Daily Thunder.com

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OKC Thunder (11-36, 3-19 road) vs. Sacramento Kings (10-38, 7-16 home)

TV: KSBI-52 (Cox 9) FS Oklahoma (Cox 37)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.2 (28th), Sacramento: 104.6 (25th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 108.9 (20th), Sacramento: 114.4 (30th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.6 (7th), Sacramento: 93.3 (8th)

What could make Super Sunday even more super? Why, a matchup between two basketball teams a combined 53 games under .500, that’s what!

These two teams haven’t met yet this year, so there’s nothing to go off of. Except for the fact we know they’re both, ahem, below average. But here’s the big stat: Sacramento hasn’t held an opponent to under 106 points their last 10 games. The Kings have lost eight in a row and 12 of 14. They’re the worst defensive team in the league, allowing opponents to over 48 percent from the field which ranks first (or last, depending on how you want to look at it) in the league. On top of it, they’re in the bottom 10 in field goal percentage themselves. In other words, they’re struggling. Mightily.

But as we’ve seen, the Thunder are known to come in with a lack of focus against very beatable teams. Especially with this one being on the road at 2 p.m. Oklahoma time and probably in front of about 25 people. So all the signs for an unfocused performance are there. But with a tough February schedule looming, OKC needs to take care of business in Sactown. Read more…

Preview

Just a little over two weeks ago, the Thunder put a 21 point loss on the Jazz, and at that time  it was the first win of the season over a winning team. Tonight, the Jazz got a payback, slapping us with a 20 point loss.  Box Score.

The Jazz were very efficient tonight offensively, scoring 110 points and ringing up 32 assists on 86 made field goals. They shot 51% from the field, 41% from deep and had an effective field goal rate of 55%. On the other side of the ball the Jazz had 12 steals, forced 25 turnovers and limited our field goal shooting to 48 % overall and 18% from deep (2/11).

I think we all knew that we would suffer defensively with the loss of Desmond Mason, and tonight our fears were realized. Read more…

Recap

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Oklahoma City Thunder (11-35, 3-18 road) vs. Utah Jazz (25-21, 17-6 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.3 (28th), Utah: 109.4 (9th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 108.6 (18th), Utah: 107.1 (14th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.7 (6th), Utah: 92.1 (11th)

Maybe Kevin Durant will use the snub to power him to a huge game, because we know the Jazz are going have a little incentive after the beatdown Oklahoma City put on them last meeting. And there’s nothing more I’d love than a good win so we can all email Ross Siler again and tell him how much he sucks at trying to be clever.

So far the season series is 1-1 with each team protecting their home floor. And I fully expect that to happen again tonight. I love the way OKC is playing right now, with the offense clicking and the defense challenging every shot but two things: 1) Utah plays very well at home (12-1 against the West) and 2) The impact of losing Desmond Mason. The thing about losing Mason is that the team will feel the sting on the defensive end, but especially tonight. Why? Because tonight, Scott Brooks has to try and figure out how he’s going to swing it without Mason. It’s going to be tough to figure out what pairings work on the fly and I expect to see some defensive lapses early. Read more…

Preview

UPDATE: Chris Sheridan’s top 12 trade assets (OKC’s got a couple):”The Thunder are constantly being asked if they’d be open to trading the rights to the athletic Ibaka, currently playing for Ricoh Manresa of the Spanish League, as is the case with the Nuggets and Hervelle, who plays for Real Madrid.”

And here are your West All-Star reserves – Chauncey Billups (G), Tony Parker (G), Brandon Roy (G), Dirk Nowitzki (F), Pau Gasol (F), David West (F) and Shaquille O’Neal. Notice anything there? There’s no small forward on the entire roster… and guess what position Kevin Durant plays. Not sayin’, just sayin’.

TrueHoop looks at the snubbed. Women may love the snub, but I don’t think NBA players do: “One of the worst ways you can analyze a player is to cherry pick a handul of statistics that don’t even mean all that much without a broader context. But it’s fun, so I’m going to do it anyway. 35 points, ten rebounds, and six assists. 46 points, 14 rebounds, and four assists. 28 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals. 41 points and ten rebounds. You see what I mean? These kinds of stat lines are not hard to find in Kevin Durant’s body of work. Granted, his team came out of the gate terribly. But if they had played the entire season like they have played the last month, there is no way that Kevin Durant would not be on this team. I don’t know precisely what the qualifications are to be an All-Star, but I know that just about everyone who puts up those kinds of numbers consistently for any length of time seems to make it.”

