thunder was playing its best ball, it was consistently locking up teams. Now, it’s hit or miss. And with a brutal schedule in the final 14 games, that can’t be a good trend.
- What stings about this one is that it drops the Thunder into the sixth seed. A loss like this, against a team 22 games below .500, could ultimately be the difference between playing Utah and Dallas or, worse, Denver or the Lakers in the first round.
- Danny Granger was the player of the game. He had a game-high 32 points on 11-for-21 shooting and did a number on Kevin Durant with his defense. He had help in Brandon Rush and Dahntay Jones, but it was Granger who set the tone from the start. He snatched the ball out of Durant’s hands twice as Durant looked to go to work early in the first quarter. From there, KD never could settle into a rhythm.
- Durant actually apologized for his performance after the game: “How we came out was a disgrace to the game of basketball. That starts with me. I apologize to all the fans and all of my teammates that I came out like that.”
- Said Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “We got our butts kicked. They played harder than us from the start and in all four quarters. If you don’t respect your opponent that will happen.”
- After calling Friday’s win at Toronto the best game of the season, Brooks called this outing “one of the lowest performances of the season.”
- For as poorly as Durant shot the ball (4-for-16), I actually saw several signs of growth out of him. Re-watch this game and you’ll see him remaining positive throughout. Not once did he hang his hand. Instead, he encouraged and supported his teammates all game long. When Thabo Sefolosha converted a layup late in the first quarter, drawing a a foul on the play, Durant let out a roar. He was 1-for-6 at the time. He unleashed another shout when Sefolosha started the third quarter with a 3-pointer that cut the Pacers’ lead to 59-51. And he showed more emotion after a layup late in the third that also led to an And One. It was just his third field goal. The Thunder trailed 84-66, and as he returned to the court out of the time surrounded by his teammates he demanded that they step it up. Go back and look at Durant’s 4-for-20 game against Portland three games into the season if you want to see how different his body language was.
- Durant also dug in defensively later in the game despite it being out of hand. He was active in the passing lanes and on the glass. It would be easy to look at his off night offensively and saw he had a bad game. But that wouldn’t be accurate. The way he hung in there and persevered was extremely impressive.
- Russell Westbrook played just 17 minutes because of a stomach virus. He looked and sounded subdued before the game as he stretched out on the trainer’s table. Normally bouncing off the walls, Westbrook barely had his eyes open and when he spoke it was more of a mumble than his normal yell. He said he thinks he ate something bad, and because the game was so early he wasn’t able to shake off his morning sickness. He did say he is confident he’ll be OK come Monday night against San Antonio.
- After turning the ball over twice in the first half Friday at Toronto, the Thunder turned the ball over five times in the first quarter against the Pacers. And the giveaways backfired, as the Pacers turned them into 12 quick points. Indiana scored 26 points off the Thunder’s 16 turnovers.
- The Pacers led by as many as 31 points.
- Eric Maynor was one of the lone bright spots tonight. He created for himself and others and it lead to 15 points and 11 assists. It was Maynor’s second career double-double and the most points he’s scored in a Thunder uniform this season. The best looking play he had came midway through the second when he called Nick Collison to come and set a screen, crossed over in the opposite direction, knifed his way into the lane, created contact with Roy Hibbert with his body and got the layup plus the foul. With so many other offensive weapons, it’s hard for Maynor to create for himself like he did against the Pacers. But I think this game is a good indicator of Maynor’s potential when he is awarded ample freedom.
- Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison played solid as well. Ibaka recorded his fourth double-double of the season with 10 points and 12 rebounds.
- Jeff Green’s offensive game is picking up big time with James Harden out. Green was aggressive from the start once again tonight and had a team-high 20 points tonight and has now averaged 20.6 points over the past five games.
- Harden, by the way, went with the bow tie again tonight. I believe it’s the second time he’s rocked the bow tie in the five games that he’s had to wear a suit. And that means I now have to ask him about it. Stay tuned.
- Hibbert absolutely destroyed the Thunder early. Nenad Krstic couldn’t hold him. Green couldn’t hold him. And Collison couldn’t hold him. When Durant was able to draw Hibbert into his third foul with 6:11 left in the second period, the 7-foot-2 big had already scored 14 points on 6-for-9 shooting with four rebounds and two assists.
