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Thunder 87, Jazz 86 – Box Score

Last year on New Year’s Eve I had a party to go to. I remember that I told the crew I wouldn’t be there until about 8pm. I had to watch the Thunder and I needed to do a recap (I think I was still on the old blog before Daily Thunder). At that time the team was 3-and-freaking-29. There were articles written almost every day about how the Thunder were one of the worst teams in history…

That night the Thunder came out and beat Golden State and it was the start of something special. That game was the fulcrum, the tipping point if you will for a surge into the new year that saw the team attain a measure of respectability.  See the team was only 3-29 going into the new year last year, but they  came out and won 10 of their next 19 games and the buzz began about the how the team was making progress.

Tonight similarly has the feel of something special. I don’t have a crystal ball or anything but it just feels like this team has taken the next step. The last step was just getting to somewhere around .500. This next step is beating good teams. The good teams that when you beat them or lose to them might make or break you when the playoff seeding shakes out in the spring. Tonight the Thunder protected the home court, beat a quality team just ahead of them in the standings and finished up the old year 18-14.

Tonight the Thunder pulled out a close game against a very evenly matched Utah team. It really seems sort of surreal to mention Utah and OKC in the same sentence and consider them to be evenly matched, but I really think that’s the case. The game tonight was reasonably tight most of the way. Neither team got out and put the smackdown on the other, however the game was really closer than it needed to be. The Thunder played what I thought was really stingy defense most of the night. Sure there were blown plays but what I mean is that the defensive energy was high, the closeouts were sharp and the general defensive tenor seemed tight.  If the Thunder had managed to hit a few more than half it’s free throws this thing could have been a walk away; we left 14 points on the board right there. Also the 19 turns didn’t help matters. But the Thunder were far the more efficient offensive team shooting 47% to 41% for the Jazz. Read more…

Recap Utah Jazz

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Utah Jazz (18-13, 6-9 road) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (17-14, 8-7 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.8 (18th), Jazz – 108.0 (12nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.5 (8th), Jazz – 105.3 (10th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.1 (20th), Jazz – 92.5 (16th)

View from the enemy: Salt City Hoops

It’s still December. There are 51 games yet to be played. But… this feels like a huge game. I guess when you haven’t really had a lot of big ones, or really ANY big ones, a game against a division rival that you happen to be a game behind for the eighth playoff spot feels big. Read more…

Preview Utah Jazz

When I was growing up, having a dominant center was an automatic berth in “the championship discussion.”  Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Hakeem Olajuwon, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, et cetera, were always going to make their team a challenger.  These days, things have changed.

Though I have pondered this progression for years, it really hit home to me on Monday night while watching the woeful New Jersey Nets and their 2-29 record play the Thunder.  The game came on while I was eating dinner, and when the starting line-ups flashed on the screen, I began to ponder how many teams had a better true center than Brook Lopez, New Jersey’s man in the middle.  He averages about 19 points and 10 rebounds a game with two blocks which is really, really good.  Obviously, Dwight Howard for Orlando is a better player, but beyond that…  I blanked.  Completely.

My wife tossed out Yao (who is inactive), and the only response I got on Twitter was Tim Duncan (who is a power forward).  The research I did on NBA.com told me that Lopez is in the top-4 statistically.  Based on efficiency ratings the list goes:

1.  Dwight Howard, ORL
2.  David Lee, NYK
3.  Marc Gasol, MEM
4.  Brook Lopez, NJN
5.  Al Horford, ATL

Then, by the total of Points, Rebounds, and Assists, the ranks is:

1.  Dwight Howard, ORL
2.  David Lee, NYK
3.  Chris Kaman, LAC
4.  Brook Lopez, NJN
5.  Al Jefferson, MIN

These rankings floored me.  Not only does the worst team in the league feature a big man that, on any given night, is probably better than the person manning up against him, most of the best “centers” in the league are power forwards playing out of position.  Further, all the teams represented on either of those lists have an aggregate record of 90-121 (buoyed a lot by Howard and Horford).

What happened to the importance of a solid middle?

Read more…

Commentary

…the Oklahoma City Thunder were 3-29. Now, they’re 17-14 and a game out of the playoffs.

That is all.

Riff Raff

I may be a little in and out today as I’ll be captaining the ship at TrueHoop today, filling in for Henry and Kevin. So if you see anything awesome or just want to tell me how I screwed it up, shoot me an email.