Rob Peterson of NBA.com says the coaches got it mostly right: “Team success — or the lack of it — also may be the reason Durant, who is averaging 24.8 points per game (sixth in the NBA), wasn’t named to the team. The Thunder are 11-35. Usually, a team’s record plays a large part in whether a player is considered All-Star worthy. But in the East, Toronto’s Chris Bosh and Indiana’s Danny Granger play for sub-.500 teams. And they both made the team.” Read more…

Bolts

Well, crap.

From NBA.com:

“Mason, who has started 19 games for the Thunder, injured his knee with 4:02 left in the 3rd quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies. The injury is being called a hyper extension and will require arthroscopic surgery to remove debris from his knee.

“We are disappointed to lose Desmond for the remainder of the season,” said Presti. “He is a valuable part of our efforts on and off the court. We will support Desmond and work with him throughout the rehabilitation process. Unfortunately, the timing of the injury does not allow Desmond to return this season.”

Mason has averaged 7.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game this year for the 11-35 Thunder.”

So what’s this mean? Well, first thinking says Damien Wilkins gets another crack at the first five and we get to watch his dead body get dragged around the court. But I wouldn’t put it past Scott Brooks to try and give Kyle Weaver extended minutes and/or try using Earl Watson/Chucky Atkins with Russell Westbrook. I don’t think he’ll move Kevin Durant back to the two and Jeff Green to the three. At least, I hope that doesn’t happen. And no, there’s really no help in Tulsa to look to. The 66ers are really thin at guard, and I’m not sure if Ronald Dupree can play the two (he’s 6-foot-7, 200 lbs and is Tulsa’s best player averaging almost 20 ppg). In other words, I have no idea what to expect. If I were to pick a scenario, I’d go with Weaver starting at the two and keeping everything else the same.

This really sucks because Desmond is such a leader for this team that he’ll be missed, most on the defensive end. He works hard, fights through screens, hits the boards and is a total effort guy. He’ll never light you up in the box score but he’s a good ballplayer. Best wishes to Desmond and here’s to a quick recovery.

News

Tony Mejia has Kevin Durant as a “rightfully should feel snubbed” almost All-Star.

Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus on the Rookie/Sophomore challenge: “Although Durant’s takeoff in his second season has had something to do with his move from shooting guard to small forward, he’ll have to return to guard for one night because of an imbalance in the sophomore talent. To the extent Durant’s December turnaround flew under the radar elsewhere, it’s been impossible to miss his enormous January–27.1 points and 8.6 rebounds per game with a 60.5 percent True Shooting Percentage. Yikes. The only real concern is that Scott Brooks might be running the slight Durant into the ground by playing him 39.3 minutes per night (third in the league). The obvious comparison for Durant (Carmelo Anthony) shows up second in similarity. No. 1? Kobe Bean Bryant. Double yikes.”

Lengthy piece by Johnny Ludden of Yahoo! Sports: “So, yes, Kevin Durant knows what you’re thinking. He also wants you to understand this: “Hopefully,” he says, “I’ll spend my whole career here.” Durant sees a future with the Thunder, and, as unlikely as that seemed even a month ago, he’s building a case for why everyone else should also see the skies clearing over OKC. This week, the Thunder moved out of the NBA’s basement for the first time since early November. The upgrade in accommodations, as potentially short-lived as it may be, came on the heels of a stretch in which the Thunder won six of their past nine games – four more victories than they totaled in their first 26 outings of the season.”

The Kansas City Star endorses KD as an All-Star: “Facchini also mentioned that the team decided against “gimmicky” campaigns to push for Durant. It seems that firing coach P.J. Carlesimo and trying to win basketball games ranked as more important endeavors than creating perceptions that their guy is an All-Star. Understandable. It’s just too bad that Durant’s reward for being one of the league’s top players is an invitation to the Rookie-Sophomore game.”

KD was one of Daily Dime’s best of the night: “He filled up the box score, posting 35 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and four blocks to lead Oklahoma City, which closed the game on a 14-0 run, to a 114-102 victory over the Grizzlies.”  Read more…

Bolts

It’s almost a good thing this game went into overtime. Instead of Oklahoma City winning this one 100-98 and totally crapping the bed down the stretch to leave a bad taste in everybody’s mouth, the game went an extra five and the Thunder played incredibly well closing out Memphis 114-102.

After Memphis (11-33) went on a 12-2 run the last four minutes of the game to send it to OT, the Grizzlies scored the first bucket of the extra frame, but OKC (11-35) responded with 14 unanswered to close out on a high-note, sending everybody home happy.

