This episode features David Locke, play by play guy for the Utah Jazz and a big time stats geek. We talk about our rivalry with the Jazz and run down the problems with the Thunder defense. Locke also questions some popular Thunder fan belief on Serge Ibaka. Lots to comment about.
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Please note: the comparisons were generated using stats through Friday’s games. I don’t think they would have changed much over the weekend, but keep it in mind.
In my last article, I used statistical similarities to look at how this season’s Thunder and other NBA teams compared to past NBA teams, and used those comparisons to look at how the 2011 teams may fair in the second half and playoffs. A lot has changed in the NBA since I posted that article, with the Thunder going on a bit of a hot streak before cooling off recently, so I wanted to take a renewed look at the comparisons, using network diagrams to help illustrate my points. Read more…
Ben Golliver of CBS Sports on Durant’s comments: “Durant’s words mark another development in his career arc, as, up to this point, he’s been content with proving himself on the court and avoiding any major exchanges of words off the court. Here, though, Durant clearly felt that protocol had been violated. To go at Bosh in such a personal way — poking fun at his decision to team up with LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, to call into question Bosh’s toughness — shows an edge I can’t recall seeing out of Durant. I kind of like it.”
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com: “Speed in transition, high screens, curls and a hearty Westbrook-Durant two-man game pace the Thunder, but they’re capable of more creativity than they showed in the half court. And what’s happened on the other side of the floor? When assistant Ron Adams returned to Chicago, did he take the OKC defense with him?” Read more…
Following the Thunder’s 108-103 loss, Kevin Durant was upset. Upset with the way his team finished, with the way he played and with the fact his guys lost. And he wasn’t shy about talking about Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh.
The two were hit with double-technical fouls in the first quarter after Bosh fouled Harden on a fast break. KD said something to Harden and Bosh jumped in. The two had words and it was over. Until Durant was asked about it in the locker room.
Durant said, “I was talking to my teammate and [Bosh] decided he wanted to put his two cents into it. I am quiet guy, laid back guy, but I’m not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He’s on a good team now so he thinks he can talk a little bit. There are a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he’s one of them.”
And more: “I’m no punk. I wasn’t even talking to him first off. He decided to butt in and I’m not going to just let that slide. Especially in our house. Like I said, he’s not one of those guys I look at and say he has a rap for talking back to guys or getting into it. He’s a nice guy. I’m not going to let that type of person say something to me like that.”
Pretty out of character for KD, but I definitely support it. He’s got his teammates back and he’s not afraid to say what he thought of it. I think the fact that Durant had anything to say at all says a lot about what he thinks. KD is one of the kindest most gentle athletes in the world and for him to go strong like this says he means it.
Kevin Durant put it pretty well after the game. He said the team was in the position to win up one with 20 seconds left. They just didn’t get a rebound.
Truth right there.
After Durant hit a massive jumper with 20 seconds left to put OKC up 103-102, the Thunder needed just one stop. And they got it. Problem was, they didn’t get the rebound that goes with it. The Heat grabbed it, swung the ball out to LeBron James who found a wide-open Eddie House in the corner for a dagger 3 that put the Heat up two.
The game wasn’t over then, but it sort of felt like it. Durant got a decent look to tie the game but it rimmed out and OKC was left to foul. Again though, Dwyane Wade missed his second free throw, opening the door for a tying 3-pointer, except, you guessed it, the Thunder didn’t secure the rebound. Game over, 108-103.
When you’re as good as the Thunder, there’s absolutely no such thing as a moral victory, but at the same time, OKC was right in there against the class of the league. The Heat were full tilt in this one and OKC was withing one defensive rebound of finishing off a great win. Then again, maybe that last sentence says more about this Thunder team than anything. So close to greatness, but just missing a piece. Read more…
It doesn’t count for any extra in the win-loss columns, but boy, this sure would be nice to win. Not only because it’s the Heat and it’s nice to beat good teams, but the whole national TV thing makes it feel a little bigger too. Read more…
He’s expecting it. He hears it every arena he walks in, except the one he calls home. But when he comes to Oklahoma City, I say we do something different.
Don’t boo LeBron James.
Not because we’re trying to be classy or show just how wonderful we are as people. But because there’s really no reason to. You may think LeBron is an evil, villainous person that eats babies and kills puppies, but all this animosity that’s built up with him has kind of gotten ridiculous.
Following LeBron’s decision, every player in the league was asked what they thought about it. Kevin Durant was one of them. And KD said, “A lot of people really don’t get to see what kind of person he is. He was trying to look out for himself, his family and trying to make the right decision for his family. You can’t blame a man for that, no matter what you do, (whether it’s) playing basketball or being a teacher. People with different professions leave their jobs all the time for better places. So you can’t judge him for what he did. He’s just looking out for himself.”
Durant was one of the few players that never questioned what LeBron did and never said something negative about it. So I think Thunder fans should fall in step behind their leader. Leave LeBron alone when he comes to Oklahoma City Sunday. Read more…
Oklahoma City was clearly looking ahead to Sunday’s showdown against Miami on Friday as it wheezed past the Washington Wizards with a seven-point, double-overtime win in front of another packed home crowd. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to score the team’s final 31 points and Westbrook had a triple-double, but there was hardly much to smile about after this one.
