Daily Thunder.com

Man I wish I could get away from this subject. I just want to pack up, jump in my car and drive away from it. But it’s always in my rear-view mirror. It’s like Walker, Texas Ranger. Per usual, Bill Simmons has been referring to Oklahoma City as “The Team That Shall Not Be Named” and taking it so far as to bleep “Oklahoma City” in podcasts when he slips. You know, keeping up with his shtick. He gets these shticks and themes and he runs with them. And a lot of times, I love him for it. It’s funny, it’s witty and it’s clever. Not so much this time. In his latest mailbag, he let a question from a guy in Tulsa slip through.

Q: You are unfairly killing an entire fan base with your refusal to call the (Team That Shall Not Be Named) by its name. In your attempt to make another state feel better (rightly deserved) you are coming across as a pompous jerk to another one. Can you please start calling our team by its proper name?
– John H., Tulsa, Okla.

SG: No way. It’s like (TTSNBN) was a married couple and couldn’t conceive a child on their own, so they went and stole another couple’s kid (in this case, Seattle’s) after proving in court that the kid was living in an aging house and deserved to live in a new one … but then, in the insult of insults, it turned out they lived in a house that was just as old and decrepit as the kid’s old house. How would you expect me to support this? You stole their team. I will continue to call it The Team That Shall Not Ne Named, the Bennett City Hijackers and the Seattle SloppySeconds. And if it costs me every reader in Hijack City, so be it — I have 49 other states and hundreds of other countries to work with. I’ll be fine. You stole someone else’s team. If you were friends with a buddy who stole another buddy’s wife, you would not be friends with that person anymore. Hijack City is not my friend. At least until Seattle remarries.

Bill’s wrong here. It’s more like what happened in Gone Baby Gone. (If you haven’t seen Gone Baby Gone, stop reading and do it. It’s good. Plus, I’m about to spoil it.) The ending to that movie caused instant debate among friends. You had Group A (Oklahoma City) that thought the little girl was better off staying with her new parents even though they stole her. Morgan Freeman was going to be able to give her everything Amy Ryan couldn’t. She would be loved, cherished and even spoiled at times. She’d have a nice house, nice clothes and grow up happy and healthy. Her new parents would give her attention and love and have everything she deserved.

But you had Group B (Seattle) that thought the little girl should stay with her rightful mother. She birthed her, she raised her and no matter how terrible of a mother she is, it’s her daughter dadgumit! So what that she lived in a cramped apartment and it was a mess all the time. And so what that the mother was a crack addict that ignored her baby and went out on dates with strange men. She gave birth to her and that’s that. Doesn’t matter if she left her at home by herself while she went out and got high. She came from her, so she can’t go anywhere, no matter what the situation. Read more…

Other

Evidently, there’s some big comic book movie coming out today. The only way you wouldn’t know that is if you were trapped in a coffin the past month.

How D.J. White is dealing with his lost season: “The three-inch scar on the left side of D.J. White’s neck, nestled just below his swollen jaw, might someday fade away. For now, the mark left by the doctor’s incision serves as a daily reminder of the Thunder forward’s lost rookie season. White, the 29th overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft, has been sidelined all season after undergoing surgery to remove a benign growth in his jaw. And with 21 games remaining, it’s beginning to look like White will miss the entire year, turning what should have been a dream come true into an unimaginable nightmare. White has a doctor’s appointment scheduled for March 16. Only then will he know if he’ll be cleared to resume full-contact practice and possibly be able to join his Thunder teammates for the home stretch.”

Kevin Durant checks in at No. 4 in the NBA’s plays of the week with his ridiculous double-cross on Josh Howard.

