Between Games 2 and 3 of the Thunder’s Western Conference semifinal series against the Grizzlies, the Bulls, Hawks, Lakers and Mavericks all play twice. The Heat and Celtics share the same three-day layoff as Oklahoma City and Memphis. Three excruciatingly long days without Thunder basketball, and one day without any NBA basketball at all, is too much. And ridiculous.

The Oklahoman offered the NBA’s reasoning for the three-day layoff in its notebook Thursday, but it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. There was no game Thursday because the Spurs-Grizzlies series might have gone the full seven games? Well, what’s the excuse for Heat-Celtics then? In the NHL, where men are men and hockey players, like honey badgers, just don’t give a snot, the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins played Games 6 and 7 of their first-round series on back-to-back nights in different cities. That may be a little much, but the point remains the same. There’s no need for such a long layoff.

So seriously, NBA decision-makers: Enough is enough. This is all the more ridiculous when you consider that there’s only one day off in between games during the rest of the series. Sure, Thunder fans are a little bit more OK with this in light of Serge Ibaka’s ankle injury, but still. In any case, the layoff got me thinking about what else can take place in the 91 1/2 hours between the start of Games 2 and 3 of this series.

1. More than half of a war.

The Israelis engaged Egypt, Syria and Jordan in the Six-Day War from June 5 to 10, 1967, in the process taking control of several areas (namely the Gaza Strip and West Bank) that remain sources of controversy today. The short duration of the conflict made the Yom Kippur War of 1973, which involved mostly the same combatants and took place from Oct. 6 to 25, 1973, seem like a marathon in comparison.

Of course, if you want to get technical, you could fight more than 100 wars in the three days between Thunder-Grizzlies games as long as the war you’re fighting is the Anglo-Zanzibar War of Aug. 27, 1896. It lasted only about 40 minutes. But I hardly think that should qualify as a true war, seeing as how it involved the shelling of only one building — although that building was Zanzibar’s royal palace. I’m sure the Zanzibarians think it was a war, but I don’t.

(Also, if this isn’t the first reference to the Anglo-Zanzibar War in an NBA blog, color me surprised.)

2. A flight to the Moon with room to spare.

The Apollo missions took about 76 hours to get from Florida to the Moon. So if astronauts blasted off at the final horn of Game 2, they’d have time to fly to the Moon, take a long nap, have some breakfast and get in a round of lunar golf before having to ponder Game 3. Heck, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin only spent about 21 1/2 hours on the surface of the Moon during Apollo 11, and only about 50 minutes of that was spent walking on the lunar surface. Seems like a long way to go for only 50 minutes of real action.

3. Two hundred and three preambles of “The Decision.”

That’s right, it only seemed like three full days between the start of ESPN’s “The Decision” and the moment when LeBron James told us he was taking his talents to South Beach. The television program started at 8 p.m. CDT with some talking heads in a studio, and Jim Gray didn’t get to the part where James actually told us where he was going until 8:27 p.m.

So if you’re a masochist, you could watch those 27 minutes more than 200 times in the span between tipoff of Games 2 and 3. Or you could listen to Rebecca Black’s “Friday” about 1,400 times if you’re a masochist to the point of wishing you were dead. Just watch the stoner flick “Friday” 60 times instead.

4. A walk 80 percent of the way from Oklahoma City Arena to the FedEx Forum.

The shortest driving distance between Oklahoma City Arena and the FedEx Forum in Memphis is 460 miles, according to Google Maps. Let’s say you tried to get a ticket to Game 2 from a scalper, but you couldn’t because a ton of them got arrested. So, because for some reason your only method of transportation is walking, you decide to hoof it to Memphis without taking a break and see if you can make it to FedEx Forum in time for Game 3. Most people’s walking pace is about 4 mph, so that means you could make it about 366 miles, which is 80 percent of the way from downtown OKC to downtown Memphis. So mix in a little bit of jogging, or maybe a spell of hitchhiking, and you could probably make it.

5. A third of a cricket match.

Well, a third of the longest-ever cricket test match anyway, which took place over nine days (10, if you include a rain-out) in South Africa in a match between the home country and England in 1939. And in fairness, many cricket matches now last only one day, with some still sticking to the old school three-to-five day span. And cricket is just crazy, so maybe this is a bad example.

But if cricketers can play grueling matches over several days, you’d think supremely conditioned, well-paid NBA athletes with access to top-notch nutrition experts, medical professionals, strength and fitness trainers and charter flights with plush accommodations could do with fewer than three days off, don’t you? Let’s get on with the show. Down with three-day in-series playoff layoffs, now and forever.

