Hollinger after last night’s game: “Forget about their youth, their inexperience, and the difficulty of the Western Conference. Forget all that, and just know this: The Thunder are going to the playoffs. Tuesday’s 89-77 win over the Blazers showed a good example why, as Oklahoma City demonstrated how its defense and newfound depth could carry it on a night when the starters couldn’t deliver.” Also, Hollinger’s playoff odds have OKC as the four seed. Don’t laugh. Right now, the Thunder’s just two and half out of the three seed.
Team USA will hold a teleconference at noon central time to announceme the members of the 2010-12 USA National Team. But there is already a release out and it has both Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on the 27-man roster. Cool. Read more…
With the Thunder offense struggling, the stars sitting and one of the most important games of the season hanging in the balance, Oklahoma City needed someone, anyone to step up. You’d expect it to be Kevin Durant. Or maybe even Russell Westbrook, as he has the past few games. But even without wearing a headband, James Harden raised his hand. And by raised his hand, I mean scored 13 straight points for the Thunder in the fourth quarter.
I get asked a lot: “Is Harden a flop? Is he living up to the hype? Is his beard really THAT perfect?” Games like tonight are exactly why he was drafted third by Sam Presti. When OKC needs a secondary scorer, he has the ability to fill it up. He can create, he can shoot and he can score. He hasn’t always risen to the occasion, but remember, he is a rookie. But it can’t be Durant, Westbrook and Green every night. And the fact OKC can rely on Harden to provide that offensive spark could truly be the biggest revelation for this group as they head into the All-Star break. Read more…
Let me tell you right now, you should be amped for this game. Maybe more than any game thus far. Yes, right now, Oklahoma City is in a playoff battle with Portland. Yes, this is a division foe. And yes, this is the Thunder’s supposed “rival”. But more than anything, for whatever reason, Portland fans tend to dislike the Thunder. Maybe it’s the Pacific Northwest connection or the Oden-Durant thing, but Blazer fans mostly don’t enjoy OKC. And that’s what makes these games fun. Read more…
Welcome to part two of the 2010 Draft Prospectus, or as I like to call it, the “I really don’t think the Thunder will keep any of these picks if these are the individuals left on the board so they’d probably trade out of these prospects and the draft altogether at this point, which means we both might be wasting our time going over the rest of the prospectus but anyways” continuation of the series.
To put it bluntly, from here on out, none of these guys would be able to contribute to the Thunder in the next two years in any meaningful way regarding all three of their areas of need: a true low-post offensive scoring threat, a defensive rebounding behemoth and, less so, a shot-blocking rim protector.
What you’ll find is that almost all of these individuals could probably shore up one, maybe even two of these off of the bench but when you’re expecting to pick out of the Top 10 in the draft, that’s the reality of the situation. The issue moves then from what you know they can do to what they might also be able to develop further down the line and how they fit with your team. Read more…
Sometimes here at Daily Thunder, we like to go inside the game. We like to dig deep, get inside the stats and understand basketball. Find the important things that can help you the reader, better comprehend the game on the court. And in that spirit, today I started thinking: I wonder if there is a difference in James Harden’s stats when he wears a headband?
And so I looked it all up. Through some exhaustive research, I’ve compiled this handy-dandy table and a chart to follow to inform you of such important things.
G
PPG
APG
RPG
FG%
3P%
FT%
With Headband
9
10.1
1.2
3.8
39.4
43.8
95.4
Without Headband
41
9.6
2.2
3.0
38.2
36.2
78.4
As we see, Harden turns into a sharpshooter when wearing the sweat-catcher. He jumps 17 percent from the free throw line and 7.6 percent from 3. He also goes up 1.2 percent from the field but in such a small sample size, I don’t think that matters. (I guess in reality, none of this matters, but alas.) And with the band, Harden gets to the line more (2.4 to 3.2 free throw attempts a game). Overall, with the headband, Harden is just a more productive player. And the most important thing, the team is 5-4 when he wears it. Read more…
We are refreshed and restocked with DT-Shirts (sans Zombie Sonics of course). So… buy one or something.
For whatever reason, the Thunder doesn’t draw well on TV: “Overall, ratings on TNT are up. Regionally though, some numbers are surprising. Teams like the Lakers (197k), Cavaliers (130k) and Celtics (83k) are drawing good numbers. But what is the deal with nobody watching the Oklahoma City Thunder (12k)? The Bobcats, another team on the rise, is also not a good TV draw in Charlotte (10k – although that number is up significantly from last season).”