I’ve been avoiding the NBA financial situation because frankly, I just don’t want to think about it, but Shoals writes a really interesting piece about five signs of the NBA Apocolyspe: “Granted, some version of these dire pronouncements has been with us since last summer. But seeing them together all at once, with little or no mitigation, or appreciation for the finer points of, say, Detroit’s search for a new identity, did what it was supposed to do: Scare me and make me believe that really, anything could happen in the NBA as the economy continues to bring us all down to our knees. With that in mind — or rather, going on the possibility that I’m missing the forest for the trees — here are Five Signs of the NBA Apocalypse we should all watch for. Or expect, if you’re the WSJ:” Read more…

Other

I know when Sam Presti signed Nenad Krstic, I was one of many that were pretty excited about it. At the time, the team was 3-and-freaking-29 and things weren’t looking good. Help was needed everywhere and Krstic seemed like a start.

It’s probably more coincidental than anything else, but since Krstic offically became a Thunder-er Dec. 31, the team is 13-16 (though he didn’t actually play a game until Jan. 7 against Minnesota in a huge blowout loss). He averaged 8.8 points per game and 5.5 rebounds per game in about 22 minutes a game in January. In February, his minutes went up to 26 a game and he averaged 8.3 ppg and 5.4 rpg. But so far in March (two games albeit), he’s averaging 22 points and 5.0 rebounds a game and has led the Thunder in scoring the last two.

I think more than anything, the change is in his confidence. With Kevin Durant and Jeff Green both out for the Dallas game, somebody had to elevate their game. And Krispy was the man. But it even started last Friday against Dallas when Durant first went out. Krstic was 5-11 from the field for 10 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Then against Memphis he was 5-8 from the field for 10 points. He took up the cause and stepped up in big spots for the team.

And from what I can tell, he’s not doing anything that much different. He’s still taking a majority of jump shots, but now he’s making a really high percentage of them. Against Washington last night he showed off a couple of nice post moves including a sweet baseline spin that resulted in the game’s first bucket. But really he’s just getting the same solid looks he was getting before but now he’s very decisive in his shot with no hesitation. He catches, sets and shoots. No thinking and no second guessing. Just swish. Read more…

Other

I joined Jason Smith on ESPN’s NBA Today podcast to talk about the three-game win streak and the Tyson Chandler deal that wasn’t. I’m on at about 8:30. And I must say, I sound pretty stinking good.

Kevin Pelton of Basketball Prospectus with a really interesting piece looking at close losses: “Oklahoma City’s bad luck in last-second finishes is no surprise to anyone who has followed the Thunder this season. Time and again, Oklahoma City has been done in by buzzer beaters, including multiple occasions where Kevin Durant has scored to put the Thunder ahead in the closing seconds only to see an opponent match his shot. In fact, Oklahoma City’s futility in close games is historic. No other team in the sample has won less than 25 percent of its close games. Presumably, things will even out to some extent the rest of the way.”

Scott Brooks took a little exception Mark Cuban’s comments and he had a response: “Thunder coach Scott Brooks’ response: “I understand Dallas is a very talented team, and they might have had an off night. They can say whatever they want to say. But we played aggressive, hard, physical, good basketball with two of our better players out.”

The Lost Ogle has ideas with what Oklahoma can do with its $2.5 billion from Obama’s stimulus package: “There is a conspiracy theory being bandied about among NBA fans that there was a nefarious reason behind the Thunder rescinding their trade with the New Orleans Hornets.  For those who have forgotten, the Thunder were to receive Tyson Chandler, a borderline all-star center, in return for two guys who can’t make it into the rotation for the Thunder and a second round pick who probably never would have made the team.  That’s what you call an unbalanced trade … With the stimulus money to back it up, though, one has to wonder if Thunder GM Sam Presti could find a loophole to un-rescind the trade.” Read more…

Bolts

Yesterday we won a game. If we win today that’s two in a row. If we win tomorrow that’s called a winning streak. It has happened before. – Major League II

So what happens when you when three in a row? Do you get anything special, like a prize?

Can you believe after only having three wins TOTAL on Dec. 31, that the team has now won three straight? That’s totally awesome. My how far they’ve come.

Here’s a key stat from tonight’s 88-83 win over Washington to keep in mind: The last seven minutes of the game, the Thunder held Washington to 1 of 12 from the floor.

