Maybe you don’t go to the Jay Z concert in Indianapolis last night, huh? As Royce so aptly predicted, this game wreaked of sleepwalking, playing down BELOW an opponent’s level and pretty much ruining all the good vibes that the Friday night destruction of the Raptors had created.
Awful, abysmal defense. Atrocious man-to-man, pathetic rotation and even worse help-side defense pretty much showed that this game was going to be ugly early on and it only got worse after halftime. When DJ White and Kevin Ollie get subbed in with 10 minutes to go in the fourth quarter, your coach has officially waived the white flag and you know somebody’s down by 20.
Oh, and they couldn’t hit the broadside of a barn from deep either. Is there anyone left who doesn’t fully appreciate James Harden’s playmaking and three point shooting coming off of the bench yet?
The Thunder got off to a horribly slow start and were it not for Jeff Green attacking the rim early on, this game would have gotten out of hand much sooner than it did. I’d like to thank Jeff Green for showing up to play today as he really seemed like the only starter who was awake and oriented from the tip, as his 20 points on 6-10 shooting, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block numbers showed. The rest of the starters…ugh. Read more…
A bunch of the team went to a Jay Z concert in Indianapolis last night, so combine that with the unusual 1:30 CDT start time and I fear for some sleepwalking through the first quarter or so. The good news is that you might be able to get away with a quarter of that against the Pacers. Read more…
(Morning Thunder fans. Thanks for your support of Daily Thunder. How’s your BRACKET look?)
Nothing more to say than a cute kid, rooting on James Harden during last year’s NCAA tournament. Actually, there is a little more to say. I enjoy how the kid asks where James Harden’s mom is. That’s funny. Harden didn’t have the best tournament last year, but it didn’t affect his draft stock. And hopefully, it didn’t affect little Santiago’s love for him.
Wednesday in Charlotte, the Thunder built a 19-point lead with just over two minutes to go in the first half. The game had the looks of a cruise control blowout. Then the Thunder got sloppy, turned the ball over and allowed the Bobcats to cut the lead to seven before halftime and build valuable momentum going to the locker room.
Tonight? Oklahoma City wasn’t about to let it happen again. The Thunder led by 19 with 2:45 left in the half against Toronto tonight and instead of falling on their faces, OKC extended the lead to 27 and basically ended the game right then and there. You want Coach of the Year material for Scott Brooks? Here’s your Coach of the Year material. Brooks put his team through a rough and tumble, physical, intense practice Thursday after the loss in Charlotte. He was making and stressing the point to his young squad that under no circumstances can you take your foot off the pedal. I think his group got the message. Read more…
What’s separated this Thunder team most from last year’s, other than the actual success and all, is the fact that the team can refocus and not let one bad game carry over to another. Then another. Then another. And that’s what hopefully happens tonight. Everything that happened Wednesday gets washed away because Oklahoma City comes out ready in Toronto tonight. Read more…
(There hasn’t been that great of a response to this, so who knows if it’ll continue. But if you just want to share something, anything, email it in. It doesn’t have to be a 1,500-word essay. Just whatever you feel is unique to your Thunder fan experience. Or something about how the bathrooms smell in Loud City. Whatever. This week’s comes from reader Justin.)
I remember the exact date. It was July 26th, 1996. On that day, my Seattle Supersonics (reigning Western Conference Champions) signed Washington Bullets reserve center Jim McIlvaine to a reprehensible seven year, $35 million contract. Jim McIlvaine was going to make more in 1997 than Scottie Pippen, Karl Malone, Mitch Richmond, and yes, our very own Shawn Kemp – our rising star who was just a couple months removed from thoroughly dominating the 1996 playoffs.