Kevin Durant was absolute superstar, top-five-in-the-league material in overtime. Not that he’s not all the time, but he was other-worldly in the extra frame. He scored eight of OKC’s 14 in the period, had one mega-block and made multiple winning plays. His 21-foot jumper to tie the game at 102-102 sent kind of a “We’re alright” feeling over the team. He was electric in the first quarter scoring 16. He cooled, scoring just two in the second. But he was extremely efficient in the second half and in overtime, finishing with 35 on 14-23 shooting with 10 boards, six assists and four blocks. But he’s not an All-Star. Nah. No way. News flash NBA: Kevin Durant is freaking good at basketball.

All in all, it winds up being win No. 11 and what we all thought should happen. Maybe the path to it isn’t what we wanted or expected, but I’ll take it. So many things could have gone differently to have locked this one away with four minutes left and wound up being a 10-point margin, but so many things could have gone differently to have blown this one too. First, free throw shooting. I blame myself. The Thunder went 18-29 from the line (61 percent) and missed multiple free throws that could have sealed the deal. Second, OKC got outrebounded 12-4 in the fourth quarter. That shouldn’t happen. Third, the Thunder just didn’t execute down the stretch. With 45 seconds left and a four-point lead, the Thunder had the ball and instead of working a good shot, Earl Watson took a fadeaway with seven seconds left on the shot clock. I don’t know why either. This is just estimating, but in the last three minutes, I think the offense ran through KD just one time – the play he turned it over with about 20 seconds left. I’m no NBA coach or brilliant basketball mind, but how about running things through The Best Player instead of Earl Watson hoisting no-chance jumpers with the game on the line? Just a thought. Read more…

Recap

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Memphis Grizzlies (11-33, 2-17 road) vs. Thunder (10-35, 7-17 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.0 (28th), Memphis: 101.8 (29th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 108.8 (18th), Memphis: 109.3 (24th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.7 (7th), Memphis: 90.1 (22th)

There’s “must-win” games and there’s “should-win” games. And this one obviously falls into the latter category. There’s really no excuse not to show up and take care of business against the Grizzlies tonight. So far, the season series is 1-1, with both teams taking wins on the other’s home floor. The Thunder had a 20-point lead a month ago at the Ford Center before failing to close to first half and letting the Grizz back into the game. Since Memphis won that game, the Grizzlies are just 4-16. Likewise, OKC is 8-14. Two young teams headed in opposite directions… right now.

This season, Memphis has the worst road record in the league with just two wins away from the Forum. One of those, as we know, came in OKC. But with the Thunder finally buying into the whole Protect This House concept, winning three out of four in Loud City, there’s no reason for OKC not to run the Grizzlies out of the building. Well, they don’t have to run them out, but a win is expected. Read more…

Preview

Since we all know Kevin Durant is going to get the big-boy snub, at least he gets to do something in Phoenix. And he’ll be bringing along some friends.

From NBA.com today:

“Oklahoma City Thunder forward Kevin Durant, the reigning T-Mobile Rookie of the Year, and Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose, the first overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, lead a list of 18 players selected for the 2009 T-Mobile Rookie Challenge & Youth Jam to be held on Friday, Feb. 13 in Phoenix during NBA All-Star 2009.”

And here’s the complete rosters for the Rookie/Sophomore game:

That rookie roster is pretty stacked, but a lineup of Stuckey, Durant, Thornton, Scola and Horford will be tough. Thoughts?

News

By Royce Young
royceyoung41@gmail.com

Pete Maravich was a five-time All-Star for the Atlanta Hawks and New Orleans Jazz. It’s indisputable – he’s one of the greatest point guards ever. He was exciting, he was talented and he was flashy. He could pass and score. He was the total package. But only one of those teams finished the season with a winning record (46-36, 1972-73). He made the team in his third year because his numbers were so gaudy that there was no way you could say no. So a precedent has been set – a great player on a bad team can go to the All-Star game.

With All-Star reserves being announced Thursday, it seems the basketball world is split on Kevin Durant. Some think he’s a year or two off, mainly because he’s on a 10-win team. Some say he’s ready now, regardless of the team’s record. Well, you can put me in camp No. 2 – he’s an All-Star now.

