Doug Pensinger/NBAE/Getty Images
1. The Thunder is the better team. If anyone would like to argue that point, the prosecution presents five wins in six games as State’s Exhibit A. The prosecution rests.
2. OKC is one boxout, and one Russell Westbrook desperation jumper that hit the rim, from being unbeaten at home in the playoffs. I don’t know if that record will survive this postseason, but it will survive this series.
3. Kendrick Perkins is probably super pissed right now. Westbrook too.
4. Nene’s hairstyle is not postseason material. He looks like a Cabbage Patch Kid.
5. Tattoos, or at least getting them here or working here as a tattoo artist, was illegal in Oklahoma so recently that there has to be some carry-over effect. Bad karma for Denver in OKC. Especially Chris Andersen, who prompted my brother’s basketball-novice girlfriend to blurt out, “Whoa. Eewww. What the hell is that all about? That’s gross. What’s his problem? Why does that guy do that?” Read more…
Commentary
Denver Nuggets, Playoffs
Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE/Getty Images
The Denver crowd lustily booed Serge Ibaka when he pounded his chest Saturday after big plays in the Pepsi Center. Russell Westbrook received a similar reaction after a demonstrative display. Comment sections and message boards on Denver sports websites and blogs are aflame — as comment sections and message boards tend to be anyway — with criticism of Thunder players’ emotional outbursts.
Maybe they have a point.
First, I must state that in no way do I want the Thunder players to stop being demonstrative during emotional moments. Because I love it. I love Kevin Durant’s primal scream after dunks. I love when Westbrook or anyone else does the same. I love when Ibaka beats his chest or does Air Congo. I love it when Westbrook does his six-shooters routine or James Harden puts three fingers toward the floor when they hit a three. I love Nate Robinson’s wild gyrations and choreographed celebrations following just about anything positive that happens for Oklahoma City.
But I also recognize that if I make a list of NBA players in my head towards whom I have the most negative feelings, they tend to be the demonstrative types. Joakim Noah. Chris Andersen. Kevin Garnett. Jason Terry. And not only to those guys tend to be demonstrative, but that’s also the main reason I tend to dislike them. I don’t even really know why that matters. Read more…
Commentary
Denver Nuggets, Playoffs
Layne Murdoch/NBAE/Getty Images
As the Thunder cut their collective playoff teeth, there are still plenty of new situations for the team to confront mentally and physically. Having a chance to really stomp on the throat of a wounded postseason opponent is one of them, and it comes tonight in Denver.
There aren’t many other playoff challenges that can present themselves for a first time for the Thunder. A close-out game and a Game 7 are two, but what else is there? Game 1 marked the first time Oklahoma City opened at home as a playoff favorite, and the Thunder responded to that test with a pair of wins.
Another challenge OKC encounters, but not for the first time, is to win a playoff game on the road. That’s on a list of problems that the Thunder have yet to solve despite previous attempts, including winning as a playoff underdog. Certainly OKC has only had a few chances to address these issues. But there would be no better time for the Thunder to get its first playoff win than tonight, and maybe it will have the chance to be a playoff series underdog again soon enough. Read more…
Commentary
Denver Nuggets, Playoffs
AP Photo
Denver’s Raymond Felton had five attempted field goals and a trip to the free throw line in the fourth quarter Sunday before the 11 second mark, when the game devolved into fouling and Thunder free throws. J.R. Smith had three shots, Nene had two shots and a trip to the free throw line, and the other Nuggets had fewer looks than that.
By contrast, Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook had six field goal attempts each in that same time period, and other than Eric Maynor’s two shots, no other Thunder player had more than one shot in the quarter.
That’s what happens when one team has two established stars and the other has an offense-by-committee mentality. And at least through one game, having the two stars worked out in Oklahoma City’s favor. It gives credence to the long-established belief that it takes a star or two to advance in the NBA playoffs. Read more…
Commentary
Denver Nuggets, Playoffs
Larry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images
BOX SCORE
Well that stunk.
