Byron Mullens Leaves Greece, Returns To The States
Oklahoma City Thunder center Byron Mullens has decided to leave Greece.
Byron Mullens has returned to the states.
The Oklahoma City Thunder center who last month signed with the Greek basketball club Panionios had a change of heart and decided to come back home.
“Felt out of the loop not being with my team here,” Mullens said via text message after landing in Ohio on Sunday night.
Mullens left for Athens on Sept. 21. But infrequent games in the Greek League, coupled with a desire to participate with his Thunder teammates in organized voluntary workouts helped lead to his decision to return.
Mullens’ contract with Panionios had a termination clause that would have allowed him to return if the NBA lockout was lifted.
“We enjoyed it,” said Mullens, who traveled to Athens with his newlywed wife, Sharissa. “But at the end of the day, it wasn’t worth not being here with my crew.”
Because of his obligations to Panionios, Mullens had missed out on team workouts in Austin, Texas last month and Lexington, Ky. last week. Several Thunder players, including Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, Nick Collison, Nazr Mohammed, Royal Ivey, James Harden, Cole Aldrich and rookie Reggie Jackson attended both.
It’s unclear whether Thunder players have organized a third week of workouts.
Durant, however, is planning to host an All-Star exhibition game in the Oklahoma City area in the coming weeks. The event is expected to bring several Thunder players, as well as NBA All-Stars from around the league to town. Following a star-studded exhibition at Florida International University on Saturday night, Miami star LeBron James sent a message to Durant on Twitter saying, “Thanks for coming through homie! Looking forward to the one in OKC.”
In the meantime, Mullens is expected to continue working out individually in his hometown of Columbus, Ohio in preparation for the season.
-DM-
Why The Thunder Signed Robert Vaden
Robert Vaden (right) was a a 2009 draft pick of the Oklahoma City Thunder.
At first glance, today’s signing of Robert Vaden might be a head-scratcher.
But dig deeper into the Thunder’s history and the culture of the organization and the transaction makes much more sense.
Vaden was a 2009 draft pick of Charlotte but was acquired via trade by the Thunder. Perimeter shooting is his specialty. The last two seasons, Vaden has played over in Italy and with the Tulsa 66ers, all while his draft rights remained property of the Thunder. In 45 regular season games with the 66ers this season, Vaden averaged 10.4 points while shooting 39.2 percent from 3-point range, along with 2.4 rebounds and 2.2 assists in 28 minutes per game.
The Thunder inked Vaden as the 15th man but kept him with the 66ers by immediately assigning him to Tulsa. The 66ers made the second round of the NBA D-League playoffs, but expect to see Vaden in a Thunder uniform at the conclusion of the D-League playoffs.
It’s unlikely Vaden will find minutes on the Thunder. The team’s rotation is set, and talented players like Nate Robinson are already squeezed out.
So why did the Thunder sign a guy who probably isn’t going to play?
The answer can be found in something rather significant the Thunder is doing — growing from within. Vaden’s signing is the organization’s latest example of its commitment to its current cast of young players. For the Thunder, a laundry list of guys already make up that group. In addition to Vaden, the list includes Byron Mullens, Cole Aldrich, Ryan Reid, Latavious Williams and Tibor Pleiss. Last season, D.J. White and Kyle Weaver also fell into that category.
Vaden’s call-up is further proof that the Thunder rewards hard-working players who have the right attitude and show a commitment to getting better. Aldrich has spent much of his rookie season paying his dues and is currently doing so in Tulsa. Mullens has been on the Turnpike Express as well over the last two seasons. The system might not result in every young player getting called up or put on the permanent roster. But a clear method has been created, and it’s already led to some pretty favorable results.
Quietly, the Thunder-owned 66ers have cranked out tons of talent. The Thunder did the exact same exercise with Mustafa Shakur last season, signing him toward the end of the season for the rest of the year and the playoffs. Shakur is now playing for Washington. Weaver, meanwhile, chipped in during emergency situations last year in between stints developing with the 66ers. Now, Weaver is a member of the Utah Jazz. The 66ers also helped Zabian Dowdell get signed by Phoenix and Larry Owens recently get signed by the Wizards.
The system is working because the Thunder is committed to in-house development.
