Heat vs. Thunder: Preseason pre-game primer
vs. 
Miami Heat (0-3) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (1-2)
TV: Thunder TV – KSBI 52 (Cox 15, HD 715)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 AM Tulsa, Web Stream)
Time: 7:00 CST
View from the enemy: Hot Hot Hoops
Another preseason game. Sigh. HOWEVA, it’s at the new BOK Center, which is neat. I went up to the new arena a couple weeks ago for a concert and I was really impressed. Very nice. Hopefully events like this can begin to extend the Thunder brand more into Tulsa. It’s a slow process for this team to build a brand, but doing it in two nice sized markets will definitely benefit the team and especially its TV deals.
As for the game, my eyes are on No. 9 and No. 9 alone. He’s all I want to watch. When he gets the ball, in my mind he turns into that little league bench player that never scores. Shoot it! Shoooooot it! Come on, SHOOT IT! If we’re lucky, he’ll knock out a few light bulbs on the scoreboard with a monster rejection. Hopefully this all isn’t a preseason aberration and Sir Iblocka/Chewblocka/King Congo lets us all down. That would break my heart.
Another slightly interesting thing will be to take a peek at the progress of Michael Beasely. Supposedly, he’s be a beast in training camp and is set to light the league on fire. We’ll likely get a little look at that one way or the other tonight. Tonight will also feature a little more playing time for the non-roster guys like Michael Ruffin so we’ll have a look at them.
Tis a shame Tulsa and Boise State play at the same time as the game tonight. Hopefully it doesn’t hurt attendance either way. Tip at 7:00 CST. Go Golden Canes (and Michael Ruffin).
I’ll be catching both games on the web tonight!
I hope Serge is as good as we think he is.(The soda isn’t that great!jk)
I also want to see some smarter play from Harden.(fouls/shots taken)
also, is RW(Jet Zero) really this much better at PG?!! SWEET!!!
…baby steps…
I want to see Harden be a solid contributor. Right now he looks rather lost and apprehensive. If KD gives him a kickout in the regular season, I don’t want him to freeze up and miss. That’s not why he was drafted.
Also, more Russell! Averaging 9 apg in preseason has me giddy. I could care less if he only gets 10-15 points (mostly because I still don’t trust his shooting) so long as he makes everyone around him better.
I just heard that Superman threw out his Chuck Norris pj’s for some Serge Iabaka pj’s.
I can’t believe I just messed up his name. Ibaka!!! Damn it.
I think we’re expecting more out of Harden than is reasonable at this point in his career. It will take him most of the season to get comfortable with his new role.
Patience fans. Patience.
Can someone tell me where I can watch the game online tonight?
Damn, I gotta do this thing for some elementry kids tonight for the Army (no shame in recruiting elm school kids), so I won’t see the whole game until the rebroadcast latter tonight. I will follow the chat from my Blackberry tho, so make it good guys (I have a great imagination) so itks like I’m watching.
This site will change your life!
http://www.atdhe.net/
The Thunder isn’t listed right now, but I watched the last one on here.(along with a bunch of other games!!)
yea I think it may take some time for Harden to completly settle down. And my guess is he might be worthless for his first home game (due to our rowdy home court advantage HEHE) might be butterflies for the kid.
and dear, sweet lord.. PLEASE let me off of work in time to watch at least of the Preseason Serge Series pt 2.
@dork
KSBI usually rebroadcasts the games later that night. You might record a few hours in the middle of the night just in case. I know my dvr doesn’t list these preseason games. Or at least it didn’t earlier this week.
I hate Boise State.
Of course watching Chewie is a must, but I expect he has already earned himself at least a small spot in the regular rotation. My focus is going to be on Thomas and White. Lost in the “Ibakamania” from last game were Etan’s and DJ’s dismal performances. Considering his inexperience, I was only mildly disappointed in DJ. Still a pup. Just a pre-season game. I was actually a bit alarmed at how completely Thomas disappeared while on the floor. The guy looked nothing at all like the bruiser I was hoping for, and if we don’t see more from him soon, I’m hoping that Chewie gets ALL of the back-up minutes behind Krstic.
My brother is at this game, and I am so jealous. I dropped all my dough on the season-opener, though, so I can’t complain.
@Steve H
I also had high hopes for Thomas. There were a few instances when Thomas didn’t even try to rebound. The way he is playing now, I don’t see him on our roster next year. Hopefully I’m wrong.
On Monday, I really wanted to see the White that played against the Grizzlies. Last Wednesday he scored 16 points in 23 minutes. Hopefully he will be better tonight.
I was also disappointed with the few times where Harden and Livingston looked lost.
