Obviously, Thunder fans weren’t excited about Sunday’s outcome, but there were things to be encouraged about. Even excited about. One being the way James Harden played Kobe Bryant in the fourth quarter.
If Harden is ready to play defense like that on a consistent basis, there’s no way you can possibly keep him out of the starting lineup, or at the least, from 30-plus minutes a night.
Clearly, Harden was not backing down from Kobe, even as Kobe tried to repeatedly back him down. Harden played Kobe physical, always keeping a hand or at least some part of his body on him. He stayed down on pump fakes, swiped at the ball and even got a little chippy with Kobe. I love it.
Harden has come a long, long way as a defender since last season. He’s becoming a lot more disciplined and is understanding help defense much better. He has terrific hands and is strong, long and athletic. There’s no reason he can’t be a stopper himself to go along with a solid offensive game.
Here’s where I have to make a point or two more about this Jeff Green trade before I lose my crap over it.
One thing I feel the need to say: For all of you already freaking out about this trade, just quit. I’ve been getting flooded with emails and tweets from concerned fans all worried about this trade screwing up the Thunder. People are worried about the offense. Oh no, how are we going to replace Jeff Green!?! People, it was Jeff Green. You know, the inconsistent scorer that averaged 15 points a game, shot barely 40 percent and took four 3s a game while only hitting about a quarter of them. Remember that guy? Read more…
Russell Westbrook normally doesn’t get accused of being smooth when he dunks. Most of the time, words like “vicious,” “nasty,” “angry” and “powerful” best describe Westbrook’s dunk habits.
But his lefty finish against the Lakers Sunday was smooth like Brian Davis’s head. The behind-the-back move on Kobe was slick and then the finish with the left was just… pretty. After finishing it, Westbrook looked at his left hand in shock. The reason? Because he’s never dunked with the left.
Weird thing is though, Westbrook actually is left-handed. He just doesn’t shoot a basketball with it. But now, he dunks with it.
John Hollinger of ESPN.com: “Nonetheless, we have the beginnings of a pattern here, too, and it’s not a good one for the Thunder. Whatever you think of Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic, they allowed Oklahoma City to play an offensive style that often had the middle empty to open driving lanes for Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. In the first two games without them, we’ve seen how the dynamics have changed. The Thunder committed 19 turnovers against a packed-in Laker defense and scored only 31 points in the second half, stats that would be easier to attribute to the opponent were it not for the fact that the same thing happened to them on Friday in Orlando — when they came out of the break with a 40-point clunker and shot 33.3 percent for the night.”
From ESPN Stats and Info: “The Thunder had a chance to tie the game with under ten seconds remaining before Kevin Durant missed his shot attempt. Over the last three seasons Durant is just 2-12 on game tying three-point field goal attempts in the last minute of regulation or overtime. Only two players over that span have taken at least ten such attempts and made a lower percentage of those attempts: Kobe Bryant (1-10) and Aaron Brooks (1-10).” Read more…
It felt like last April all over again. The Lakers were in town, the arena was beyond loud and there was just another level of intensity on the floor. The officials swallowed their whistles for most the game, it was extremely physical and just in a general sense, it felt like a playoff game.
Even down to the halftime show, things felt the same as Peter Rabbit returned (he performed twice at halftime during the playoffs).
But just like last year, the Thunder came up juuuuuuuust a little short. Down three with 10 seconds left, Oklahoma City had two shots to tie, with both 3s — one from Kevin Durant and one from James Harden — rimming out. Hey, at least it wasn’t a Pau Gasol tip this time, right? Right?
“I got a good look. Once I let it go, I thought it was good and James felt the same way,” Durant said after the game. “It was kind of like the rest of the game, I just felt like nothing could go our way. We just have to keep pushing it along, keep fighting and staying positive.”
The Thunder battled the Lakers all afternoon, but this game really was a story of two different halves, and a bad third quarter. OKC led the Lakers 56-51 heading into the break and were playing some inspired basketball. They were struggling with Andrew Bynum inside, but Cole Aldrich came in and played 10 really nice minutes, Daequan Cook hit some 3s, Russell Westbrook had 17 and the Thunder just looked to have an edge to them. Read more…
You remember what happened the last time the Lakers were in this building, right? But then, how could you forget? Pau Gasol tips in a Kobe Bryant miss with a few tenths on the clock and Oklahoma City was eliminated from the playoffs. It was a great series and there’s no doubt the Thunder has the Lakers’ respect. So there will be no sneaking up on them. Read more…
Real men cry. The Celtic and Thunder trade aftermath is proof.
We catch up with Royce after the Presti press conference to hear his thoughts on the new acquisitions and what losing Green may mean. We also talk rivalry with Ben Golliver from Blazersedge.com.
Can we consider the Thunder a contending team now? Are the Blazers the Thunder’s only competition for the NW crown? If you collected the tears shed by both teams over this deal could you bathe in them?
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The Thunder paid a pretty hefty price to get the big man they’ve always wanted. But they’ll have to wait a while before they get to see what he can give them.
Center Kendrick Perkins will miss two to three weeks with an MCL sprain according to Thunder coach Scott Brooks. Perkins injured the knee against the Golden State Warriors while he was still a member of the Boston Celtics.
Morning Thunders. Thank you for your support of Daily Thunder. Perk!
