The Triangle offense has won 11 championships since 1990. It has produced hundreds of wins. It’s produced the greatest player, the greatest coach and the greatest team ever.
Phil Jackson’s Triangle has been one of the most successful offensive systems ever in basketball. It worked with the Bulls and it worked with the Lakers. Some have wondered if it was the players or the system or a perfect combination of both, but the results don’t lie — the Triangle worked.
“‘When I look at Oklahoma City,’ the anonymous coach said, ‘I see a team that is built to run the Triangle. They are so designed to run the Triangle that it’s almost a joke. Imagine them running a two-man game on the weak side with [Kevin] Durant and [Russell] Westbrook. Who the f— is gonna stop that?’ In theory, no one. In practice, everyone, because Oklahoma City doesn’t run the Triangle. Nobody does. And that reality is more complicated than the offense itself.” Read more…
John Krolik for PBT previewing OKC: “The slimmed-down Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka are one of the best defensive frontcourts in the league. Russell Westbrook continues to be one of the league’s most most explosive and productive point guards while improving his shot selection and becoming a more efficient player. James Harden takes his game to another level, the Thunder play all four quarters in the playoffs, and the franchise wins the first championship in its history. Yes, they are thinking title. They should be.”
Henry Abbott of TrueHoop on the hot hand: “The researchers were nice enough to send me spreadsheets with a lot of the data they studied from the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 seasons. And you can see it all in there, plain as day. Here are players like Rudy Gay, Dirk Nowitzki, Chris Paul, Kevin Durant, Deron Williams, Brandon Roy, Nick Young, Richard Jefferson, Kevin Martin, Rip Hamilton, Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony. And like clockwork, after hitting a 3, they are dramatically more likely to shoot another one. And remember, those 3s after you just made one … they miss a lot.” Read more…
Every player, or at least good player, kind of has a couple go-to moves. Kevin Durant showed off a few last year in Nike’s “Signature Moves” series. And now it’s Russell Westbrook’s turn.
Now I just expected Westbrook’s to maybe be three different takes of him cramming over a guy taller than him or just running super fast by someone, but he actually showed off a couple legitimate moves. I was disappointed though that one of his signature moves wasn’t his patented double-spin move. That one’s a killer. Read more…
The balance of power shifted a bit more towards Los Angeles last night with the Clippers finally nabbing Chris Paul. Huge trade and it’ll make the Clips a certain must-watch team for the rest of the season.
Ball Don’t Lie’s blue ribbon Thunder preview: “This is a team to love, and not because of the feel-good story of the small market club and their superstar that Tweeted news about his contract extension rather than heading to ESPN on prime time first. The old hype? It was a reason to be bored by the Thunder. But this group? Provided OKC settles its offense in the latter stages of close games, it can do amazing things. And it wouldn’t be out of order. Not in the slightest, with this talent. This team is a three-word answer to any barroom kvetch, nasty comment on a blog, Facebook post or angry Tweet from anyone swearing up and down that they’re sick about the NBA. I don’t care that mainstream media paints them with a white hat — the Oklahoma City Thunder should be adored by millions even without such broad strokes.” Read more…
Media day is mainly about the start of training camp, the moment the NBA season has officially arrived. Players meet with the media, talk about how excited they are and such and such and then get set for a couple weeks of hard work and preparation for the new season.
But they also get portraits done for some reason. I’ve never really understood why, but it happens every year and each time, there’s a batch of photos that one could put in the categories of awkward, weird, funny and boring. Here’s the best from Oklahoma City’s media day album. Read more…
July 1, 2010, Sam Presti was on Kevin Durant’s front porch at 11:01, ready for Durant to sign a max extension. This offseason didn’t have a July 1 or an 11:01 for Russell Westbrook, at least in terms of NBA free agency, so circumstances were different.
But still, when the NBA officially opened for business last week, most expected Westbrook to have an extension in hand. Hasn’t happened yet. And already, some people are getting concerned.
Berry Tramel on Russell Westbrook’s extension: “The Thunder wants to sign Westbrook to a deal, and Westbrook has indicated he wants to sign a deal. But not even the Thunder’s nerdy brain trust has grasped all the intricacies of the new labor agreement. If we know anything by now, it’s that Presti doesn’t do anything without knowing all the angles. He and his staff must learn all the nuances of the new salary cap and luxury taxes — a master’s degree in quantitative analysis is recommended — because every penny the Thunder spends is deeply considered. So the Westbrook extension very likely will spill over into the regular season. Will that create tension? Doesn’t have to. This isn’t New Orleans or Orlando.”
We all saw the need for a backup small forward for Kevin Durant. Sam Presti did too.
The Thunder acquired Lazar Hayward late Tuesday from the Wolves for Robert Vaden and two conditional second round picks. Hayward, a 6-6 swingman, is 25 years old and was taken 30th overall in 2010. Last season with Minnesota, he averaged 3.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 42 games.
“We are excited to be able to add Lazar to our organization,” Sam Presti said in a release. “Lazar is someone who we followed closely through the draft process and identified as a potential fit for the culture and identity that we are continuing to build in Oklahoma City. His toughness, length and shooting are attributes that will add depth to our roster, while his professionalism and competitiveness embody the intangibles that we value as an organization.” Read more…
The fourth annual Thunder media day was Tuesday afternoon and while there was the large amount of boring quotes and questions about being excited and looking forward to challenges, there was also a decent amount of interesting things to take note of.