Seeing Chicago and the Lakers lose their first games at home had to make you feel at least a little better, didn’t it? No way the Bulls, Lakers and Thunder ALL lose their second-round series, right?

But it seems likely that at least one of the three will go down. Let’s just hope the Thunder isn’t that team.

In the first round, only the Lakers won their series after losing the first game at home while the Spurs and Magic couldn’t recover. That’s not a great recent sign for Oklahoma City, especially because it was Memphis that did in San Antonio. But it shows, as if you didn’t know already, that an opening loss at home is not necessarily a death knell.

If the Thunder has shown us anything this year, it’s that the team is resilient. The few back-to-back losses on the year provide some evidence, as does the stellar record in close games, the ability to go on a tear following a trade that sent away a popular teammate, late-season road wins in Miami and Los Angeles and particularly the Game 5 comeback. With the proper mindset, the Game 1 loss in this series could simply be viewed as an opportunity to rise (together … couldn’t help myself) to another challenge.

Grasping at straws? Maybe. But the idea that the Thunder’s season is already teetering even before Game 2 has tipped off is ridiculous. It was certainly disappointing from the vantage point of DT readers and Thunder fans at large, but allow me to bring back up a quote I borrowed from Gregg Easterbrook for a Nov. 1 column I wrote after the Jazz blew out the Thunder early in the season: Don’t panic. There will be plenty of time for that later. (In this case, the excruciatingly long three-day layoff between Games 2 and 3.)

In fact, if OKC can manage to win tonight and then steal Game 3 in Memphis, the Grizzlies will face an uphill climb for the first time this postseason. We haven’t yet seen how this incarnation of the Griz would react to trailing in a series, but at least with last year’s Thunder team we saw they showed little fear at a 2-0 deficit against the Lakers (that admittedly was cured by a two home games, not two games in a rowdy FedEx Forum).

It’s time, right now, for all of those Thunderisms like “It’s a process” and “We’re growing as a team and as individuals” to prove to be more than just boring canned quotes. If the Thunder is growing as a team and as an individuals, then it should come out determined and get a win in front of the home crowd. If this is a process, then surely part of the process is overcoming a deficit in a postseason series in which you have home court advantage.

The only thing fans can do, other than continue to fret, is to make that home court advantage real. For most of Game 5 of the Nuggets series and Game 1 on Sunday, the crowd let the visitors’ lead get inside their heads. There was desperation, worry and tension in the air. That may be unavoidable to some extent when the Thunder digs itself a rather sizable hole, but if there was ever a night for the crowd to refuse to let itself get out of the game, this would be it.

BOX SCORE

I really didn’t think there was any way the Thunder could win their 50th game (giving them a plus-27 win increase) and win it by nine, and it give me a slightly uneasy feeling.

Don’t get me wrong, this was what Oklahoma City needed. The Thunder snapped a two-game skid and a stretch they’d lost four of five by beating a quality Memphis squad 114-105, and did it by playing well in the last three minutes. Some momentum and some confidence has been built heading into the series with the Lakers. But the fact the Thunder struggled with some of the same issues that had gotten them into trouble this past week is what is bothersome. They gave up 56 points in the second half and executed poorly at times in late in the third and in the fourth. Again, they won. I’m happy. I’m actually thrilled. I mean, 50 wins! But if this game were an effort to right some of the wrongs from the last week, I think I’d give them a C-.

On that: I think one issue we’ve begun to see from OKC in games they have a comfortable lead, is that in the second half they go into the NBA equivalent of the prevent defense. They slow the offense down, dribble the 24 down to 13 or 14, pass twice and then chuck a jumper. The Thunder built these leads playing loose, playing free, running, cutting, sharing the ball and taking good looks when they got them. It’s when they take their foot off the gas that they get themselves into this weird offensive funks where everything turns to jumpshots. And the thing is, every NBA team goes through those spells. It’s teams like the Cavs, the Lakers, the Hornets and other squads with a star player that can get snapped out of the said funk because their star player makes some shots.

Now the last three minutes, OKC opened it up a bit and pumped the lead back into double-digits. The Thunder have got to find that balance of slow start, start up. That’s way easier said than done, but if on seven or eight straight possessions the slow down game isn’t working and you find yourself taking all 20-foot jumpers with three on the shot clock, maybe get back into that groove of looking for quality shots early and running the floor. Kevin Durant, who was stellar with 30 points on 12-18 shooting, hit two big shots for the Thunder in the fourth and made sure this thing didn’t get REALLY interesting. And Eric Maynor was absolutely excellent (15 points, 10 assists, five rebounds) and got the key playing time down the stretch simply because, he was doing a good job running the team.