Don’t be surprised if Vaden, Williams, Reid are all on the Thunder’s training camp roster next fall. It would be another step in the process for each of them to potentially make their NBA dreams come true. And for the Thunder, it would be another chance to groom young guys who might someday be able to contribute valuable minutes in a pinch.
Vaden might not be the sexiest selection as the 15th man. But be careful not to overlook what his signing symbolizes about the continued commitment to the growth and development of players that are in the program.
-DM-
Thunder Wins Round Two Against Nuggets
News, notes and observations from Friday’s 104-89 win over the Denver Nuggets.
- Nobody from the Thunder really wanted to acknowledge how big this week’s two victories against the Nuggets were. That’s too bad. Doesn’t matter, though. I think we all know they were huge. To get two convincing victories against the team you’re all but guaranteed to play in the first round should do wonders for this team’s confidence. Sure, the playoffs are different and the series goes back to zero-zero. But the Thunder has the all-so important mental advantage. That can’t be ignored.
- I’m wondering how much of a difference Arron Afflalo, Chris Andersen and Timofey Mozgov would make. Just something to consider. They certainly won’t hurt the Nuggets.
- I felt like I was watching Butler UConn all over again in the first quarter. Wait, the first 12 minutes of Butler-UConn might have been better than the opening period tonight.
- If this is the first-round series, good luck to the officiating crews that get assigned to this series. Kendrick Perkins and Nene are sure to have it out. I can’t wait to see it.
- Someone please correct me if I’m wrong. But we’ve never seen an on-court fight in Oklahoma City’s NBA history. I can’t remember the Hornets having one during their two years here. And the Thunder’s altercations have never amounted to more than jawing and a few shoves. Perk might be on pace to break the streak.
- How good was the bench tonight? Eric Maynor, James Harden, Nazr Mohammed, Daequan Cook and Nick Collison all played their roles to perfection. Harden was instant offense. Maynor made great decisions all night and helped build big leads. Cook sparked a second-quarter run. Collison was gritty inside and on the boards (career-high eight offensive rebounds). And Mohammed was just money offensively in the fourth quarter.
- Someone asked me on Twitter about the chances Mohammed returns. If I’m the Thunder I’m seriously looking into re-signing him. The guy has skills and is incredible useful and efficient. Even if Byron Mullens or Cole Aldrich develop enough to supplant him in the rotation, he’d be a pretty dang good third string center for emergence purposes.
- Russell Westbrook made an extremely smart decision in the first quarter to take over. It was the switch I’ve been referring to. He came out trying to be patient and get everyone else involved. And after the Thunder started 0-for-6 from the field and Russ saw it wasn’t working, Westbrook said enough of this. He promptly buried three straight jumpers to give the Thunder a lift.
NCAA bracket alive and well in Thunder locker room
Thunder point guard Eric Maynor at Virginia Commonwealth. (AP photo)
The Thunder has the NBA’s third-youngest roster and its second-youngest starting lineup. Several players should still be in college, or are not that far removed from college.
Of the Thunder’s 14 roster players, only three attended college for four years — Nick Collison (Kansas), Royal Ivey (Texas) and Eric Maynor (Virginia Commonwealth).
This youth certainly is evident inside the Thunder locker room in March during the NCAA Tournament. Four Thunder players are No. 1 seeds in Daequan Cook and Byron Mullens (Ohio State), plus Cole Aldrich and Collison (Kansas).
Ohio State faces Nazr Mohammed’s No. 4-seeded Kentucky team on Friday in Newark. Cook playfully suggested he and Mohammed might not pass to each other Wednesday (Utah) or Friday (Minnesota) because of that game. KU plays Richmond in San Antonio on Friday and potentially could face Maynor for a berth to the Final Four on Sunday.
Kevin Durant and Ivey were underseeded at No. 4 and Texas suffered a painful 70-69 loss to Arizona in large part due to a questionable five-second violation against the Longhorns on an in-bound play, which still has Durant shaking his head. Russell Westbrook’s No. 7-seeded UCLA team ousted Michigan State in the opening round, but couldn’t survived Florida. Nate Robinson’s No. 7-seeded Washington Huskies could have, and probably should have, beaten No. 2 North Carolina, but wilted down the stretch.
