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BOX SCORE
Hold it. Put that candle stick down. Don’t throw it across the room. It’s going to be OK. It’s going to be all right.
I know you’re frustrated. I am too. What’s happened to Oklahoma City’s defense? What’s happened to Kevin Durant in the second half? What’s happened to the Thunder’s ability to close games?
My theory? They’re tired. They’re worn down. Heck, I’m tired and I haven’t done anything but sit on a sofa and blabber on about the game. None of these guys have ever played in important games in late April (except Nick Collison). They’ve never had to play this hard in Game 81. They’ve never really been on the road in an atmosphere like that. For the youngest team in the league, I see tonight as much a learning experience, as playoff preparation, as you can get. Read more…
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers
vs. 
Ok. City Thunder (49-31, 23-17 road) at Portland Trail Blazers (49-31, 25-14 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: 9:00 CDT
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 108.2 (13th), Blazers – 110.7 (8th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 104.4 (8th), Blazers – 106.9 (14th)
Pace: Thunder – 93.1 (12th), Blazers – 87.6 (30th)
View from the enemy: Portland Roundball Society
If I were to use a word to describe the size of this game it would be large. Or massive. Or really, quite big. Whoever wins holds the tiebreaker over the other and effectively hands the loser the eight-seed and a date with the Lakers. In terms of regular season NBA basketball, it’s about as important as you can get. Read more…
Preview
Portland Trail Blazers
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
BOX SCORE
We’ve all seen this game before. Close throughout, but your team just never can get over the edge. They’ll reach up and touch it, but they just can’t quite climb the hump. Oklahoma City cut Portland’s lead to three, to two, even tied it once at 84-84 on an gorgeous lob from Russell Westbrook to Serge Ibaka. But immediately after, the Blazer scored four straight. It was just one of those games, and even though we’ve seen this story before, it’s still pretty frustrating.
Even with the Thunder down three, with possession and 12.8 seconds left, it just didn’t feel good. Kevin Durant got a decent look, but it went begging short, Andre Miller knocked down two clinching free throws and that was that. It’s not necessarily upsetting or even frustrating, but more just your typical loss. Make one more play, grab one more rebound, hit one more shot and maybe things are different. But as so often happens, that big play didn’t come and as a result, OKC came up five points short. Read more…
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers
vs. 
Portland Trail Blazers (44-29, 20-16 road) vs. OKC Thunder (44-27, 24-12 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: 6:00 CDT
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 107.3 (14th), Blazers – 110.9 (6th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.4 (6th), Blazers – 107.2 (16th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.9 (14th), Blazers – 87.6 (30th)
View from the enemy: Portland Roundball Society
And thus, we will conclude the week of very difficult games at home. So far it’s been a pretty successful one I’d say. Turn the close loss to the Spurs into a win and no matter what happens tonight, this would’ve been a good week. But depending on what happens against Portland, this can either be an OK week or a very good one. Read more…
Preview
Portland Trail Blazers
(AP Photo/Don Ryan)
BOX SCORE
With the Thunder offense struggling, the stars sitting and one of the most important games of the season hanging in the balance, Oklahoma City needed someone, anyone to step up. You’d expect it to be Kevin Durant. Or maybe even Russell Westbrook, as he has the past few games. But even without wearing a headband, James Harden raised his hand. And by raised his hand, I mean scored 13 straight points for the Thunder in the fourth quarter.
I get asked a lot: “Is Harden a flop? Is he living up to the hype? Is his beard really THAT perfect?” Games like tonight are exactly why he was drafted third by Sam Presti. When OKC needs a secondary scorer, he has the ability to fill it up. He can create, he can shoot and he can score. He hasn’t always risen to the occasion, but remember, he is a rookie. But it can’t be Durant, Westbrook and Green every night. And the fact OKC can rely on Harden to provide that offensive spark could truly be the biggest revelation for this group as they head into the All-Star break. Read more…
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers
vs. 
