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Prior to tonight they'd use that lineup one play.
How long til they use it again?

No use of Joe's lineup for a third straight game after it looked good.

Good decisions in these uses but you'd want to try to get more than one-hit wonders.

Lefty :
How about that lineup of KD, Green, Westbrook, Thabo and Harden? I kinda like it.

There are probably a thousand semi-realistic lineups, maybe more.

I'd think a coach and GM should review the whole list and circle the ones that intrigue them and then look for opportunities to use them and try to prioritize using th eones that most intrigue them. Do they actually take it that far? I don't know. I would.

Brendan Haywood definitely would not be traded by the Wizards. It's possible Washington will also go to great lengths to resign him (depending on how they do this year.. if they keep this up they may just let him go) and OKC will be priced out. I could see him getting $8-$9 million a year to start if he keeps playing this way.

Thanks guys. The recap is up.

What would it take to get Haywood? Collison, rights to devon hardin? He would definatly be an upgrade on the block but I dont know if he would be a longterm fit.

justin :
T Haywood made them all look like children.

solution = lets trade for haywood!

That small ball lineup was a great adjustment by Brooks. Brendan Haywood was absolutely murder in the middle (we need him!) and his effectively was severely compromised with Jeff Green playing center. Really gutsy move and it obviously worked. The offense became more efficient and the defense forced some turnovers and took advantage of all the mistakes the Wizards were making. I don't think you see that kind of lineup against most teams, but it was effective here.

James Harden is gaining confidence in his shot, he does not look as tentative shooting the ball. He definitely had some trouble on defense today, though, despite the steals.

The center rotation is really concerning. Haywood made them all look like children.

Lefty :
How about that lineup of KD, Green, Westbrook, Thabo and Harden? I kinda like it.

James Harden has made his presence known. Let his ROY begin to rise. Harden is in the building....

Harden, has been a different player as of late.

How about that lineup of KD, Green, Westbrook, Thabo and Harden? I kinda like it.

That was fun. Some nice highlight plays in that game.

Down to an eight point lead just like that, man...

Mmmmmm,cereal and a thunder game.

@Floppy Punch!

Man, this is fun!

I can't stop laughing, which is difficult because I'm eating Cookie Crisp.

Oh my gosh! That was awesome! Harden playing like a number 3 pick.

woowzers.

The Beard is playing out of his mind, 21 points on 7 shot attempts. Four steals also.

I really like how Westbrook stayed aggressive when Washington got into the penalty.

Westbrook looks alot better at the line.

Two three for Thabo, good for him!

Looks like the seats are filling up and the crowd is getting noisier now for the second half.

Why is NBA league pass not working? This thing is infuriating

Anybody at the game? On TV it looks like a lot of empty seats and sounds like a dead crowd.

Kevin Durant is playing like he is a rookie.

Good to see Thabo get that 3-pointer. Now to start locking down on somebody...

I mention the previous shooting woes on the wrong night.

Lots of up and down surprises.

I am not a fan of the tough shots KD seems to take at times. Everyone's been hitting jumpers why take a contested shot?

Horrible defense. This team isn't going to win a game like this against the Wizards. What happened to the defense?

M Gasol 4th best. Landry 17th. Noah 35th best.

Mr Hot and Cold Alternate Seasons Earl Watson 5th best.

Collison would be about 10th best but played just short of the 250 minutes required for this cut. When the ankle is better I'd use him more.

Love how ESPN's box score shows the starters with a different number of minutes and +/-, but it doesn't indicate anyone else has come into the game.

In this crowd Westbrook taking enough shots to score 16+ a game is probably not that bad compared to the alternatives but at his TS% it is not good either.

5 1/2 minutes in and Jeff Green has 7 pts. Guess that answers the question about Jamison's defense, doesn't it?

Thabo 12th lowest TS% amongst the 157 who've played 250+ minutes. Krstic 28th. Westbrook 45th. Green 48th. Harden wouldn't be much better than Krstic if he had enough minutes to qualify.

Durant at 80th is average on this, pretty important stat.

The offensive design and execution must suck. In addition to any shooting / scoring talent gap you assign to these guys.

Injury report spelled livingstons name Sean not Shaun

Jax Raging Bile Duct :Has anyone looked at the Thunder’s TV Companion? They basically give you an online tool to watch the game with, with materials that you would get if you were a member of the press covering the game.
I just checked out the companion for tonight’s game and there is a crapton of stuff in there.
http://www.nba.com/thunder/photos/wizards_notes091...

You should do us all a favor and post that before every game. Very interesting.

Unless Harden cracks the starting lineup or Nenad Krstic turns into Hakeem, Westbrook better be averaging ~16 or higher.