That’s what OKC did for a third straight game – defense. Just great, total team defense. And you know, total team basketball is a beautiful thing. Every OKC starter was in double-figures tonight with lines of 12, 12, 15, 12 and 18. That’s pretty unbelievable. Nenad Krstic led the way with his 18, but talk about doing it together.

We’ve talked about how this was a big opportunity for this team to become a full functioning unit instead of a couple studs and some scraps. And Kevin Durant and Jeff Green are the type of guys character-wise that should be able to jump right back into it but now will be playing with Kyle Weaver  that’s playing with confidence and a Nenad Krstic that’s got confidence and is playing how we hoped and a Thabo Sefolosha that is an absolute defensive stopper and a bench that feels like it can contribute. These are big, big things going forward into next season.

Two guys really stand out with big performances (and that’s with nine guys playing pretty well): Nick Collison and Thabo. Collison did a the little things – got on the floor, tipped balls and finished plays. He scored 12 points (5-5) from the field and grabbed 10 boards, but had two major plays down the stretch. The first was when he got on the floor and dug the ball out giving OKC possession. The next was grabbing an airball in traffic that resulted in the game-sealing bucket. Read more…

Recap Washington Wizards

vs.

Washington Wizards (14-46, 4-24 road) vs. Thunder (15-45, 11-20 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 7:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.8 (28th), Washington: 104.8 (25th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.9 (21st), Washington: 113.1 (29th)
Pace: Thunder: 93.9 (8th), Washington: 90.2 (21st)

A little ironic that the Thunder could pull of their first three-game winning streak without their star. But before we get rolling with Kevin Durant and The Ewing Theory, let’s remember the opponents for two of them and remember the effort for the other. And realize this could be for four straight if he hadn’t gotten hurt against Dallas last Friday.

But tonight’s game is far from in the bag. Strange how even without Durant and possibly no Jeff Green (still listed as questionable), you can go in feeling really confident. But just like Monday, they’re going to go ahead and play the game. Read more…

Preview

It seems like it’s becoming a bit of a monthly deal around here to recap Russell Westbrook’s last month and compare it to other rookie studs. One trend we’re seeing with Russell is that it seems he’s improving statistically every month, which is something you can’t really say about the two other rookie studs he’s in the ROY race with.

Westbrook
November: 12.1 ppg 4.1 apg, 3.3 rpg, 2.5 turnovers per game
December: 15.5 ppg, 5.1 apg, 5.1 rpg, 4.0 tpg
January: 16.5 ppg, 5.5 ap,g 4.9 rpg, 2.7 tpg
February: 20.6 ppg, 5.9 apg, 6.1 rpg, 3.9 tpg

Rose
November: 18.9 ppg, 6.1 apg, 4.1 rpg, 2.6 tpg
December: 16.3 ppg, 6.2 apg, 3.1 rpg, 2.8 tpg
January: 15.3 ppg, 6.8 apg, 3.3 rpg, 2.4 tpg
February:15.8 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.0 rpg, 2.3 tpg

Mayo
November: 23.1 ppg, 2.3 apg, 4.5 rpg, 2.5 tpg
December: 17.7 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.6 rpg, 2.9 tpg
January: 17.1 ppg, 2.2 apg, 3.8 rpg, 2.8 tpg
February: 19.7 ppg, 3.6 apg, 4.8 rpg, 3.0 tpg

Rose seems to be leveling off and Mayo improved some in February, but Westbrook is steadily rising – which makes sense because he’s playing a new position so each night he gets better at it. And a game like Monday night’s against Dallas shows how far Russell has come. He made everyone on the floor better that night. Sure he had the attractive triple-double, but he played smart and played really well. That jumpshot is coming and coming. Don’t worry about it. Just think about what it will be like when he starts hitting it consistently. He’s already far better with it than he was in November. Read more…

Commentary

KD won’t play tonight, but he could this weekend: “The Oklahoma City Thunder could have leading scorer Kevin Durant back in the lineup by the weekend. The second-year forward was off crutches and walking with only a slight limp during Monday’s 96-87 victory over the Dallas Mavericks. Durant was expected to miss seven to 14 days after suffering a severely sprained right ankle in Dallas on Friday. “It’s definitely improving,” Oklahoma coach Scott Brooks told The Oklahoman. “Young guys’ bodies heal a lot quicker than older guys.” Durant will not play Wednesday against Washington, meaning the earliest he could return would be Saturday at New Orleans.”