No one is puffing out his chest more than the 175-pound Maynor, who was recruited to VCU by former Oklahoma coach Jeff Capel. Maynor is a No. 11 seed who many inside (and outside) the locker room believed didn’t deserve a tournament berth. Instead, VCU is two wins away from advancing from the so-called First Four (play-in games) to the Final Four. The Rams have beaten teams by an average of 16.3 points — Southern Cal by 13; Georgetown by 18; and Purdue by 18.
Each time VCU has a game, someone from the other side of the locker room (usually Cook) tells Maynor to enjoy his last game of the season. “You’ve been saying that for three games now,” Maynor said.
The only player on the Thunder roster from a school that didn’t qualify for the tournament is Arizona State’s James Harden.
Monday Morning Mailbag
It's plays like this one by Russell Westbrook, surrounded by four Raptors defenders, that have fans calling him a ball hog.
Good Monday, Thunder heads.
Much has happened since our last mailbag. Kendrick Perkins made his Thunder debut. The Thunder went on a season-long six-game winning streak…then saw it snapped by Toronto, which swept the season series. And James Harden has become a player.
In this week’s mailbag, we discuss ball-hogs, buried assets and Byron Mullens’ future.
And as always, join the conversation if you’d like. Our mailbag is always open.
Enjoy!
How do you think the Rockets are finishing up the season? – Myron M.
Resiliently. After all they’ve been through they’re still in the hunt for a playoff spot. And they might actually make it! Five of their final 11 games are against teams below .500. And six of their final 11 come at home. Of their remaining road games – Miami, New Jersey, Philadelphia, New Orleans and Minnesota – only the Heat game looks like a guaranteed loss. The Rockets are only a game and a half behind Memphis for the eighth seed and the Grizzlies have a tougher home stretch with road games at Boston, Chicago, Portland and home dates with Utah, San Antonio and New Orleans remaining. I suspect it will come down to the wire between the Rockets and Grizzlies, maybe even the final day of the regular season.
Hey Darnell. Not to be overly critical because RW is clearly awesome and a work in progress. But clearly someone has not told this guy that he is incredible when he gets his teammates involved. I understand the need for him to be aggressive, but it seems like he can get his whenever and he doesn’t really need to “look for his offense.” Anyway, hopefully he can figure it out because I don’t think it bodes well for the playoffs for Russ to ball hog (a la Kobe) down the stretch. What do you think? – Marc.
We give players so much attention and adoration for scoring that few want to do anything else. Westbrook has proven he can be a great playmaker. But it always seems like there is a moment in every game when he’s just like, ‘Forget this. I’m scoring.’ You’re right, he’s awesome. But he’d be great if he was a threat to both score as well as make his teammates better at all times. It’d keep the defense off balance and improve everyone’s efficiency. Finding the right balance and consistently being able to play with it should be Westbrook’s focus this summer. His takeover-ability, however, actually should help the Thunder in the playoffs. It did last year. And if things get bogged down this postseason, it’s great to have an option that can create something in a hurry.
Hey Darnell. I’m a huge Thunder fan. Watched every game the past two years. Regarding this year’s draft, if Kawhi Leonard is still there when the Thunder picks, which is 50/50, we need to take him. He’s very athletic. A great rebounder and ball-handler. Solid defender, passer and shooter. He was a double-double machine all year. Please tell Presti or Scotty or anyone really about this kid. – Jeff S.
Sorry, Jeff. I highly doubt he’ll be around. I haven’t watched a second of San Diego State this season so I’m honestly not familiar with his game. I’ll have to take your word for it. But the Thunder is on pace to pick in the mid-20s. Leonard is projected to be a lottery pick. With Presti running the show, there’s always a chance of the Thunder trading on draft night, perhaps even trying to move up to get him or someone else. But if Leonard is as good as the scouts and so-called draft experts say he is, it’d be hard for the Thunder to get its hands on him.
Monday Morning Mailbag
While the rest of the league goes gaga over Russell Westbrook, some Thunder fans are starting to question his selfish play.
A great batch of questions in this week’s mailbag.
Thanks to those who asked questions. If you’d like to, feel free to join the discussion next week.
Let’s get right to it.
