Make that 3-1 in Summer League play everybody. Are we going to get a trophy for this?
I can’t say enough about Serge Ibaka (15 points on 5-8 shooting, two rebounds, two blocks). We knew he was athletic but he really runs the floor well. Russell Westbrook dropped a sweet assist on The Big Congo and Ibaka flushed it with authority without missing a step. He also had two monster rejections and showcased three or four sweet post moves, including a nice little baby hook in the third quarter. I really think Ibaka has a good shot at making the opening night roster. Vegas will be big for him, but I’m sure he’s really impressed Thunder management.
Russell Westbrook had another fantastic game (19 points, nine assists) and one thing about his seven turnovers – I think you can realistically cut them in half. A very good number of them just weren’t his fault. Teammates weren’t anticipating a pass, dropped it or gave it away before they secured it. Russ also hit a pretty three in the third quarter. And if you noticed on it, he was ready to shoot when he caught it. His feet were totally set, his body squared and he went straight up with it. No wasted movement, just a pure stroke. If he hits that shot this year, he’ll score 20 a night, easily. Oh yeah, and don’t forget about Westbrook’s back-down, turnaround fadeaway jumper. That was saweet. Read more…
Oklahoma City Thunder (2-1) vs. New Jersey/Philadelphia Scrapple (0-3) Time: 2 p.m. CST
Watch the game HERE!!!
Tony Meija hinted in an article on Tuesday that Russell Westbrook and D.J. White may sit out the last two days of action, so we may not see them today. But we don’t really know. James Harden sat the first half yesterday, but I’d imagine he’ll see a solid amount of playing time today as well as Serge Ibaka who didn’t play at all (he was just resting). And who knows if Shaun Livingston will dress as he sat Tuesday after playing Monday. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Kyle Weaver played much, much better yesterday scoring 12. He asserted himself and played point guard for a lot of the day. He’s desperately trying to develop a consistent 3-point shot, but for the most part, he’s just taken forced threes. Robert Vaden went 1-7 yesterday so I’m sure he’s aiming to come out and impress. And we can only hope that if Moses Ehambe gets in, he at least fouls someone or turns it over.
Chad Ford ranks the summer for each team (Insider): “The Thunder are the “it” team among NBA junkies, who have a crush on Sam Presti for quickly turning a bad team into the best young team in the league. Kevin Durant is a superstar in the making. Russell Westbrook could be special. And Harden is a nice addition — a savvy guard with an old-school game who will be fine playing third fiddle to Durant and Westbrook. If you factor in that last year’s other draft pick, Serge Ibaka, has been looking pretty good in summer league, and that Mullens has enormous potential, the Thunder appear to be bursting at the seams with talent.”
The Blazers are planning to make a “generous offer” to Paul Millsap: “After a series of trades fell through this week, the Trail Blazers have settled on their next target: Utah power forward Paul Millsap. Although Millsap is a restricted free agent, meaning the Jazz can match any offer, the Blazers are preparing what one source called a “toxic” offer designed to exterminate interest from other teams.”
The Cavs will re-sign Varejao: “Cleveland is committing to Anderson Varejao long term. Sporting News’ Sean Deveney has learned Cleveland agreed to a six-year, $50 million contract with the free agent forward after passing on several sign-and-trade proposals. Deveney also reports the Cavs likely will make Varejao their starting power forward, giving them a frontcourt of Varejao, LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal.” Read more…
Another fantastic game. And by fantastic, well, I think you know what I mean.
The Thunder mixed it up today with a different starting lineup and a lot of the non-roster guys saw a lot more playing time. The starting five were Westbrook, Vaden, Livingston, D.J. White and DeVon Hardin. Livingston was back and looked great after sitting yesterday’s game and Kyle Weaver (12 points, 4-5 from the floor) asserted himself much more and was far more aggressive on the offensive end. I actually noticed him today.
James Harden didn’t play at all in the first half but came on in the second to score nine points and on 2-4 shooting. He also had three terrific passes in a short time span, including one beautiful bounce pass to D.J. White for a dunk. Harden’s vision and feel for where his teammates are is just awesome. When Westbrook flies through the lane and goes airborne I get the feeling he’s on the way down and thinks, “Oh crap, where do I go with this?” Harden on the other hand is seeing where he could go with it as he’s slashing through the lane and before he takes off.
Westbrook today though, was excellent again. He may have had four turnovers, but I only can remember one being his fault. Three times a perfect pass went through a teammates hands (I’m talking to you, Byron Nelson Mullens). Russ scored 26 (9-16 shooting!), tossed out five assists, had four rebounds and had five steals and appeared completely in control for the full game. He never really had a bad stretch of poor decisions. One play that stuck out to me: On a fast break, Westbrook had the opportunity to go 1-on-2 or pull-out. He went ahead and took on the two defenders, but didn’t attack the rim recklessly without a Plan B. He took his time, drew both defenders and dropped off a beauty to D.J. White for a dunk. Read more…
Oklahoma City Thunder (1-1) vs. Boston Celtics (1-1) Time: 4 p.m. CST
Watch it HERE.
