Daily Thunder.com

109 Decibels.

I couldn’t even wrap my head around that number last night, though my pounding head and bewildered state might have something to do with my throbbing ears for exactly the thing I was trying to comprehend.

That being said, I think we all have a pretty good idea what the moment was when the Ford Center officially became the deafening Thunderdome, breaking the record for the loudest playoff crowd ever at 109 Decibels (per Craig Sager, but I can’t find any citeable information to back this up), crushing the previous record of 102 at Arco Arena.

The  decibel meter started to inch towards the redline with Westbrook’s eye-popping, hand-over-mouth, “Did I just see that?” dunk over Lamar Odom. Then Harden’s open-floor three pointer to pull the Thunder within three points after trailing the entire game pushed the needle past the edge of the meter’s measurable limit.

And then KD hit that three. The needle shot to the right and stopped–the decibel meter could not move any farther. I honestly thought it was broken at that point. Or at least stuck because it was never meant to go that far.

But the noise just kept growing and growing, the eruption was a crescendo of excitement, nerves, disbelief and pure joy that was quite literally a painfully exuberant moment to experience.

Painful? Absolutely. My ears are still feeling it a day later. Which got me thinking, how loud is 109 Decibels? Read more…

Commentary

Ideally, the Thunder would have been up two games to none while they made their way back home, but obviously that did not happen. Instead, the Lakers won the first two games of the series and most casual observers, and a lot of die hard Oklahoma City fans, have already written this first round off as a learning experience for the young team. I am here to tell you, that is a big mistake.

Most veteran basketball analysts like to say that a playoff series does not truly begin until someone loses on the home floor. That has not happened. So far, the Thunder have lost two games that they were, even if they could not be labeled as playoff virgins, supposed to lose. Let me say that again: They were SUPPOSED to lose those two games.

Anyone who predicted the team would steal one in Los Angeles, was either overly optimistic, or else trying to sell some newspapers by being contrary. The Thunder went into one of the toughest venues in professional basketball to get their first taste of playoff basketball and did so against the team that has most recently lifted the championship trophy. As expected, they showed up looking timid and overwhelmed. They missed shots they normally make, made mental errors, and allowed their emotions to negatively effect their play.

Even so, they barely lost. Laker fans, even though they are, should not be overly confident after the play of their team. The defending champs with the best record in the Western Conference lost three out of the four quarters in game one and barely squeaked by in game two despite the Thunder’s best matchup advantage missing half the game with foul trouble. Now they lose home court for the next two games.

Of course, game three is a MUST WIN for Oklahoma City if they even hope to make a splash and if they pull that off, game four is almost as important. For that to happen, though, the Thunder do not have to play a great deal better. To win they simply need a couple of these things to happen:

DURANT NEEDS TO BE DURANT

K.D. was the team’s leading scorer in both games in Los Angeles, but did anyone watch his performance and think he even played to the level we have become accustomed to over the past couple of months? As much as the Laker Nation wants to believe that their investment in Ron Artest is finally starting to pay off, the truth is more likely that Durant simply wilted a bit under the bright spotlight. Think about it, the media has been incredibly focused on the young superstar, Laker coach Phil Jackson has been playing mind games with him, and no one is harder on Durant than Durant.

Well, he is back home now, has had a chance to breathe, and took the Lakers’ best punch already. If he bounces back and puts together a complete game like he had been doing night in and night out leading up to the playoffs, the Lakers will also have to improve their play.

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Commentary

Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE/Getty Images

(J.G. and I got started talking about Game 1 and 2 and what adjustments should be made and whether or not we should feel good despite the 2-0 hole. Here’s the brilliant exchange.)

J.G.: So Royce, explain to me why after watching the Thunder fall to the defending champion Lakers by single digits in both games, with one of the games being a single possession loss where KD had a chance to sink a go-ahead three, ON THE ROAD no less, I feel strangely excited, enthusiastic, even a little giddy about the first playoff game in the Ford Center on Thursday night and the Thunder’s chances at pulling out a victory to close the series gap to 2-1. Perhaps the 1700* blocked shots and rabid defense has something to do with it?