I’ve asked elsewhere, but no one has had an answer. The last couple of games Perkins is showing up on the bench of away games, but when it’s here at home he’s not anywhere to be seen. There’s gotta be a reason, but for the life of me can’t figure out why, almost like he is disrespecting the fans. Not sure how Nate is doing, but if he’s in town, he should be there too. He adds a lot of life to the bench. Others show up in suits, why not them? Thanks! – Barb C.
There are a few things in play here. Mostly, though, when they haven’t been on the bench, Perkins and Robinson have been in the back getting treatment on their respective injuries. Sitting on the bench during a game is not the best position for Robinson’s knee. Also, I was told that when Perkins first got to town he didn’t have suitable attire as set by the NBA to be on the bench. I wouldn’t consider it a big deal. You had no reason to notice yesterday, but Semih Erden did the exact same thing in Cleveland. He’s injured right now, and as I was walking out just before tip-off I saw him go into the weight room to get some rehab in. I didn’t see Antawn Jamison on the bench either. It’s fairly common throughout the league.
Hello Darnell. I am trying to understand how clinching a playoff spot works. I was looking over the Eastern Conference and I noticed that both Boston and Miami have clinched a playoff spot however Chicago the number 2 team had not. What determines how and when a team clinches? – Thanks Tiffany T.
It’s all a numbers game. A team clinches when none of the bottom seven teams in the conference can catch it even if it loses the remaining games on its schedule. That’s probably what you noticed a few days ago with Chicago versus Miami and Boston. Chicago might have had a better record than Miami, but the Bulls probably had played fewer games at that point and still had the possibility, however unlikely, of losing out and falling out of the postseason if another one of the bottom seven teams hypothetically won out. Until those scenarios no longer exist, teams don’t officially clinch.
Hi Darnell. I love your coverage of the team and the notes on Thunder Rumblings. But, I never ever see any quotes by Russell. Does he not speak to the media? I would think after Saturday night joining that select group of players he would have some words to say. Thanks for any insight, keep up the great work. – William B.
Russell isn’t the best interview. He doesn’t particularly care to talk to the media. He does it begrudgingly mostly. His answers are generally short and not so sweet. Sports journalists try to not print such responses from players and coaches, no matter who they are or what lever they are at. Also, Westbrook is typically the first player out of the locker room after games. And a good amount of the time it’s an either-or equation between talking to Kevin Durant or Westbrook. They almost always finish getting dressed and head for the exit at the same time. All that is why Westbrook is not quoted as much as some others. But it’s not something that is a problem or a knock on Westbrook’s personality. It’s just something you run into. My guess is every team has someone or something similar.
Magic 111, Thunder 88
News, notes and observations from Friday’s loss at Orlando.
- With four players shipped out and three players yet to report, Thunder coach Scott Brooks was forced to use 10 different lineups according to my count. And some of them looked like preseason units at best. Maybe even summer league. Eric Maynor, Daequan Cook, James Harden, Thabo Sefolosha and Cole Aldrich. Really? What can the Thunder possible do against the Magic with that mix and match bunch?
- Oddly enough, the team’s bench played better than the more decorated starters. Maynor was the distributor Russell Westbrook decided he didn’t want to be tonight. Cook provided the shooting Kevin Durant couldn’t. And Harden, with a strong all-around game, made yet another case to supplant Sefolosha as the starter.
- If you’re wondering whether the loss of a few teammates played a big factor in this one, Durant comes through with his opinion. “It’s real tough,” Durant said. “Those guys were like brothers to us here. Not to see them out there on the bench clapping for us, in the locker room speaking up, it’s tough.” Durant was then asked if their departures disrupted the flow of the team. “It felt a little different going out there and playing, not having our guys out there,” Durant said. “But hopefully next game we get back into the flow and be all right.”
- In my eyes, Dwight Howard spoiled a spectacular game by remaining in the game to ensure he got 40. I put most of the blame on Magic coach Stan Van Gundy, who you otherwise will never hear me say a bad word about. Van Gundy should have taken Howard out of the game during a timeout with 2:27 left on the clock. Instead, they showed up the Thunder and showed little class. Dwight’s 40th point came on a lob pass from Hedo Turkoglu with exactly 2:00 left to play. The Magic were up 20. His basket put the Magic up 22.
