Thursday Bolts – 11.12.09
A big happy birthday to Russell Westbrook who is 21 today. Put a little alcohol in that fruity drink tonight.
Really great stuff from Darnell Mayberry on last night’s game: ”Statistically, Durant has had more impressive showings. His line Wednesday — 30 points, 10 rebounds and four assists — won’t wow you because it’s what we’ve come to expect of Durant. On numbers alone, this wasn’t even Durant’s best night in Staples Center. He poured in career-highs of 46 points and 15 rebounds against the Clippers last January, getting to the foul line 26 times and swishing 24 freebies. Both the attempts and the makes from the stripe stand as franchise records. But this game wasn’t about numbers. It was about winning, which the Thunder failed to do against a short-handed Clippers team last winter despite Durant’s career night. It was about the mega-talented Durant, maybe for the first time, coming to the realization that he is capable of doing whatever he needs to do on the court to lead his teammates to victory.
ClipperBlog: “The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Durant presented problems for the Clippers all game long. “He’s just a mismatch,” Kaman said. “Any time you get a guy like that it’s just a tough matchup because you can’t put a big on him because he just outplays the bigs and if you put too small of a guy on him, you see what happens — he just posts them up and takes advantage.” The Clippers rotated the task of covering Durant throughout the night but couldn’t find a stopper.”He shoots over you,” Thornton said. “Easily.”
Kelly Dwyer, Ball Don’t Lie: ”The Clippers lost this game because they took bad shots. And because some good shots — taken and missed by Chris Kaman who attempted 26 field goals and connected on nine (neun!) of them — were turned into bad shots by great Thunder defense. Nenad Krstic, Nate Collison, and especially Serge Ibaka were huge on that end. Ibaka’s a real player … Also, Russell Westbrook? Character is revealed when nothing’s going right. Stop pouting, start passing. We’re watching.
Bill Simmons tweeted a bunch of the game last night. Highlights: “I’m at Clips-Zombies game. Nenad Krstic continues to look like he sleeps at a Greyhound bus station and begs for change … Durant = a must-see in person. Plays his ass off, beautiful shot, freaky long arms, leader + has the longest 2 steps in NBA … On the Greg Oden All-Stars for “young players who look 10 years older than they are,” James Harden is definitely a starter … The Zombies coaching staff spent a combined 225 dollars on their suits tonight. Great sale at Casual Male in OKC apparently … I kinda like Serge Ibaka. There. I said it … Just met Sam Presti. Nice guy. I’m dumping @dmorey for him. So long, Dork Elvis. We had a good run. I am turning you over to Marc Stein … Etan Thomas’ next poem is going be called, “I just spent this timeout staring at the Clipper Cheerleaders.”
I forgot to post this, but the 66ers have changed their colors to match the Thunder: “The color change reflects the ties between our team and the Thunder, as well as their commitment to the Tulsa area,” 66ers President Jim Brylewski said. “The new uniforms and team merchandise are a reminder of the close affiliation with our parent club.”
A fantasy guy talking about Westbrook: “Another interesting example is Russell Westbrook, who was shooting an amazing 48 percent — just like Roy did last season — from the field before a rough night Tuesday. It’s amazing because as a rookie Westbrook topped 46 percent from the field in just one month and completed the campaign with an embarrassing .398 field goal percentage. Personally, I expected a significant jump in his shooting percentage this season, perhaps to the mid-40s. Considering his history last season, we shouldn’t expect his field goal percentage to be any higher than its current 45 percent, although I don’t think it will drop all the way to the low-40s.”
I don’t mean to go all OU fan on you here, but honestly the Thunder COULD BE 7-1 at this point. I know, I know. But think about it, the only game OKC was really outplayed was the Houston loss. Every other loss you had a bad taste in your mouth and could point to three or four reasons we lost. The thing is, considerer the development. Last year, almost EVERY game was a loss and a couldawouldshoula thing. This year, it’s half and half. They’re actually finishing some games. And maybe next year they actually will be 7-1.
