This isn’t your ordinary profile page headshot. This one’s got some swag. Maybe it’s common, but I’ve never seen a mugshot like that for a player. It doesn’t look an NBA player page, it looks like a Facebook profile pic. So what’s the deal? CBS’s website has a nice mug of Mr. Iblocka. NBA.com just doesn’t have a picture. Neither does Fox Sports. Sports Illustrated has no picture, but his number is wrong as well as his age. I guess they don’t call Ibaka “The Secret” for nothing. Why am I posting this? Because it’s a slow day, that’s why.
But the real question is, should we be worried that Ibaka will sign with the Knicks in 2014 when he’s eligible for free agency? We should, right Cleveland fans?
The Oklahoma City Thunder waived guard Tre Kelley it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manger Sam Presti. Kelley appeared in three games this preseason for Oklahoma City, averaging 1.3 points and 1.0 assist in 7.0 minutes per contest.
That leaves Oklahoma City’s roster at 17. Let’s face it, we all knew he didn’t have a shot and it’s pretty unlikely Michael Ruffin, Mike Harris or Ryan Bowen do either (unless they are just AMAZING practice players). Just one preseason game left and I imagine the remaining three non-roster guys will get some decent playing time, especially since they really haven’t seen much the last week or so.
Kevin Pelton ranks the top 10 under the radar prospects: ”D.J. White, Oklahoma City – N/A (18.3 mpg, .599 Win%) As a rookie, White barely got a chance to play. A pair of surgeries to remove a benign growth from his jaw limited White to 130 minutes of NBA action. In that span, White did reinforce the notion drawn from his college stats that he is ready to contribute off the bench right away. Think Paul Millsap (a past member of the Diamond Rating list) or Carl Landry, at least a light version. The only concern about White is the battle for playing time in the Thunder frontcourt, with Nick Collison, Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic already established and rookie Serge Ibaka making a case for minutes with his preseason performance.”
Britt Robson of SI writes about the difficulty for young centers: “Compare that with the fact that only two centers were drafted in the first round this year — Memphis’ Hasheem Thabeet at No. 2 and Oklahoma City’s B.J. Mullens at No. 24 — and both are considered longer-term projects. Landing a big man who can immediately master the intricacies of his position in the low block — now that’s tough.” Read more…
One thing that’s nice about preseason is that your team can play an absolutely horrid game, yet you can sit back and say how it didn’t matter and then point out some positives. And that’s exactly what I plan on doing. The Thunder got walloped in Austin, 119-102, but it was a competitive first 21 minutes though OKC got completely run the last 27. It was 53-50 with 2:55 remaining in the first half. Then San Antonio went on to outscore the Thunder 66 to 52, and had stretched the lead out to 28 at one point.
But hey, it doesn’t matter! It’s just preseason and it doesn’t count! Which is good because I’d really like to forget that I watched that second half. And while the Thunder played some seriously sloppy defense throughout the game, it’s tough to defend against a team that hits 14-19 on 3-pointers (11-14 in the first half) and hits 58 percent from the floor. Some of that were the pathetic closeouts and bad rotations on the defensive end by OKC, but some of it was just deadeye shooting by the Spurs. Read more…
Second to last. This is the second to last warmup game before the real deal. By that token alone, I’m excited about this game.
It’s also Kevin Durant’s homecoming and Scott Brooks said KD would play more minutes tonight. Even though Durant went to that “school” down south, I’m happy for him and I’m sure he’s going to really enjoy being back there. He got a little misty when his jersey was raised to the rafters last spring and I’m sure he’ll feel similar emotions tonight while his name gets chanted all night. So good for him. Read more…
Today has been declared Kevin Durant Day in Austin. Safe to say, KD is excited to return to Austin: ”It’s a love affair rarely seen between school and one-and-done stars like Durant. Making it even more extraordinary is the love goes both ways. With no morning shoot-around scheduled for Tuesday after tonight’s game in Houston, Durant will have all day to catch up with old friends. “I’m going to the gym to see the guys,” Durant said. “I’ll go see the people in academics. Go to the basketball office. I just might carry my game clothes to the gym because I might be there for the whole day.”
Dime previews the Thunder: “Everybody loves what OKC is doing — even a bitter Sonics fan has to admit they’ve got a nice foundation in place and seem to have found a winning formula based on patience and smart spending.” Read more…
The Thunder looked like a much improved team if you just judged the game by the first quarter, or even the first half. Unfortunately the second half was pretty much just yucky preseason ball. The Thunder dropped 33 points on a good Houston defense in the first quarter shooting 54%. They were hitting the boards and hanging on to the ball. They also allowed 33 on the strength of Houston’s 4/5 shooting from the three point line. It looked like a shootout.
Both teams had a tougher time scoring in the second quarter and the Thunder were in the penalty with their sixth foul by three minutes into the quarter. Houston didn’t really make us pay for it though by missing a third of their free throws.
The third quarter was just difficult to watch with the Thunder shooting a very stinky 4/19 (26%) and had 5 turns. Meanwhile Houston re-found it’s stroke and put 26 points on the board. By early in the fourth Coach Brooks began giving Tre Kelley some minutes at the point which seemed to be the ceremonial white flag of surrender.