- I doubt Howard and the Magic would have been so strident had Kendrick Perkins been on the court. I can’t wait to see Perk’s scowl.
- Speaking of, the trio of new players are expected to practice with the team Saturday and meet the media following the session. I’m told all three players were in OKC on Friday taking physicals. If all goes well, I’d expect to see Nazr Mohammed and Nate Robinson in uniform Sunday. Perkins is out at least a week with a left knee injury.
- Does this bit from Howard ease the sting of Howard’s monster game and boastful final bucket?
Monday (Evening) Mailbag
Cole Aldrich has played just 54 total minutes in seven games. Not quite what fans envisioned from the No. 11 overall pick.
After a lengthy delay thanks to some technical difficulties, the weekly mailbag is here.
In this week’s edition, we tackle realignment, whether Byron Mullens and Cole Aldrich will ever pan out, what’s up with Thabo Sefolosha, whether the Thunder can win the Northwest Division and where OKC could finish in the standings.
As always, join the discussion next time if you’d like.
Enjoy.
Is the Northwest Division there for the taking if Melo is traded? – Nax.
The division crown is the Thunder’s to lose, no matter what happens with Melo. The Thunder currently has a 3 1/2 game lead, and if it can’t hold off Denver or Utah that has to be considered a disappointment. There is plenty of time left and anything can happen, especially with the Thunder still having to face the Blazers, Nuggets and Jazz a combined five times. Those five games could be the difference. But it shouldn’t come down to that and here’s why: 19 of the Thunder’s final 32 games are against teams currently below .500. The Thunder is 18-4 against sub-.500 teams and has developed a knack for winning close games. Even if the Thunder runs into a rough patch, I don’t see Denver or Utah coming up with enough consistency to climb ahead of the Thunder.
I was impressed with Daequan’s D. By impressed I mean that he was actually trying to play D, which is more than can be said for other Thunder players. – Rich.
Nothing inspires like a half a season sitting the bench. But I agree with you. Cook has busted his butt on the defensive end when given the opportunity to play. The results aren’t always pretty. But he’s a shooter, not a defender. If defense is mostly about effort, though, Cook has got that part down. I’m not willing to go as far as saying the others don’t try. They haven’t sustained their effort for a full game. But there have been moments when the entire team has come to play defensively.
Will the NBA restructure the divisions in near future? – Didoff
I haven’t heard anything like that. I reported when the NBA’s board of governors approved the franchise’s move to OKC that the league had no intention of realigning. As far as I know, nothing has changed. Keep an eye on the Hornets and Kings. If one or both of those teams relocate, the league might have to consider realigning. But even then, I don’t think the NBA wants to get into the business of reshuffling divisions each time a team relocates (which has become the fallback plan for every floundering franchise). If no team moves, I think it’s a safe bet that the divisions will remain intact. But that opinion is coming from a guy who thinks the current setup is fine the way it is.
DM! What’s your beef with Monta Ellis? Give the man some love. – @ShadeTreeGambler
I see you’ve brought our Twitter beef to the mailbag. Nice! But I don’t have a problem with Monta, except he’s a chucker who plays on a bad team that runs a fast-paced offense and pays little attention to defense. Other than that, I think he’s a splendid player. I love watching him put the ball in the hole. He’s one of the best pure scorers in the league in my eyes. But the coaches got it right. As I said on Twitter, Ellis had no business even being mentioned as an All-Star ahead of Russell Westbrook. : )
Why doesn’t KD use fakes that much? He can draw more fouls that way instead of shooting contested shots. Do you get a chance to see different things these guys work on in scrimmages that they don’t show in real games? What has caught your eye? – Kamal.
Rarely is KD’s shot contested. His height, length, elevation and quick and high release essentially make most of his shots good looks. I’ve never really asked around or put much thought into why Durant doesn’t use more fakes. But now that you’ve brought it up, I think that’s something that actually could hurt Durant’s game. KD is a rhythm player, much more than most. He’s at his best when he’s catching and shooting. A series of fakes could throw off that rhythm. It could make him go from Kevin Durant to Kevin Martin. Fakes work extremely well for a guy like Martin, who is one of the most efficient scorers in the league. But Martin almost has to rely on fakes because he’s shorter and has a slower and more unorthodox release than Durant. Drawing more fouls is the least of Durant’s concerns. His focus needs to be being stronger with the ball. The majority of practices and scrimmages are closed to the media. Occasionally, I’ll see a player putting in extra work after practice. Most of it is pretty standard shooting drills.