Chad Ford rates Kevin Durant as one of the best picks of the decade: “Kevin Durant became the first freshman to win NCAA Player of the Year honors — but still couldn’t get taken No. 1 thanks to Ohio State big man Greg Oden. Thunder GM Sam Presti is forever grateful that Durant fell. He is one of the best scorers the game has ever seen. He can kill you from anywhere on the floor. Although he still needs to work on his defense and continue to get stronger, Durant is already one of the best small forwards in the game. I think all of us can imagine him averaging 30 points per game in his prime and leading the Thunder to an NBA title down the road.” Read more…

Bolts

Like basically everyone else on the planet, I especially enjoy Seinfeld. I’m the guy that plans my day around its daily airing on TBS, even though I have all nine seasons on DVD and have seen every episode close to 400 times. I love the show. I love the characters, I love the storylines, I love the hidden humor and inside jokes within each episode.

But one thing has always bothered me a little: I only got to appreciate one season “live”. I was too young to be a fan when the show was in its prime and rolling out new episodes every week. I only really remember Season 9, and really, mostly just the last half of it. I actually kind of remember my dad telling me to watch the finale because it was supposed to be a big deal. I only now appreciate the show fully, over 10 years after it ended.

Granted, it was out of my hands, but I wish I could have absorbed those great seasons like a real fan.To have watched the brilliance of Season 6 and known to appreciate it right then and there would have been so much better than catching a re-run 15 years later.

So, how does this relate to the Oklahoma City Thunder? Well, the point I’m trying to make is that I think this is the time to appreciate the Thunder. This is the time to soak it all up. You don’t want to be me, 10 years from now looking back and wishing you had absorbed and understood everything you were witnessing with this young team. It won’t be like regretting you decided to have a bowl of cereal with that milk that expired two days ago, but you’ll wish you would have valued it a little more. You will. Read more…

Commentary

Dime thinks  OKC could be the team of the next decade: “Very soon, contract extensions and players seeking greener pastures will become an issue for the Thunder. But if they’re doing this much in their early 20s, imagine how they’ll look three or four years down the line. If they can keep their main core together and add some more solid role players along the way, I don’t see any reason why the Thunder can’t win multiple chips.”

Donate blood, get two free Thunder tickets. Read more…

Bolts

Ned Dashman/NBAE via Getty Images

BOX SCORE – ADVANCED BOX SCORE

This team is starting to prove something to me. Don’t worry, we know we’re playing a little bad right now, but we got this. Going in, every game feels like a toss-up. I haven’t felt genuinely confident yet this year.

But wins like this are starting to make me come around.

At the half, Oklahoma City trailed 55-53, looked uninspired and lazy defensively. It had bad loss written all over it. But they knew they had it. I don’t want to say they were coasting and just playing for the fourth quarter, but they knew they had it. When it got to winning time, the Thunder turned it on. With six minutes left and the Thunder leading 91-90, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook checked back in and Oklahoma City went on a 19-8  run to close the game. The closers came in and shut the door. It was a pleasure to see.

One of the major problems with this group last season was they didn’t know how to win. They didn’t know how to close. They lost some 15 or 16 games by six points or less. But they’re figuring it out. Nick Collison said they’d learn how to win, but I don’t think anyone saw this kind of maturity this soon. This was taking care of business at its finest. For three quarters these guys had me upset and ready to throw things because they were going to give a game away. But they had it all along. They were just waiting to slam the door. Read more…

Recap Washington Wizards

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OKC Thunder (16-14, 8-7 road) at Washington Wizards (10-19, 5-7 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.4 (17th), Wizards – 104.6 (22nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.5 (8th), Wizards – 108.0 (20th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.1 (20th), Wizards – 94.3 (9th)

View from the enemy: Truth About It

I always like it when players get to go home and play. Tonight, Jeff Green and Kevin Durant are both back in their hometown to play professional basketball. It has to be a nice feeling. But it often worries me too. A lot of times, you see guys press and try too hard because they feel just that little tinge of pressure to perform in front of friends and family. Hopefully, we don’t see that tonight. Read more…

Preview Washington Wizards

His numbers aren’t flashy. Heck, they aren’t even that good. Under 20 minutes a game, 5.7 points per game, 4.5 rebounds per game and 0.62 blocks a game. All four stats well below his career averages. In fact, three of the four stats are lower than any season average he’s had yet. At just 29 years old, his numbers shouldn’t be declining, right?

But this may be Nick Collison’s best season yet.

The numbers don’t tell half the story for Collison. Scratch that. The numbers don’t tell even a fifth of the story. Collison’s contributions to a now two games over squad aren’t measurable. You can’t quantify grit, hustle and winning plays. Unless of course you’re Peter King. Then he’d be leading the league in all those categories. And Russell Westbrook in smiles. But whatever.