*I may have accidentally added a few zeros there, though it looks about right.

Royce: I feel the same way. After Jeff Green’s shot went begging, I was surprised with myself. I wasn’t even mad. I actually look at my wife and said, “That was a good game” And that was it. I wasn’t upset and I wasn’t frustrated. I guess because I KNOW the team played their butts off and did everything in their power to win. If one shot drops, they’re heroes. That’s how basketball goes. Read more…

Commentary

Okay by now I’m sure everyone has read all the stories about how the Thunder are likely dog meat the rest of the series and how Ron Artest dominated the match up with the scoring champ and how the Thunder looked intimidated in the first quarter.   I’ve read them, you’ve read them, I’m over it.  We played the defending champs and nobody thought we would sweep them I don’t think, so a loss in game one is just a loss and we have at least three more games to turn this into a serious series.

Since we all watched the game we all know what didn’t work (Kevin Durant’s jumper, Green’s jumper, Thabo’s jumper—hmm there seems to be a theme here), but I thought I would look at it from the other direction and see just exactly DID work in that game, what has worked well during the regular season, and what we could hope to see  more of in game two and beyond.

I’m not talking X’s and O’s here, but lineups.  Lineups that give us favorable match ups and a better chance to win. We have 82 games of historical data that we can mine to see just where our strengths and weaknesses lie.

In yesterday’s game Coach Brooks used 9 different lineups worth mentioning (a few more actually, but they were for less than a minute and don’t serve our purpose here);  a few of them he used more than once, starting with the starters, which I will call lineup A.

Lineup A: RW, TS, KD, JG, NK. This lineup got three stints, the first was in the first quarter for a bit more than 8 minutes where it was -4. Next it showed up in the middle of the second quarter for about 3.5 minutes and was +3 and included a 5-0 run. Finally it was back in to start the second half where it was -3 in 6.5 minutes. The total was 18 minutes, -4 , which works out to -15 points per 100 possessions. Not so good. Read more…

Commentary

Sam Forencich/NBAE/Getty Images

I’m the kind of sports fan that’s always looking for a sign. Something, anything, that could be a good omen for my team. Whether it be some kind of past history like, “In even years, the Lakers have lost their last five opening round playoff games.” (I just made that up.) Or maybe something simple, like my brother who did really well in his March Madness bracket picking the Thunder to win. I’m easy like that.

So this week, I’ve been hunting signs. I’ve been waiting for a good omen. I thought maybe the fact it rained and stormed all weekend might be something good. You know, Thunder and all. I like the tie-in with probably one of the biggest moments in state history coinciding with the greatest tragedy, the Murrah bombing. But that’s not good enough. It’s not enough for me to feel like it’s destiny. So I waited for something to hit me. Read more…

Commentary

Larry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

We know the task ahead of the Thunder starting this weekend. Not only does the youngest team in the league have to take down the defending champions, but they also have to take down one of the most storied franchises in all of sports. It won’t be easy. It won’t be pretty. And at times, it won’t be fun. You’ll yell, cuss, scream and want to toss a potted plant through your TV screen at least once.

But here’s the thing: The Lakers are vulnerable. They’re… beatable. It’s true. Kobe is banged up with the busted finger and swollen knee. The bench is depleted with Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton all battling injuries. Andrew Bynum may or may not be 100 percent. And Derek Fisher has been anything but stable in his 39th season as an NBA point guard. So if there were a time for a young, raw, inexperienced team to sneak up and bite The Champs, this might be it. Read more…

Commentary

This was sent along by reader Jay and I found it interesting:

Just thought I’d pass this along, for what its worth. I was thinking about how close the West was this season and when I noticed that the Thunder were only 7 games behind the #1 seed Lakers, I thought I’d go back and check what the typical separation has been between #1 and #8 seeds. Here’s what I was able to find:

Since 1983 (when the league went to the current 8 team format for each conference) there have only been 2 times when an 8 seed has finished within 10 games of the 1 seed in its conference. Once was in 2003 when the Magic finished 8 games behind the Pistons. Strange thing about that season was that Detroit was the 1 seed with 50 wins, so the Magic was close by default with their 42-40 record. The other time was in 2008 when the 50-win Nuggets finished 7 games behind the 57-win Lakers. So, in the history of the league (at least under the current playoff format) there has never been a closer first round match up based on regular season record. If that weren’t compelling enough, here is a list of all the other margins between 1 and 8 seeds since 1983 (minus the strike-shortened season in 1999): Read more…

Commentary

To tell you the truth, I wanted to wait on this editon of “Hate Them Now.”  There are 29 teams in the NBA that are harder to dislike than the evil empire in Los Angeles, so giving our readers a list of what to hate about the Lakers will be so easy that it’s hard.  Obviously, I’ll miss some things, and sadly, some of the things I list will actually be endearing qualities to the scumbags who root for the team.

However, with the first round of the playoffs rapidly approaching and the Lake Show being the Thunder’s first opponent in “the Second Season,” it has to be now.

In a way, it is a perfect scenario.  Any movie written about a ragtag bunch of misfits who pull together and achieve more as a whole than ever could have been expected of them always ends with a matchup against a team like the Lakers.  Whether it’s the Indians finally taking down their nemesis Yankees to win a one-game playoff, or the Permian Panthers coming up short against Dallas Carter…the climax is always the same scenario.  Some book called The Bible also played on the same formula when some meek sheep herder slayed a freaking giant.

For the Thunder, that giant is Kobe, and his running mates represent just as much evil as those Philistines.  Their glitz, braun, and riches are cheap methods of winning meaningless championships that can be tossed in their trophy case like Scrooge McDuck flipping a nickle into his money silo.  And just as David’s confidence and guile was the standard which the ancient Jews wanted their people to aspire, the Thunder’s brand of chemistry fueled basketball is what true fans of the NBA should hope takes the series.

While I hate to jinx it, I believe Oklahoma City has a fantastic opportunity to do just that.  Sure, the Thunder have sort of limped into the playoffs with some less than stellar play down the stretch, but compared to the Lakers, they look like they are firing on all gears.  L.A. just finished their season by losing to their crosstown rivals, and lottery slummers, by seventeen. 

One poor game would be explainable, but in their final fourteen games against teams that qualified for the playoffs, the Lakers won just four times.  One of those losses was to the Thunder who blew them out beginning at the opening tip.  Of course, Lakers fans (who are genuinely awful people**) are loaded with excuses:

• Kobe’s finger broke. 
• Andrew Bynum sat out with an Achilles injury. 
• The whole team was on cruise control because they locked up the West’s best record early.
• Phil Jackson, the master plotter, is inspiring false confidence in potential opponents by hiding the team’s best schemes.

Maybe they are all right.  Perhaps Kobe will wrap his hand a different way and become a demigod again.  Andrew Bynum might gimp around on his sore ankle and prove to be the league MVP Lakers’ fans thought he was before the injury while calling for him to back up Lamar Odom.  And they proved they could flip a switch and suddenly become instantly dominant:  ten years ago with Shaq on the team, and Kobe’s odometer reading a lot fewer miles.  As far as the Zen Master’s scheming…well, we’ll get to that in the reasons to hate the team.

Read more…

Commentary

Sam Forenich/NBAE/Getty Images

Tonight, Oklahoma City plays Memphis in an entirely meaningless game. So the question is, do the starters play or sit? It’s already been reported that the starters will play, but how much? Both sides make a lot of sense and I’m not sure there’s a right answer. But over the course of a few emails, J.G. and I tried to come up with a solution.

Royce: I’m not entirely sure I have an opinion on it yet, so I’m going to form one as we go I suppose. How’s that for hard-hitting sportswriting? So what are your immediate thoughts?