I know it’s kind of trendy to hate on Rick Reilly, but I’ve always liked him. He’s got an interesting column about sports and tattoos and of course you know what I’m thinking.
Why thank you Coach Self. I’m glad to join I guess: “We are very happy to add Royce to our basketball program,” Self said. “He’s a terrific young man, great student and is going to be a heck of a basketball player. Right now he is a combo guard that is really good off the bounce and has become an excellent shooter.” Always cool to see fellow Royce’s do stuff. Hopefully this guy is a stud. Right now our flag bearers are Royce Clayton (former baseball player) and Royce Gracie (who doesn’t even pronounce his name right).
Eric Pincus of HoopsWorld: “Scottie Brooks didn’t want to take all the credit for his team’s defense on the Clippers in the second half – but this is the kind of play he’s been asking of his team since the start of training camp. Again – the offense wasn’t all there – but learning how to win ugly can be the tougher lesson to get.”
Question: Is Westbrook alright, after that injury?
@Vic De Zen
Yes. He could have returned last night but obviously didn’t.
@Vic De Zen
On the telecast they said he was ready to go if they needed him even last night. I think Scott had seen enough of him (he was having an off night) and didn’t want to risk furthering the injury.
LOVE everything that Simmons tweeted there.
Re the 7-1 possible record, I really thought Portland outplayed us also. It was close, but they had a better team that night.
@za
Maybe, but the fact that KD went 3-21 tells me if he’s his normal self, we win.
Am I the only person really bugged by this:
“Los Angeles coach Mike Dunleavy said Kaman played with a virus that is contagious, and he was advised to keep him away from the rest of the team. He said Kaman wouldn’t practice Thursday.”
@Duncan
Bugged…. well played even if it was unintentional.
“LOS ANGELES(AP) Kevin Durant ‘s deft scoring touch, including the winning jumper with 38 seconds to go, and Oklahoma City’s usual dose of defense proved too much.”
It’s nice to be reading about our “usual dose of defense” this year.
Ok, if the frigging 66ers end up with better road uniforms than the Thunder, I am going to be pissed. Someone needs to sabotage this.
Phew, nevermind, their road uniforms are terrible
http://www.tulsaworld.com/sportsextra/article.aspx?subjectid=410&articleid=20091111_235_B5_Oneoft145941
I kind of like the homes though.
@Dylan
More importantly, Steven Hill looks HORRIBLE.
One thing I would like to see from Russ is when he drives into the lane and doesnt see an opening to keep his dribble, stay on his feet and simply dribble back out and restart the offense. That alone will save about 3-4 turns a game.
@Royce
That was my second thought. He looks like Robert Swift’s “before” shot at a tattoo parlor.
I’m ready for Russ to step out of his slump. But I was glad to see us gut out a win. Thabo didn’t have a great game either, nor did Jeff Green. I wonder if Jeff Green’s lack of intensity has anything to do with getting in early foul trouble the past two games.
Oh, and Serge takes over the “most whistles the fastest” title from Nick. Still, I loved what I saw from him. That dude will be a beast in a couple more seasons.
*PUKES VIOLENTLY*
So far Brooks has used 5 lineups for about 2/3rds the time and 45 others for the remainder. Of the top 5 they have a net +/- of +22. But the 3 Harden lineups are +31 so the 2 top non-Harden / Sefolosha lineups are -9. The grab bag of other lineups did a respectable +1. If Harden’s +/- is solid / real then it looks like they have a base near .500 and the way up is more Harden.
Did anyone else almost pee their pants last night when Serge took it strong to the hoop from the top of the key?!
Also, Harden needs a nickname.
@Anonymous
Hard n’ Long. No good?
I’ve been calling him The Beard for some unknown reason.
They look cheap,like they cost about $7.00 a set.
Tulsa new unies.