But again, it’s just preseason and our regular rotations weren’t in use. Coach was definitely trying to force feed Ibaka’s offense, giving Mullens a few touches and Read more…
If there is anything to know about this game, it’s that Nick Collison is going to see his first preseason action tonight. The Thunder has struggled slightly on the glass with him out thus far, so hopefully with him back he can help right that. OKC was one of the better rebounding teams last season and Collison was a big part of that in his time off the bench. Read more…
A Detroit Shock official says the WNBA team is moving to Tulsa, Okla. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to The Associated Press on Monday because he was not authorized to make the announcement.
Detroit made its debut in the league in 1998 and won titles in 2008, 2006 and 2003. The Shock lost last month to the Indiana Fever in the Eastern Conference finals after rallying to earn a playoff spot.
Good for Tulsa I guess. I have absolutely no interest in the WNBA and likely will soon forget there is even a team there, but that’s cool for them if they wanted it. So now we’ve pulled basketball teams from two different cities in two different leagues. Oklahoma: The Land of Relocation.
First and foremost, U2 was fairly amazing last night. I had no idea what to expect and wasn’t even planning on going until about an hour before. But we went, got excellent seats and enjoyed the heck out of the two-plus hour show. The stage was… incredible.
NBA assistant director of scouting, Ryan Blake, breaks down the rookie class: “Another guy I see making a major impact is James Harden. I’m really high on this kid. I think he’s going to be able to not only put numbers up on the board, but he makes other players better. I think he’ll be that combo guard as well. He’s going to be able to get the ball to the right people’s hands, he’s going to D up. He’s going to get inside and really be versatile and command a lot of attention and hopefully open up it up for other players on that young talented team.”
Darnell Mayberry writes about the Thunder’s tweeting habits: ”Half the Thunder’s roster has active Twitter accounts. Kevin Durant owns bragging rights with more than 75,000 followers. The team’s mascot, Rumble the Bison, even has an account. The furry creature doesn’t talk but does of course tweet. Some players use it as a free marketing tool. Others use it to stay connected. For many, it’s just quick, clean fun. By following Green’s updates, fans can learn little details they can only get from him. For example, did you know Green enjoys relaxing pedicures? Or that the 23-year-old is perfectly content with a night at home watching the Disney classic “Aladdin?”" Read more…
Something we don’t discuss too much on this site is the performance of Scott Brooks as head coach of the Thunder. I think most would be of the opinion that it’s much too early to form opinions about Brooks’ ability to steer the team going forward, having only 69 games to prove himself. But the opinions will begin to be formed during this upcoming season.
We all know he says the right things, and that he seems to be genuinely well liked by just about everyone. He seemed to be level headed yet passionate on the sidelines and I never really thought he was completely outcoached at any point last year (like I often did the previous season and early in ’08 under Pajamas Carlesimo). For me, a real defining time for Brooks came in late February when Kevin Durant went down for 7 games and 4 of those were also without Jeff Green. The team went 5-2 during that stretch and almost overnight got the team to buy into a lockdown defensive mode. It was genius. Coach Brooks really showed me he could coach.
Coaches work in the offseason too. The OklahomanRead more…
This picture from Friday night’s Edmond Memorial game made me feel infinitely better after a rough day. I literally chuckle, if just for split second, every time I look at it. I’m just picturing some mom or dad handing KD their baby to hold for no reason. Just makes me giggle a little. Onward and upward with life.
(Happy day friends. Hope you’re enjoying your fall break. Thanks for your support of Daily Thunder. Isn’t there a football game today?)
Per Oklahoma state law, as a media member I must mention that the Red River game is today. So as my way of getting it done, let’s give it up to everyone’s favorite Whorn, Kevin Durant. He’s honestly the only person affiliated with Austin that I can say that I even remotely like. We all know who KD is rooting for today and that’s fine, but it’s good to know that he’s now with us and not against us.
Throughout the week some of you drop some brilliant or at least somewhat thoughtful comments and so this is a try at highlighting some of them. Disclaimer: It’s not that I necessarily agree with all of them, but they were interesting and for the most part, well put. Consider everything [sic’d].
You’re telling me you wouldn’t rather have Yi Jianlian? (Keith): Can anyone name a single player drafted since 2007 they would rather have than Durant right now? Even with a wonky +/-, he’s easily better than everyone from his own draft class. Last year, the stiffest competition would be from Rose and Lopez, but Rose doesn’t defend either and Lopez’s team was only mediocre because of Harris and Carter. Perhaps Griffin could ultimately be as good, but we are a stellar rookie campaign and huge follow-up away from even thinking about the comparison. Read more…
Box Score
Something we don’t discuss too much on this site is the performance of Scott Brooks as head coach of the Thunder. I think most would be of the opinion that it’s much too early to form opinions about Brooks’ ability to steer the team going forward, having only 69 games to prove himself. But the opinions will begin to be formed during this upcoming season.