The Thunder led by as many as 27 in the first half and was playing loose and fresh. Shots were dropping and it looked like it was going to be a full-on party in the Ford Center. But Memphis had something to play for and when the Thunder relaxed, the Grizzlies bit. Don’t get me wrong, I think this is what the Thunder needed. Most importantly, they won. They closed the game well after giving up a big lead. But the fact they went through some of the same ailments that have gotten them gave me just a slightly queasy feeling heading into the playoffs. That’s all.

Notes:

• How about Serge Ibaka tonight? Good. Ness. He had 15 points, nine rebounds and a career-high five blocks. One of them, I thought he popped the basketball he spiked it so hard. And his fast break dunk nearly made me hurt myself I jumped up so fast.

• Kevin Durant put on a show in the first quarter. He dropped 14 in the quarter and showed off some handles with a slick between-the-legs, behind-the-back move and then a no-look dish to Jeff Green. Then he popped a step-back jumper. Then he bumped his head on the Ford Center ceiling rising up to block a Rudy Gay shot. AND THEN he nailed a fadeaway 3 to end the first. It was something else.

• I thought Scott Brooks did a solid job managing minutes tonight. KD played the most with 38. Jeff Green played 34, Russell Westbrook 25 and Thabo 27. The bench saw a lot of minutes with Maynor playing 29, James Harden 26 and Ibaka 32. I think he would’ve liked to given the starters a little less and guys like D.J. White and Byron Mullens a little more, but Memphis’ comeback screwed that up.

• Eric Maynor is absolute money at the buzzer. He did it against Duke and he continues to do it in the NBA. It’s impressive.

• KD finished the game 5-5 from the line meaning he shot 90 percent from the free throw line for the season. That’s unbelievable.

• Serge Ibaka and Etan Thomas played really well together in the first half. Thomas took on the opposing center on the block leaving Ibaka a chance to rove a bit, hence the four first half swats. But in the second half, Brooks didn’t play Thomas a second and instead went with Green-Ibaka for most of it. Ibaka had to play the five and while he did a solid job there and inside OKC didn’t get abused or anything, Ibaka wasn’t near the force anymore.

• Memphis turned it over just nine times tonight. That’s a big reason they stayed close.

• I have a Film Study coming on this soon, but boy, OKC’s transition defense needs some sharpening.

• I see no reason why Rudy Gay shouldn’t average 25 a game for the rest of his career. He’s got ability leaking out of his ears. It’s about playing for the full 48, all 82 games. But he should be a star. He’s got he talent.

• Jeff Green took eight 3 pointers tonight. Granted, he was open for most every one and he’s a good shooter, but when you finish as well as he does at the rim, I think it’s smart to put it on the floor every now and again, especially after you’ve missed five straight from deep.

• With the master Hubie Brown calling this game on ESPN, I’m curious as to if anyone out there watched the FSOK broadcast. That’s dedication to your hometown guys if you did.

What’s funny about this game is that the score never got closer than eight in the second half. Oklahoma City really had in it hand the whole way, but because of the way it went with Memphis going on a 27-10 run or whatever it was, I think we started having flashbacks. The Thunder played relatively well and I think got back to some basics. The first half saw some really solid rotations defensively and late in the fourth, OKC got stops, rebounds and executed on the offensive end. If this game would’ve been played at 8-12 point margin the whole way, I think we all walk out happy.

But the fact OKC got up big then went flat for a bit letting the Grizzlies back in it, is what gives us the sour taste. But no matter what, this is win No. 50 (!!!) and puts the Thunder on the winning side headed into the playoffs. I think I’m good with that.

Next up: PLAYOFFS BABY. PLAYOFFS.

Memphis Grizzlies (40-41, 17-23 road) vs. OKC Thunder (49-31, 26-14 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 – 108.2 (13th), Grizzlies – 108.3 (12th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.5 (8th), Grizzlies – 109.8 (19th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.1 (12th), Grizzlies – 93.6 (10th)

View from the enemy: 3 Shades of Blue

Tonight, we will conclude the 2009-10 regular season. That’s it. It’s over. Hope ya’ll had fun. What’s that? There’s more basketball coming after tonight? Oh. WELL COOL. I just can’t get enough having to put “regular season” in front of everything saying this year is over. Because that implies you have more season left. That’s fun.