Kevin Durant’s victims in HORSE are Rajon Rondo and Omri Casspi (reportedly). Evidently, one NBA executive thinks that sucks: ”You gotta have guys with OVERSIZED trash talking personalities. A guy like Eddie House or Rasheed Wallace or even Brandon Jennings. Just an all-round talker. Nash, Nate Robinson, Rasheed, and Baron Davis. Now that’s a HORSE competition worth watching. Omri Casspi should be interesting. He looks like he has some off-the-wall stuff. Not Kevin Durant’s boring a–! And definitely not Rondo! Knock him out making five consecutive free throws!!” Read more…
(Typically, DT contributor J.G. Marking has the Sunday page, but with the draft coming and OKC holding five picks, it’s time to take a small peek. And that’s what we’ll do over the next few days.)
There is a serious problem with the 2010 Draft, folks. One that most Thunder fans didn’t expect and could have never prepared for coming into the season.
It’s not talent. There’s more than enough talent in this draft to have most scouts and GM’s drooling no matter how many “gurus” claim that there are only “2, 3, 4, well probably 5, maybe even 6 elite talents” (it’ll keep fluctuating until draft day) in this class.
So what gives? What’s the problem with this draft class?
The Thunder are winning too much.
I know, I know. I should probably stop complaining about my diamond forks being too sharp and my gold slippers fitting too tight but when it comes to doing a draft prospectus, you typically want to be looking at players who can make an immediate impact or be potential All-Stars and most of those players are usually in the Top 5, maybe 6 of a draft. Read more…
(UPDATE: Right on cue, Russell Westbrook has been named this week’s Western Conference Player of the Week.)
There is a reason you’re supposed to stay patient with young point guards. Common sense says they will progress. They will improve. Stay patient, stick to the plan and you will be rewarded.
And that’s exactly what’s happening with Russell Westbrook. Everyone likes to talk about what Kevin Durant has done over the last 24 games, but how about Westbrook (since the Eric Maynor deal): 16.4 ppg, 8.5 apg, 4.9 rpg, 3.0 turnovers per game and 43 percent from the field. Right now, Westbrook is eighth in the league in assists (7.5 per game) and 20th among point guard in assist to turnover (2.36).
I mentioned before the season that this Oklahoma City squad was likely on track for around 35 wins unless Russell Westbrook started to make a leap into stardom. Well, I think he’s doing precisely that. Just like Durant a year ago, Westbrook is really making strides in the new year, even more so in February. The sample size is small, but in three games thus far this month, Westbrook is averaging 19.7 ppg, 9.7 apg, 8.0 rpg, 3.3 steals per game and only 1.7 turnovers per game. And he’s shooting over 47 percent from the field.
Rewind two months ago. Westbrook was a daily topic of Thunder discussion. Some said he’s not a point guard nor will he ever be. Some wondered where he could fit in with this team. Some wished for Ricky Rubio. We all wondered whether or not Westbrook was going to be the point guard you could rely upon down the stretch of an important game. Last week, he gave you three pretty good examples that yes, you can. Read more…
You know what’s great? It’s officially basketball season now. The All-Star Game is this weekend, the trade deadline is next week and now we can focus on important things.
Ready to waste time? This post from HoopData will blow your mind. Tom Haberstroh has put together a Google Motion chart that really compares and showcases a player’s usage and offensive rating. It’s amazing really.
Steve Aschburner of NBA.com takes a great look at KD’s actual chances of landing the MVP: ”What does all this mean? It means that Durant’s Thunder club had better pick up the pace if it wants him to crash the MVP party over Cleveland’s LeBron James and L.A.’s Kobe Bryant. The Thunder greeted Friday with a 28-21 record, a .571 winning percentage that pro-rates out to 47-35 for the full season. That might be good enough for a COY. But it rarely is good enough for an MVP.” Read more…
(I’ve passed off our weekly Tulsa update to someone much more qualified to comment on it. Kevin Henry authors the excellent 66ers Nation, a Tulsa 66ers blog and also serves as the beat reporter for the 66ers for the Tulsa World. You can follow him on Twitter here.)
In the midst of a five-game West Conference road trip, the Tulsa 66ers find themselves at 14-14 and in desperate search of the chemistry they had at the start of the calendar year.
Roster moves are common in the NBA D-League, and Tulsa has certainly had its share of changes, including big men Byron Mullens and D.J. White being recalled from Tulsa to the Thunder. I’ve talked to 66ers head coach Nate Tibbetts several times about how he handles what can sometimes be a revolving lineup door thanks to injuries, call-ups, and even defections (Zabian Dowdell left the 66ers to join Unicaja in Spain, part of an exodus of D-Leaguers heading overseas in the early portions of 2010). When we’ve talked, he’s always mentioned the importance of chemistry and finding a lineup that works well together. Right now, that’s a key for the 66ers. Read more…
This team’s turnaround from cellar dweller last year to playoff hopeful this season ha s been nothing short of amazing. Most of us were there for the 3-29 start last year and saw lots of stinky basketball, but it wasn’t all bad. Most every game there was lots of inspired play, and great effort, but in the end, most games ended in despair.