SI writers discuss awards, including Rookie of the Year and Most Improved: “This is a close one between Rose and Mayo, and Oklahoma City’s Russell Westbrook is closing strong. But from the beginning of the season, it was Rose’s task to lead the Bulls, and he has done so in an efficient and mature fashion … I struggle with this award. You don’t necessarily want to reward a player who had a bad season and comes up with a pretty good one the following year. And you almost never have a young player because he needs a track record to establish a baseline. Nevertheless, I’m going with second-year player Kevin Durant, who has expanded his game and showed a lot of leadership in getting the Thunder back on track.”

And Russell has taken over the SI rookie rankings top spot: “Hours after being named Western Conference’s Rookie of the Month for February, the point guard got a jump on the March race. With starting forwards Kevin Durant and Jeff Green sidelined by injury, Westbrook had 17 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in 41 minutes in Oklahoma City’s 96-87 victory against Dallas on Monday. “Russell did a good job of making guys better,” Thunder coach Scott Brooks told The Oklahoman after Westbrook’s first career triple-double. “He’s learning how to play a position, and he’s doing a great job. He’s improving month to month. I don’t look at Russell game to game. I look at him in bigger chunks. … He’s improved every month, and we all see that.” Read more…

Bolts

When the Chris Wilcox/Malik Rose trade first happened, it ranked up there in things I don’t understand right next to why the ShamWow guy wears a headset and math. But after two small cameos, it’s already clear that this deal makes total sense.

No, Rose is not going to be a substantial, long-term contributor. He’s 34 and his contract is up this year and that’s his main value. His stint with OKC will probably last just 22 more games, but his immediate impact is being felt. He’s doing things Chris Wilcox rarely ever did.

While he doesn’t catch alley-oops and fly through the air throwing down jams, he does the dirty work – the little things absolutely necessary to win. Rose provides physical, low-post defense. He’s grinds in the post, is a boulder for any cutter that tries to skip through the lane and never takes a possession off. Read more…

Commentary Malik Rose, Robert Swift

Russell Westbrook wins second rookie of the month honor: “Westbrook ranked first among rookies in scoring for the month (20.6 ppg), second in assists (5.9 apg), fifth in rebounds (6.1 rpg) and fourth in double-doubles (2). In addition, Westbrook scored 20 or more points six times and 30 or more points three times. On Feb. 1, Westbrook had a career-high 34 points at Sacramento including a career-high 20 free throws made and on Feb. 21, had a career-high 13 field goals at Golden State.”

Remember that whole Ricky Rubio is likely to enter the draft this year? Yeah, nevermind: “[Coby] Karl, who shares the same agent as Rubio, told his dad that Rubio likely won’t enter the NBA draft until 2010, and Pau Gasol, the Spanish legend and Lakers center, concurred (multiple mock drafts have Rubio in the top two for 2010).”

Marc Stein breaks down the second trimester award winners: “Most Improved, Kevin Durant: He won’t win this award. He won’t (and shouldn’t) even be eligible for this award at season’s end. But no one in the NBA has improved during the past 27 (or so) games more than Durant. The reigning ROY has averaged 33.1 points per game in February alone, along with 6.7 rebounds and 3.9 assists, entering Friday’s visit to Dallas. He’s flourishing in his move to small forward under new coach Scotty Brooks for a team that was very respectable in its first 20-ish games of 2009 before some recent slippage.” Read more…

Bolts

That folks, was quite a win.

