Comments on: Thunder 91, Pistons 83 – The “still undefeated” edition

By: Andy

Andy — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:41:57 +0000

I thought this was a great game defensively Russ had two huge blocks and Etan had one heck of a block on Ben Gordon and you could see the Pistons were frusturated when they couldn’t run their offense or they had to hoist up a shot from half court because we knocked the ball into their half of the court so I thought it was an outstanding game and effort by the Thunda!!!!

By: Tapdog72

Tapdog72 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:17:21 +0000

Kev :You shouldnt compare results – but I’m doing it anyway – New Orleans had to work to eke out a 5 point win over the Kings at home . . .

So you're saying that us beating Detroit, who beat Memphis, who beat Toronto, who beat Cleveland doesn't make us a lock for the playoffs? :)

By: Kev

Kev — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:30:59 +0000

Thabo wasn’t stellar, but his worst defensive game is better than what the others do on their best defensive day. Gordon is a hard draw for any defender – he’s just a flat out scorer. Harden was on Stuckey a lot, so he wasn’t exposed as much as he was in the opener . . .

By: donuteyes

donuteyes — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:24:33 +0000

Lefty : ...the Pistons would be GM, a once proud brand struggling to remake itself in the face of a changing competitive environment, and the Thunder would be WE MAKE GIANT HOMICIDAL FUTURISTIC ROBOTS, LLC, INCORPORATED, a mom-and-pop killer robot boutique.

best. analogy. ever. best.

By: B-RY

B-RY — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:20:32 +0000

@Kev Probably true, but Thabo didn't exactly have a stellar game last night. I wouldn't keep Harden on Roy for long, but I sure was glad to see him show the skill set we were all drooling over during the draft.

By: Dan

Dan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:14:24 +0000

Nobody is talking about the fact that Durant has gotten 12 and 11 rebounds so far! He only had 15 games last year where he got at least 10, and only twice in consecutive games. Finally he is playing bigger and taking advantage of his long wingspan.

By: Kev

Kev — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:12:10 +0000

I think Thabo plays a lot more against Portland. We can’t have Harden on Roy for any appreciable time . . .

By: B-RY

B-RY — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:08:36 +0000

It looks like Portland is blaming it’s loss on a lack of defensive intensity. Let’s hope they bring that same sluggish D to the Ford Center on Sunday, after beating Houston on the road Saturday night. I’m hoping they come in a bit tired.

Also, I think someone else mentioned it, but the best part of the Piston’s game was that the bench played a ton better than they did against the Kings. While the starting five all played well and did what they needed to do, it was the bench that got them back into the game.

Harden was +17, Collison +12, Thomas +7, and Ollie +7. Detroit’s bench was all in the minus

http://scores.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=291030008

By: Dylan

Dylan — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:05:41 +0000

I was pleased with Durant’s effort on defense last night, no matter if his results were positive or negative.

As we’ve learned from guys like Kobe and LeBron, getting better on defense is an ongoing thing, it doesn’t happen in one offseason. Last year, KD put all his effort into his offense, and his defense suffered greatly. I doubt any of us would dispute that.

But last night – maybe structurally he wasn’t perfect – but he hustled harder on the defense end than I ever saw from him last year. Not just that, but last year, if his shot wasn’t falling, he wouldn’t work on the defensive end. He hasn’t gotten loose on offense yet, but he’s still working. He’ll get it.

By: Kev

Kev — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:38:34 +0000

spike :@KevI noticed the same thing, but it’s hard to say how much of that was Durant’s poor defense and how much of it was the gameplan designed by the coaches. Prince took 9 shots in 44 minutes, precisely because nobody was looking for him no matter how open he was. Maybe if the Pistons fed him more, Durant would have had to man up on him more, but why penalize him for poor defensive position that was beneficial to the Thunder’s effort to clog the lane?

you are right, this is is somewhat subkective, BUT Prince has shown scoring ability in the past, AND Durant's weakside defense last year was below average as well. Now I know that the OKC coaching staff watches way more tape than I do, and I know that they appreciate what Outlat and Webster can do offensively. Maybe they did tell Durant to ignore Prince. I have no idea of knowing. I am just making educated guesses here based on what Durant did last year. Hopefully Durant is coached up today and tomorrow, and hopefully he will stick much closer to his man against the Blazers. But I still stand by my assessment.