Not only did the Thunder improve the roster at the deadline, they also bumped up a notch in having an over-the-top personality. Adding Nate Robinson gives Oklahoma City another world-class NBA tweeter (@nate_robinson) but Robinson is also known as one of the biggest characters in the league. He’s won the dunk contest three times using a number of wild proppy dunks and participated in a prank war with Shaq but I would have to rank this Robinson moment as my favorite. I can’t believe this guy is on our team now.
I’m kind of sort of thinking that the Thunder might’ve been able to use Kendrick Perkins in this one. Just a little bit.
Dwight Howard absolutely dominated Oklahoma City with 40 points on 16-20 shooting as the Magic rolled a shorthanded Thunder squad 111-88. OKC hung tough for a large portion of the game before it was clear that they just couldn’t scrap their way to a win. They kept hanging in the game, consistently staying within eight to 12 points, but whenever they needed that extra rebound to round out a big stop, Howard (or someone else) seemed to put back a miss and bump the chance for the Thunder to actually cut into the Magic lead.
It was kind of amazing the Thunder was close at any point of this game though. Kevin Durant struggled in the second half, going just 2-12 from the floor and 7-22 overall for 23 points. I couldn’t have been prouder of KD though as he never gave in. He battled non-stop, as evidenced by his huge 16 rebounds. Read more…
Well this is kind of weird. A basketball game! The Thunder will be a bit shorthanded playing against the Magic as none of the new guys will be with the team yet. (Hopefully Sunday, sans Kendrick Perkins most likely.) Read more…
Oklahoma City’s general manager Sam Presti addressed the media for about 35 minutes Friday afternoon talking about the two transactions the Thunder had yesterday.
The quote that really hung with me as I walked out of the Thunder’s practice facility was, “The focus is on the organization. The players are part of the organization.” I think that right there should explain yesterday’s events to you more than anything.
As difficult as it was to part with a player that was so much a part of the team as Jeff Green, it was necessary. And Presti knew it. He spoke at length about how tough the move was to make, but how his job is to make this franchise competitive in the present, as well as the future.
“We’re all professionals. We understand that it’s a business,” Presti said. “And you have to move after you get past that initial stage of surprise.”
One tough moment: When Presti was asked to talk about Jeff Green and his contributions to the franchise, Presti started speaking about what a terrific human Green is, but it was obvious Presti wasn’t going to be talking long. After about 10 seconds, tears welled in Presti’s eyes and he had to just cut himself off. It was an emotional, candid moment that you don’t typically see from Presti.Read more…
OK, probably not. But it could feel that way for at least a few days. And what is sports media if not a place for quick reactions and overreactions? Hear me out, though. I think there’s at least a chance that Thursday’s trade of Jeff Green could end up killing off a little of Oklahoma City’s family-oriented, Thunder U mentality.
I don’t pretend to know what Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook or anyone else thinks. But I’m pretty sure I know how I would react in this situation if I was in my early 20s.
I’d roll my eyes, at least for awhile, whenever Sam Presti or Scott Brooks or anyone else mentioned how the team is a “family” that grows together. “Well I guess Jeff wasn’t a part of the family then, huh? I guess we only grow together until you trade one of us away, huh?”
We got an inkling into how some members of the team are feeling with some tweets Thursday by a few of the players. At least for now, it seems like they’re taking it pretty hard. And I know that’s how I would have felt too if one of my good friends at that age was taken away from me under circumstances beyond my control, and especially if those circumstances were under the control of an authority figure whom I trusted. Read more…
In case you didn’t know, the Thunder made a trade yesterday. A big one, in fact. (That’s kind of a pun, get it?)
Oklahoma City acquired Kendrick Perkins from Boston in exchange for Jeff Green, Nenad Krstic and the Clippers 2012 pick. (The Thunder also got Nate Robinson from Boston as well as Nazr Mohammed from Charlotte. But Perkins was the prize of deadline day for the Thunder.)
So, who is this guy? Will he fit in? Isn’t he that really mean dude that’s always snarling?
Perkins, 26, was born in Nederland, Texas and didn’t attend a university. He was drafted 27th overall straight out of high school by the Grizzlies before being traded to the Celtics on draft night for Troy Bell and Dahntay Jones. He’s a practicing Roman Catholic and growing up was an altar boy. He’s 6-10 and 280 pounds, but plays like a seven-footer because of his massive wingspan. Read more…
I will go ahead and say what we’re all thinking: Please, for the love of Tyson Chandler, don’t let Kendrick Perkins fail his physical. I really can’t deal with another rescinded trade. Really, I can’t. On to a massive collection of links. Hope you don’t plan on doing any work today.
Ken Berger of CBSSports.com: “For the Thunder, GM Sam Presti did it again. He found something you can almost never find — a near 7-footer in his prime on a reasonable contract, with the payroll flexibility to sign him long-term whatever the new rules wind up being. But Presti did more than that. His long-term plan of building with youth, draft picks and cap space has suddenly collided with the potential for a substantial short-term reward. Even with an undersized lineup against the biggest frontcourt in the league, the Thunder put a scare into the Lakers in the first round last spring. Imagine if they had a rugged, athletic, legitimate center — one who has banged bodies with the Lakers in a championship series before.” Read more…
I joined the always excellent Ryen Russillo on the NBA Today podcast today