There are certainly things to play for (50 wins, momentum, confidence, an ESPN national audience), but there’s not much to gain. The Thunder’s made their bed and will have to sleep in eighth. But still, basketball will be played tonight at the Ford Center and they will be keeping score. The starters are going to play, but there’s no telling how much. With new of Mustafa Shakur and Byron Mullens getting a call-up today, I’m guessing this one is going to get treated as an exhibition game. Some good minutes in the first half, some scattered ones in the third and hardly any in the fourth. Just my guess.

Memphis coming in: The Grizzlies played Monday, losing to Denver. They are 17-23 on the road and 2-8 in their last 10.

THE MATCHUPS
Zach Randolph has been a nightmare inside for the Thunder. On OKC’s win in Memphis, he grabbed something like 79 offensive rebounds in the third quarter (I think that number may be a little high). And with Nenad Krstic still out – who is an incredibly underrated post defender – Randolph might get his 20-10 with little sweat. I’d expect a heavy dose of Serge Ibaka and even probably some D.J. White and Byron Mullens too tonight, so it’ll be nice to watch the young guys go against a premier low post player.

Rudy Gay is quite a talent and it’s always fun watching him go against Kevin Durant. That’ll be a fun matchup. Russell Westbrook and Mike Conley are both quick and like to penetrate. And O.J. Mayo will be a good warmup for Thabo to get back into his defensive stopper groove.

Also, here’s a couple fun Elias Sports Bureau notes for tonight’s game:

- Kevin Durant enters the final game of the season with 2,441 points, 616 rebounds and 110 steals. Since the NBA began tracking steals in 1973, only two other players have recorded at least 2,400 points, 600 rebounds and 100 steals in the same season: Michael Jordan in 1988-89 (2,633/652/234) and Karl Malone in 1989-90 (2540/911/121).

- Most points scored by a trio of teammates this season: Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Jeff Green, Oklahoma City (4,977); Zach Randolph, Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo, Memphis (4,617); Carmelo Anthony, Chauncey Billups and J.R. Smith, Denver (4,526).

- Russell Westbrook has assisted on 212 of Kevin Durant’s baskets this season. Only three players have registered more assists on teammate’s buckets than Westbrook has for Durant: Steve Nash (275 assists on Amar’e Stoudemire baskets), Deron Williams (230 assists on Carlos Boozer baskets) and Jason Kidd (227 assists on Dirk Nowitzki baskets).

Regardless of the fact that this game means nothing, I really, really, REALLY would like 50 wins. Beside it being a beautiful round number, it just looks good in the standings. And equally as such, Memphis is playing for .500 tonight so I’m sure they don’t plan on rolling over. This should be the Ford Center’s 11th straight sellout and hopefully will be a full-on party in building some momentum for the playoffs.

Tip at 7:00 CDT. Go PLEASE Win 50.

It’s funny how all of the recent team success has just completely spoiled me as a Thunder fan. Last week we had a big win against Atlanta on the road and before that two seriously impressive one point losses against Dallas and San Antonio.  Then a not that impressive, yet still a win matchup with Minny on the road. Tonight however the Thunder seemed like Monster truck stuck in the mud.  Last year we would have taken some moral victory from a win over a team that was really hot and a few games over .500. Not now; moral victories are for last year.

The Thunder just never really felt to me like they “had” this game. There were 11 lead changes and a gazillion ties, yet I couldn’t ever get comfortable with the feeling that we were going to win.  Who knows what that is all about, I just was hoping for more. I feel like our team is the better team. I can sort of quantify that with our efficiency differential but all that is just rhetoric since we just lost. I’m just hoping we don’t look back on this game when we are fighting for playoff seeding and go “man, if we could’ve just won that one back in January”.  Ok, I know that’s probably not going to happen since we still get to play them a few more times, but still…you  know what I mean.

• I think we are starting to see a change in the coaching methodology from Coach Brooks. Earlier in the season Brooks went with his starters and then his bench guys according to some sort of a prearranged rotation that really didn’t change much from game to game. You knew Westbrook, Durant and Green would get like 35+ minutes every night. Krstic would get his start and his minutes, Thabo the same, and Collison and Harden and Ibaka would get theirs. But lately I’ve noticed that Brooks is starting to tweak his rotations on more of a gut feel or some internal analysis of winning matchups. For example, tonight Eric Maynor had a very complete and dominant game off the bench during his 23 minutes. Russell only played 25  and was the bad Russell. How many times this year has Russell played 25 minutes or less prior to tonight? Only twice.  It was looking to me like Maynor was having a better matchup against Tinsley and Conley ( as evidenced by his team leading +8 on +/-). Russell was -10.  Maynor’s 23 minutes ties his high with the Thunder.