- Hibbert got into it a little bit with Collison in the second half, flailing his arms when he got annoyed with Collison’s contact. Collison, who I have yet to see lose his composure, never let it escalate and basically just gave him the be cool pat on the back and walked away.
- Pacers fans gave D.J. White a nice ovation when he checked into the game in the fourth quarter. One fan even shouted from the stands, “Put in D.J. White.” Brooks actually did about 20 seconds later, and Pacers fans cheered each of his six points. Indiana loves its Hoosiers.
- Indiana coach Jim O’Brien is the most talkative coach in the league. And it’s not even close. He was barking instructions at his squad like Bob Knight junior. And it lasted the entire game. Even when his team was up 19 in the fourth quarter, he still was up off the bench watching and shouting intently. Dude is intense.
- Larry Bird was in attendance. Every time I glanced over at him, I thought about HBO’s documentary, Magic & Bird: A Courtship of Rivals. If you haven’t seen it, do yourself a favor and check it out.
- Westbrook picked up a tech from the bench, apparently for something he said. I was at the opposite end of the court, closer to the Pacers bench, nowhere near an earshot of hearing him. But it must have been something pretty significant because the ref didn’t hesitate to dish out that T.
- Josh McRoberts had two points…and it was a highlight dunk. Pretty much sums up this one.
-DM-
One More Look At Serge’s Slam
Tip-off in Indiana is just a few hours away. But before completely moving past the Thunder’s 115-89 win at Toronto, it’s worth having one more look at Serge Ibaka’s monster putback slam off Kevin Durant’s miss.
“Serge Ibaka got the dunk of the night two games in a row,” Durant said. “That was an unbelievable play. I think that’s what started that run we had. That was one of the best plays I’ve ever seen.”
Said Jeff Green, “It was amazing. I was standing at the 3-point line and I saw it. He came from out of nowhere and I think he grabbed it out of one of the guys’ hands. I think it should be No. 1 on ESPN.”
Enjoy.
-DM-
Thunder 115, Raptors 89
News, notes and observations from Friday’s 115-89 win at Toronto…..
- How about that for bouncing back? There seemed to be a collective confidence surround the Thunder over the past two days following the collapse in Charlotte. It started in Thursday’s practice. And it carried over into Friday morning’s shootaround. By the time the game rolled around, the Thunder made like caged lions unleashed on a helpless pack of prey. The Raptors really never stood a chance.
- The most impressive, if not shocking, part of the blowout win is that the Thunder shot just 41.5 percent. The Thunder has won three games this season (Clippers and Golden State twice) despite shooting 42.2 percent. But Friday’s percentage was the lowest in a Thunder win this season. Of course that will happen when you play the all-around dominant game that OKC did against the Raptors. The Thunder held Toronto to 43.8 percent shooting, out-rebounded them 53-37, scored 24 points off their 19 turnovers, recorded 10 steals and seven blocked shots, raced to a 34-10 advantage in fast break points and finished with a 27-6 margin in second-chance points.
- That’s why Scott Brooks candidly called this one the “best game of the year.” Said Brooks: “That was about as good as we can possibly play.”
- Kevin Durant scored a game-high 31 points on 16 shots. And he made only seven field goals! KD got to the free throw line 18 times, making 17 to make this an easy night.
- Jeff Green is in a nice offensive rhythm right now. He had 25 points and took 10 3-pointers, making four of them. He had the hot hand in the second half, scoring 12 of his 25 in the third quarter. And to the Thunder’s credit, players made it a point to get him the ball and let him do his thing.
- The way the Thunder directed each other tonight was very impressive. On one possession in the first half, Durant cleared out from the left wing and all but demanded Russell Westbrook back down Jose Calderon. Westbrook backed down the Raptors point guard with a few dribbles, turned and hit a baseline jumper over Calderon and drew the foul. That kind of chemistry was on display all night.
- I also noticed a small difference in Thabo Sefolosha tonight that speaks to the Thunder’s chemistry. A few games ago, Sefolosha dribbled up the court on the break, ignoring Westbrook’s call for the ball. Sefolosha shot, missed and heard an earful from Westbrook after the sequence. Tonight, Sefolosha found his point guard on every run and filled the lane instead of playing playmaker. It led to good results.
- The Thunder had just two turnovers in the first half, helping it establish that 27-point lead at the break.