Here we are at hump day of the Orlando Summer League. Probably right about now Russell Westbrook is saying, “Ugh… just three more days of this.” Yesterday there was some more encouraging play out of Serge Ibaka and James Harden, and Westbrook did better shooting and distributing, despite five turnovers.
Of course the highlight today will be Oklahoma City taking on former Thunder great Robert Swift. I actually considered flying down to Orlando just so I could see it in person. I would be thrilled if Serge/D.J. /Byron could throw one down on Big Robert. And I would cry if the opposite scenario happened.
It’s the dynamic duo of Mike Sweetney and Robert Swift vs. the twin towers of Byron Mullens and Kyle Hines. The NBA on TN– I mean the Internet! Where Summer League Happens.
A great story about Serge Ibaka and how he’s catching people’s attention: “Through two days at the Orlando Pro Summer League, Congo native Serge Ibaka has gained a lot of admirers. Whisperers are circulating about how Oklahoma City managed to pick up on a unique 6-foot-10, 19-year-old lottery-level talent under everybody’s nose, especially given the enviable stockpile of young skill players the Thunder have managed to draft over the past few years.”
Joe whipped up a few numbers on Harden: “I just did a quick calculation. Our offensive rating was 107, our defensive rating was 107.7. Harden is like a man among boys. His two game averages are: 28.9 minutes, (54.5%,)(44%),(80%) 4.5 rebs, 2 ass., 2.5 pf, 1 steal, 2 turns, .5 block, 18 ppg. That’s an eFG% of 63.6%. I know these games are somewhat meaningless, but it’s great to see how well he does a little bit of everything, including putting the ball in the basket efficiently, which is why most of us were so high on him, and why I think he will really help the team.”
Oklahoma City’s city council approved the new practice facility set to open in 2010: “The city council approved final plans for the project Tuesday. The council also awarded a multitude of contracts for pieces of a $100 million renovation of the Ford Center to bring it to NBA standards. The practice facility will be located near Britton Road and the Broadway Extension. It will include practice courts, locker rooms, a strength and conditioning area, sports medicine area, team offices and storage areas along with furniture, fixtures and equipment.” Read more…
Indiana beat Oklahoma City 91-88 on some stupid Summer League technicality, but that’s not really important. Some life-changing thoughts about the game…
James Harden has so much control of his body it’s ridiculous. It’s very Manu-like, but he doesn’t fall backward when he attacks like Manu does. It’s more straightforward like Brandon Roy and he always gives himself a chance to put a shot up on the rim. Harden could be the ideal iso player late in games and between him and Westbrook, OKC may shoot 200 free throws a game. Harden was excellent again today (19 points on 6-13 shooting), hitting a couple open threes and also passing the ball extremely well. I haven’t been able to get a good read on him defensively, but the fact that I haven’t noticed him all that much on that end of the floor is probably a good thing. He did get his hands on a couple passes and showed some nice anticipation though.
B.J. Mullens’ jumper looked incredibly good – for about a quarter. He swished a beautiful turnaround jumper then nailed a nice 18-footer, but then came up completely empty on a post jump hook and badly bricked a couple jumpshots after that. But hey, you can’t hit them all. One thing that’s becoming painfully obvious about Mullens besides the lack of a post-up game is his defense. Roy Hibbert absolutely had his way with him (24 points, eight rebounds). He’s slow on the rotations and he gets bullied in the post. He’s got to get stronger and he’s got to get tougher if he wants to bang with elite NBA bigs. Read more…
Oklahoma City Thunder (1-0) vs. Indiana Pacers (1-0) Time: 6 p.m.
Watch the game live here.
One incredibly obvious thing that I’m sure we all know but yet I’m still going to point out: We can’t get too worked up either way about anything from these games. Russell Westbrook struggled at times, Serge Ibaka looked really good and Robert Vaden didn’t play hardly at all. But it’s just one Summer League game.
I was certainly impressed with Harden’s skill and assertiveness on the court, but I’m not ready to say he’s an All-Star. What if he goes 2-10 with six turnovers today? You just have to keep it all in the proper perspective. I hope to see Russ a little more in control today, but it’s not like he played bad yesterday. Playing with mainly guys that aren’t exactly “pros” yet, he still put up 22 points and nine assists and while he had four turnovers, three of those were in the first half.
