Four games in six days, three wins. Not all that bad, except the Thunder won the games they absolutely should, and lost a home game against the only good team.
It still feels like there’s a palpable level of anxiety circling the fanbase, but Oklahoma City has won four of five since dropping three straight. The Thunder’s last four losses have been to highly seeded playoff teams. And every game has been decided by two possessions or less.
The Thunder have absolutely been a bit inconsistent with their play since the All-Star break, with wins even leaving an odd taste in fans’ mouths. Plus the fact that they may potentially blow the No. 1 seed in the West is upsetting. But the reality is that it’s the stretch run of the season and OKC is technically in first place and definitely primed as one of the four likely contenders for an NBA title. Should we really all be that upset? Nervous, anxious, tense… yes. But this team is good. It’s just a question of if they’re good enough.
Friend of DT Randy Renner will be contributing practice reports here and there for the rest of the season with audio from Scott Brooks and players.
SCOTT BROOKS
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JAMES HARDEN
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The Oklahoma City Thunder took full advantage of a tired Los Angeles Clippers team the last time the teams played running out to a big lead and staying out there.
The Thunder dominated inside, grabbing 18 more rebounds and limited both Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Oklahoma City will try to blend those same ingredients into another winning recipe tonight.
“Just contain Chris Paul, not letting his bigs get lobs, limiting their transition and spectacular plays,” said Thunder sixth man James Harden.
It sounds a lot easier than it will be. Harden and the other players have spent time in the film room going back over what made them so successful last time out against the Clips. Read more…
Last week was the first losing week of the season for the Thunder. Which not so coincidentally, makes it a lot less fun to talk about how players performed. Because, and you’ll never believe this, there’s a direct correlation between player performance and losses.
What surprised me most about the three straight losses is that I expected more panic. There was the regular amount of hand-wringing over Scott Brooks’ decisions and such, but not a crazy amount of doomsday talk. At least not that I saw.
I think maybe the reason for it is the way the Thunder lost. In all three games, they played outstanding defense, but were unable to execute offensively and turned the ball over a little too much. Both things that are not only correctable, but in terms of offense, that hasn’t been a worry with this team all season. What has been the concern is the defensive end, but the Thunder have played consistently well on that end for about three weeks. There have been lapses — like the first half against Indiana — but overall, Oklahoma City’s defense has been better, which in an odd way despite the losses, is encouraging.
Because, as you know, defense is what you must rely on in the postseason. Big offense is nice, but that can come and go. Defense is something you have much more control over. Read more…
If you’ve been looking for a rivalry for the Thunder, you might be able to call off the search party. Between the hard fouls, the trash talk and the obvious dislike between Oklahoma City and the Heat, there’s something brewing.
There’s a natural rivalry already installed just because of the Kevin Durant – LeBron James dynamic. LeBron the evil antagonist, KD the saintly protagonist. Plus, they’re maybe one and two in the pecking order of NBA superstars. Then you have Big 3 vs. Big 3, KD’s comments about Chris Bosh last season and Perk calling out LeBron’s tweeting and then kicking Dwyane Wade in the face.
The blitz through the April portion of the regular season will bring a playoff picture that could change just about every night in some spots. But some things are set. Both conferences have their top two seeds identified, with only the order still up in the air. And there’s a handful of teams playing musical chairs for the last two or three spots.
The Thunder only have to scan league scoreboards for three teams when it comes to their own seeding: San Antonio, Miami and Chicago. It’s hard to know where to start when it comes to possible first-round opponents, though. Five teams will split the final three playoff spots in the West, and one of them is going to wind up coming to Game 1 in Oklahoma City as a No. 7 or 8 seed: Phoenix, Utah, Houston, Denver and Dallas.
All five of those teams have between 24 and 27 losses. (Memphis is also close, with 23 losses, but less likely to fall all the way to No. 7 or 8.) All of them have at least some reason to talk themselves into a series against the Thunder — and, of course, the Mavericks with a guy like Jason Terry who will come out with verbal guns blazing and confidence/cockiness. The West playoffs will be as tough as they always are.
Let’s take a look at the potential first-round matchups. All figures current going into the Thursday games. Read more…
The Thunder lost a thriller in Miami 98-93. Here are 16 thoughts I had from it:
1. The MVP isn’t decided yet. It’s 1-1. KD badly outplayed LeBron in the first meeting, LeBron edged Durant by virtue of turnovers and the scoreboard in this one. KD was in the position of needing to win to make another statement because of LeBron’s superior statistical season, but MVPs are often awarded based on story, not stats. And KD’s got quite the narrative.
The attention span in sports is pathetically short. It’s game-by-game and that’s the point. After this game goes in the rearview, one clunker from LeBron and a couple Miami losses along with a few big shots from KD and a strong finish by KD will sway everything again. Why? Because LeBron didn’t whip KD the way KD whipped LeBron in the first meeting. LeBron’s night of outplaying Durant wasn’t some obvious deer-in-the-headlights type of beatdown like was the case in OKC.
LeBron’s got the lead again and it’s his award to lose. Or KD’s to win. There’s still time either way.
Contrary to popular belief, the season is not over. The Thunder have not been crowned anything. There are still 14 games remaining.