• To expand on the point above, remember when Green was sucking pond water in late December and earlier this month? In a 6 game stretch he played three games with 16 minutes, 27 minutes and 14 minutes with no major foul trouble; all wins. Since then he has been back up in the realm of 35+ mpg. Hmmm.  Maybe I’m making a mountain out of a molehill but it just “feels” like something’s going on here. Russell, without foul trouble or injury had the bit in his mouth and Brooks was pulling back on the reins tonight.

• The Thunder were getting hammered on the boards early. They were -6 after the first quarter, -4 at the half, -2 after three quarters and the Thunder came out on top 46-42.  We didn’t have anybody really take charge of the boards, it was rebounding by committee.

• Hasheem Thabeet is a very intriguing player; those long arms go all the way to the rafters. He had 9 boards and 4 blocks in 23 minutes.

• Mike Conley is shooting 42% from three. Believe it.

• I was really getting tired of watching the Griz back tapping every rebound to themselves in the first half.

• I thought we might actually see some Etan Thomas tonight but it was Mullens instead. Mully really didn’t do much of anything.

• How about Sefolosha’s back to back fast break dimes in the second quarter for dunks by Durant and Green?

• Hey John Hollinger, Sefolosha held OJ Mayo to 1-12 shooting. DPOY!

• Eric Maynor often has the look of a guy who is just about to turn the ball over a lot of the time. He gets down there in the paint and runs all around and over screens this way and that, then makes a genius pass.  Eight points, 6 assists and 4 boards in 23 minutes, and two beautiful floaters.

• That play with 20 seconds left really sucked. Tied at 84-84 and Conley drives and gets the ball partially blocked. It goes high in the air and Durant comes down with it. Gasol just rips it out of his hands and knocks him down. No foul and the shot clock goes off because Durant had “possession” of the ball….WTF?

• Then, with the Griz not having made a field goal in over 4 minutes Rudy Gay nails a long two  in Durant’s face to finish the thing….

• Jeff Green was 6/8 shooting from <10 feet. He was 1/10 beyond that. What kind of shots do you think he should focus on?

• Harden was the player of the game for all players not named Durant. He had a complete line of 7 boards, 5 assists and 2 steals plus his 13 points. According to Hoopdata, factoring in credit for his assists he had 14.3 points contributed in just 9.4 possessions used (obviously a calculation).

It should be easier tomorrow with Cleveland right? Right?

Okla. City Thunder (24-18, 12-9 road) vs. Memphis Grizzlies (22-19, 15-5 home)

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 753)
Stream: Click Here (Also, NBA League Pass is free right now!)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 7:00 CST

Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.1 (20th), Grizzlies – 110.4 (6th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.2 (4th), Grizzlies – 110.3 (25th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.2 (18th), Grizzlies – 93.9 (8th)

View from the enemy: 3 Shades of Blue

It’s simple: Any games remaining against the Hornets, Jazz and Grizzlies are big. Very big. Not to say other remaining games aren’t large in size, but these are potentially the teams you’re going to be battling down the stretch for the final spot in the p-word. Already, the Thunder has two games up on Utah. They’re one down to NOLA. But here’s a chance to go two up on Memphis.

Last time these two teams met, OKC was abused on the glass but made enough plays to come out on top. Right around when that first game was when Memphis started moving from decent team into pretty good team. They’re figuring out roles and they’re figuring out how to win, especially at home.

But for some reason in my head, it seems like OKC does well against poor defensive groups. Maybe that’s wrong, but typically when the Thunder can focus on winning a game on the defensive end, they fare alright. And with Memphis being 25th in defensive efficiency and relying mostly on scoring the ball, that matchup seems to lie in OKC’s favor.

Memphis coming in: The Grizzlies come in off a tough loss Wednesday to the Hornets. After starting the season 1-7 and then 6-12, Memphis has gone 16-7 since Dec. 1. They’ve won four of five and seven of 10. Oh, and they’re 15-5 at home.

THE MATCHUPS
Zach Randolph terrifies me, especially if Nick Collison is still out (still waiting on word). Randolph absolutely ate OKC alive on the glass in the first meeting. I think he had some 73 offensive rebounds in the third quarter alone. Jeff Green is going to struggle with him, Nenad Krstic will have equal difficulty and if there is no Collison, it will really be on Serge Ibaka to keep Randolph off the glass at least some. A good strategy would be for Uncle Jeff to attack Randolph early and try and get him in foul trouble. That was the plan in the first meeting and it limited Randolph’s first half minutes.