But here’s one thing you can measure: Per 40 minutes, Collison IS leading the league in charges taken, at 1.73 a game. The next closest guy is Jared Jeffries at 1.42. Think about it for a second. If a guy was averaging almost two steals a game, you’d say that’s good, right (for perspective, Rajon Rondo leads the NBA with 2.67 steals a game)? Well taking a charge is even better. Not only do you force a turnover, but you add a foul to a player on the other team. Honestly, taking a charge is the absolute best turnover you can force. And Collison leads the league in it. Even Peter King understands that. Read more…

Commentary Nick Collison

(Fake) Nets color man Jim Spanarkel shared his thoughts on the game last night via Twitter: “And just like that…Kevin Durant consummated my man crush … I do feel like Bella from Twilight and Durant is my Edward. I bet he glows in sunlight … Nenad making a great homecoming. I miss his scent. I miss his laugh. I miss him being with me.when this is over, we should get an apt together.” UPDATE: Evidently, the Spanarkel Twitter is a fake. I feel so used. And dirty. But mostly used.

Mark Travis of But The Game Is On with some thoughts: “With all that said, this game was all about Kevin Durant. I told y’all he was good. What a fun basketball player to watch. He just gets it. I know I am not a LeBron fan but I can honestly say I think Durant is already a smarter basketball player or at least he is smarter at 21 than LeBron was.” Read more…

Bolts

BOX SCORE – ADVANCED BOX SCORE

You know how you know your team is getting better? Wins aren’t good enough anymore. You want to play well AND win.

And I’m not so sure Oklahoma City played all that great. No matter though, they won, 105-89 over the now 2-29 Nets. And that’s sometimes what it takes. Do enough to win on the road and then move on with your life. But still, it wasn’t pretty and I like pretty. If you really wanted to be, you could be a little bummed with this win.

But I don’t think we’re to that point with this team yet. I feared a loss heading to New Jersey tonight. But the Thunder took care of their business and won the game. That’s what is important.

If you just check the final line, you assume OKC played a nice defensive game. And in the second half, the Thunder certainly did. But that first half. The Nets, who by efficiency standards are the worst offensive team in the league, scored 55 points and shot 51 percent in the first two quarters. Now in the second, OKC allowed the Nets to just 34 points and held them to just two points over a 10 minute stretch. That’s something a good team does. Coast for a bit, then turn it on. And when the game looked to be in danger, much like the Charlotte game, the Thunder locked down. Read more…

Recap New Jersey Nets

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Oklahoma City Thunder (15-14, 7-7 road) at New Jersey Nets (2-28, 1-12 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:30 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.1 (17th), Nets – 96.8 (30th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.7 (8th), Nets – 108.9 (24th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.1 (20th), Nets – 92.7 (14th)

View from the enemy: Nets Are Scorching

I’m a broken record, I know. But the more this team wins, the more terrifying these should-win games get. Especially when they’re against a 2-28 team. I’m just having trouble getting used to a team that beats most every team it should. We didn’t see this last year and I haven’t gotten used to the idea of feeling confident. I still feel like at any time, to any team, this group could lose. Read more…

Preview New Jersey Nets

First off, I hope you all had a merry, merry Christmas. And secondly, happy birthday to my awesome father who had his too-many-to-count birthday yesterday. Best to you Pop.

Kevin Durant with a welcome note to his new teammate: “The circumstances that [Eric Maynor] came in with, catching three planes and getting traded as a rookie after 20 games, it was tough. He came in and controlled the game for us and got the ball to people in good spots and if we would have made more shots for him he maybe would have had nine or 10 assists. He played well and I know once his feet get under him and he becomes more comfortable with our offense, he’s going to excel. We’re glad to have another guy that we can depend on to backup Russell. He’s a scorer but he knows in this league that he has to defend and distribute the basketball. But he can score when we need him to, and he’s versatile in his game. He gives us a different dimension to our offense. Him and Russell are going to be phenomenal for us.” Read more…

Bolts

When the ball meets the pavement, when that asphalt echo reverberates throughout my neighborhood and I know that somewhere a young boy or girl is dribbling down a sidewalk or working on their jump-shot despite the frigid winter winds, that familiar twinge of nostalgia and the innocent love of the game always hits me. Sometimes it’s potent and overwhelming, like when I’m playing 21 with my buddies in a concrete driveway and for whatever reason I realize what that moment really means and I tell myself to mark it and appreciate it, cling to it before it passes. But other times it’s subtle, perhaps even imperceptible, silently stirring up an ancient ache to grab my worn smooth basketball and head to the playgrounds for an impromptu five-on-five game in the middle of whatever I’m doing.

With each bounce, with every ringing echo of the sweet pavement ping or the warm hardwood drum some sentimental string inside me resonates as well, reawakening that childlike love for a game that is simple and direct, yet complex and far-reaching in its impact.

And with another year behind us and the next year peeking over the horizon, I can’t help but return again to a thought that continually draws me back to the game of basketball and a conversation that I’m not certain fans or even players and coaches know how to put into words or contextualize. Read more…

Commentary Sunday Discussion