Perhaps the nicest thing I can write about tonight’s game was that it really looked like the Thunder had learned a lesson from last night’s game and about midway through the fourth quarter seemed to be holding Denver to limited looks on offense by clamping down on the defensive end, while executing on the other end of the court without Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant in the game.
Unfortunately there was still the other half of the fourth quarter left to play and the Thunder’s offense pretty much vanished, not scoring a basket for the final 9 minutes of the game, which meant that the Nuggets ended the game on a staggering 22-5 run to kill the Thunder’s hopes for a division title and, realistically, home court advantage in the playoffs. Just what we needed after last night’s crushing loss in overtime. A horrible, gut-wrenching, choking collapse down the stretch! Awesome!
And now the 8th seed looms large on the playoff horizon. Read more…
Recap
Denver Nuggets
vs. 
Denver Nuggets (50-27, 18-21 road) vs. Okla. City Thunder (48-29, 25-13 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CDT
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 108.3 (13th), Nuggets – 112.1 (2nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.3 (8th), Nuggets – 107.4 (16th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.0 (14th), Nuggets – 94.8 (5th)
View from the enemy: Roundball Mining Company
(First, let’s do a small giveaway: Closest to guess Kevin Durant’s total points, plus Russell Westbrook’s total assists, plus Jeff Green’s total rebounds, plus Nick Collison’s total charges drawn gets a free, advanced copy of David Berri’s new book, Stumbling on Wins. Leave your guesses in the comments. Berri authors The Wages of Wins Journal. You can read more about Stumbling on Wins here.)
This isn’t going to be an easy game to get ready for. I know this because I’m not even ready to watch it, much less if I were a player having prepare it. I’m still worn out from last night. So with the team arriving back in OKC around 1 or 2 AM, then having to get over playing 53 minutes of basketball, plus the heartbreak, there’s a pretty giant excuse for some early flatness. Read more…
Preview
Denver Nuggets
AP Photo/David Zalubowski
BOX SCORE
I had about 30 ideas for what to name this recap from “Thank you, sir, may I have another?” to “The Missing Piece: Exhibit A” all the way to “Fumigating the Pepsi Center” and “Wait, is this March 2010 or 2009?”
You get the picture.
This was in no way a pretty or enjoyable game and to be honest, I am now 0-2 in 2010 on recaps so if you all want to sign a petition to ban me from doing recaps of games where the Thunder are not heavy favorites, I understand. In fact, you could very easily argue that this was two games wrapped into one so I might even be 0-3. The first game took place from the tip-off to about midway through the third quarter and the second one was the glorified scrimmage from the third quarter until the merciful horn that ended the game. Read more…
Recap
Denver Nuggets
vs. 
Okla. City Thunder (36-23, 17-12 road) at Denver Nuggets (39-21, 25-5 home)
TV: KSBI-52 (Cox 15, HD 715)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 8:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.7 (16th), Nuggets – 111.8 (2nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.0 (3rd), Nuggets – 107.2 (16th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.8 (14th), Nuggets – 95.1 (5th)
View from the enemy: Roundball Mining Company
Oh boy. This is one of those where you can feel a little extra buzz to it. You know it’s important because you know the entire league is paying attention. Oklahoma City is actually just 2.5 games back of Denver for the Northwest Division lead. You’ve got Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Durant. You’ve got old and crafty (Chauncey Billups) vs. young and exciting (Russell Westbrook). You’ve got two teams trending upwards and making their strongest push of the season at the right time. Safe to say, this should be a fun game. Read more…
Preview
Denver Nuggets
(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
BOX SCORE – ADVANCED BOX SCORE
It’s not how I envisioned Oklahoma City finally beating Denver. I pictured a full, roaring Ford Center. I pictured Carmelo and KD dueling down the stretch, trading buckets in a pressure packed fourth quarter and in the end, the Thunder making one big play to win it.