I think Westbrook will be entirely shut down at some point, and I have a feeling he’ll play a little less today. But I hope to see him a little more adjusted to his teammates and to turn it over and be in control of both himself and the game a little better. And I want to see Serge Ibaka dunk on someone’s face.
Ah, feels good to be 1-0. I hope this isn’t the only time it happens this year.
James Harden is on Twitter though he’s not exactly the most active Twitterer out there. He’s got three updates, all from draft night/the day after. I think Shaq needs to hold a rookie Twitter seminar where he teaches players how to properly do this. I don’t think Russell Westbrook has it figured out either. The majority of his posts are, “Watssss goooooooood,” or “bout to workout.” Maybe Nick Collison can give them all a hand this season.
The Shaun Livingston story gets more amazing by the day. Tim Potvak of Fanhouse has a nice story on him: “He may never be the player he once was projected to be, but just seeing him on the court moving well again should be an inspiration to anyone trying to return from an injury.”I’m not a success story yet,” he said after his seven-point, six assist performance in a Thunder victory over the Magic Monday. “But I will be.”
Tony Meija reporting for the Oklahoman: “It’s huge for [Westbrook] to come out here and be dominant,” Thunder summer league coach Brian Keefe said. “Without Kevin (Durant) and Jeff (Green) here, it’s important for him to assert himself, continue to be more vocal and really lead a lot of these young guys. We know he’s got a tremendous work ethic and great upside. But it’s the confidence that we’re looking for out of him that this next week will most help with.” Read more…
One thing to point out before we get started “breaking down” this game, is that these games are about as important as your cousin’s ultimate frisbee tournaments. The final score doesn’t matter (OKC WON 88-77: CHAMPIONSHIP!!!) and the players are rusty from not having played in two months. AND IT’S JUST THE SUMMER LEAGUE. But there are few things to take with you from this game because after all, the purpose of these leagues are for players to get better and management to evaluate players.
Keep in mind this is the summer league and the competition isn’t exactly top notch (as perfectly illustrated by Orlando’s rag-tag bunch). So keep all this in perspective.
The Thunder’s roster was basically made up of actual roster players. The Magic had a lot of scrub type guys, but OKC was playing guys that are actually going to be on the team this fall. That should show you just how young this team is. Also, no non-Thunder player made it into the game. DeVon Hardin saw just a few minutes of action, but basically the entire game was played by guys tied to Oklahoma City’s roster.
One thing we definitely learned about Serge Ibaka: He is not a myth. He actually exists. And he was much better than I anticipated in every way. I expected a raw, athletic talent with hardly any refined skills. His offensive game was much more polished and crisp than I expected (13 points on 6 of 8 shooting). I figured he’d be a “score by dunk only” kind of player. But the first bucket was scored by Serge on a nice drop step post move. He was really solid in the post. He’s also much quicker than I thought. A couple of times he caught the ball at the free throw line and was able to take two dribbles and get around his man en route to the basket. He also had a little jumper, which was something I didn’t see coming as he swished a nice 12-footer. He turned the ball over some, but honestly, that was to be expected. It’s his first game over here and I’m sure he was pressing some, but I was very impressed. Read more…
Oklahoma City’s first summer league game is today at 4 p.m. and like reader Lefty said in the comments, “It’s only like five weeks until college football, and I don’t even care, because we get to watch the NBA summer league this afternoon. How messed up have I become?” I hear that. Here I am waiting for four o’clock to roll around so I can watch me some summer league basketball. Dedicated fan or over-obsessed nutjob? You tell me.
But there are things to be excited about. I’m psyched to see James Harden in action and also to see Serge Ibaka for the first time. But there’s some other interesting names on the roster, most of which have as much chance to make it to fall camp as I do, but nevertheless, it should be fun to watch some basketball again.
Russell Westbrook (PG) – Thunder
We all know he’s good. But what kind of progress has he made so far this summer? He’s been working on his jumpshot and decision making this summer so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s made any progress. He’ll be one of the elite players in the league and it’s hard to say how much playing time he’ll get. But he’s not participating in the Vegas league, so I’m guessing anywhere between 20-25 minutes a game. He’ll probably be able to get just about anywhere he wants, but the main think to look for is for more consistency on his mid-range jumper, a better ability to finish around the rim and also if he seems to have more control of the offense with the ball in his hands.
Shaun Livingston (PG) – Thunder
Livingston’s play at the end of the year was extremely encouraging for Thunder fans and extremely discouraging for Earl Watson. If Livingston continues to progress, Watson may be left on the end of the bench next to trainer Joe Sharpe. What’ll be most interesting to watch is if Livingston’s side-to-side agility has improved any and if he looks even more comfortable on his knee than he did at the end of the year.