Why doesn’t Scott Brooks just play our best players instead of adjusting to the other team’s personnel? Seems as though Brooks is reacting instead of dictating. It was particularly apparent in the Wizards game when their bigs got in foul trouble. – James.
A lot of coaches do that. It took me a while to understand why as well. But it basically boils down to whether you believe your player can get the better of that night’s mismatch. If you believe he has the upper hand and will be more of a force than a liability, you go with what you have. If there is doubt, you match up. Ultimately, Serge Ibaka, the player who was most affected in that Wizards game, has a much greater chance of getting torched by an odd matchup than he does of having his way. When you look at it like that, I think you have to matchup. The only two players the Thunder has that can dominate against anyone are Durant and Westbrook. Everyone else is a role player. The way I see it, the best way Brooks can dictate is to put his best horses on the floor and make it a track meet. But that’s not going to happen consistently because the Thunder wants to be a defensive team.
Where is Cole Aldrich these days? IR, D League, end of the bench? Having played so long in College, unless he is Hurt, he looks like (another) “Sonics” miss on a big man in the first round. WOW. A LOT the past six years…Swift, Petro, the signing of what’s his name from Dallas a few years ago. ONLY Ibaka working out well…! – Bob in Seattle.
You can’t put Swift, Sene and Petro on the current regime. They had nothing to do with their selections. Let’s give Aldrich and Byron Mullens some time before we write them off as busts. Big men take longer to develop, and both guys are just 22 (Mullens turns 22 next Monday). They’ve got a lot of time to improve and make something out of their careers. Aldrich was recently recalled from the Tulsa 66ers of the D-League. He played well during his stint and has shown that he’s willing to work hard to get better. I wouldn’t count him out just yet. He could prove to be a nice defensive presence in the middle in the next year or two. At the very least, he’s got six more fouls to offer.
I’m watching the Thunder box scores from back here in Columbus, Ohio and it seems Mullens is buried very deep in the bench without much chance of ever developing into a contributing NBA player. I would like to get your take on Mullens’ future with the Thunder and or NBA. Thanks. – Scott.
It’s hard to say since he rarely plays. All I can really go on is the improvement Mullens showed from his first year to his second. He’s looked much better, dating to his first showing of his sophomore season in the Orlando Summer League. He’s become stronger, more confident and has added some more skills. Again, he’s a week shy of his 22nd birthday. I still like him as a prospect. There’s no telling what he can be in five years. If the Thunder gives up on him, I’d bet there are at least a dozen other teams willing to give him a chance. But down here in OKC, Mullens is in a good situation. There is no pressure on him right now to provide anything but an impact on practice court. Meanwhile, he’s learning from some solid veterans (Nick Collison and Nenad Krstic) and a strong coaching staff both with the Thunder (Mark Bryant) and the 66ers (Nate Tibbetts and Dale Osbourne). Be patient and see if it pays off.
It wears me out that so many fans seem to think of James Harden as successful only if he hits his 3′s. But my view has always been that the Thunder took him ahead of Stephen Curry because of the potential Harden has to be a more complete player. How do you feel Harden has performed in the starting role with Thabo sidelined, particularly on defense? – Mike.
Before Sefolosha came back, Harden looked uncomfortable playing alongside the starters. But you really can’t blame him. He’s been a reserve for a year and a half and has been asked to adjust his game to that of a supporting cast member. His defense was, however, encouraging. He had moments where he was easily beaten off the dribble and on backdoor cuts while also being ran ragged on screens. But he always stuck with it. That’s the encouraging thing. Harden has had every reason to gripe but hasn’t. He’s fulfilling his role to the best of his ability and that’s had to be a challenging assignment. I’m not sure if we would be able to say the same if Curry was on this team.
Is it too early to tell how the Thunder will be positioned for the playoffs? – Joe.
