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Hey you. Yeah you. The NBA season starts tomorrow night and the Thunder season starts Wednesday. It’s like finally here! So here are the predictions for this Thunder season from our esteemed panel of contributors. Be sure to disagree in the comments.
Patrick James, Daily Thunder
If nearly every player on the roster got at least a little bit better over the offseason and continues to improve as this season plays out, which is what you would expect for a young team, a finish at or near the top of the division and home court in the first round is on the way. Fifty-three wins last season meant the Nuggets needed a tiebreaker to win the division and No. 4 seed over the Jazz, and I expect the division and home-court races to be similarly tight this year.
Another year of experience, and a still-burning desire for playoff success and a still-fresh organizational culture, will be enough to give the Thunder the edge it needs to win a few more close games during the regular season and position itself for a deeper playoff run. The Thunder will be playing in May this year. How close Oklahoma City gets to June is what remains to be seen.
Record: 53-29
Northwest: 2
West: 4 Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
Remember, download the Daily Thunder preview if you haven’t yet
1. What player is going to break out and be big time important this season?
J.G. Marking: My answer is James Harden. I think Harden is finally beginning to understand just how effective he can be at the NBA level when it comes to contributing to an entire box score, instead of just labeling himself “the spot-up three point shooter,” which he seemed to almost shackle himself with the majority of the time last season. I think Harden’s improved understanding of attacking the basket and his increasing defensive ability will get him more and more minutes and see him become the true #2 scoring option the Thunder so desperately need (and drafted him for).
Royce Young: I’d say there are four candidates for such a thing on this list. You could make a strong case for Cole Aldrich, Eric Maynor, James Harden and Serge Ibaka to potentially break out and play a large role for OKC this year. But since I wrote the question and said pick one, I’m going with Serge Ibaka. He’s going to be inconsistent and he’s going to have nights where he doesn’t contribute much. But when he’s plugged in, he’s going to make an impact not just defensively, but offensively as well. It’s not hard for me to see a few night where he goes for 15 points, 12 boards and six blocks. He’s going to win the Thunder a few games this season, I’m positive. Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
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By Rob Mahoney
The Two Man Game
Flashing. Flashing. Lights. Soak it up, Thunder faithful; your team is officially big time.
While last year’s squad may have been on a jog that somehow meandered through the 50-win mark and right into the playoffs, this team’s success seems ordained from the start. The Thunder are the next big thing, and unlike many teams in the conference, they control their own destiny.
Houston, San Antonio, and Portland have hinged their fates on injury-prone bigs. Dallas is better than they were a year ago, but has little internal improvement to speak of. Meanwhile, your Thunder? They only have one of the best ballplayers on the planet, a supporting cast that’s often criminally underrated, and a coach that understands how to motivate his team, even if he’s not always great with a clipboard.
Durant is exquisite, but as most of you well know, he’s not the only piece that makes this team go. Russell Westbrook is as dynamic of a guard as we have in this league, and a tantalizing on-ball perimeter defender to boot. Jeff Green — I said his name, that means you guys have to argue in the comment section, right? — in spite of all of his faults, is still a valuable player. Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison are the kind of bigs that pseudo contenders would kill for. Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
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The honorable J.G. Marking chimed in during the late offseason with five things he’d like to see from the Thunder on the court. There was heated debate and regular debate, and pondering of real basketball issues that matter.
But not all in basketball that matters are basketball matters. The masses have had two years to digest the Thunder and form strong opinions on all levels of the team, and especially the fan experience. I’m sure there are a few dissenters out there, but unanimity is for commies. I’ve got five things of my own I’d like to see regarding some vital issues, and I think a lot of people will agree with me.
1. The Thunder should wear black shoes at home.
Remember the Martin Luther King Day game last season in the afternoon at Atlanta? For whatever reason, the Thunder wore home whites and the Hawks wore a red alternate. The Thunder also wore black shoes, which they usually only wear with the road blues. Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
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Given the Thunder took the eventual champion Lakers to within one possession of a Game 7, it’s hard to point to Oklahoma City’s 50 regular-season wins in 2009-10 and say it overachieved. The 27-win improvement in one year after the franchise moved here represents such a leap that an increase this season by even half as much is unthinkable. I don’t think anyone would dispute that approaching the mid-60s in wins during the regular season is asking too much.
It begs the question: What number of regular-season wins represents the kind of improvement the Thunder is looking for? Last year, .500 seemed a realistic goal and the playoffs a hopeful one, though players said flatly in the preseason their goal was the postseason. Specifics were harder to come by this season in the Thunder’s own stated goals, but home court in the first round replaces .500 this year as most folks’ chief preseason hope, with a No. 2 seed in the West as what gets dreamed of more often than said out loud. Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
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DOWNLOAD THE DAILY THUNDER PREVIEW BOOK
I hate going into movies with expectations. In a way, your mind can be made up about a flick before you see it based on your friend raving about it or bashing it down. How can I possibly come out of National Treasure 2 and say I liked it if three of my friends ripped it to shreds the day before? Not because I’m afraid to like something my friends don’t, but more so that I’m seeing the movie already knowing that people of similar taste as me hated it. So that movie better be really good to impress me because I’ve got some serious prejudice heading in.
I remember how high my hopes were for Indiana Jones 4. Like I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited for a movie. Actually, I don’t know if I’ve ever been so excited for anything. My favorite movie character back on screen after over 20 years off? Yes. Please. Harrison Ford was back and looked great in the previews. Steven Spielberg preached for months about how he directed this one with the fans in mind. George Lucas went through screenplay after screenplay looking for the perfect script. Everything was coming together for a serious excellent movie. And I couldn’t wait.
Like a huge nerd with no life, I saw it at midnight. I sat through two hours, didn’t say a word to anyone and then the credits came up. And something unexpected happened.
It sucked. Read more…
Commentary
2010-11 Season Preview
DOWNLOAD THE 2010-11 DT PREVIEW
So I thought I’d try something out.
Instead of just going with the usual couple posts previewing the Thunder’s season, I decided to try and make it a little different. So I pulled together all the Paint and Microsoft Word skills I have an made this here little PDF preview for the 2010-11 Thunder season. It’s not perfect. It’s not professional. Heck, it might not even be good. But hey, it’s something.
The preview book had to have some things edited down to fit (darn you print publications!!!), but throughout the week, I’ll be running everything from it (and a few things that aren’t in it) as kind of a preview week for the upcoming season. Plus, this way you can comment on the stories and prediction and fill me in on how wrong I am. So if you feel like reading something twice, be sure to check out both the book and the post.
Anyway, have a look, print it out, show your friends, don’t look at it, whatever. The moral of the story is, the season is almost a week away.
Special thanks to Eric Connell of Connell Creative for making the sweet cover for the book.
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2010-11 Season Preview