Russell Westbrook had trouble keeping Mike Conley in front of him in the last meeting and as much high-screen-and-roll as the Grizz do, I imagine Westbrook might have some issues again. But he’s due for a breakout game offensively and Conley isn’t an especially strong defender so it could be tonight. Rudy Gay doesn’t defend Kevin Durant that well, despite Gay’s ideal height and length. And KD did a nice job containing Gay in the last meeting.

O.J. Mayo has become a really deadly shooter from outside, so Thabo can’t slack at all. Mayo is a big part of spreading the floor for Memphis to get the ball into Randolph and Marc Gasol, so limiting Mayo from there will be important. And obviously the Thunder bench will play a large role in this one. Eric Maynor and James Harden could honestly be what make the difference.

The truly may be the biggest game to date for Oklahoma City. Like I said, here is a chance to go two up on Memphis, a team you’re currently battling in the West. And both of those wins would have come on the road. It’s a big time game for the Thunder and I expect a big time effort. The matchups should favor the Thunder, it’s just aout late game execution and keeping Z-Bo off the glass. The Thunder have won three straight and are 2-0 on this road trip so far. A split was ideal when it started and three wins would have been gravy. And here’s a chance to lock up No. 3 early.

Tip at 7:00. Go Fight Win.

Box score

Brian Davis made the point at the end of the broadcast that the last time this franchise was 3 games over .500 was in 2004. Just let that sink in for a minute. I watched nearly every game that season and most games since and I can tell you that there has been some very mediocre basketball, and at times some really terrible basketball in the old green and gold and now the Thunder blue. But that aside, how great was it tonight to see the team regroup in the fourth quarter and absolutely gut punch the Griz? I mean we flat out got ripped in the third period scoring and could only manage to score a measly 10 points. That same group came back in the fourth and got the run started before the starters (with the exception of Harden) put their foot on the gas and took us home.

The Thunder had complete control of this game for three quarters. What was weird was that the three quarters weren’t concurrent. We won the first, second and fourth and got smoked in the third? You would have thought that the Griz sort of figured things out and were getting the shots and the matchups they wanted and would take a close game to the final buzzer but that didn’t happen. The thing that stood out to me was the Griz having total domination in the paint in the third and the jumphots and every other kind of shot not falling for the Thunder all at the same time. Zach Randolph was busy being a rebound hound with 13 in the quarter and 20 total boards. Of course I couldn’t help noticing that he did have 11 Orebs and 13 missed shots….nice way to pad your stats.

But like a light switch being turned on the Thunder suddenly wrested control of the paint from the Griz. Krstic and Green just got absolutely tough as nails on Gasol and Randolph in the fourth.  Also Brooks began to double team whoever had the ball in the post in the fourth. Usually it was Durant cheating over. His long arms are quite a weapon. That’s just good coaching there. They don’t win this game without taking back the paint.

Anyway, rather than talk about how the team lost a 17 point lead I will just say that I think it’s a sign of growth for one of the youngest teams to come back in the fourth against a quality team on the road (that’s right, the Griz don’t suck anymore). These were lost games last year. Now the team believes.

Notes:

• Lots of nice performances tonight. I want to again highlight the two bulls in the paint. Krstic had 15 and 8 and 2 blocks on 7/10 shooting in just 28 minutes. Colly was 8 and 7 in just 16 minutes.

• Where did Serge Ibaka go? That guy that rebounded and was a weakside terror?

• Harden had a bad shooting night but he was big in this game. 5 boards 4 assists and 2 steals. Thabeet swatted him twice, but you won’t see that when he gets some more experience. I also think the dude has been going crazy in the weight room; he’s getting some serious size on those guns.

• Westbrook was the good Westbrook tonight, he played Conley about even. I think Conley is a pretty nice option for the Griz. Not flashy but very smooth and efficient.

• I was excited to see Demarre Carroll in the game. One of my favorite college players this past season. He did absolutely nothing tonight however.

• I was watching Livingston tonight to see if he could stay in front of  his man with the bionic knee. I think he did a good job on Jamaal Tinsley. He never got torched from my view.

• Did you notice Harden is finishing games instead of Sefolosha? Sef went back in with a minute to go but the game was over and Harden played nearly the whole fourth with the starters.

• O.J.Mayo is supposed to be 6’4″, yet he is shorter than Westbrook and considerably shorter than Harden.