Serge Ibaka (PF) - Thunder/Ricoh Manresa
With news coming out that Ibaka is going to be on the Thunder roster next year regardless of what happens in Orlando, this week became a lot less important for him. But he’s still the most interesting player to watch this week. Really nobody has seen much of anything from Ibaka and he’s a major unknown. We don’t know what to expect from him. Shot blocking? Rebounding? Post game? Any semblance of a jumpshot? We know he can dunk, but can he play defense? His unreal athleticism and length get me giddy and I know when he’s on the court, my eyes are only going to be on him. Read more…
Just a few days after Jerry Brewer made us feel good about ourselves, Steve Kelley comes along and poops on our parade: “I’m not one of those people believing it is so sweet and nice Oklahoma City has a team. I think it’s a bad joke on the league. Oklahoma City still is a one-horse town that won’t sustain its love for the Thunder, won’t attract the upper echelon free agents and won’t be able to keep its own stars. I’m sure there are plenty of fine people in OKC, who enjoy their NBA team. Some even understand the game. But they should know that their team was built on the insults the Bennett ownership group hurled at Seattle.”
OKC to make an offer to Anderson Varejao?: “One rumor circulating is that Oklahoma City might make former Cavs forward/center Anderson Varejao an offer. That doesn’t add up. Sure, he would be a perfect fit for the emerging Thunder. But Thunder GM Sam Presti is best friends with Cavs GM Danny Ferry. They have a buddy-buddy system going strong, and the perception is Presti would not do anything to hurt Ferry’s team.”
Kevin Durant on James Harden: “I see him as a lot of guys,” Durant said. “Brandon Roy is one guy who comes to mind. Paul Pierce, the way he controls his body. He’s not the most athletic, quickest guy, but he’s sneaky athletic. He’ll dunk on you and uses his body very well.” After the pick-up game on Monday, Durant, Harden and other teammates went out to eat. “We got to bond with each other,” Durant said. “He’s a great guy. We’re getting started early. I can’t wait for the season to start.” Read more…
“The young player from Congo Serge Ibaka will leave for the NBA next season. The 18-year-old, who spent this season in Spain with Manresa, is to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder, which will have to pay the Catalan club 400 thousand Euros, as Ibaka has still two seasons left in his contract. The Thunder will have the 2.08m centre for the next four seasons for a total earning of around 4.5 million euros. Ibaka won the Spanish league’s dunk contest last year and averaged 7.1 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1 block in 31 games.”
The report comes from this article which appears to be much more credible, though I can’t read a word of it. But it appears that Ibaka will be on the roster for next year. Even more reason to believe the Thunder won’t do anything major in the free agent market this summer.
The Orlando Pro Summer League kicks off tomorrow (or today, depending on when you’re reading this) and a lot of folks have been wondering when and/or where they can see the Thunder’s summer squad play.
The league runs from the 6th to the 10th and the Thunder will play every day for a total of five games. The games will be four 10-minute quarters, halftime is just eight minutes and teams are allowed two 30-second timeouts per half. Also, players are allotted 10 personal fouls. I have no idea why. Anyway, here’s the schedule. All times CST.
Monday, July 6th
Oklahoma City vs. Orlando – 4 p.m
Tuesday, July 7th
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, July 8th
Oklahoma City vs. Boston – 4 p.m.
Thursday, July 9th
Oklahoma City vs. New Jersey/Philadelphia – 2 p.m.
Friday, July 10th
Utah vs. Oklahoma City – 10 a.m.
The Orlando Magic’s official site will be streaming every game, so you can see the games by clicking HERE. Box scores, game recaps and cumulative stats can also be found at the Magic’s official site. Also, winning matters about as much here as it does in your Saturday morning men’s league, so don’t take these games too seriously.
This is a feature done on Kevin Durant right before the start of last season, but this offseason is actually pretty similar for KD – going to class, working out and just kind of waiting on camp to start. If nothing else, this was enjoyable to watch just to see Durant with a backpack on going to class. And to laugh at that dude’s jumpshot.
Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Happy America Day. Go blow some stuff up.
crush on Sam Presti for quickly turning a bad team into the best young team in the league. Kevin Durant is a superstar in the making. Russell Westbrook could be special. And Harden is a nice addition — a savvy guard with an old-school game who will be fine playing third fiddle to Durant and Westbrook. If you factor in that last year’s other draft pick, Serge Ibaka, has been looking pretty good in summer league, and that Mullens has enormous potential, the Thunder appear to be bursting at the seams with talent.”
Summer League, Congo native Serge Ibaka has gained a lot of admirers. Whisperers are circulating about how Oklahoma City managed to pick up on a unique 6-foot-10, 19-year-old lottery-level talent under everybody’s nose, especially given the enviable stockpile of young skill players the Thunder have managed to draft over the past few years.”
parade