@Thundercat
The sad thing is, OUR unis are only a slight upgrade over those, as they look to have cost about $9.75……MAX
@Royce
I still think something bow-tie related would be best. I got nothing though…
It isn’t a contest- at this point- but Westbrook is scoring at a rate per minute 30% higher than Harden aided by 10% more shots, getting 5% more assists, but with close to 200% more turnovers, less than half the blocks, a third less steals and 10% less rebounds. If Harden shot started failing and if he played more with the starters which would probably increase assists he might have a clean sweep on box score stats per minute.
Harden is also matched up with reserves more than Westbrook is.
So…is Harden a point guard? The stats and what little I’ve seen of his play indicate that may be his long-term position. Could he be more Chauncey Billups than Paul Pierce? (By that I mean style-of-play-wise, not level-wise.)
Harden compared to Thabo-
Thabo scores about 40% less per minute and dishes 70% less, though he has small advantages on the other stats referenced above.
Team defensive marks aren’t the best measure of individual performance but Harden on the court the team defense is 5 points better so far than Thabo on the court. If Thabo is a great defender then the rest of the starters are getting help from him. And Green would look even worse without that boost.
Thabo and Harden’s counterpart defensive stats look nearly identical and outstanding except Harden is getting called for more fouls, causing twice as many free throws for the opponent. Is that his fault or the refs sticking it to the rookie or some of both?
True Dylan. The only way to know how Harden will do against starters will be to play him more against them. It is different, tougher.
Presti went all in right away with Durant, Green and Westbrook. Because of Thabo they appear to be taking a slower approach with Harden. That may be appropriate and helpful in the long-run. Might form less bad habits or less deeply set bad habits than might happen for the guys that got all the playing time and shots at once.
I think he gets to 25-30 minutes before season’s end. Even though I’ve tended to call for the expansion to happen quicker, there really isn’t a strong reason to rush.
Harden minus 10-15 pounds might be a better PG.
If they seriously were going to go that way long-run.
as an addendum, remember that you can’t just “plug-in” players – Harden may not be able to keep up with the quicker point guards . . .
Brooks should give Harden a few minutes at the point when the game is out of reach to see what happens . . . Weaver was put into a similar position last year . . .
speaking of Weaver, why isn’t he playing? Is he slacking in practice? I know Harden is here now , but still, you think he would have gotten a few minutes by now . . .
Byron Scott has been fired by NOLA. Kind of weird.
I guess the Phoenix beatdown was the last straw . . .
@Royce
Get a new owner and maybe things would be different. I have a hard time believing that replacing Scott will have much impact with their current roster.
There was no way Byron Scott was going to last the year in NO; his team has tuned him out and they weren’t going to win anything with that roster. Hornets management has ruined that franchise by hoarding unmovable, unproductive assets.
James Harden would get smoked by the quicker point guards. I would like to see him play more minutes, though.
Kyle Weaver is redundant with Thabo on the team.
I still think Kyle could play the 1 when he’s got a ball handling 2 in the game with him, such as Harden. Kyle can guard the other teams PG, and he and James can both share the load of bringing the ball up the court to initiate the offense. I really think that could work.
I’d absolutely love to see a Weaver/Harden/Thabo lineup.
Russ and Harden actually complement each other very well, in theory. Russ is a PG with a slasher mentality, while Harden is a SG with a distributor mentality.
@Anonymous
Isn’t it already Lucky Harden?
weaver is just too far down the depth chart, probably will go to tulsa soon.
@Royce
I think he will be with the Lakers very soon.
now that scott is fired maybe they will firesale the rest of the team, okafor for weaver and draft pick?
I Know that he had surgery at the end of July for a torn tendon, but thought that he would be playing by now.
http://newsok.com/thunders-weaver-has-surgery/article/3388751
Cut back Thabo and Ollie by 5 minutes each you could give the minutes to Harden or Weaver. Playing Weaver 5 minutes probably does not make sense. 10 might or might not.
Next year with Westbrook, Harden and Thabo you need 2-3 backup guards. Weaver is the only one signed but they could go anywhere from all the same or all different.