Not at all. It’s become pretty clear that the Thunder will be seeded between 3 and 5. The most likely spots are 4 and 5. And I think the first-round matchup will be either Denver or Utah. Both would be highly entertaining matchups. I like the Thunder’s chances more against the Jazz than the Nuggets.
Do you have any read on what’s up with Thabo? Is he injured, or having issues with his teammates? His on-court production has been bad this year, especially the past month or 2. I really thought he was great last year, especially on defense, and to see this kind of dramatic drop-off is a little troubling. And with Harden and Cook outplaying him almost nightly, do you sense that Thabo’s time in the starting lineup is coming to an end? – Peter.
Sefolosha admits he’s not fully recovered. The knee is still uncomfortable, and the bulky brace that he’s been wearing has restricted some of his movements. I think you’re being too hard on him though. He hasn’t been as good as he was last year. But I wouldn’t say that he’s been bad. At least not the majority of the time. One thing I’ve been curious about is how much of his slippage has to do with the overall team’s dip. Everyone looks better when the team defense is locked in. But I doubt we see a chance to the starting lineup anytime this season. Scott Brooks at the midway point of the season all but guaranteed he wouldn’t change the first five. And as long as the Thunder keeps piling up the wins, Brooks doesn’t see a reason to go a different direction.
-DM-
Thunder 104, Hornets 93
Nuggets from my notebook from Wednesday’s win over New Orleans.
- Scott Brooks said Serge Ibaka wasn’t in the doghouse. Brooks insisted much of the reason Ibaka sat the bench the previous two games was because of matchups. A side issue was Ibaka’s lack of energy against the Heat. Against the Hornets, the matchups were more favorable and Ibaka brought the energy. In a big way. Ibaka had three blocks in the first quarter alone and was a major presence on both ends. He finished with eight points, 12 boards and six blocks in 33 minutes.
- When asked about Ibaka’s performance during his postgame press conference, Brooks had a little fun at my expense. “He finally got out of the doghouse and played,” Brooks said. “I was Serge’s best teammate tonight. I gave him some minutes.”
- For Wednesday’s paper, I wrote about how Trevor Ariza has had success against Kevin Durant this season. Sure enough, Durant quickly put an end to that. Late in the first half, KD had 19 points and was perfect from the floor (5-for-5), the 3-point line (3-for-3) and the foul line (6-for-6). Durant finished with 21 points in the first half en route to 43 for the game.
- This is the third time in four games that Durant has scored at least 40 points. Tonight’s scoring surge bumped his season average to 29.2 points. Back-to-back scoring titles, here Durant comes.
- What impressed me the most about Durant is that he stopped shooting with 5 1/2 minutes left despite sitting on 43 points. He could have forced his way to 50. But he decided to make the right play instead. He found or created open shots for Jeff Green, Nick Collison and Serge Ibaka. They didn’t finish plays and get Durant an assist. But his unselfishness was noteworthy.
- Something else that will probably get lost in Durant’s performance: rebounds. Durant had 10 of them and really picked it up in the second half when his team needed it most. With the exception of one rebound opportunity that Durant sat there and watched all but fall into David West’s hands in the second half, Durant showed that he’s really focused on becoming a better rebounder. He’s averaged 10.8 boards over his past six games.
Thunder Recalls Cole Aldrich
The Oklahoma City Thunder has recalled rookie center Cole Aldrich from the Tulsa 66ers, the team announced Wednesday.
Aldrich has appeared in 10 games over two send-downs and averaged 10.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in 29.2 minutes. Before being recalled, Aldrich had recorded three straight double-doubles with the 66ers, who are 15-4 with him in the lineup.
Aldrich will be on the bench during tonight’s game against New Orleans at 7 p.m. inside Oklahoma City Arena.
With Aldrich back with the Thunder, it’s possible Byron Mullens could soon be sent down to the 66ers to get some playing time. Mullens has played in only 12 games this season, his last coming back on Jan. 1 at San Antonio. Mullens is averaging 1.3 points and 1.6 rebounds in just 4.7 minutes with the Thunder. Mullens has been sent down to Tulsa once this season, playing one game and scoring 19 points with four rebounds, three assists, two steals and one blocked shot in in 33 minutes.
-DM-
