When this game was put on the schedule back in August as part of the NBA’s big “release” thing, I was psyched. Psyched that the Thunder was going to be part of the important regular season day in the NBA. Psyched that the Thunder was going to be playing in primetime on Christmas. Read more…
It’s Friday night in Oklahoma City. Sheridan Avenue is dark. Sidewalks down Reno are mostly empty. Traffic is light all over. The arena that’s still called the Ford Center is empty and lifeless. And there’s not anything anywhere that’s blue or has the word “thunder” on it.
Bricktown’s bars have gathered a few patrons, but most of the downtown action is at the movie theater and Bass Pro where people are getting in some last minute Christmas shopping. That big new Devon skyscraper? It’s still a big empty plot.
Some good news though: There’s no ridiculous amount of road construction. But it doesn’t matter because not enough people are downtown to make a big problem.
There’s not much to do on this night other than maybe do that outdoor ice skating thing that got old seven years ago. Or maybe there’s a minor league hockey game. Doesn’t that just sound like so much fun?!
Bricktown’s not Bedford Falls. It’s Pottersville and it sucks.
This is what Oklahoma City would be without the Thunder. This would be your town on Friday night. Read more…
At any moment, Sam Presti could strike. He’s one of the best general managers out there at keeping everything under his hat until it happens.
But it’s starting to get to be that time of the season where NBA GMs are calling each other daily to see what’s going on. And I don’t mean that they’re just checking in and saying “Merry Christmas.” Presti is no exception, as he told HoopsWorld:
“About this time of year this start to pick up, and I’m sure we’ll take our fair share of calls and make our fair share of calls,” Presti Tells HOOPSWORLD. “That said, the group that we have is one that we see working together, growing together, and continuing to learn together. We understand that we’re still a work in progress, and the areas where we’re trying to improve as a team – being more defensive-minded, being a team that moves the ball and plays for the pass, a team that brings energy every single night – those are areas that we still want to see growth in. We’re confident that our guys are going to keep working. We’ve got an excellent focus on the practice floor led by Scott, and we’ll look for our development and our progress to come internally.”
So, let me say aloud what we’re all thinking: Who could Presti be offering up or going after? What exactly could the Thunder be in the market for?
Most of you just shouted “BIG MAN!” at your computer screen, but that might not be it. I’m speculating, but something tells me that could be what Presti has on the block. Read more…
You may have already seen it, but Kevin Durant has a new NBA “Where Amazing Happens” commercial that’s going to be on your TV Christmas day. The concept is simple: Some old dude is telling a circa 2005 high school KD what his future will look like. He tells KD that he’ll be playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder (who obviously didn’t even exist at the time) and with Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka (who nobody knew existed at the time).
(Am I the only one that saw it a little weird that it was Westbrook and Ibaka as the two players mentioned instead of Westbrook and Jeff Green? Green’s kind of part three of the supposed Big 3 in OKC, except he wasn’t mentioned. My theory: Maybe the commercial makers want the ad to have a long shelf life and they’re worried about Green’s future in OKC. I’m definitely reading way too much into this.)
The commercial is about as outstanding as you might imagine. The editing makes it look like it’s totally happening the way it seems. If you’re like me, you’re going to watch this video 10-15 times and then look forward to Saturday because you can’t wait to see it on TV. I’m sort of pathetic like that.
Cole Aldrich’s latest blog for Dime: “I got a lot out of my D-League experience. I think not only from getting the minutes on the court, but learning different things from the coaches and continuing to work hard. Wherever you’re playing, whatever city you’re in, if you’re on the road or at home, you have to work hard. Take every day as an opportunity to get better.”
Chris Sheridan of ESPN on last night’s game: “While the Thunder were basically a two-man show with either Kevin Durant (26 points) or Russell Westbrook (23 points) dominating the ball, the Knicks got contributions from all over. Chandler was 3-for-4 on 3-pointers and 9-of-15 overall in accumulating 21 points; Raymond Felton became the first Knick since Stephon Marbury in 2004 to have 10 assists in five straight games, posting totals of 12 points and 10 dimes; Turiaf spearheaded a 29-point contribution from the bench; and Landry Fields did a little of everything with 14 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and a block.” Read more…
The Knicks don’t make it a secret with what they want to do. They want to run the floor, get to the rim and make 3-pointers. And when you let them do all three with relative ease, you’re not winning. You’re just not.
In most cases, it means you lose by double-digits. Which was the case tonight as New York beat Oklahoma City 112-98.
The Thunder had a couple of things working against them. This was the fourth game in five nights, plus the second of a back-to-back against the high-octane Knicks. New York badly needed a win after dropping three straight. And it just seemed like the Knicks made everything they looked at.
OKC defense had a lot to do with it, but that’s the risk you run when you let a team get into their flow. The Knicks were in their offensive rhythm early on. Drive and kick, run the floor, pick-and-roll. It’s a simple formula that Mike D’Antoni has, but when you have guys making shots, it works. Really, really well I might add. New York went 10-21 from 3, had 30 assists and shot over 50 percent. They made pretty much every open look they had and the Thunder was kind enough to gift them a good number of them. Read more…
Five things that have me excited about tonight’s game against the Knicks: 1) It’s on the big stage in New York; 2) the Knicks are good; 3) Kevin Durant’s cold-blooded performance at Madison Square Garden last season; 4) The Thunder’s always fun to watch and 5) um, well I guess there’s only four things. Read more…
Interesting note from the AP recap: “The Thunder were hopeful Krstic would be able to play, but Brooks said his back stiffened up after Tuesday’s workout. He was seen getting his lower back iced after shootaround. “There’s no pressure on him to return,” Brooks said.” Seriously Nenad… take you time.