Ideally I think you’d want a young true PG in the next draft but there are very few good ones to my current knowledge. Last draft was the time to get another PG, despite the politics of it. Probably instead of Mullens but time will tell.
Completely agree with this. Unless Mullens turns out to be all he was hyped to be. But I’m not holding my breath. Also, Vaden over Patty Mills anyone?
Alexey Shved might be a name to listen for, listen if Presti is visiting Moscow. Tyshawn Taylor is another name-guess on my part and maybe Matt Bouldin.
Houston got Llull at 34 last draft. I like what I read about him. May have been overlooked by many GMs in the shadow of Rubio.
Professor Pass
1 John Wall 6-4 185 Freshman Kentucky
.
2 Willie Warren 6-4 210 Sophomore Oklahoma
.
3 Iman Shumpert 6-5 200 Sophomore Georgia Tech
.
4 Kemba Walker 6-1 172 Sophomore Uconn
.
5 Malcolm Lee 6-5 180 Sophomore UCLA
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6 Tyshawn Taylor 6-3 180 Sophomore Kansas
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7 Terrico White 6-5 211 Sophomore Ole Miss
.
8 Abdul Gaddy 6-3 180 Freshman Washington
.
9 Tomas Satoransky 6-6 190 Int-1991 Czech Republic
.
10 Alexei Schved 6-7 170 Int-1988 Int-Russia
.
11 Chris Wright 6-1 200 Junior Georgetown
.
12 Corey Fisher 6-1 185 Junior Villanova
.
13 Kenny Boynton 6-2 183 Freshman Florida
.
14 Grevis Vasquez 6-6 190 Senior Maryland
.
15 Kalin Lucas 6-0 180 Junior Mich St.
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16 Sherron Collins 5-11 205 Senior Kansas
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17 Matt Bouldin 6-5 210 Senior Gonzaga
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18 E’Twaun Moore 6-4 185 Junior Purdue
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19 Scottie Reynolds 6-2 195 Senior Villanova
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20 Nic Wise 5-10 177 Senior Arizona
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21 Courtney Fortson 5-11 180 Sophomore Arkansas
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22 Malcolm Delaney 6-3 170 Junior Virginia Tech
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23 Armon Johnson 6-3 195 Junior Nevada
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24 Peyton Siva 5-11 180 Freshman Louisville
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25 Nolan Smith 6-4 185 Junior Duke
Insidehoop’s list of PGs next year.
Willie Warren anyone? Our pick and another 1st to go up and grab em!
Nope. I’m happy with Harden/Thabo. I like Warren (even as an OSU guy), but he doesn’t fit. Frontcourt depth is the key right now.
For me in the draft it’s either Wall Aldrich or Greg Monroe. Otherwise we should trade everything and try to find a big FA.,
JG and I would throw Solomon Alabi onto that list. I’m not a big fan of Monroe just yet. Willie will have the same trouble finding his spot in the league as every other combo guard.
No Willie here – I’m an OU fan and I don’t like his game – there is a reason he stayed in school . . .
I’ve been on the backup PG bandwagon since last year, and I think it’s actually our #2 priority behind a big man (and whatever #3 is, it’s way behind). Ollie had a nice finish to the game last night but he’s the weakest link in the 9-man rotation. We got rid of Watson and wound up with someone hardly any better. Our offense just does not run well through Ollie. Harden is not a point guard, can’t guard other point guards, and I for one don’t feel like watching BOTH our point guards try to learn the position on the fly in the NBA. And obviously Brooks felt Weaver didn’t have the chops to be the backup 1, since he had his chances in summer/pre-season.
To me, the answer is a trade or FA signing over the summer. We don’t need another young backcourt player who’s going to turn the ball over 5-6 times per 48 minutes. There are capable guys on a lot of teams’ benches available for one of our second round picks, which right now are less valuable to the Thunder than a basketball itself. I don’t have a list but I’m sure with a little research we could find 4-5 candidates, all available cheaply (both in a contract and trade sense).