- Serge Ibaka was absolutely huge late in the first quarter and into the second quarter. He had just two points, five rebounds and two blocked shots for the game, but all of that came in about a 9 1/2-minute span. And a good portion of that 9 1/2 minutes was against All-Star Chris Bosh, who looked like he had no clue as to how to keep Ibaka off the glass. After tonight’s game, forget it, Thunder fans. Forget your fantasies for Bosh, David Lee, Carlos Boozer, Amare Stoudemire or even Greg Monroe. I did. And so should you. Forget them and focus your energy on demanding that the Thunder develops Ibaka. This kid has a bright, bright future.
- Kyle Weaver emerges! Season-high 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting with three steals and two blocked shots. He made a career-high four 3-pointers. Now if he can only duplicate that for the next one to three weeks while James Harden is out.
- On a sour note, tonight’s game made me question Weaver’s future with the Thunder for the first time. I’ve wondered in the past where he fits long term after the additions of Sefolosha, Harden and Eric Maynor. But this was different. Raptors wings Sonny Weems and DeMar DeRozan had a few plays tonight where they absolutely blew by Weaver. Now, those are two of the most athletic cats in the league. LeBron James would get beat off the dribble by at least DeRozan every so often. But what I’m wondering after tonight is whether Weaver has the athleticism to stick not only with the Thunder but in the league. Weaver is easy to root for because he’s a class act, and he’s smart as Einstein when it comes to basketball. But how much that athleticism will hinder him might be something to start keeping an eye on as the Thunder continues to build its roster.
- Jay Triano was all over the officials tonight. And of all the things he said, he got a technical for being past the coach’s line.
- After the game, a member of Toronto’s media asked Durant whether the Raptors are soft. Durant couldn’t help but let out a light laugh before answering (no obviously, what else is he going to say). But the Toronto media is now in all out attack mode on this team’s toughness, starting with Bosh. Not exactly the way to keep the guy in town, I don’t think.
- Speaking of toughness, Raptors fans are clearly hockey fans. They appreciate contact even in basketball. When a Raptors player raced down Durant on a break, fouling him with heavy contact to prevent the easy dunk, fans inside the Air Canada Centre let out their loudest roar of the night. But the ovation sounded like it had more to do with the hard foul and very little to do with preventing the basket.
- I’ll give Raptors fans credit for this — they stayed through this blowout longer than any other NBA fans likely would have. Most fans didn’t begin filing up the aisle until the fourth quarter. Impressive.
-DM-
The Race For Most Improved
An e-mail landed in my inbox yesterday from the Houston Rockets.
In it, the Rockets officially made their case for Aaron Brooks as this season’s Most Improved Player. And Brooks, the jitterbug third-year point guard out of Oregon, seemingly is the front-runner for the hardware. Somewhere close behind him is Thunder guard Russell Westbrook. At least on my ballot.
But that could change in the final month of the season.
Westbrook hasn’t garnered much attention nationally for being one of the most improved players, primarily because he hasn’t accumulated a drastic increase in his statistics. Brooks, on the other hand elevated his production from 11.2 points per game to a 20.1-point average. That type of shift in scoring is generally the sexy statistical measure that voters use to select winners.
Indiana’s Danny Granger won last year’s award after going from 19.6 points per game to 25.8. Hedo Turkoglu won in 2008 after increasing his scoring from 13.3 points to 19.5 points per game. 2007 winner Monta Ellis went from 6.8 points as rookie to 16.5 as a sophomore. And Boris Diaw, in 2006, went from 4.8 points to 13.3.
Westbrook simply doesn’t have those same credentials. In his second season, Westbrook is averaging 16.8 points, just 1.5 more than he did last year. But anyone who saw Westbrook last year and has paid attention this year could certainly join me in making a case for him. He’s improved his all-around game, becoming a better ball-handler, mid-range shooter and, most importantly, a lead guard and leader.
I went on record last year by writing that Kevin Durant deserved the award over Devin Harris (although Granger eventually pulled the upset) because Harris’ increased production largely was a product of greater opportunity. Many felt that Durant, the Rookie of the Year in 2008, had no right to be considered an MIP candidate in his second season. He was “supposed” to make a natural jump, many said. He was the second overall pick, others reasoned. And yet some consider Durant the MIP this season. And while Durant’s development in Year Three has certainly been phenomenal, Westbrook improvement is as much, if not more, of the backbone to the Thunder’s turnaround.