From Elias: The Thunder trailed 69-68 at the end of the third quarter in Charlotte Tuesday night. But Oklahoma City outscored the Bobcats 31-12 in the final period and coasted to a 99-81 win. That was the second-biggest margin of victory the franchise has ever posted in a game it trailed entering the fourth quarter. On April 12, 1986, the SuperSonics trailed the Warriors 83-81 through three quarters, but crushed Golden State 40-18 in the fourth to win by 20. Read more…
So that was a pretty good fourth quarter. We all thought we were watching one of those unnecessarily close Thunder games where they can’t put away a lesser opponent.
Well that wasn’t the case in tonight’s game against the Bobcats. Heading into the fourth, Oklahoma City trailed 69-68. Kevin Durant was pretty much the only player playing well. Then, I guess you could say the Thunder turned it on. Or cranked it up. Or blew the crap out of Charlotte in the last 12 minutes.
OKC started the quarter on a 23-3 run the first six minutes and ended up outscoring Charlotte 31-12 in the period. With a little over three minutes left, the Bobcats had scored only three points in the fourth. Good defense, good offense, good everything. On the road against a team you should beat, that’s how you want to see your team close. Read more…
Let me just point this out first: The Bobcats turned the ball over 29 times Monday night against the Wizards in a 33-point loss. So that’s out there. That goes two ways: A) It means the Bobcats are terrible and on the verge of completely imploding meaning Oklahoma City should walk to a win or B) Larry Brown will, um, motivate his team into playing better tonight. Read more…
No one can argue that, as fans, Thunderheads have been nowhere near naughty. The still-the-Ford Center is usually filled, it’s usually loud, the fan shops are packed with fans supporting the team and the most die-hard among us go above and beyond what normal NBA fans do.
So it’s worth holding out hope that Santa would come through with a lot of wish list items for Thunder fans. I tried to come up with a list that would be almost universally acceptable for Oklahoma City devotees this holiday season. Feel free to add your own in the comment section — Santa could be reading this!
1) A lockout-free 2011-12 season.We’ve already discussed the reasons why a lockout could be particularly cruel and damaging to the Oklahoma City market. But it’s definitely worth asking Santa to intervene, especially because this is surely the No. 1 priority of any NBA fan between now and next October. Does anyone around here want to be cheated out of a year of watching Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the gang? The answer is obviously a resounding no not only in Oklahoma but around the league. Read more…
Darnell Mayberry writes that KD’s getting locked in: “Kevin Durant has stumbled upon a seasonal sweet spot. And it might be causing fans to experience déjà vu. Here in the middle of December, the Oklahoma City Thunder star is again quietly finding his rhythm. It was a year ago Wednesday that Durant started last season’s 29-game streak of at least 25 points. And just like last year, Durant now looks dialed in. Durant enters tonight’s game at Charlotte shooting 48.6 percent in December, shaking off a slow shooting start that had some questioning his MVP front-runner label at the start of 2010-11.”
Marc Stein’s power rankings: “Not so surprised to see Grant Hill turn back the clock on the Thunder. The bigger surprise was seeing this season’s kings of the close game fail to pull that one out: OKC’s now 9-2 in games decided by five points or fewer.” Read more…
For the second time in a little over a week, MidFirst bank dished out 20 large to a Thunder fan. This time it was Todd Lafferty, another out-of-stater (from Kansas) who sent home the long distance prayer.
Lafferty, unlike the first winner Robert Yanders, isn’t a current overseas professional basketball player or college baller. He’s just a normal guy who is expecting his first child with his wife soon. So all in all, a good candidate to knock down a $20,000 shot.
Michael Schwartz of Valley of the Suns: “The Thunder ended the quarter on a 23-9 run, as the Suns didn’t make a shot in the final 3:23, while committing four turnovers during that stretch. Because of Phoenix’s sloppy play and Oklahoma City’s newfound rhythm, the Thunder took an 85-82 lead into the fourth quarter. But the Suns grabbed hold of the lead early in the fourth, fighting off Durant and the Thunder thanks to 10 fourth-quarter points from Hill, and crucial rebounding (the Suns won the battle of the boards 37-32) and defense down the stretch.”
An excellent observation from Darnell Mayberry: “Thunder guard Eric Maynor had a trip to the free throw line to with 3.3 seconds left and the Thunder trailing 112-109. His intent was to make the first and miss the second. He executed the strategy perfectly. But a brief oversight was costly. Thunder coach Scott Brooks failed to put in a big man, either Serge Ibaka or Nick Collison. It left Thabo Sefolosha and Jeff Green to battle for the board. Gentry, meanwhile, subbed in center Robin Lopez for point guard Goran Dragic and fellow big man Channing Frye for forward Grant Hill. And when Maynor missed the second attempt, it was the 6-foot-11 Frye who grabbed the game-clinching rebound.” Read more…
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