• Sort of funny numerology with the box score. The two teams were within one of each other in made field goals, had the exact same number of free throw attempts, and the same number of of threes made and just one off on threes attempted. Yet, the Griz attempted 8 more field goals and lost by 8. One big factor was the TEN missed FT’s by the Griz. They can look at those 10 points they left on the board and see how they lost.

Just a great win for confidence with some of the league’s heavyweights up on the schedule.

Oklahoma City Thunder (11-9, 5-4 road) at Memphis Grizzlies (9-12, 6-3 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 – 105.4 (22nd), Grizzlies – 107.1 (16th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 102.6 (4th), Grizzlies – 111.5 (28th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.2 (19th), Grizzlies – 93.4 (11th)

View from the enemy: 3 Shades of Blue

Two weeks ago, you ask me about this game and I’m confident. I’m thinking this is one of those “should win” ballgames. I’m thinking the only reason Oklahoma City loses is because it was flat or uninspired.

But things changed. Memphis started playing good. So good in fact the Grizz just took down the Brons in overtime this week and now have won three straight. But that’s the thing with mediocre-to-good teams – you can win any game, but you can also lose any game. And it’s not like the Thunder are some pushover squad. Heck, as of today they’re a playoff group. So how does that do you?

Regardless, this game is kind of important because it’s the most winnable on the schedule for the next week. After this OKC gets Cleveland, Denver and Dallas. Then a home break against the Pistons (who are playing well) and then off to the Lakers, Houston and Phoenix. So lose tonight and you potentially could stare down a four-game losing streak and a 11-13 record with your toughest three games still coming. But win and you’ve got momentum and another game up on .500 heading into this murderer’s row of games. So I’d say this is not a game to be taken lightly.

THE MATCHUPS
Two places Memphis has a decided edge in my view: center and power forward. Zach Randolph is a stat-stuffing machine. He can murder a team whether it be his own or another any given night, but he’s a load to handle inside and out and I’d bet Jeff Green has some issues there. Nick Collison will likely see a LOT of time on Randolph. Marc Gasol has been playing fantastic lately and while Nenad Krstic is a quality player, he doesn’t typically fare well against block players like Gasol.

Kevin Durant and Rudy Gay are friends from D.C. and kind of built in similar ways. While Gay is a very nice player, he can disappear for long stretches and end up with a 4-9, 11 points, six rebounds type of game. And there aren’t too many small forwards I wouldn’t take KD over. Really, just one and his name rhymes with Schmabron Lames. O.J. Mayo has hit 10 of his last 16 3-pointers, but of course I like Thabo matching up there. Mayo is a good scorer, but these are the type of guys Thabo handles well.

I think this game hinges on who plays better between Mike Conley and Russell Westbrook. Memphis has the upper hand in some places, OKC in others. But both these guys can be a little inconsistent and depending on who plays better, I’ve got to think his team will do the same.

Now don’t get me wrong, if OKC loses tonight I’m not going to throw things and then sleep outside out of anger. We all should know by now the NBA season is not a one game affair. There really aren’t any must-win tilts in December. But that’s not to say these games won’t haunt you in April. These next two weeks are the most important to date for this young team and I think it would be best to get it started off on the right foot.

Tip at 7:00 CST. Go Please Win.

(AP Photo/Lance Murphey)

First off, it’s preseason. We all know this and much like the Summer League, it’s smart to keep things in perspective. But the Thunder played a competitive game tonight where score was kept so there are definitely things to take away from it. Of course, we didn’t get to watch but going off of Matt Pinto’s scintillating call and the box score, there are a few observations to be had. It’s always better to win than lose, but I think Scott Brooks was fine coming out on the bad end in order to get a little experience for his youngest guys.

I’m honestly just relieved we made it through this thing with everyone alive. After Dez Bryant being declared ineligible today, I wondered if this sports year was just cursed in Oklahoma. What was built up to maybe be the biggest year of sports ever in this state has now seen Sam Bradford get hurt, Jermaine Gresham get hurt, Ryan Broyles get hurt, OU lose two games, OSU unexpectedly lose to Houston and now Dez Bryant out for the season potentially. I honestly feared for Kevin Durant’s life tonight. One down. 88 more to go.

Guys that did good
He may not have scored a lot (five points on 0-4 shooting), by when you look at Russell Westbrook’s name in a box score and it says 10 assists and just two turnovers, you should celebrate like it’s 1999. If that’s a sign of things to come, then we’re going to be fine. And by fine, I mean pretty good. In Orlando, it looked like he had slowed down and begun to understand the game. And by all appearances tonight, that’s carrying over to this season.