Many Sonics fans remember this signing because it was effectively the end of an era. Even most NBA fans know what happened next: Shawn Kemp, insulted that his contract was not restructured after his dominant season (arguably the best PF in the league in 1995-1996, certainly in the playoffs), was traded for Vin Baker. After one decent year, Baker spiraled into alcoholism. Read more…
An interesting tidbit from Scott Howard-Cooper: “Since it will come up soon enough, when ballots are returned at the end of the regular season and Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks is named Coach of the Year: No one has won the award in their first full season as a coach since Avery Johnson of the Mavericks in 2005-06. Mike D’Antoni of the Suns sort of did it the year before — it was his first full season in the NBA, but after eight in Italy.”
Practice was intense yesterday: ”Attributing a fierce and fiery practice to wanting to get past Wednesday’s blown opportunity at Charlotte, Kevin Durant proudly spoke about how things got heated during Thursday’s session. “It was cutthroat,” Durant said. “One-on-one, going at each other and bringing the best out of each other. We got angry. We threw basketballs. We yelled and screamed. But it’s all a part of our growth. I think it was one of our better practices. We’re excited for shoot-around (today) and the game.” Read more…
It’s that day. Across the country, thousands of people have called in “sick” to work, scheduled two day vacations, or if they were really thinking ahead, conspired to knock their wife up ten months ago so they could use FMLA in order to fully concentrate on the most basketball packed days of the year. (edit. Speaking of the FMLA joke, if this post reads entirely like gibberish and is loaded with typos, I’m blaming the five hours of sleep I have racked up over the last two nights and the fact that I’m letting Clark, JrJr type this for me.) March Madness begins!
For most NBA fans, and probably far too many league executives, this is also the time of the year where the bulk of college scouting is done. If a player has a couple of good games, and in some cases just one great game, fans will clamor for that guy to wind up on their team’s NBA roster. On the flip side, if a guaranteed lottery pick lays an egg while on national television, his stock could really slip.
So, for all of the amateur scouts who are watching college basketball that does not involve the Cowboys or Sooners for the first time this year, I have provided some viewing tips that could help you get an initial look at who Sam Presti and the rest of the staff might target. First, though, let’s outline what the Thunder will be seeking. Read more…
You have just a few minutes to get into the DT bracket group. Free stuff could be at stake. And because everyone is doing it, here’s my Final Four picks if you want to piggyback off them: John Tesh, North Carolina, the L.A. D-Fenders and Kansas. The Jayhawks are just that good this year.
A non-Thunder fan also saw a poorly officiated game: “Thunder fans are upset about the officiating, so am I. Most likely, we’re all upset by the free throw disparity between the two teams. The Bobcats had a free throw rate (FT Rate) of 41%. So basically, Charlotte took 2/5 as many free throws as field goals, a high rate; meanwhile, Oklahoma City struggled to get to the line (a FT Rate of only 21%). That, and a non-call when Jeff Green was “clubbed upside the head,” according to Daily Thunder is probably why Thunder fans are so mad.” Read more…
I almost forgot what it was like to be so frustrated watching your favorite team that you want jump naked through a pane of glass. So frustrated that you scream at the television, say you hate a player that you really love and then end up saying, “This is stupid. The NBA is stupid.”
But this game tonight was a nice reminder of those feelings. Ah, the ups and downs of being a hopeless, emotional fan. Because this Thunder team has gotten us all used to winning, closing out tight games and taking care of business, a loss like tonight just doesn’t feel right. It’s doesn’t feel like a “Oh well, it’s a long season” kind of loss. It feels like a kick in the nether region.
But here’s the reality: It’s OK. It’s really not a huge deal. The Thunder lost on the road to a playoff team that plays near .800 basketball at home. It’s the first loss in five games and this team is still 16 games above .500. It’s not fun to lose especially when you’re fighting for important playoff seeding, but this team wasn’t going to finish the year on a 22-game winning streak. Read more…
Thus starts an appealing, yet dangerous three-game road trip while March Madness engulfs the Ford Center. And tonight’s game in Charlotte, is probably the most difficult of the three. First, the Bobcats are playing extremely well. They’ve won six of seven and have been solid at home this season. They play excellent defense, have an All-Star in Gerald Wallace and a couple trades have really strengthened the team, most recently a deal that brought Theo Ratliff in.
Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports talked to Brandon Roy about playing with KD: “Can me and Kevin Durant even coexist?” Roy said. “We’re similar. We’re both creators. We are both perimeter players. I don’t know if there is enough room for both of us. But that doesn’t say Kevin Durant isn’t a great player. He’s right there for the MVP, so not a knock to him at all. I think he is a great guy off the court. He’s cool. He’s humble. But as far as me having the career I wanted to and him having the career he wanted to, it was the right decision for him to be with Oklahoma City and for us to take Greg Oden.”
Comparing Portland’s rise to OKC’s: “Portland sat back and they got bit, and because of it they are another major piece away from being elite. OKC needs players to fit a role, and they need veteran leadership. Kevin Durant has a chance to be the greatest player of the 2010’s, Russell Westbrook has officially put his name in the hat for the throne of this decade’s best point guard, and Jeff Green leads the role players on a mission to not let KD down.” Read more…
“What I’ve talked about the entire series and throughout this playoffs is about intensity and effort, desire and will of our players.” — Bill Laimbeer
You can feel it in the pregame shoot-around before each game, the electricity permeating the stands. You can sense the anxious vibe in each individual seat as the fans file in. You can hear it in the voices echoing around you as the players make their way out of the tunnel for warm-ups, their pulse already picking up speed. You can see it on the players faces, especially their eyes, as the referee steps to center court with the ball in hand, ready to toss it up. And just as the ball soars into the air and the clock starts, you can feel it saturate an entire arena for the next 48 minutes from now until April 14th.
Shakur is a free agent call-up from the Tulsa 66ers, NBA Development League affiliate of the Oklahoma City Thunder. At the time of his call-up the 2010 D-League All-Star was averaging 20.7 points (9th in the D-League) while shooting 50.3% from the floor (295-587 FG), 7.2 assists (4th in D-League), 2.3 steals (3rd in D-League) and 39.4 minutes in 40 games (40 starts).
A 6-3, 190 pound guard who went undrafted out of the University of Arizona in 2007, Shakur spent the previous three seasons playing overseas with Prokom Trefl Sopot of the Polish League (2007-08), Tau Cerámica of ACB Spanish League (2008-09) and most recently with Panellinios BC of the Greek A1 League (2009). With his signing, Shakur becomes the 24th Gatorade Call-Up from the D-League this season. He will wear uniform #11.
I’m thrilled for two reasons: 1) What a cool name. Any time you can have a “Mustafa Shakur” on your roster, you’ve got to do it. And 2) Because he’s a really good dude. I talked to him in Dallas after the D-League All-Star Game and he was humble and just talked about how he thought he’d get his chance soon enough if he kept plugging away. I always like when it actually happens.
Another thing he said was that he felt like he has the ability to play both guard positions well. He played almost exclusively point guard in Tulsa, but when he played briefly in Minnesota, he played a lot off the ball. He’s a big guard and he’s found a good shooting touch. More than likely he’s just a practice player like Antonio Anderson was, but right now the Thunder has some depth issues, especially if Kyle Weaver’s shoulder were to get reaggravated or something.
Darnell Mayberry wondered yesterday if the young Thunder are ready for postseason play. Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on that topic: “I don’t really understand the point of asking whether or not the Thunder are ready for the playoffs. Does that matter? They’re going to the playoffs. When they get there, they will play basketball. If they play it well, they will win, and be happy. If they play it poorly, they will learn a lot, and fight another day.”
Oklahoma City is tied with Boston in the standings and Christopher Gasper of Boston.com looks back: “Watching Durant play alone is enough to erase the revisionist history about losing the lottery being some sort of stroke of fabled fortune for the Celtics because it beget the Big Three and another championship. Can you imagine how much fun it would be to watch Durant and Rondo play together, not to mention the fact that the Celtics, unlike Durant’s Thunder, would still have a legitimate power forward in Jefferson.” Read more…