Most surprising to me is the improved defense. I read all the articles and saw the video clips after the season about how Coach Brooks number one priority for this season was to improve the defense. Brooks was talking about it in exit interviews. Presti was talking about it in Summer League. I thought to myself two things: 1)”yeah right” 2) why not fix the offense, it’s worse than the defense. In my experience most coaches talk all day and all night about getting better on defense. I’ve heard it a million times. And I’ve heard it from more than a handful of coaches who’ve coached this franchise, yet for all the talk, I can’t remember ever having seen a team turn around a defense as quickly and completely as the Thunder have with virtually the same roster that was playing terrible defense at the end of last season.
This team right now is a top 5 defense. It’s not a fluke. It’s been consistently top 8 or above all season long. eFG% allowed is number 2 right now, sandwiched between defensive powerhouses Boston and Orlando. Read more…
It’s a great time to be a Thunder fan. We’ve officially bagged our second 5-game win streak this season. That’s really something for a team that was 3 and freaking 29 before New Year’s Eve last season.
It’s especially fortuitous when the next MVP your superstar manages to have a bad shooting night while the team is playing the Warriors. Sometimes everything in the universe is properly aligned and everything flows majestically. Tonight KD missed two-thirds of his shots but the team still won walking away.
As you would expect, tonight’s game was something of a track meet. Golden State/Nellie ball is all about getting out in transition; they are willing to let you shoot unmolested for the most part as long as you don’t take too long to do it, so that they can get the ball back and get the quickest shot available.
But something is wrong with the recipe when one of the slower teams in the association (the Thunder-92 possessions per 48 minutes) plays the very fastest paced team (GSW-100 possessions per 48), and played at the Warriors fast pace (103 possessions tonight) and took them to the woodshed. Am I the only one who thinks Nellie is just flat out tired and bored and only hanging on to get the last ten or so wins he needs to pass Lenny Wilkins for the all time coaching victory record? Really Nellie? You really start Coby Karl on Kevin Durant in his first career start? Really?
I always hate when these games happen. Mainly because, what’s a guy to write about when his team just played the new opponent six days ago? Thw Warriors are fresh on our minds and we know what they do. Nothing has really changed. Monta Ellis is still fast, Steph Curry can still shoot and the front office hasn’t added 16 new D-Leaguers to the roster. Alas. Read more…
(Good day. Thanks for supporting Daily Thunder. Onward and upward.)
This video is just cool, especially for someone like me that basically grew up during the video game revolution. And with a new NBA Jam on its way, this is pretty appropriate. I think my favorite ever was Double Dribble because it was the first one I had. But both NBA Jams were excellent of course and I remember NBA Live ’96 was pretty much the game that brought on the “new age” of games. Anyway, I think you’ll enjoy this short, but sweet video.
Whether you like him or not, Bill Simmons has kind of become the authoritative voice on the NBA. And I generally trust him and enjoy what he has to say. And when he writes about Kevin Durant and the Thunder, I find it important. Here’s what he said in today’s mailbag:
Q: If you could go back in time “Lost”-style and fix the 2007 lottery so the Celtics landed the second pick, would you keep what happened (No. 5 pick, KG trade, 2008 title, everything else that happened up to now), or would you switch it so that they ended up with the No. 2 pick and Durant?
–Dr. Bill Simmons, Boston
SG: OK, I fibbed that one. My dad asked me that on the phone this week. And we both came to the same conclusion pretty quickly: You’d have to go with Durant. Have you seen what he’s doing for the Zombies lately? Thirty a night, eight boards, 50 percent shooting, nails his free throws … just eerie, Gervin-like consistency for a young team that doesn’t have another reliable scorer, and if that’s not enough, he’s the single best teammate in the league other than LeBron. Barring injury, he’s going to win this year’s scoring title (he’d be the youngest ever by two years) and could be looking at a historic 35 ppg, 10 rpg, 50/40/90 percentage season soon. I don’t see how you pass that up. And if you remember, the 2007 Celts had a decent nucleus in place already (Al Jefferson, Rajon Rondo, Kendrick Perkins, Paul Pierce, Theo Ratliff’s expiring contract, the rights to Minnesota’s No. 1) and easily could have turned a couple of those assets into Pau Gasol a couple of months later. Read more…
Hollinger after last night’s game: “Forget about their youth, their inexperience, and the difficulty of the Western Conference. Forget all that, and just know this: The Thunder are going to the playoffs. Tuesday’s 89-77 win over the Blazers showed a good example why, as Oklahoma City demonstrated how its defense and newfound depth could carry it on a night when the starters couldn’t deliver.” Also, Hollinger’s playoff odds have OKC as the four seed. Don’t laugh. Right now, the Thunder’s just two and half out of the three seed.