Westbrook, playing with even more weapons with the addition of James Harden, has increased his scoring (+1.5), assists (+2.7), rebounds (+0.2) and field-goal percentage (from 39.8 percent to 42.3 percent). He’s also increased his steals and blocked shots while lowering his turnovers. Brooks, who leads all players in one-year scoring differential at plus-8.7, is benefiting mostly from the absence of Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady.
It’s possible Westbrook could pull the upset over Brooks like Granger did over Harris last season. If he does it’ll prove that the “experts” really are paying attention and not just casting their votes for players whose stats look best in a PDF file.
Here’s a look at the leading candidates for Most Improved Player.
The Story Of Jeff Green: Part II
Another strong video produced by the Thunder in the second installment of The Story of Jeff Green. If you didn’t see part one, it was well worth taking time out and watching it. While part one looks at where he grew up and how he began to blossom in high school, part two goes over his time at Georgetown and shows you some of the places he used to hang out at. Former teammate, Hoyas guard Tyler Crawford, takes you to the places around town that Green and his crew spent their days. Crawford shows you the bench Green and friends sat on and made their chill spot on campus, their old townhouse across from the school and the sub shop they frequented “three or four times a week.” Like part one, this one is really worth watching. Enjoy.
-DM-
Bobcats 100, Thunder 92
News, notes and observations from Wednesday’s 100-92 loss at Charlotte…
- What do I know? I post a blog hours before the game about how this game had all the makings of a Thunder victory and what happens? The Thunder goes out and has a meltdown in the final 2 1/2 quarters.
- If you think the word meltdown is too strong, let me assure you it’s not. OKC was ahead by 19 with 3:33 remaining in the second quarter, then watched the Bobcats outscore it 13-2 to end the half, then allowed Charlotte to go on an 18-10 run to open the third quarter. Charlotte outscored OKC 57-41 in the second half, shot 60.6 percent and shot 21 free throws, 19 of them in the fourth quarter. I would call that a meltdown.
- And don’t give me the excuse that the Bobcats are 25-8 at home. The Thunder has won at San Antonio (24-10), at Utah (26-8), at Phoenix (26-9), at Atlanta (26-7), at New Orleans (21-12), at Portland (22-13) and at Miami (20-15). This was just a bad loss. Plain and simple. It would have been different had the game been nip and tuck throughout. But it’s inexcusable when you lead by as many as 19 points, against a team on the second night of a back-to-back, playing without its leading rebounder and second leading scorer.
- That’s what should make this loss sting. Had the Thunder maintained its intensity and all-around effort on both ends for 3 1/2 more minutes at the end of the second quarter, the Bobcats might have chalked this one up and geared up for Atlanta. But the fact that OKC couldn’t continue its stout defense and torrid offense from early in the game has to be heartbreaking.
- The Thunder held the Bobcats to an opponent season-low 15 points on 30.4 percent shooting in the first quarter, building a 26-15 lead. Kevin Durant had 16 points and seven rebounds. Jeff Green had 11 points four rebounds and one blocked shot. Russell Westbrook had eight points and six assists. The Thunder shot 48.8 percent in the first half and held the Bobcats to 38.6 percent.
- Then Durant, Green and Westbrook combined for 23 points, five rebounds and six assists in the second half. The Thunder shot 41.5 percent. Charlotte shot 60.6 percent.
- Green landed hard on his left side late in the second half. He laid on the floor for a moment with players, coaches and trainers from both teams surrounding him during a timeout. But he got up and walked off on his own and remained in the game. I didn’t get to talk to Green after the game, but he wore a black sleeve on his left arm under his street clothes.
- I also spoke with James Harden before the game about his strained right hamstring. He said it’s getting better but is still one to three weeks away from allowing him to return. Today was the end of the first week of his original two-to-four week timetable.
- The officiating was very questionable tonight. At first it was both ways, D.J. Augustin getting away with a carry and Westbrook dodging a double dribble among other noticeable oversights. But as the game went on more and more calls went against the Thunder. I swear it seems like Ken Mauer called one call against the Bobcats.