Just about everything the Thunder has been accused of doing wrong this season reared its ugly head. A slow, listless start to the game. Poor defense, highlighted by over-helping, over-rotating, not hustling until it was almost too late and generally not giving a crap. Strange substitution patterns. God-awful plays coming out of late timeouts. You name it. Read more…
A home game against a team that’s 0-21 on the road? Sounds like a fun game, right? Problem is, at some point the Wizards are going to beat someone away from home. The longer their streak goes, the better the chances get. And for no other reason than that, that’s what scares me. Read more…
Cleveland’s most enticing trade asset – rugged Brazilian big man Anderson Varejao – was ruled out for the rest of the season in early January thanks to a torn ankle tendon. Varejao still hasn’t decided whether he’s going to have surgery on the ankle, but the severity of the injury brought an understandable halt to some thought-provoking negotiations that sources say had quietly begun to percolate between the Cavs and Oklahoma City.
The Thunder, as noted in Monday’s Power Rankings, began the week having outrebounded only 22 teams … compared to 55 last season. The Thunder, in short, need another big man to truly contend in the West. And they know it.
Varejao’s injury, though, essentially ensures that it won’t be him, tantalizing as it must be for Thunder fans to imagine what sort of impact he potentially could have had in the same frontcourt rotation with Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison.
Stein says the Cavs were likely going to ask for Jeff Green or James Harden, two players the Thunder isn’t all that interested in trading right now. However, Cole Aldrich, Byron Mullens, D.J. White and draft picks are things OKC is willing to discuss.
A week before Varejao was injured, I had heard from a person that would know that the Thunder was “interested” in talking with Cleveland about Varejao. From the way it sounded to me, it was extremely rumor-y and something that likely wasn’t happening. But evidently, maybe there was more chance of it than I thought.
Stein says OKC is looking for a veteran big that can defend and rebound with “greater regularity than Nenad Krstic.” It still sounds to me unlikely that the Thunder is going to be a big player at the deadline in terms of making a splash trade, but Sam Presti is definitely calling people. There are players out there that are being discussed (Carl Landry?) and it’s interesting to hear Stein say that OKC knows it needs to make a move.
Kevin Durant on his All-Star selection: “Thank you all for voting me into the All-Star game I am extremely humbled! I wish I could thank u all personally!!!! Thank u this is a dream.”
Anthony Macri of HoopsWorld with a good look at OKC’s transition offense: “Oklahoma City also uses handoffs and rub or blur screens in transition very well. They often attack the wings with pass and handoff plays, and use blur or rub screens to free offensive players for quick attack opportunities. Both tactics accomplish the same goal. By bringing offensive players close to each other in a time where the defense is still settling into position they take advantage of mistakes in communication and find easier ways to score. It can also lead to some interesting switches and matchup issues as the play develops.” Read more…
Kevin Durant was named a starter to the Western Conference All-Star team Thursday night as the NBA announced the starters live on TNT.
Durant was the second-leading vote-getter in the West behind Kobe Bryant.
KD is the league’s current leading scorer and reigning scoring champ and is the second youngest starter behind Derrick Rose (who is just six days younger). At just 22, Durant is probably just now starting a very, very long run as an All-Star starter. A lot of people wondered that if in small-town Oklahoma City that he’d gain the national recognition needed to become a big-name star, but evidently that wasn’t a problem.
This is something we need to get used to, but it’s really, really cool that our guy is going to be starting on the big stage. Well deserved, KD.
Henry Abbott wondered yesterday if KD deserves a vacation: “Let’s say you’re a big Durant fan. Doesn’t some big part of you hope he’ll just skip All-Star Weekend and head off to the Bahamas? Don’t you believe, in your bones, that if he did that, he’d be better for it in the playoffs? It’s hard for me to believe that a week of free time wouldn’t help immensely, however he chose to spend it. I say: Let Durant go to the All-Star break, and then take a week in the Caribbean. And if it has a chance to make him perform better later in the season, it’s worth it. People are tuning in to see the best athletes at their best.” I definitely see Henry’s point, but of course KD went and dropped 47 and 18 the day that went up. Read more…
Stupid Thunder. I want to be mad at you. I want to be upset at the pathetic defense you played. I want to be ticked about the 17 turnovers. I want to be cheesed at the fact you let an inferior Wolves team come within a hair of beating you in what would’ve been a truly deflating loss.
But I just can’t be. Wins are wins and no matter how they come, they always feel good.
However, here’s something I can be slightly miffed about: The fact that I can’t fully enjoy the best game of Kevin Durant’s career because the team played so poorly overall. Read more…
This episode features David Locke, play by play guy for the Utah Jazz and a big time stats geek. We talk about our rivalry with the Jazz and run down the problems with the Thunder defense. Locke also questions some popular Thunder fan belief on Serge Ibaka. Lots to comment about.
