Here is crack No. 2 at making a statement. I thought before the season that starting 1-3 was likely, 2-2 would be very nice and anything above that would be excellent. So now we’ve got the chance to be excellent. The thing is, you tell me before the season the Thunder will be 2-2 through the first four and I’d have been happy. But now that OKC has the chance to do more because it won the first two, I’ll feel strangely disappointed. Weird how that happens. Read more…
If you can’t tell, I’m a little obsessed with the details of basketball. I like knowing how and why the other team scored, as well as my own. Anyway, James Harden caught some attention last Friday with his eight assist performance in Detroit. He’s also caught a little criticism for his supposed slow start to his rookie year. But I wanted to break out some video to show exactly what Harden brings to the floor and why he’s going to be an absolutely dynamic offensive player for the Thunder. He can score, don’t worry. That stuff will come. But lots of athletic guys can score. What Harden’s got is intelligence, an understanding of the game and the most important thing of all – this thing called feel.
(Big time thanks to reader Johnny for the video.)
Two assists stand out from that sequence more than any other. And they’re not even the flashiest ones. I like Harden’s dish to Etan Thomas for a layup and his little wrap-around bounce pass to Nick Collison for a dunk. But let’s look at a couple of the eight. Read more…
Chad Ford on the Class of 2006 and extensions: ”Rajon Rondo pocketed $55 million over five years. Thabo Sefolosha landed a four-year, $14 million deal. And Renaldo Balkman inked a three-year, $6 million contract. That still means that the first round draft class of 2006 had a record low number of players earn extensions. The previous low was the class of 2005. It had seven players get extensions. In contrast, the class of 2002 had 16 players agree to extensions.”
Interesting little story about Russell Westbrook: ”Last season Westbrook struggled, as many players do, with communication. He lacked confidence in his own ability to speak, and so struggled in interactions with the media as well as his teammates. He spent some time this summer with Steve Shenbaum at game on media, and has already reaped the benefits of being better able to express himself. “It’s definitely helped me, not only in the locker room, but on the court, too. When somebody makes a mistake you can’t just run up on them steaming, you’ve got to approach them a different way and make sure they understand what you’re talking about. (Shenbaum) really helped me to be able to tell my teammates what I think in a way that doesn’t sound like I feel like I have to be right all the time.”
Marc Stein’s power rankings (OKC up from 21 to 19): “We repeat: Give ‘em time. A 2-0 launch was nice, especially when it includes a 1-0 road record, but Sunday’s home test against Portland was an early reminder that the NW Division’s young darlings are still evolving.” Read more…
No, this isn’t some long column about Westbrook’s nine turnovers last night. It’s just to admire possibly the best thing to come out of last night’s game against Portland – Russell Westbrook’s stuff of 6’11 power forward LaMarcus Aldridge. After Russ’s two excellent blocks against Detroit Friday night and now this denial of Aldridge, can we now saw the Thunder’s found that shot-blocking paint enforcer they’ve been looking for?
Darnell Mayberry’s thoughts on last night’s game: “Sunday’s shot selection was particularly alarming. Alarming because Durant continued to settle for jumpers. Good looks, no doubt, but not as good as layups. Alarming because this, his third season, is the one he was supposed to come back with an even more refined game. But he looked like strictly a jump shooter Sunday. There were occasions when he manufactured points and attempted to take it to the rack. His 14 free throw attempts were a good indicator that it wasn’t all long-range heaves.”
I have no idea what I just saw. Really, no clue. I’m sitting here, trying to figure out how recap this thing. Maybe the best way to sum it up would be: BAD. OFFENSE.
A couple happy fun-time stats from that… thing:
I believe the stat is supposed to read “assist-to-turnover.” But for the Thunder tonight, they had a 19 to 6, turnover to assist ratio. No snarky comment necessary.
Oklahoma City shot 34.3 percent, 3-14 from 3 and missed nine free throws. Blech.
The Thunder scored just 74 points.
And one more time, just for emphasis: SIX ASSISTS.
But yet, in what was easily the worst game Oklahoma City has played this season and one of the ugliest I’ve EVER seen them play, I’m strangely encouraged. And yes, the Thunder lost 83-74 to Portland, dropping the first game of the season. Yet I feel somewhat good. Why?
Because despite what I would kindly describe as a poo poo performance, this one was there for the taking. Kevin Durant shot the ball, um, not well. Nine missed free throws (ahem, how much did we lose by?). The turnovers and the assists (or lack thereof). Yet knock down a jumper or two and you’re right there. Why? Because the Thunder is playing some defense. And that’s what good defense can do for you. When you’re having the worst of worst nights, you can be right there. It may not be fun to watch, but it sure is better than losing by 25 and never really having a shot. OKC had a chance to win in the fourth quarter and just came up short. It was a bad game obviously, but all was not lost. I still see the improvement. Read more…
This game suddenly feels big for some reason. Not because it’s going to decide the Northwest or make a big difference in terms of the playoffs or anything. I mean, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. But it feels big in the sense that there is potential to be 3-0 and this team was 3-29 on New Year’s Eve. Think about that for a second. Just stop. And think.
Not only could it knock win No. 3 out very early on but it could make the Thunder 3-0 with a win over a marquee opponent with the world champion Lakers coming to town Tuesday. These are the types of games we dreamed about all summer. And now it’s kind of sort of happening. It’s all just so exciting. Read more…
To the delight of I think every Thunder fan out there, Serge Ibaka saw his first real playing time of the season Friday night in Detroit. He played three minutes and just pulled down one rebound. He didn’t do much but Scott Brooks likely wanted to just get Ibaka some burn and will likely kind of work him into the fold as we go.The way he’s going to find a place in the rotation is if he brings great energy and does work on the defensive end. But how did he do? After the jump, I’m going to put on my breakdown hat and look closely at a few possessions with Ibaka. (h/t to reader Johnny for the video)
vs. 