- Stephen Jackson clearly was the difference. I openly wondered through Twitter whether Jackson was playing possum in the first half, when he had just two points and three assists with no rebounds in 18 first-half minutes. He had missed all five of his field-goal attempts. I didn’t want to hold it past Thabo Sefolosha that maybe he really was having a great defensive performance on him. Sefolosha has done it before. But Jackson’s nicknamed Jack 1 for a reason, and he lived up to that title in the second half. He buried a 20 footer 21 seconds in and was much more aggressive from the start of the second half on. He finished the third quarter with 13 points on 6-for-7 shooting with three rebounds, two assists and one block. The Bobcats outscored the Thunder 30-19 in the period.
- Give credit to Stephen Graham, too. He scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half and helped fill the void left by injured All-Star forward Gerald Wallace. Graham had several big plays in the fourth quarter. When Serge Ibaka he a nice 19-footer to cut the Bobcats’ lead to two, Graham responded with a 3 that put Charlotte up five. When Nick Collison scored on a dunk, Graham got to the line and made one of two to push the lead back to four. And when Durant hit an 11-foot jumper over him to bring the Thunder within one, Graham responded by attacking and getting another pair of free throws, this time sinking both. Said Raymond Felton: “Without Stephen Graham in there tonight, we wouldn’t have won. No question.”
- Here’s why the Bobcats struggled early on offensively. Theo Ratliff. Homeboy led all Bobcats in field goal attempts in the opening period with seven. Seven! In the first quarter! Theo Ratliff! Charlotte appeared to be trying to go at Nenad Krstic defensively, but some of Ratliff’s attempts came when all else had failed. Either way, it was a good way for the Thunder to jump out to its early lead. Boris Diaw was next with six shot attempts, and no other Bobcats player attempted more than Jackson and D.J. Augustin’s three.
- Guess how many shot attempts Ratliff had in the second half — one.
- Funny how quickly some fans can switch up. On one early possession, when Jackson was dribbling the air out of the ball at the top of the key while being defended by Krstic, a guy in the lower bowl could be heard imploring Jackson to “Pass the ball! Pass the ball! Pass the ball!” He shot the ball and missed the shot. No one was crying for Jackson to pass the ball in the third quarter.
- Tyson Chandler might never be what he was for those two seasons with the Hornets. But he’ll always have moments that make you drop your jaw. Tonight’s came in the first half, when he skied high above everyone else on the floor and tapped in a putback. It’s that athleticism and natural instinct that makes him so appealing. He would have been a great fit had his feet not given out.
- Speaking of putbacks, Ibaka’s dunk following Kyle Weaver’s miss with 9:07 left in the second quarter is one for his highlight reel. Still waiting on that level of aggression every time when he crashes the glass.
- Ibaka was all over the place in the second quarter. He initiated one play in the period’s first two minutes that I was going to use for Thursday’s paper. He blocked a layup by Jackson on one end, Weaver gobbled the rebound and got it ahead to Green. Green missed the fastbreak layup, but the trailing Collison was right there for the easy putback. At the time, the sequence summarized how the Thunder played together as a team. How OKC used defense to create offense and got a collective effort from everyone who took the floor. Needless to say, I had to hit the backspace button.
- I was walking with Mustafa Shakur from the locker room area to the court about an hour before the game and a security guard stopped the recently-signed guard and asked to see some credentials. Shakur, who had already gotten in a pre-game workout and was fully dressed in a suit, was completely confused. It was a little embarrassing. I wanted to tell him to just say he’s a player. Instead, it was a classic, ‘Welcome to the NBA, rookie” moment.
- I thought Eric Maynor was brilliant tonight. He ran the pick and roll nicely and controlled the offense masterfully when he replaced Westbrook. He limited his mistakes and was everything you could ask for out of a backup tonight. It’s been awhile since he’s had this type of performance.
- It’s not all gloom and doom. The Thunder did have the dominant first quarter. And OKC did hang in there in the fourth quarter, fighting to within one on three occasions before the lid on the rim became unbearable. After the game, everyone from coach Scott Brooks to Durant, to Westbrook to Collison seemed confident this one would be forgotten quickly. Based on how the Thunder has performed this season, I would agree with them. I expect OKC to finish this three-game trip much like it did the last one, when the Thunder won inside the Clippers and Kings’ buildings after that embarrassment at Denver.
-DM-
Thunder vs. Bobcats Live Chat