One of those being Kendrick Perkins. Everyone should know by now that he’s slimmed down losing some 30 pounds during the offseason, but basically every player raved about Perk and his re-discovered agility and athleticism. And nobody ever hinted that he lost any of that brute strength or nastiness that makes him so good in the first place.
I was sitting about two feet from Perk when he talked to the media. And let me tell you, he looks awesome. You can just tell that he’s more fit and ready and not just that, you can tell that he’s in a much better mood because of it. Not in a “He’s not going to headbutt Nene anymore” kind of good mood, but just that he’s much more enthusiastic. His arms are huge, he’s still got that barrel chest but he’s just much… well, thinner. He said this is this first time since 2009 he hasn’t had to have any knee braces or wraps and even said when he was packing last week to come to OKC, he looked at his three braces and said, “I’m gonna leave those right there.” So he didn’t even bring them with him.
Some other notes and observations from media day: Read more…
The new Collective Bargaining Agreement will reshape and re-structure the league for the next 10 years (or six) and the Thunder will have to live in it. Right now, the team is succeeding in the current system, but how will the new one affect Oklahoma City?
By Max Trueblood
Finally! It’s over.
After nearly 5 months of nitpicking over how to split up a nearly $4 billion pie, the owners and players have finally come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement and by now, you’ve probably seen several articles breaking down the new CBA. While not all of it may make sense to the fan who just wants to watch the action on the court and let the finances take care of itself, the mechanisms in the new CBA can and will have an impact on what type of product we will see on the court.
The majority of the salary cap mechanisms can be tough to interpret to the casual fan so the “BRI split” became the hot topic during the lockout and was still analyzed by financial gurus as the lockout came to a close. This determines how much percentage of basketball revenue will go to the players and how much goes to the owners. Read more…
Today is Thunder media day, which is always great for non-answers, weird questions and a lot of non-news. I’m pumped. I’ll have a recap of some kind up this afternoon, but you can follow me on Twitter and I’ll have some stuff straight from the happenings.
Gabe Feldman of Grantland on David Stern: “We know Stern’s decision is bad for the Hornets, but is there an argument that he wasn’t allowed to do it? There’s no clear answer to these questions, and it is the first time they have been asked. But, from a legal perspective, here’s one reason why it’s problematic: Aside from the clear conflict of interest, it stinks of collusion.” Read more…
Now that training camp has officially begun for the Thunder, it is only natural that we would all immediately jump into our coaching armchairs and start getting down to the nitty gritty aspects of what decisions could make the most impact on the coming year. You know, the calculations and determinations that sparked rich debate last year and will undoubtedly spark even more debate before the tip-off of the 2011-2012 Oklahoma City Thunder season, especially the biggest powder keg of them all…
Can Royal Ivey raise his bench celebrations to the level of Nate Robinson’s All-Star machinations?
Okay, so maybe I’m the only one that thinks this could be a serious factor for the Thunder’s success this year, so let’s just hammer out if James Harden should start over Thabo Sefolosha.
Yes. Yes, he should.
But since I know you’re going to want some kind of reasoning behind such a quick and concise answer, let’s dive into why the most important statistics (in my opinion) absolutely leave no doubt whatsoever that James Harden has to, surely, for the love of all that is holy, start for the Thunder this season. Read more…
Kendrick Perkins’ summer charges for a bar fight were dropped: “The hardest thing about it is I just wasn’t able to talk to the Thunder organization because of the lockout. So I wasn’t able to explain my side. But at the end of the day, it’s no use of explaining it. The charges got dismissed. I’m happy that happened. I’m trying to just move forward … “I’d really just like to apologize to the Thunder just for having the bad press. Because that’s not what I wanted to bring to this situation.”
Perk dropped 30 pounds in the offseason. John Rohde on the new Perk: “Perkins could be walking a fine line here, however. Thunder general manager Sam Presti traded for a brawny Perkins, not a budding Nutrisystems spokesperson. Though he has lost some weight, Perkins evidently has not lost his nasty disposition on the court. “He’s still mean,” Brooks deadpanned. “He’s still pushing people, and he’s grumpy. We need grumpy Perk. He’s ready.” Read more…
Kendrick Perkins finally joined Twitter and so far, it’s outstanding. From his Twitter name — @perk5yunghawg — to his profile picture to his tweets, I can tell you that Perk is definitely a must-follow.
Perk followed up with, “my wife said me but i know she dont want to hurt my feelings.”
He also tweeted KD, “Oh that tickled ya fanny” after KD gave a hearty chuckle to his Forest Whitaker thing.
Happy insanity everybody. Thank you for your support of DT. Shine on.
KD was the lockout winner. We know it. Everyone knows it. But nothing says it like a mixtape featuring all his top moments, dunks, plays and highlights. One that didn’t make this cut that cannot be forgotten came in KD’s first trip to the Drew League this summer where he ooped off the backboard to himself. Never forget.
One thing about this video that really stands out to me: KD just looks so comfortable playing hoops. Not that he doesn’t in a Thunder uniform, but there’s a certain vibe, a certain swag to him in these. The handles, the hesitation dribbles, the fancy dunks — I want all of that this season in Oklahoma City. All of it.
Jeff Gross/NBAE/Getty Images