J.G.: I’m thinking that despite the reality that they could use rest, they really, REALLY aren’t playing like a team ready for the playoffs, so I think they have to use this last game as a launching pad despite the heavy legs.

Royce: I definitely feel that too. They need some momentum. Going into the postseason losing three straight and five of your last six isn’t good for morale. But at the same time, like you said, they probably need a break. I think they’re worn out and a couple guys are banged up some. There’s absolutely nothing to gain in terms of playoff positioning. Read more…

Commentary

Larry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

There are a few pivotal moments in a franchise that not only amplify the excitement around the organization and the city it is located in, but can also help determine the direction and even the futures success of each. The Thunder’s first game in the Ford Center last October in front of a raucous crowd and excited community served as a starting point which showed that this organization, this team, could not only survive in a small market but thrive on the love of their fans, the sponsorship of vital corporate partners and the overall sports hysteria that a traditionally collegiate market would be expected to experience when they got their first taste of a professional franchise.

The next moment, however, is but a few days away. Read that again. We, you, are on the verge of the next step into a larger world for this franchise, these players and this community, which can propel everyone involved with the Thunder’s success to a new level of brand recognition, personal endorsements on a broad-scale and local economic benefit.

In short, the pivotal moment for every employee, player, local merchant (from restaurants to apparel stores) and fan of the Thunder is peeking over the horizon, and could very well determine just what kind of franchise, what kind of city, what kind of fiscal community and what kind of fan base the Thunder and its supporters will be perceived as by the nation, which could have long-lasting effects on the success and sustainability of this market as a whole.

And that is why this next step, this maiden voyage into the NBA Playoffs for this small market team who has overachieved through teamwork, defense, budding talent and a superstar ready to make his own great leap, must not only meet expectations, but exceed them. Read more…

Commentary

Larry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images

Let it be known right up front: LeBron James is the MVP. He will win and should win, the Maurice Podoloff Trophy. End of discussion, end of story, end of debate. Well, I guess not end of discussion because I’m going to try and start one. (Or I guess you could look at this as a case for why Kevin Durant should finish as the runner-up. Either way.)

Regardless of LeBron’s fantastic year, it is my duty as a Thunder fan, and even more importantly as Kevin Durant fan, to make a strong case for him as this year’s Most Valuable Player. And honestly, I won’t have to try that hard to make one. Because KD’s resume is pretty darn strong. In a word for the 21-year-old’s season, he’s been outstanding. Read more…

Commentary Kevin Durant, MVP

Benjamin Hochman of the Denver Post wasn’t happy with our distaste over Carmelo Anthony’s “injury” last night. He writes today:

With all that said – here’s what I couldn’t believe. When Melo first hit the floor, the Oklahoma City fans started booing (Anthony said the booing was the last thing he remembered before going unconscious). As fans realized Melo was actually down-for-the-count, the held their breath, and then when he finally got up, the fans applauded his bravery and gave him well-wishes via the claps. BUT, Melo came back from the locker room like 5-10 minutes later, and when he re-entered the game, so the OKC fans started BOOING. They continued to boo every time he touched the basketball. I was confused what was going on. There was a fan behind me – sitting with what appeared to be his two young daughters – viciously booing. I asked him why he was doing that, and he said of Melo: “Why did he do that? Lay on the court and then come back just two minutes later?”

What? Were the fans thinking that because Melo was able to come back in the game, that he had duped them into giving him that ovation? Did they think he was faking the injury?

1. Folks, he was laying motionless for minutes. Motionless.

2. If he was faking, why wouldn’t he have given up on the “faking” when Smith came soaring toward his jugular with some size 14s?

3. Would these fans have felt better if he was terribly hurt and couldn’t come back in the game? Like he duped them into thinking his getting-knocked-the-heck-out wasn’t a “standing-o-worthy” injury?

