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What I don't like about people posting during the game is that they live and breathe every second which encourages a lot of nitpicking and emotional reactions.

Brooks is not the worst coach. He has the team performing well overall. Sure, the team is not consistent and small ball does not work well all the time but overall his results have been good in the key areas.

Grant Hill played like the old Grant Hill when he was still in Detroit. Their pick and roll, and our switches killed this game. And of course, playing like sleep walking for most of the game didn't help neither.
I thought this would be a pretty easy win since Suns are missing a few guys but the Thunder just didn't show up at all (except Collison imo)... Thabo was good on offense tonight but couldn't stop/slow down Grant Hill. And what's up with the FT lately!?

@justin
Hahah, well every statement during these games or right after or whatever is always so matter of fact, it cracks me up.

@Greg
Yeah, the East is super top heavy right now.

@justin
Second year head coach we're talking about here, I'm sure he'll learn quite a bit. I'm not sold either on him just yet either, but there's a lot of basketball to played in the next couple years with his regime and these players. So at this point, I don't know how worth it it is to devote a lot of attention on it.

What's nice, long-term, is that the West is shaping up pretty nicely for us. A lot of the elite teams are getting older. Whereas the East is really building up and getting top heavy. Just over a year ago, I always wished OKC could be in the East. But going forward, I'm much happier to be in the West.

@Dylan

Perhaps my attitude comes off a little strong in text. :)

Dylan :

justin :@Dylan

I don’t think it’s hyperbole. I don’t see us winning anything significant with Scott Brooks as coach unless he learns some more through experience. Hopefully that happens.

Maybe my real point is that I don’t understand the concept of people that can’t watch a basketball game without RAAAAAAAAAAGING.

That's fair. Every fanbase tends to overreact on a game by game basis. Hard not to get frustrated by seemingly obvious flaws, though, when you've already invested so much time/emotion/energy.

Grant Hill abused smaller defenders all game yet we continually let point guards switch off on him. Instead we let KD waste away in the corner guarding no one and not helping at all. He could have kept Grant Hill from doing everything that he did. Anyone can guard Dudley or Childress they didn't do anything at all.

justin :@Dylan

I don’t think it’s hyperbole. I don’t see us winning anything significant with Scott Brooks as coach unless he learns some more through experience. Hopefully that happens.

this is an entirely different statement than what we were reading during the game. Which I guess is expected once people have a chance to let things sink in.

Anyway, I think my real point is that Brooks is here for the foreseeable future, so what's the point of getting RAGING MAD every time something he does doesn't go your way? Maybe my real point is that I don't understand the concept of people that can't watch a basketball game without RAAAAAAAAAAGING.

How does Grant Hill score 30 points? Where's the D Thabo, where's the D?

@Dylan

I don't think it's hyperbole. I don't see us winning anything significant with Scott Brooks as coach unless he learns some more through experience. Hopefully that happens.

@justin
I don't disagree with that. I just find this hyperbole after every single loss hysterical/maddening. Do people not watch other basketball games?

There are a lot of bad coaches in the league and Scott Brooks is essentially average as a head coach in his second full-season. We're on pace to dust our win total from last year, and there have been as many games where Brooks has made the right calls and pushed the right buttons as there have been like tonight where he boned us. AKA: Every coach on the planet that's not in the elite stratosphere. Unless you think Phil Jackson or someone like that is coming to OKC, maybe it's time to pump the breaks on the freakouts.

Sportscenter's not top 10 should show us missing on purpose with a shooting guard trying to rebound after Phoenix subbed their centers in.

@humbert humbert

whoops. meant shouldn't get those minutes when he's not guarding a top offensive player. should have played less.

@Dylan

The players aren't completely absolved, no. They played like crap and were unfocused most of the game. Maybe they deserved to lose. But I'd rather lose with our best lineups playing like they are uninterested than not even really give the players a chance down the stretch.

Brooks says he wants stops and defense, yeah maybe the players didn't give him that most of the game, but he basically ensured they wouldn't be able to with that substitution to end it.

@clarkem
I would bet a long time since the team apparently loves him. Does this really seem like the type of roster that would quit on their coach?

@Greg

sefolosha should get those minutes when he's guarding a top offensive player. ibaka certainly did not set the world on fire with his play this game, but he deserves more than 11 minutes.

