So another playoff game, another Russell Westbrook ordeal. He’s quickly became the most polarizing player on the roster, especially among more casual fans. People are talking about him and his behavior nonstop.
Seems like most of the conversations go the same way. New story, same debate, different day. And through it all, the Thunder keep winning and refusing to let anyone have control over a playoff series. Let’s debate Westbrook one final time before Game 3 … when he’ll probably show up and prove why he was on the All-Star team until he has another game that renews the debate again, anyway.
This is a series of first times and last times for the Thunder.
It’s the first time, obviously, in Thunder history that the team has made it this far in the playoffs. The “Playoffs” decal on the floor of the arena will read “Western Conference Finals” the next time OKC takes the court. There will be a bigger throng of national media then ever before. There will be no other game that might bleed over into the Thunder’s start time and push the tipoff to TBS or ESPN2. All NBA eyes will be on Thunder-Mavs each time they play.
This is also likely the last time the Thunder will be playing in the West finals as this big of an underdog. The pressure will be there, but it will almost certainly be heavier in future seasons. OKC is playing a team with far more experience in the starting lineup, on the bench and on the coaching staff, and it doesn’t have home court. The Thunder had never won a playoff series before, much less been a contender for the conference title. The team in this era will never again be able to advance to this stage with the special hop in the step of a team with nothing to lose. Read more…
First things first: WOW! What seemed impossible this time a year ago has happened and the Thunder have clinched a spot in the 2010 Playoffs, Ladies and Gentlemen!
The Thunder looked as though they would manhandle the Mavs about midway through the fourth quarter when they were up by 19 points but the crafty Mavs fought back to within four points and only Eric Maynor’s clutch three pointer with under 30 seconds left helped the Thunder seal this victory AND CLINCH A SPOT IN THE PLAYOFFS!
Okay, seriously, that’s the last time you’ll see me do that…I, um, promise. Read more…
You know what I like about setting arbitrary goals for the Thunder when the have a stretch of games? When they accomplish the set goal with games still to play, it makes me feel like something great has happened. Read more…
The Ford Center sat on the edge of its collective seat. The entire arena was on pins and needles. It hung in the balance. Some of the tensest, most exciting moments of the season were happening right in front of the sellout crowd. The crowd rose to its feet with 20 seconds left as Kevin Durant drove right and floated a runner at the rim. It dropped and everyone went ballistic.
No, no, the Thunder had the game in hand already, up 11 at that point. But KD had just 23 points and time was running out with the streak in jeopardy. And while Durant extended his streak of 25-plus point games to 26, more importantly Oklahoma City kept its alive too, pushing it to seven with a 99-86 win over the Mavericks.
And while yes, Durant’s streak is neat, the fact the Thunder rebounded after a lackluster first quarter where they scored just 16 points and at one point trailed by 12, to come back and hold Dallas to only 11 third quarter points and run away with the game in the fourth says pretty loud and clear that this group is focused and ready for the second half. Forget about All-Star distractions or complacency. They’re still as hungry as ever. Read more…
I’m still trying to shake the cobwebs off after All-Star Weekend. I haven’t totally recouped, both mentally and physically. And I didn’t really do anything. So I can’t imagine what it’s like for guys like Kevin Durant, James Harden and Russell Westbrook who were everywhere last weekend. Read more…
Let’s all just take a minute to forget about Wednesday night.
(Waiting.)
(Still waiting.)
You’re right. I can’t get over it either. But that doesn’t matter. All that does, is that the team is over it. There can’t be any lingering hangover from that killer, brutal, heart-wrenching loss if Oklahoma City has any plans of beating Dallas tonight. Read more…
On this episode of the unnamed podcast, Rob Mahoney of the excellent, excellent Dallas blog The Two Man Game stops by (Why do people say stops by? He didn’t stop by… I called him. Weird.) to discuss stuff. Big, important stuff. We chat about (keep in mind, this was recorded late yesterday so if “last night” throws you off, that’s why) :
The Thunder-Mavs game from Wednesday
Russell Westbrook, his development and what he really is or should be
“Positionality” in the NBA, or the concept of
What could have maybe been with Rodrigue Beaubois
Expectations for the Mavericks
You’ll be slightly smarter after you listen. I promise. Well, I don’t promise, but I think you might be. Maybe. Check it out and be sure to read Rob at Hardwood Paroxysm and The Two Man Game. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did. His Moving Pictures feature is a must-see.
