Thunder 99, Mavs 95
Nuggets from my notebook from Thursday’s win at Dallas.
- With a minute and a half left in this one, the Mavs were sitting on 31 second-half points. DeShawn Stevenson then made three 3-pointers to make the final score look more respectable than it should have been. But those 31 second-half points were a testament to how great the Thunder’s second half defense was. Said Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “That was the problem. We only played defense in the second half…It takes 48 minutes of that type of effort. And it’s hard to do but you have to do it.”
- This from our man Berry Tramel: the thunder’s defense was so bad in the first half that not a single starter registered a foul. I’m not sure that’s not some kind of record.
- The Thunder got back to moving the ball in this one. The ball movement was absolutely excellent. Players were making plays for others, and it made a big difference. Eric Maynor did a great job of getting guys involved, and his efforts shouldn’t be forgotten.
- How big was Serge Ibaka tonight? He had 13 points and eight boards in 24 minutes. He had some huge dunks and did a great job of helping OKC control the paint with five offensive rebounds. His putback of Russell Westbrook’s miss with 4:23 left was a game-changer. It ended a 6-0 Dallas run that helped the Mavs pull within six. Kevin Durant hit a jumper on the next trip to put the Thunder back up 10. Big-time performance by Ibaka.
- Got to give credit to Jeff Green for bouncing back after a brutal outing in Memphis. His 16 points on 17 shots won’t knock your socks off. But he battled and, after failing to secure a single rebound against the Griz, pulled down nine tonight.
- Not every day you see someone draw a charge on Nick Collison. It’s generally the other way around. But that’s what happened when Brian Cardinal slid under Collison to prevent a layup late in the first quarter. Strange, strange sighting.
- Every time Shawn Marion shot, I could have swore it was a pass.
- Marion was knocking them down, though. He had 21 points on 10-for-12 shooting in the first half. His season high before Thursday night’s 25-point effort was 22 points.
- After ending the first quarter down by seven, the Thunder began the second quarter with a turnover and gave up an and one at the other end. It put OKC behind, 33-23, its largest deficit of the game. And at that point, it looked like one of those nights.
- Please, please, please, Thunder heads. Don’t start with the, ‘We should have gotten Brendan Haywood” routine. You know who you are. His moments, I repeat, moments, tonight might have made you go into a tizzy. The guy is making $42 million over five years! And that’s not counting the $10.5 million team option he has for 2015-16. I’d say that’s pretty good coin to average 3.9 points and 5.0 rebounds. My money is on Haywood never averaging seven points and seven rebounds in 65-plus games in a season for the life of his current contract.
- I love, love, love the microphone behind the rims at American Airlines Center. Bricks are more embarrassing. Swishes are super cool.
- Word of advice for NBA fans. If you have never been to a game in Dallas, plan a trip. The Mavs have a great atmosphere and really know how to entertain during the game. (That’s not taking anything away from the Thunder).
- Tyson Chandler nearly had as many rebounds in the first quarter (seven) as the Thunder had as a team (nine).
- Wonder if any Mavs fans out there are ticked because Dallas didn’t keep Byron Mullens?
- James Harden had his career-best 12 game streak of double digit scoring snapped tonight. He had seven points on 1-for-6 shooting. Figures he’d throw up a dud the day I write that he’s showing signs of consistency.
- Nenad Krstic had a season-high nine rebounds. Thunder will be in good shape if Green and Krstic pulled down nine apiece a night.
- Do fans at home notice how much more drawn out games are when it’s a nationally televised game? Or do the commercial breaks make it feel the same?
- There was a significant sign of how big Durant is becoming. Following his post-game interview with TNT’s Craig Sager, a large crowd waited for Durant over the tunnel. They roared as he walked back to the locker room. Granted, much of that gathering could have been old Texas fans. But it was huge and it was telling.
-DM-
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Comments
Totally agree on seeing games at the American Airlines Center. The arena is beautiful, parking was well thought out and I could always find fairly cheap tickets online. I’d love to see the new arena in Orlando.
