Daily Thunder.com

ztejas I agree. Their 11-8 record means they SHOULD be scared of some of the teams in the West. Playing close but still losing doesn't mean you have to be scared, but it still means you lost. 4 out of 7 will get you a front row seat to your TV during May and June.

ThunderChick2010 we played dallas twice, we one the first game by 2 on KDs buzzer beater, and we lost the second time by 13

RodneyRosavelRusanWilsonThunderChick2010 Pretty sure she's including the 2 preseason games.

HardenIsMyManCrushRodneyRosavelRusanWilson I am.

Hate...

SammyThunderer Interestingly, I think even those against Brooks (myself included) would agree with this. Brooks has a done great job creating an environment conducive to growth, creating an atmosphere where players believed they can improve. My problem, and this is something that was even touched on to some degree, is that Brooks doesn't seem to have enough accountability. Players need rules and boundaries as much as anyone - they are mostly still kids when they come into the league.

Where Brooks has fostered an ability to grow and express talents, I'm not sure he has the acumen to be the strategic dictator that players still need. Look at Ron Adams. When he was there to lay into our guys for missing even the smallest assignment, our defense was fantastic even with lesser individual defenders. Every year since he left we have been worse than the year before. Without the authoritarian, our players have become lax (and it's not even difficult to see that they are not as focused on defense as they have been in the past.

At a certain point we need a Larry Brown (at the extreme example) or Doug Collins (the more measured example). Those coaches demand something of their teams and players, and the players respond to meet those demands. What does Brooks demand of this team besides effort (which is well and good, but not getting the best of the talent available)? I think the kids have grown up a lot, they've been given the room and showed what they can do. What they need now is someone who can round out the rough edges, fit the pieces together, and raise the expectations from simple effort and talent to crisp execution.

Keith00SammyThunderer brooks has a great control of his composure, one of his best attributes. I wouldn't want a coach like stan VG who is the 'master of panic' as Shaq calls him. however Doc Rivers seems like a good balance, a coach who preaches team heart hustle and sacrifice while also being on of the best at drawing up a play. Its no secret brooks needs to improve at either drawing up plays in game time situation, or instituting more of a set offense, or both. And his defensive schemes are poor, I hate how we defend screens, always seem late on rotations and double team the wrong players at the wrong time.

That said, I do like brooks and he's done a great job so far in many respects. He just needs to take 'the leap' and becoming a wizard with a clip board. I am honestly surprised it hasn't happened yet, but I think maybe the lock out kept him from rolling out more new improvements... or at least thats what I'm hoping

OkcBaby Comebacks are great--unless you're on the wrong end of them.

sammasaaron and jerry sloan

Sorr20 I'd just get some on stubhub. The prices are reasonable. You can get slightly cheaper tickets from scalpers if you haggle, but I don't think the small savings is worth the extra hassle.

GrolgarSorr20 +1

Loud City JimmyGrolgarSorr20 Just get em from stubhub or the Jazz ticket resale site. When we went to GSW and Sacto last year, I called my ticket rep and she told me they couldn't get away game tickets.

Grolgar Sorr20

If you don't mind the possibility of being axe murdered you can try craigslist. I've gotten cheap Sooner tickets on there before. You can also occasionally find good deals on ebay.

If you're going the scalper route be patient. Closer to game time it gets the cheaper they'll go just to unload unsold tickets. If they still have any after tipoff they'll give em away for pennies on the dollar.

Loud City Jimmy well we see them next week and can hopefully crush them

Loud City Jimmy They have the 'we're the champs' claim to fall back on for now. If I were Dirk I'd be more concerned with making the playoffs.. Only half a game separates the 6-10 teams so there is a ways to go before he can declare that the title goes through Dallas.

Loud City Jimmy I don't think Dirk is wrong and if anyone has earned the right to say that it is him. The Mavs have outplayed us in our 2 games (we were lucky to split) and the rest of the West has been up and down. The way the Mavs have played us in the last year, why would Dirk be scared? We need to go out and prove it.

Grolgar I agree with you. The Mavs are very competitive with the Thunder, so why should Dirk be scared? However, I think the Thunder are better than they were last year while the Mavs may have taken a slight step backwards, but the games will still be close.

Grolgar No doubt Dallas has played their best two games of the year against us, and they certainly earned the right to talk a bit. That doesn't mean I have to like it, and I still think they are more likely to miss the playoffs than play one game in the Western Conference Finals.

Grolgar also...I think I am more offended by the Terry comments than by Dirk saying he isn't scared of anyone in the West.

Grolgar Agreed! I kinda like Dirk. Terry? Eh...not so much.

Loud City Jimmy after the whole dancing on our logo thing, i hate jason terry

f5alcon Ellis will slow down himself.

ILikePancakesf5alcon ellis has been playing well lately... like 23 points 7 assists well

ILikePancakes what? he is a slightly inefficient chucker, but still averaging 21ppg and 7 apg, really the assists scare me more than the points.

SeanzieCrews Both sides looked silly, it felt like I was watching a D-III college game.

Keith00SeanzieCrews they looked like the mighty ducks before Gordon Bombay got to em... just plain bad

SeanzieCrews that was the craziest sh** I've ever seen in an NBA game. WTH were they thinking when they set all that up? It looked like Memphis was wearing Laker gold with Boston green shorts. And then the Clips....Powder blue? Ugh.

diddoff Is this supposed to make sense? They won the title last year. They didn't lose in the 1st round. Are you talking about previous years?

Grolgardiddoff hmm, probably meant to say "gets crushed.."

ILikePancakes I can't wait! I live in the Bay Area now, and only get one game a year. I still haven't drove up to Sacramento for a game, although I should.

JeremyBrewerILikePancakes yea I had forgotten that we are like 3-12 in the oracle or something crazy like that... I think we lost our past two games there... i think this is an important one to win, start the road trip up on the right track...