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Kevin Durant hit a jumper to put Oklahoma City up two, 73-71 with nine minutes left. At that point, it was on. This was the biggest of spots for the Thunder. Somewhere they really haven’t ever been. A national television audience. A big game against the Dallas Mavericks. A chance to make a bold statement to everyone. Could they get the stops, could they execute, could they win when it mattered?
The answer this time was no. A pretty resounding no in fact. The last eight minutes Dallas outscored Oklahoma City 29-13 to send the Thunder to their third straight loss and drop them back to .500.
And I’m not going to lie, I’m a little upset about this one. Not because OKC lacked effort. Because boy howdy, these guys busted it. But when it really mattered, the seasoned, veteran team took over and made the plays. The young, inexperienced group didn’t. In areas the Thunder are normally very good, they weren’t. An uncharacteristic 14-23 from the free throw line. A couple defensive breakdowns late. Poor shooting from their best players. Maybe it was the pressure of the night, the lights of ESPN or something else. But the fact is, Oklahoma City just didn’t perform. And I had visions of a big win in front of a big audience to show this team is here and something to be reckoned with. I guess I’m not so much upset with the TEAM, but more with the result. Read more…
National TV. A pretty important game. Dirk Nowitzki’s hair and headband. Yep, I’d say this is something to be excited about.
The big implications are there. Again, on ESPN for the whole world to see. The Thunder needs to stop a two-game losing streak (hasn’t had a three-game since Nov. 6). And a loss could drop OKC to .500 again, with the toughest stretch of the season looming. I’d say this is a big game. I know that’s crazy to say about a December tilt, but when you haven’t really had a game of any importance in the last couple years, a December game keeping you above .500 on national TV against a really good team qualifies as big. At least to me. Read more…
With about four minutes left in the first quarter, the state of Oklahoma was almost sucked into a vortex because of the collective gasp when Kevin Durant went down clutching his ankle. I feared the worst. Busted ankle, out for the season, surgery, maybe he’ll be back for camp this year. That’s the way I am though. Turns out it was just a little sprain. But he wasn’t able to return to action against Dallas. And that left Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green to pick up the slack. Read more…
Everything was fantastic. Every. Thing. The defense. The offense. The rebounding. The coaching. The late game execution. The crowd. Just everything about tonight’s 96-87 win over the Mavs was fantastic.
As we all knew before the game, it was going to take a total team effort to win this one. And that’s exactly what happened. Look at the lines here: 26, 18, 17, 15 for Nenad Krstic, Kyle Weaver, Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha. Add in solid minutes off the bench from Malik Rose, Robert Swift and Damien Wilkins and you’ve got an entire group effort. And that was just offensively.
We all also knew that OKC was going to have to play great defense to hang in there. And again, that’s exactly what happened. Almost every Dallas shot was contested. The Thunder had seven steals. The rotations were crisp and right on the money. The help and recover defense was awesome. The Mavs shot 42 percent from the field, were 7-24 from three and Dirk – who had torched the Thunder for 87 in the first two games – was held scoreless in the third and had “just” 28. But subtract that and Jason Terry’s 20 and Dallas had just 39 on 40 shots from everywhere else. Dirk and Terry took 40 between them. In other words, not a total team effort. Read more…
These two teams locked up just three nights ago so there’s really not a whole lot new to talk about. Except Kevin Durant is still out. And now Jeff Green is too. And Robert Swift played a little for the first time in over a month Saturday. And Jason Terry is back for the Mavs. But other than that, it’s pretty much the same matchup.
Nick Collison will be replacing Green in the starting lineup, so the OKC first five will likely be Westbrook, Weaver, Sefolosha, Collison and Krstic. And off the bench the Thunder’s got Robert Swift who played some decent minutes Saturday, Earl Watson, Malik Rose, Rumble and Chucky Atkins. Yikes. Read more…
vs. 