@Dylan
Shooting slumps happen to all teams at every level its a part of the game. What shouldn't happen is a coach giving the game up like he did.

Wow the moment I saw Brooks pull Collison for Harden I said the game was over. Terrible terrible coaching. How long before the team revolts against him costing us the game by playing small ball.

@justin
I think he's a bad coach too, but we shot 28% tonight in the first half and that's on the players, too. I'm not opposed to getting a new coach in here, but ... who exactly? And I'm being realistic, it's not going to happen this year unless we just completely bomb out. Since we have a better record now than a year ago, I'm going to rule that out.

At the earliest, we're looking at the next-next offseason, and that's also taking into account the fact there may not even be a season next year. So maybe we're looking at three offseasons at the earliest.

We might have won this game with a different coach, we WOULD have won this game if we would have played worth a shit in the first half. Obviously some of that is on Brooks, but most of it is on the players.

@Greg

Harden got elbowed and left the game for awhile.

It's discouraging after a nice defensive run the team looked so unfocused, unprepared, and unwilling on that end.

@Keith
Yep. This is what happens when you make too much of a habit of sleepwalking through 2 or 3 quarters, and then "clamping down in the 4th".

Harden only getting 25 minutes really pisses me off. Thabo was good tonight, but 39 minutes? Give Harden more PT, he's been GREAT!

This game was just...Awkward.

That is all.

While I don't think Brooks is a good head coach, this loss is all on the players. Even when they started hitting some shots in the second half, the defense never tightened up. We handed this win to a bad team because we had no effort on the defensive end.

Dylan :

justin :So who really thinks this team is ever going to win a title with this doufas coaching us?

LOL, one bad loss and justin is cutting his wrists. If we don’t ever win a title, it will be for reasons far beyond just having scott brooks as a coach.

I'm racking my brain but I can't really think of many coaching decisions Brooks has made that have helped the team win games. The only reason we've been able to get our best lineups in the game recently is because our players have been injured. I bet when Krstic comes back he'll start again.

This team has too much talent to lose games like this. If the fans on a blog can see that the Suns scored repeatedly when we went small and it was a bad idea, how can the coach not see that?

That sucked. A must win that wasn't. Now they better beat the fucking Knicks on Wed. Cause that's one they scheduled to lose.

Do you people not realize how good our players our? Our coach has completely boned this team multiple times this year.

Scott Brooks can singlehandedly keep this team from reaching their potential.

we lose

ick

well. Phoenix deserved this win. They played about 10X better basketball than we did

:(

If you needed any more proof this team isn't a contender, you should be satisfied by tonight's pathetic performance.

@humbert humbert
I think Brooks had already given up on the game.

worst coaching decisions ever

Whoa! Jeff almost hit that.

why wouldn't you put ibaka and collison in to rebound the miss?

justin :
So who really thinks this team is ever going to win a title with this doufas coaching us?

LOL, one bad loss and justin is cutting his wrists. If we don't ever win a title, it will be for reasons far beyond just having scott brooks as a coach.

Jeff Green and Thabo Sefolosha were in the game to rebound the miss. Our two greatest rebounders.

andrew :
Clearly the refs put some money on OKC this game.

Seems like it.

I don't want to kill myself over this. BUt goddam. F-in inexcusable.

F************************CK
if you are going to miss that intentially, then why dont you put some rebounders out there??????

Let me repeat, we had mothereffing Green and Thabo in to rebound!!!!! Brooks is a clown.

HAHA. We missed on purpose and Brooks kept Thabo in the game to rebound.

I can't believe our coach.

Gotta miss this.

@justin
No, Scott Brooks cost us this game.

If Maynor doesnt intentionally miss the 2nd here I will quit watching Thunder basketball. Of course we have Green and Thabo in to rebound.

So who really thinks this team is ever going to win a title with this doufas coaching us?

Greaper22 :
how was that not a 3 pt. FT opp?

it was scott brooks' fault

UGH MAYNOR. Why didn't he pass it off, he knew they were going to foul.

how was that not a 3 pt. FT opp?

justin :
Russ should miss on purpose.

That would require our coach to have a brain.

So we have no more timeouts and Nash will make both. I bet Phoenix will foul us in the backcourt again.

This game's pretty much over. That mistake advancing the ball cost us this game.

Put Maynor in for the heave.