Both Kobe Bryant and LeBron James were All-Stars in their second season. LeBron had ridiculous numbers: 27.2 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 7.2 apg. How can you say no to that? But Kobe made it more or less because or hype. His team was good (lost in the Western Finals to the Jazz) but he was just getting 26 minutes a game and averaging 15.4 ppg, 3.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

Now we all know Durant’s awesome numbers. (24.5 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.6 apg, in case you forgot.) He’s one of just nine players that are leading their team in both points and rebounds (Chris Bosh, LeBron, Dwight Howard, Antwan Jamison, Dirk Nowitzki, Yao, Tim Duncan, Al Jefferson, Carlos Boozer). He’s in pretty good company there. He does everything for his team. He’s improved every facet of his game and is putting together one of the best seasons ever for a 20-year-old.

Forget the fact his numbers are closer to 26 points and eight rebounds since the end of November. Forget that he’s shooting 47 percent, 42 percent and 86 percent from the field, three and the free throw line. Forget that he’s clearly the best player on his team and that opponents key on him like he Jimmy Chitwood. All that aside even, he’s still and All-Star. It’s the game for the league’s best players. And KD is clearly one of them.

Read more…

Commentary

• UPDATE: Russell Westbrook has moved to the NUMBER ONE spot in David Thorpe’s Rookie Rankings: “What separates Westbrook from the other guards in this class is his combination of athleticism and length, which translates into the makings of a premier defensive player. He’s not there now, but it’s easy to project him getting there soon. Using his quickness and length, he can lock and trail on a shooter using a screen, which means Westbrook runs over the screener and behind the shooter. His extended arm can bother the shooter, and his teammate defending the screener has to offer just a hint of curl protection before Westbrook recovers. Since this is the Thunder, that does not happen often enough, so you may see Westbrook’s man making shots while Westbrook is trailing the play. Unless he’s wrongly going over the top of the screen (meaning he’s supposed to go under it on that play), it’s not his fault if the shooter makes the shot. That shot is on the big who forgot to offer curl protection.”

• Bill Simmons says Kevin Durant is underrated, in a good way. And it’s nice to read something from The Master that isn’t entirely slanderous towards OKC: “You know in Jaws when Richard Dreyfuss calls the shark an “eating machine”? Durant is a scoring machine. He was put on this earth to collect points. We have never seen anyone quite like him before: a 6’9″ forward with Plastic Man arms, 30-foot range and the ability to thrive in big moments. He has more career buzzer-beaters than LeBron. Trust me, it’s true. Know also that NBA players peak between ages 25 and 29. So what’s Durant’s realistic peak? Will he average 33 a game on percentages of 55-90-50? Will he average 36 ppg? Thirty-eight? Seriously, where does this go? Nobody’s discussing that. Nobody’s even acknowledging it. And that makes Kevin Durant totally, completely, unequivocally underrated. I can’t think of five current players who are more fun to watch. I’m jealous of the Highjacker’s fans. I am.”

• A very lenghty, yet interesting piece by David Aldridge: “Brooks has tweaked things on the court, moving Durant from shooting guard, where he played for Carlesimo, to both forward positions. Either way, Durant is closer to the basket and is better able to help out with rebounding (he’s almost two boards per game better this year than his rookie season) and defense. A new assistant coach, former Bulls assistant Ron Adams, also has helped with new defensive concepts. And Brooks has impressed with his energy and positive reinforcement of the players. I saw the Thunder last month in Atlanta, where they did what they’ve been doing all along for Brooks, playing hard against a superior opponent. The game was close, but Oklahoma City faded in the last five minutes. Afterward, Brooks was clear-eyed and focused, not beaten down by the losing like a lot of other good coaches you see.”

Read more…

Bolts

As we look through reasons why OKC is starting to win, one thing comes to my mind first.

Free throw shooting.

In OKC’s wins, the Thunder’s shooting 79.5 percent. In losses, they’re shooting 76.1 percent. So that’s not that big of a difference. But look at the difference in attempts. In wins, OKC gets to the line 29.8 times while in losses, just 24.0. Add in the fact that in wins the Thunder’s hitting a higher clip and that’s five or six points right there. And when you’re leading the league in losses by six or less, every point matters.

In this stretch where OKC is playing it’s best ball of the year, free throw shooting has been even better. The Thunder’s hitting 83 percent of its shots at the line since Dec. 31. But that run at the beginning of December up until the win against Golden State, OKC lost 12 of 13 by an average of seven points with six games by six or fewer points. During those 13 games, the Thunder shot just 72 percent from the free throw line, with many games under 70 percent. Again, since Dec. 31st’s win over Golden State where OKC has gone 7-6, the Thunder’s hitting 83 percent from the line and making an average of 24 free throws a game, compared to just 16 during the stretch where they lost all those close games. It doesn’t take Isaac Newton to figure out that’s eight points and when you lose six games by six or fewer, those eight points could have meant victory.