I hope I can find a way to watch online. I just hope someone is streaming it. Just can’t wait for the real season to start, until then I will play the Thunder on NBA 2k10
I think Thomas did ok for not having played in a couple of years. It takes old guys time to get readjusted after not playing for so long. He should be fine.
@Jax Raging Bile Duct
How dare you sir. Watching Live or Tv Live is the only way to watch!
If I recorded it I would have to activly not listen to news/television talk to any of my friends until after said game was watched. Not to mention stay off of the dailythunder.com… You should know self control is only in my vocabulary due to the incident involving a goat, segway, Neil Patrick Harris, and 3 gallons of Serge.
and I am never EVER sarcastic!
Man am I in a pickle… At 7:30 I’m doing yoga with a girl that is, well, worth doing yoga with. Damn my perpetual date-scheduling mishaps!!!
Does anyone know where I can pick up pair of TV glasses or something??
@Dai
So far I’ve seen enough from Livingston(both last year and summer league) that I am confident in his abilities as our back-up PG. Harden’s reviews have been so universally positive, I would be shocked if he fell short of being a solid back-up for Thabo (who looked pretty damned good the other night), if not a solid starter down the road. Thomas is the only real concern for me at this point- and hey, he was only picked up as a short term solution however he shakes out.
@Bryan
“Does anyone know where I can pick up pair of *X-ray glasses or something??”
Don’t worry I fixed that for ya. And your welcome
On a separate note, I hope to see several things tonight (if I get to watch the game).
More of the same from Westbrook, Ibaka and Green;
Solid defense by Durant on Beasley… and more of the same on offense;
A more relaxed Harden and Livingston;
More agression from Thomas and improved all-around play from White
@dork
HAHA!!!
Thanks, but if I can manage to ignore the fact that I’m missing Ibaka 2.0, then I shouldn’t need the x-ray glasses…if you know what I mean…lol
There is no way I’m missing yoga with this hottie for a preseason game… or any game short of the playoffs for that matter.
@Steve H
It was just rough to see them fumble around and blow that lead. I’m a big fan of Livingston just for the comeback alone. He just didn’t have his game together on Monday.
You are also right about Harden. He showed good potential during the Summer League. Hopefully Lucky will start smooching his hand again tonight.
@Cpt. C-Note
i checked the site before last game and it wasn’t on the listing…
does it show up right before the game? or is it under a different name?
I just ended up recording Matlock plus 2 hours.
Every time I check back on the site it has new/different games listed. (as they become available per streaming, I guess!)
Monday’s Thunder game wasn’t listed until after the tip!
Wanna watch Beasley?… wouldnt have anything to do with him being on your so called “best fantasy team”… would it?
I’ll be watching #9 as well as 0,22,and 13
I’m drinking the Koolaid so far though… I think a 20 game improvement is possible.
@ohknows
Sorry, didn’t read your post carefully. My post is N/A
Has anybody found a spot on the inter-webs where the game is streaming?
@Danny
I don’t see one sadly.
This looks like the Thunder team from last season. We just don’t match up well with the Heat. I do like the effort Thomas came with. Other than that we have looked pretty bad.
@Warren Really? I think Westbrook and Thabo both look a lot better than last year…Thabo actually has some offensive moves now and Westbrook looks a lot more like a PG. I think not playing well has more to do with these makeshift lineups…These preseason games are actually getting me excited about the season.
@Alex
I said that in the first half when the starters were playing. Yes Westbrook looks better this game. Not as well as he has played but still a better than last season. Thabo looks the same, just more confident. But still we were getting being out hustled and outplayed when I said that. The start of the game we looked like last years team.
Man, Westbrook is getting after it on defense tonight.
Did Ruffin really only play 8 minutes? It felt like centuries.
I like how both coaches are keeping the starters out there to finish. This is what our guys need.
Bummer about the link. I was sure someone woul broadcast it.
Good finish for our team.(with some help from the refs!!)
Happy with what I saw from Thomas. I think that squad on the floor at the end is going to be the unit that finishes- if not starts- most games. NICE D at the end by everybody.
Mullens was decent. Thomas played nicely in the 4th. The other starters were solid. Good game.
Sounds like I missed a good game!
I know that I’ve said it before but I think it needs repeating, Westbrook is playing like a PG but he’s acting like he’s pissed off at the world. Gone are the days of the trash talking and jokes. He hasn’t cracked a smile yet and seems dissatisfied. Last year, he seemed like the kind of guy you would walk right up to and expect to have a laugh with him. Now, I’d walk across the street in order to pass safely. What I’m trying to say is, Westbrook is new favorite player.
I painstakingly labored over that paragraph and rushed the last sentence. Insert “my” where it makes sense *face palm*
@Chas
He is pushing himself. That could be good or bad.