The Mavericks are a bit of a conundrum for me. If you look at their starting five last night, you’d say, “Let’s run these old guys to death.” I even said it on the Thunder live blog. But as the announcers pointed out at the end of the game, the pace of the second half was much slower than the first.
The Thunder have really picked up the pace this year. They started the game as the ninth-fastest team in the league whereas last January they were 18th in pace. I’m wondering if, for the Thunder, more speed means less defense.
@David Skelton
I’m guessing Darnell is just speculating. Nene is making $11.4 million this season, with a player option next year at $11.6. When Melo does leave – pretty likely by the trade deadline – the Nuggets may go into rebuilding mode. They could either trade him also or he could decline his option and sign elsewhere.
Nene would be a good fit on this team. That said, I’m hoping Presti could work something out with Cleveland to bring Anderson Varejao here. He plays good interior defense, rebounding and is well aware of how to play with a superstar. Add to that, he’s on an excellent contract that goes through 2014-2015 that maxes out at $9.8 million.
Yeah, David, I was speculating. I wouldn’t read anything into it.
As for Varejao, MM, I highly, highly, highly, highly, doubt the Thunder makes a play for him. His contract is not friendly. Maybe it is to a lot of teams for what he brings. But the Thunder has Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, Green and Harden it’s got to worry about paying, all in the next three seasons. The team can’t afford adding $8 million-$10 million player on top of those contracts when they’re extended.
As far as your thought about the Thunder’s pace impacting the team’s defense, well, look at the Memphis game. -DM-
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How is Varejao’s contract not friendly? He’s making $7 mil this year, then $7.7, $8.4, $9.1 and $9.8 million. He’s certainly cheaper than Nene, and he was second team on the 2010 All-NBA defensive team.
I would much rather someone who could come in and play well at either power forward or center, and at less money than it will likely cost to re-sign Green.
[...] Darnell Mayberry with a statement I totally agree with: “Please, please, please, Thunder heads. Don’t start with the, ‘We should have gotten Brendan Haywood” routine. You know who you are. His moments, I repeat, moments, tonight might have made you go into a tizzy. The guy is making $42 million over five years! And that’s not counting the $10.5 million team option he has for 2015-16. I’d say that’s pretty good coin to average 3.9 points and 5.0 rebounds. My money is on Haywood never averaging seven points and seven rebounds in 65-plus games in a season for the life of his current contract.” [...]
MM, yes, right now Varejao is currently cheaper than Nene. But Nene’s only got one more year on his deal. That lone remaining year extends only into the first year of Durant’s extension (and maybe Green’s potential extension). The Thunder can eat that no problem because the team is currently projected to be so far under next year’s cap.
But Varejao’s $8.4M for 2012-13 would be in the first year of Westbrook’s extension, and his $9.1M for 2013-14 would be in the first year of potential extensions of Ibaka, Harden and Maynor. That’s an impossible bill for the Thunder to handle, and it won’t happen. Keep in mind, the salaries for Durant, maybe Green, and Westbrook will be increasing as the years go on.
Now, any number of things could happen — most notably rule changes to rookie scale extensions and trades made by the Thunder — that would free up some space. But if the rules remain essentially the same, and the Thunder retains its core, there is simply no room in the budget for a $9 million player in 2013-14 not named Durant, Westbrook and a choice between Ibaka, Green and Harden. Unless Presti gets one of the soon-to-be-extension-eligible guys to agree to a descending deal, there isn’t enough flexibility for a player making Varejao money. So maybe contract friendly isn’t the right phrase. Varejao’s long term deal isn’t cap friendly to the Thunder. -DM-
Me too. I think we could bring it back late in the season and in the playoffs, when interest is really high and fans want to communicate during the games. Did the explanation make sense? -DM-
Yeah, it did. I guess I was just hoping we could sign our core three – KD, Russ, Harden/Ibaka – then have Varejao on a Richard Jefferson-like contract. Of course, it would be best probably if Ibaka could develop into that type of player.
Yes thank you, and no they do not seem long, but I noticed that the last time I saw a national game live as well. Felt like we were always waiting for the game to start again.
Did you mean anything the other day with your suggestion that Nene will be the starting center next season?