Nenad Krstic was deadly with the jumper hitting 5 of 7 scoring 10 in just 14 minutes. Kyle Weaver was productive with six points and four assists in 15 minutes. Kevin Durant was good scoring 17 on 4-9 shooting. But D.J. White was probably the most impressive offensive player of the night scoring 16 in just 23 minutes. He shot the ball well and scored both inside and out. He honestly may become a pretty deadly offensive weapon off the bench.

Guys that really didn’t
Jeff Green just didn’t really shoot well (3-10) as well as James Harden (4-11, 1-6 from 3). It’s the first game so of course it’s forgiven, but a combined 7-21 isn’t all that awesome from two of your top offensive threats. One thing that bothered me about Green’s box score is that he didn’t attempt a single free throw. In a game where about 200 fouls were called, the fact he didn’t get a single freebie in 26 minutes of burn is kind of strange.

Byron Mullens surprisingly played more than Serge Ibaka (12 minutes to four), and of course, only grabbed just one rebound. I don’t know what the deal is there, but that’s something that has to improve. In fact, the team got outboarded 40-30, with White leading the way with just five rebounds. Not that great.

Also, the replacement referees. Obviously I didn’t see any of the calls, but the numbers are hard to ignore. If this is a sign of things to come, games are going to take forever. Literally. There were a total of 60 fouls called and Memphis shot a total of 47 free throws, including 29 in the first half. Matt Pinto put it plainly: “I see the frustration everyone is talking about in the preseason. There’s too many whistles.” (Speaking of Pinto, he needs to avoid one of his favorite words – “surging”. With Serge Ibaka on the roster, I got confused every time he said, “Kyle Weaver SURGING to the rim!”)

Didn’t play
Nick Collison (ankle), Thabo Sefolosha (mild concussion), Kevin Ollie (hamstring). Michael Ruffin (coach’s decision), Mike Harris (coach’s decision), Tre Kelly (coach’s decision).

One encouraging thing
Through the first three quarters, OKC really took care of the ball, only turning it over 10 times. But with some more inexperienced players playing extended minutes in the fourth, the number finished at 17. Westbrook really just turned it over once (one of his turns was on an illegal screen). And normally sure-handed Shain Livingston led the team with four. The team finish with a 21-17 assist to turnover and like I said, it was much better before the sloppy fourth.

One discouraging thing
While the glass work was bad, I’d say 3-point shooting. Going 2-13 from deep isn’t good, even for a bad distance shooting team. Harden went 1-6 and Durant was the only other guy to hit one. I’m really not that discouraged by the play late in the fourth, as OKC fell apart losing an eight-point lead. Yes, the Thunder was outscored 29-17 in the fourth. Yes, they turned it over seven times. Yes, it wasn’t good. But the last 10 minutes, a lot of the young guys were playing and we didn’t see any Durant, Green or Westbrook in the fourth. It’s just preseason basketball and experience is more valuable than a win. That’s what we tell ourselves.

The Thunder’s next preseason game is Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. in New Orleans.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Memphis Grizzlies

TV: None : (
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 7:00 CST

View from the enemy: 3 Shades of Blue

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. /satisfiedsigh

We have basketball again. Granted, it is the preseason and it doesn’t really matter, but alas, it’s nice to at least have something. Knowing I have a box score to look at makes me warm and fuzzy on the inside. Shame we don’t get to watch, but we’ll make do.

No sense in deconstructing anything that has to do with anything about this game because 1) It doesn’t matter 2) We don’t really know anything about these two squads yet 3) We don’t know who will be seeing most the playing time and 4) It doesn’t matter.

Injury update: Thabo Sefolosha didn’t travel with the team as he’s sitting out tonight’s game with a mild concussion. Allen Iverson isn’t playing because of a hamstring injury. We probably won’t see any Nick Collison. But good news, James Harden is set to play.

What to watch listen for:
I’ve got my eye ear on the rookies. I’m really interested to see how Harden flows within the offense and also how Scott Brooks uses Byron Mullens and Serge Ibaka. I bet we see a lot of Harden, Mullens, Ibaka and White and not a ton of Kevin Durant and Jeff Green. I actually think Russell Westbrook plays 30 minutes or so because the more time he gets at point, the better he gets. I definitely will have a keen ear turned to what Hasheem Thabeet does. Has any No. 2 overall pick been this looked over even before he played his first game?

So settle in and get ready to let the sweet sounds of Matt Pinto take you home. You know, when your dad was a kid, this was the only way they followed their teams. There was no TV…

Go basketball season.