As I casually walked down the hall with toilet bowl cleaner Monday with the holiday weekend winding down, a voice came from the living room with a message that immediately gave me an excuse to quit on my chores.
“Serge Ibaka got hurt.”
What could be worse for the Thunder during summer league play than a long-term injury to No. 9? Some kid trying to make a roster who careens into Kevin Durant on the bench? (Don’t worry, I just knocked on some wood, and you should too. But seriously, maybe put him in a Popemobile on the sidelines? I love that he wants to be there, but PROTECT THAT MAN!)
Thankfully there’s no indication the injury is anything serious, and as of Monday night Ibaka was listed as day-to-day. Fingers crossed further examination won’t reveal anything worse than a boo boo. Read more…
Commentary
Orlando Summer League, Serge Ibaka, Summer League
Oklahoma City lost its last game in Orlando to the Utah Jazz 70-60 to finish at 3-2 for the week, but instead of looking at that disaster of a game, let’s just get some overall thoughts and put a bow on this week. (Cumulative stats from the week.)
James Harden – 14.8 ppg (25.6 per 48), 3.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 2.4 turnovers per game, 53 percent from the field, 40 percent from three (6-15).
Grade: A+
Well color me giddy and happy and tingly all over. Harden looks like he’s ready to make a major impact on this team. He slashes, he passes, he scores, he shoots. But wait, there’s more! He’s just so cool and collected on the court. He played a little point guard Thursday and a lot Friday. I think that’s one of the advantages to Harden’s creating ability – you can move Westbrook off the ball if you want to play them together or Harden can just run point and you can move any and everybody around. Oklahoma City may have the most versatile roster in the league this year. No really. (One interesting stat: Harden actually led the team in defensive rebounds. Now Ibaka and D.J. White just played four games and Harden played four and half, but still.)
Serge Ibaka – 12.3 ppg (26.4/48), 3.3 rpg, 1.5 bpg, 68 percent shooting
Grade: A
Nobody was more surprising in Orlando than Serge Ibaka. He went from fringe D-Leaguer to possibly a certain rotation player in just five days. You can’t say enough about how polished his offensive skill set looked. He had post moves, he had an elbow jumper, he could put the ball on the floor and he could face up. You would’ve loved to have seen his rebounding numbers been more in the 5-7 a game territory but I’ll take what we got. I know I’m ready to buy my Serge Ibaka replica jersey. Read more…
Commentary
Orlando Summer League
The Orlando Pro Summer League kicks off tomorrow (or today, depending on when you’re reading this) and a lot of folks have been wondering when and/or where they can see the Thunder’s summer squad play.
The league runs from the 6th to the 10th and the Thunder will play every day for a total of five games. The games will be four 10-minute quarters, halftime is just eight minutes and teams are allowed two 30-second timeouts per half. Also, players are allotted 10 personal fouls. I have no idea why. Anyway, here’s the schedule. All times CST.
Monday, July 6th
Oklahoma City vs. Orlando – 4 p.m
Tuesday, July 7th
Oklahoma City vs. Indiana – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, July 8th
Oklahoma City vs. Boston – 4 p.m.
Thursday, July 9th
Oklahoma City vs. New Jersey/Philadelphia – 2 p.m.
Friday, July 10th
Utah vs. Oklahoma City – 10 a.m.
The Orlando Magic’s official site will be streaming every game, so you can see the games by clicking HERE. Box scores, game recaps and cumulative stats can also be found at the Magic’s official site. Also, winning matters about as much here as it does in your Saturday morning men’s league, so don’t take these games too seriously.
News
Orlando Summer League