For more perspective, during the 14-game losing streak earlier in the year, the Thunder hit 76.9 percent from the line. They made 19 free throws a game (remember 24 a game now). That’s a difference of… um, five free shots. Oklahoma City lost three games by five or fewer points during the 14-game losing streak. In other words, free throws are big. It seems like a lot of times players walk to the line to shoot two and really don’t put much thought into it make or miss. No matter what they do their little routine, shoot and then slap hands with their teammates. Some don’t seem to value the opportunity to put points on the board with a wide open 15-foot shot. But lately, OKC’s taking advantage of it. (Random note: My dad used to always want a rule change for college basketball to count a miss on the front end of a 1-and-1 to count as TWO misses. I always liked that idea.)

In the NBA, games get decided by six or less a lot. And in the Thunder’s case, a whole lot. The difference between hitting 16-24 or 21-14 from the line can often times mean the difference between a win or a loss.

Commentary

• Guess who’s not the worst in the league anymore: The Thunder are now a half game in front of Washington who is 9-35 on the season, while OKC is an awesome 10-35.

• OKC has moved up to No. 26 in Marc Stein’s most recent rankings: “Why does Durant have no All-Star shot when Bosh and Granger are seen as locks from sub-.500 teams? OKC is making tangible, as is KD’s, but the Raps and Pacers are on the playoff fringe. There’s a difference.”

• Thunder vs. Nets was Ball Don’t Lie’s game to pay attention to last night: “While the defense rested and Devin Harris grimaced, the Nets lost five in a row before beating the hapless Grizzlies on Saturday, and while I submit that the Thunder aren’t exactly much of a challenge to behold, they can beat you. Any of you mugs. Right now. Sure, they’ve only won nine times. In 44 tries. But they try, now, the team defends much better under Scotty Brooks, and he’s pretty close to earning a full-fledged head coaching spot, instead of this interminable purgatory. Remember, “purgatory” doesn’t mean “hellish.” It just means “interim head coach of the Oklahoma City Thunder.” Devin Harris and Russell Westbrook. I’m down.” Read more…

Bolts

The past few games, third quarters had killed the Thunder. Over the last three, OKC had been outscored by an average of almost eight points coming out of the locker room. Tonight, a much different story.

The Thunder outscored New Jersey 31-14 in the third, which included a 9-0 run to start the period. That run essentially sealed the deal as OKC went on to handle the Nets 94-85. We thought the Thunder (10-35) would come out intense and hungry after the poor showing in Los Angeles. And they sure did.

Even through a sloppy first half, the Thunder were playing inspired defense. The rotation was great and the effort on the glass was noticeable. The Thunder piled up 12 offensive boards in the first half alone with Nenad Krstic having five to himself. OKC held the Nets (20-25) to just 40 points on 38 percent shooting. Every shot the Nets took had a Thunder player flying in their face, disrupting their shot. Desmond Mason had just eight tonight, but he was especially active on the defensive end. That’s one reason I really like Des – no matter what, he’s playing hard. Every team needs a guy like him. I hope he sticks around.

So the margin wound up being just nine after OKC had led by 30 at one point. The Nets outscored OKC 31-12 in the fourth. Any reason for concern? Here’s all you need to know – Damien Wilkins played nine minutes in the fourth. That should explain it. In other words – no concern, no worry. Let me put it this way: OKC’s starters: +23, +26, +23, +25, +19. OKC’s bench: -13, -11, -10, -1, -19, -17. Yeeeah. Read more…

Recap

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New Jersey Nets (20-24, road 11-10) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (9-35, home 6-17)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.0 (29th), New Jersey: 107.7 (14th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.2 (20th), New Jersey: 110.9 (27th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.8 (6th), New Jersey: 90.2 (20th)

The Nets should feel right at home tonight. With awful road conditions and the biggest basketball game in the state being played about 60 miles north, the Ford Center may be more empty than Charles Barkley’s wallet after a weekend in Vegas.

But that’s no excuse to not see what we should tonight. We should see a team hungry to erase last Friday’s bad loss to Eric Gordon and Al Thornton. We should see a group of guys that play hard for 48 minutes. We should see a team that takes nothing for granted and plays like it’s got something to prove (again). That’s what we should see. Read more…

Preview