But the past week was pretty darn special. Thing is, the NBA season only moves forward though. Now it’s games against the Grizzlies, Heat (again) and Pacers. There’s work to be done. The Thunder made a pretty loud statement and climbed atop everyone’s power rankings, but the Spurs are still nipping at OKC’s heels and the season still isn’t done. It appears the Thunder are hitting a stride right now and while I’m sure there will be a hiccup or two along the way, we’re seeing what the team is capable of. When they play with energy, focus and effort for a full 48, they’re basically awesome.
There’s still room for improvement and still time to get better though. I keep saying it almost as a reminder to myself but there aren’t any trophy presentations in March or April. It’s about the big picture. Handle business one night at a time and then tackle the postseason when it gets here.
Kevin Durant is making a strong MVP push. He’s gaining in the polls (leading in one crucial one), dominated LeBron in that debate the other night and is rising in popularity with the middle class.
And now, he’s just picked up a critical endorsement from the incumbent. Derrick Rose says KD is his MVP right now. Via ESPN Chicago:
“KD is playing great,” Rose said. “I’m hearing about what he’s doing, hearing about how he’s playing. The numbers speak for itself, how he’s working out this summer, and he’s playing great basketball.
“(Minnesota’s Kevin Love) K-Love been putting in work, too, but I think KD.”
Durant’s candidacy includes 27.7 points per game (second in the league), a career-high 50.1 percent from the field, a PER of 26.63 (third in the league), a career-high 3.5 assists per game, a career-high 8.1 rebounds per game, the best record in the West, a 1-0 record against LeBron and a 2-0 record against Kobe. Oh, and he’s the leader in virtually every clutch stat there is. Read more…
Ever since “The Altercation,” things have really cooled on the “Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant can’t co-exist front.” Mainly because the Thunder have risen to the best team in the West while Westbrook and Durant have looked equally spectacular.
They’re the top scoring duo in the league averaging a combined 51.9 points per game. They’ve both scored 40-plus in a game together twice this season, something no other duo in NBA history has done. Since start of 2010-11 season Durant and Westbrook have each scored 20-plus points in a game 70 times, most in NBA. I could go on, but I think you get it. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are very good.
I’m not even sure I’d call what the Thunder went through the past three weeks qualifies as a “slump,” seeing as they’ve gone 9-5 since the All-Star break. But the reality was that they weren’t playing their best ball. Losing game at home they shouldn’t, playing inconsistently and relying on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to save them from would-be losses.
They were close to blowing one against the Wolves, but they didn’t, which means the Thunder have strung together three straight wins over the Clippers, Wolves and Heat. The loss in Utah was rough, but OKC’s won four of five and started to look like themselves again. It’s what you hope to see as the Thunder gear up for a grueling two weeks of play and then the playoffs after that. You want them keyed in for these games, not necessarily the ones against the Cavs or Jazz. No excuse for losing games you should win, but it happens. And when you handle business like the Thunder have in the last three, it almost magically excuses those.
Don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a pretty big game Sunday night at The Peake. That team from South Beach with the talents and such and such are making their way to the Great Plains to take on the humble boys from OKC.
Thunder fan Brad Rogers had some thoughts on the surreal sight of seeing lifetime Laker Derek Fisher get a standing ovation in Oklahoma City.
It’s been almost 48 hours since the acquisition of Derek Fisher and I have to admit… it still feels kind of weird. Like in the sense where the girl you’ve had a crush on for years walks right up to you, gives you a five second frencher and you say to yourself “Well that was weird.” You don’t ask questions, you be thankful, and you take it for what it is.
Within two hours of Fish signing his contract he was in Thunder white and sporting No. 37. Next thing you know he’s running point. It all happened so fast that I’m still trying to comprehend exactly what I saw last night. So what to make of it? Read more…
He’s 37. He can’t guard a trash can. He’s shooting just 32 percent from 3 this season.
But Derek Fisher is available and the Thunder kind of could use a solid, reliable backup point guard heading to the playoffs. So with reports saying that Oklahoma City, along with Miami, are the top destinations for Fisher, the question is if the Thunder should extend an offer once he clears waivers on Wednesday.
To me, this isn’t an obvious yes or no thing. It’s not a no-brainer move, something that Sam Presti should clearly push the button on. Because there are extending variables here. Does Fisher actually help OKC on the floor? Is his value only in his experience and leadership? Are the Thunder already good enough at that position? Read more…
By the Thunder’s own admission, they played pretty poorly last week. A 2-2 week with both losses coming at home, including the inexcusable blown lead against Houston.
But here’s the thing: This stretch leading up to this week was seen as a an easy part in OKC’s schedule. A five-game homestand with very winnable games, it looked like the Thunder could rip off seven or eight wins in a row. But they slacked against teams they should beat, didn’t bring the usual amount of energy and focus and lost some games they shouldn’t have. It caused some mild concern among the fanbase, with it starting to boil when Oklahoma City fell behind San Antonio by 27 at home.
I think some of the concerns are valid. Scott Brooks said as much before the game Sunday, saying that he’s concerned, but he has the same concerns he had before the season started. And that’s the thing. The season is long, there are lots of games and sometimes you hit a lull. The next two weeks will say a lot about this team. Either it’ll make everyone forget about the little lull, or it’ll validate some of those concerns. Games against the Jazz, Clippers, Lakers, Wolves, Heat, Blazers, Bulls, Grizzlies, Heat again and Pacers line up a seriously difficult stretch for OKC. You could almost understand if they’ve sort of been looking ahead to those games this past week or so. Trying to just rest up and get ready for it. Maybe that explains the lapse in focus some nights. At least that’s what I’m telling myself.
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