I didn’t really see it coming as a 17-point blowout, 101-84, in front of a sparse crowd with no ‘Melo. But all the same, it’s equally as sweet.
The Thunder needed this game. Not only to stop the three-game skid, but moreover, to restore some confidence in themselves. The lost the close ones last week. Then they dropped a bad one to Chicago two nights ago. People were starting to wonder if they were slipping. And though there was no Carmelo Anthony, OKC put a whipping on the division-leading Nuggets. It’s a good, good win for many reasons. I know ‘Melo didn’t play, but that hasn’t hurt the Nuggets in keeping their eight-game win streak going. So while that’s a fair point, the fact OKC was focused and fired up is what really proved to be the difference.
Everything clicked tonight. The offense was crisp. The defense was excellent. OKC rebounded the ball as good as ever. There was a real focus to the team tonight. Kevin Durant notched his 20th straight game with 25 points or more as he scored 30 on 12-19 shooting, but Russell Westbrook was quietly awesome. He had 12 points (5-11 shooting), eight assists, three rebounds and just two turnovers. And after J.R. Smith started hot from 3 (started 4-5, finished 5-10), Westbrook really turned up the heat on Smith playing some really solid defense. Read more…
Recap
Denver Nuggets
vs. 
Denver Nuggets (31-14, 10-11 road) vs. Okla. City Thunder (24-21, 12-10 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 105.6 (21st), Nuggets – 112.3 (2nd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.1 (4th), Nuggets – 106.2 (13th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.2 (18th), Nuggets – 95.3 (5th)
View from the enemy: Roundball Mining Company
(Channeling Les Miles) This is NOT what we wanted. It’s NOT what we planned, today. It’s not ideal for Oklahoma City to be 0-1 on this homestand facing a potential four-game losing streak against the very talented Nuggets. But if there is good news, it’s that Carmelo Anthony might not play. The Denver Post says he likely won’t. (One reader emailed me when Tim Duncan didn’t play in OKC and said, “The evolution of an Oklahoma City NBA fan: Instead of being upset the other teams star isn’t playing, we now celebrate when he’s sitting out.” Yep, perfect example with ‘Melo tonight. Don’t play ‘Melo. Rest that ankle.) Read more…
Preview
Denver Nuggets
BOX SCORE
Sometimes you can just sort of sense when Oklahoma City is overmatched. The Magic game in Orlando. Boston at home. And definitely tonight against Denver. Ten minutes in, you just could kind of feel like the Thunder was going to have to hang on for dear life to stay close. It hasn’t happened all that often this year, but sometimes you’re just in over your head a bit.
Denver started the game 1-11 from floor as a team, but yet trailed only by two during that stretch. You knew that the shots the Nuggets were missing we going to start dropping and when they did, things were going to get rough for OKC. The fact the Thunder didn’t take advantage of Denver’s poor start really set the pace for this one.
Of course there are the typical (and good) excuses. Second of a back-to-back. On the road. Playing a good team. Playing a good team that is 10-1 at home. There’s not a lot of shame in losing this one. Denver is a force in the West people. Of course you’d love to have seen a closer game with a real chance to win, but sometimes you’re just outclassed. And that was absolutely the case tonight. Read more…
Recap
Denver Nuggets
vs. 
Oklahoma City Thunder (12-10, 6-4 road) vs. Denver Nuggets (17-7, 10-1 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 8:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 105.3 (22nd), Nuggets – 113.4 (3rd)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.0 (6th), Nuggets – 106.2 (15th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.1 (19th), Nuggets – 95.7 (3rd)
View from the enemy: Roundball Mining Company
Two things to get you revved up for this one. Here you go and here you go. Those two games went a long way in making me dislike the Nuggets. I like Carmelo Anthony, a lot because he likes Oklahoma City, but in general, I don’t like the powder blue bunch. Read more…
Preview
Denver Nuggets