Thunder’s TV Companion is the standard media guide. Those things have been available on-line for a few years but you had to know where to look as they weren't really promoting it. There is indeed a ton of stuff in there. Best to read bit by bit especially if you are into records. Most of the material will stay the same all season.

Here are a few things that caught my eye:

3-1 vs East
3-5 vs West

Westbrook close to elite company of guys going 16+ pts, 6+ assists, 4+ rebounds as sophomores. Will he get to and stay above 16 pts? Should he?

Fewer assists than opponent 1 w - 5 L. When more than opponent 5-1 this season.

Averaging 4 guys in double figure points per game.

On average they lose the first half by 2 and win the second half by more than 4.

Etan Thomas won't be here next year anyway..

@Steven
yeah, we don't need any dreadlock-ripping infighting on the team...

I'm worried about this game because the Wizards are a quick team that can shoot, much like the Orlando Magic. They lack the inside presence of the Magic obviously, but we saw what Orlando did to us with D12 on the bench most of the night.

The help defense and rotation on the perimeter has to improve this game.

Also let's cut out this horrible offense to start the game. Seems every game these guys start off in a rut.

@justin
Przybilla would be perfect. He's one of, if not, the best rebounder in the game right now. Add in that he has size and a real defensive mentality, and I love him. If we can steal him for a MLE type contract for a few years, I would be very pleased.

@J.G.
Haywood has never rubbed me right. It's always appeared like his defense wasn't really that great, more like he was the only one who tried on a bad defensive team. I think his blocks are inflated by the number of opponents that Arenas, Butler, and Jamison get run past by. He does a pretty good job on the glass, I'll admit, but I think Przybilla (among others) would be a better fit and likely at a smaller contract.

@Daily Thunder
This should be a very fun game to watch. Both teams will want to choose their matchups carefully on each end of the floor. Does Thabo guard Arenas since he's considered the biggest threat, or does he guard Butler so Durant doesn't have to? With a 6'8" Miller at SG, I think Thabo has to guard Butler, since Westbrook will just get shot over guarding Miller. As such, it's Russel vs Gilbert. Gil is a score-first guy who can shoot from anywhere. That's not a great matchup for Russel who has had trouble staying with his man. Then again, Arenas is close to indifferent on defense and Russel should be able to get to lane at will all night. It should really come down to those two. If Russel can man up and limit Arenas, or if Russ uses his offensive advantage to get tons of open shots for his teammates, we should win. If Russ gives up on every screen, Arenas gets hot from deep, or Russ takes no advantage on offense, game over for us.

Jeff Bower paid big bucks for swingmen role players which are a dime a dozen in this league. Unless you're paying out $10 million or more (Sam Dalembert, for example), it's tough to really overpay for a talented center because there just aren't that many of them.

@Steve H

I agree that DT is a lot more active than most sports sites are. I think that just because a site is the TrueHoops site does not mean it is necessarily the most active site for that team like it is for the Thunder.

I know for the Chiefs, I follow a Sports Nation blog. There are other outlets that have Chiefs blogs, but the Sports Nation one seems to be the most active.

So perhaps other teams have just as active of blogs as DT, they just aren't on the True Hoops Network. (But you can't replace Royce's superior wit!!!)

@Mrs. Daily Thunder
Kind words absolutely deserved.

@justin
Same response for Przybilla as for Haywood (though I seriously doubt the Blazers are going to let him slip away). The Vanilla Gorilla is also thirty. Doesn't mean there is no gas left in the tank- Camby has put up decent #s in his basketball twilight years- but I worry about making a substantial financial commitment when the rest of our squad is so young. Jeff Bower bought long term contracts for Peja, Mo Pete and Posey with similar reasoning, and would probably ask for a do-over if given the chance.

Another guy that will be undervalued this offseason is Joel Przybilla. No offense but will play defense and rebound. This is a good offseason to acquire a serviceable center.

Thanks for the kind words about the DT. Very much appreciated.

OKC should 100% absolutely no doubt about it pursue Brendan Haywood aggressively in the offseason. It's too bad that Eddie Jordan is out of Washington because Haywood is going to get a lot of run now and drive his asking price way up. This guy is excellent defensively and can actually finish near the rim. Plus, he doesn't have a lot of minutes on his odometer and probably has 4-5 years of good basketball left in him. He's going to be 30 but he's only played 24 mpg for his career, he'll be fine for awhile. He is exactly the type of center this team needs.

@J.G.
Forgot about Okafor- If the Hornets blow up, I like adding him in spite of his $contract as well (think we could JUST afford him).

@Steven
Haywood and Thomas in the Thunder-dome? If we make each of them carry a midget on his shoulders for their fight to death, what could be better than that?