4. If he was faking, why would he risk a 4-on-5 in a crucial point of a crucial game? And then, if he was faking, why wouldn’t he have popped up when he saw Denver got the ball – so the Nuggets could have the advantage on the offensive end after the Smith steal?

Maybe I’m missing something here, but I thought the booing was tacky and distasteful. Read more…

Commentary Carmelo Anthony

When the Thunder have only one shot to take, obviously they look for Kevin Durant to take that shot.  He’s, at minimum, the second best player in the NBA right now, and according to the rankings the league’s best scorer.  Unfortunately, every team the Thunder plays knows he’s option 1 and 1A and therefore do everything in their power to deny him the ball.  In the end, he either gets the ball somewhere close to half court where he still has to take the shot with a hand in his face.  And if that doesn’t work, Russell Westbrook or Thabo Sefolosha, who aren’t exactly snipers in the easiest of circumstances, wind up taking the games biggest shot.

Not surprisingly, the Thunder are 7-10 in games decided by three points or less.

Maybe Scott Brooks should be drawing up plays to put the game in the hands of option #22…mainly because Jeff Green has actually proved he will come through.  Last season, he banked home a win against Golden State.  This season, with bigger stakes, he has had even bigger moments.  Who can forget Green’s performance against the Hawks on Martin Luther King Day?  His clutch dunk and incredible block sealed the victory over one of the Eastern Conference’s best teams on their home floor.  Soon after, it was another huge defensive play by Green that saved the Thunder from an embarrassing defeat against Minnesota.

When the pressure is on, Uncle Jeff is the man you can count on.  That was never clearer than Tuesday night in Utah.  Even after Kevin Durant shot the team back into the game, it was Green who drilled the three pointer that tied it in regulation.  Then, with five seconds left in OT, Green banked home a runner to give the team a (brief) one point lead.  I was so pumped I re-wrote a classic song in his honor.  Check it out after the jump.

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Commentary Jeff Green

Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images

Picking up right where we left off yesterday where we listed the current positions of the Top 5 teams in the Western conference, looked at what remaining opponents those five teams had and what their record has been against those opponents throughout the season, let’s now take a glance at the Bottom 3 teams and where they are at in the standings.

To remind you, after the projected finishes of each Top 5 team, the Western Conference standings would look like this:

1. Lakers 58-24
2. Jazz – 55-27
3. Mavs 54-28
4. Suns – 53-29
5. Nuggets 53-29

But could a team from the Bottom 3 leap ahead of any of the teams above them since the Thunder is only 1 1/2 back from ALL FOUR of the teams listed from the #2-#5 spots and actually still controls their own destiny with regards to winning the division (crazy, but true) and earning home-court advantage in the first round?

Well, let’s have a look… Read more…

Commentary

In his draft blog (Insider) and again today in his chat, ESPN draft insider Chad Ford said the Thunder is high on local product Daniel Orton and would take him if he was available when Oklahoma City picked.

I wrote today in the draft blog that the Thunder (who have 2 first round picks) are his floor. They’d take him with one of their picks. But they’re drafting in the early 20s. He could go a lot higher than that. Top 10 isn’t out of the question. Crazy for a guy who averaged 3 ppg. But you know how gaga NBA GMs get over size.

[...]

But as we first reported several weeks ago, Orton has caught the attention of a number of NBA GMs, the most prominent of which is the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Sam Presti. According to a source close to the process, the Thunder are sending signals that if Orton is in the draft, they’d take him with one of their two first-round picks. Currently that would put Orton in the early 20s. However, a few other GMs have told ESPN.com that they’d consider taking Orton even higher.

I don’t think anyone should take the Thunder too seriously about “sending signals”. Presti is a master of draft deception (Spanish Law Firm anyone?) But despite looking incredibly similar to Russell Westbrook (as pointed out by one astute reader), Orton would be a nice fit. Especially when you consider that Oklahoma City has moved itself out of the lottery and will be picking in the 20s now. That’s kind of hard to wrap my mind around, but it’s truth. Read more…

Commentary 2010 Draft