Everything was fantastic. Every. Thing. The defense. The offense. The rebounding. The coaching. The late game execution. The crowd. Just everything about tonight’s 96-87 win over the Mavs was fantastic.

As we all knew before the game, it was going to take a total team effort to win this one. And that’s exactly what happened. Look at the lines here: 26, 18, 17, 15 for Nenad Krstic, Kyle Weaver, Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha. Add in solid minutes off the bench from Malik Rose, Robert Swift and Damien Wilkins and you’ve got an entire group effort. And that was just offensively.

We all also knew that OKC was going to have to play great defense to hang in there. And again, that’s exactly what happened. Almost every Dallas shot was contested. The Thunder had seven steals. The rotations were crisp and right on the money. The help and recover defense was awesome. The Mavs shot 42 percent from the field, were 7-24 from three and Dirk – who had torched the Thunder for 87 in the first two games – was held scoreless in the third and had “just” 28. But subtract that and Jason Terry’s 20 and Dallas had just 39 on 40 shots from everywhere else. Dirk and Terry took 40 between them. In other words, not a total team effort. Read more…

Recap Dallas Mavericks

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Dallas Mavericks (14-15 road) vs. OKC Thunder (14-45, 10-20 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722) OR NBA TV (Cox 256)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 7:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder: 103.7 (28th), Mavericks: 109.0 (10th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 110.1 (22nd), Mavericks: 107.1 (13th)
Pace: Thunder: 94.0 (7th), Mavericks: 92.0 (14th)

These two teams locked up just three nights ago so there’s really not a whole lot new to talk about. Except Kevin Durant is still out. And now Jeff Green is too. And Robert Swift played a little for the first time in over a month Saturday. And Jason Terry is back for the Mavs. But other than that, it’s pretty much the same matchup.

Nick Collison will be replacing Green in the starting lineup, so the OKC first five will likely be Westbrook, Weaver, Sefolosha, Collison and Krstic. And off the bench the Thunder’s got Robert Swift who played some decent minutes Saturday, Earl Watson, Malik Rose, Rumble and Chucky Atkins. Yikes. Read more…

Preview Dallas Mavericks

In case you haven’t heard, Joe Smith was waived this weekend: “Good teams seem to want Joe Smith. The veteran forward and the Oklahoma City Thunder reached agreement on a buyout of his contract on Sunday, and The Clevaland Plain Dealer reported that the Cavaliers will try to sign him immediately after he clears waivers.”

And in case you haven’t heard again, KD will be out 7-14 days with an ankle sprain: “Durant is expected to miss seven to 14 days after rolling his right ankle in Friday’s game at Dallas when he stepped on the foot of Mavs forward Josh Howard while driving to the basket with 7:13 left in the first quarter. He remained in the game for about three minutes before walking off the court with a limp. Team officials said X-rays taken on Durant’s foot were negative, but Durant wore a protective boot on his right foot and walked with the aid of crutches following the Thunder’s 110-108 overtime loss.”

It’s looking likely that Ricky Rubio will enter the draft: “Rubio’s position in the top three is significant for one big reason: “He has a huge buyout from his team in Spain. To afford the buyout, he really needs to be a top-three pick. Publicly, the mood has been pessimistic that Rubio would be in this draft, with a series of international stories claiming Rubio is staying overseas and other draft sites pulling him from their 2009 mock drafts. Privately, his agent, Dan Fegan, has been working on this for months, and we’ve been getting the same signals all along: Rubio is entering this year’s draft. Rubio still needs to work on his jumper and get stronger, but his floor leadership and energy are just remarkable. He’s a special playmaker.” Read more…

Bolts

Last night’s scrappy victory over the Grizzlies on the road put an end to the month of February in the Thunder’s innagural season.  By most standards it was a rough month for our guys; 3 wins out of 12 games. It was a definite let down after  the Thunder’s first winning month of January, where the team seemed to pull it all together and go 7-7.

What happened in February that made it so bleak when there was so much success in January? The simple answer is that the level of competition increased. Read more…

Commentary