Ok. City Thunder (29-21, 14-11 road) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (30-23, 15-10 home)
TV: NBATV (Cox 256, 726 HD); 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: 9:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.2 (18th), Blazers – 110.7 (6th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 103.1 (6th), Blazers – 108.0 (18th)
Pace: Thunder – 92.4 (17th), Blazers – 87.4 (30th)
View from the enemy: Portland Roundball Society
Let me tell you right now, you should be amped for this game. Maybe more than any game thus far. Yes, right now, Oklahoma City is in a playoff battle with Portland. Yes, this is a division foe. And yes, this is the Thunder’s supposed “rival”. But more than anything, for whatever reason, Portland fans tend to dislike the Thunder. Maybe it’s the Pacific Northwest connection or the Oden-Durant thing, but Blazer fans mostly don’t enjoy OKC. And that’s what makes these games fun. Read more…
Preview
Portland Trail Blazers
BOX SCORE
(AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
I have no idea what I just saw. Really, no clue. I’m sitting here, trying to figure out how recap this thing. Maybe the best way to sum it up would be: BAD. OFFENSE.
A couple happy fun-time stats from that… thing:
- I believe the stat is supposed to read “assist-to-turnover.” But for the Thunder tonight, they had a 19 to 6, turnover to assist ratio. No snarky comment necessary.
- Oklahoma City shot 34.3 percent, 3-14 from 3 and missed nine free throws. Blech.
- The Thunder scored just 74 points.
- And one more time, just for emphasis: SIX ASSISTS.
But yet, in what was easily the worst game Oklahoma City has played this season and one of the ugliest I’ve EVER seen them play, I’m strangely encouraged. And yes, the Thunder lost 83-74 to Portland, dropping the first game of the season. Yet I feel somewhat good. Why?
Because despite what I would kindly describe as a poo poo performance, this one was there for the taking. Kevin Durant shot the ball, um, not well. Nine missed free throws (ahem, how much did we lose by?). The turnovers and the assists (or lack thereof). Yet knock down a jumper or two and you’re right there. Why? Because the Thunder is playing some defense. And that’s what good defense can do for you. When you’re having the worst of worst nights, you can be right there. It may not be fun to watch, but it sure is better than losing by 25 and never really having a shot. OKC had a chance to win in the fourth quarter and just came up short. It was a bad game obviously, but all was not lost. I still see the improvement. Read more…
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers
vs. 
Portland Trail Blazers (1-2, 0-1 road) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (2-0, 1-0 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, Tulsa Cox 27, HD 722; DirectTV 679, AT&T U-Verse 753)
Stream: Click Here
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 97.1 FM Tulsa)
Time: 6:00 CST
View from the enemy: Beyond Bowie
Offensive Rating: Thunder – 106.9 (15th), Portland – 109.9 (11th)
Defensive Rating: Thunder – 95.2 (3rd), Portland – 109.1 (19th)
Pace: Thunder – 90.3 (23rd), Portland – 90.1 (25th)
This game suddenly feels big for some reason. Not because it’s going to decide the Northwest or make a big difference in terms of the playoffs or anything. I mean, let’s not get ahead of ourselves here. But it feels big in the sense that there is potential to be 3-0 and this team was 3-29 on New Year’s Eve. Think about that for a second. Just stop. And think.
Not only could it knock win No. 3 out very early on but it could make the Thunder 3-0 with a win over a marquee opponent with the world champion Lakers coming to town Tuesday. These are the types of games we dreamed about all summer. And now it’s kind of sort of happening. It’s all just so exciting. Read more…
Preview
Portland Trail Blazers
No. 7: Durant gets the best of Oden in round one
For some reason, video of this game doesn’t appear to exist on the Internet, but I know it happened. I was there. And while it wasn’t especially close, it was the most fun I’ve ever had at a basketball game. The Thunder played one of its best games, Kevin Durant showed up Greg Oden in their first meeting and remember when Jeff Green busted the net? That was awesome. Well, except for the part where we had to sit and wait for 15 minutes while it got fixed. Read more…
Riff Raff
Portland Trail Blazers
Uninspired, uninterested, unmotivated. You pick the word. It all fits for this performance.
I had to keep telling myself to understand what I was watching. This is a team that doesn’t really care and they’re just looking forward to summer vacation. It’s kind of like a college freshman that has a guaranteed “D” in his biology class and while he still has to take the final, it’s not going to really change anything. So does he study? No, he just shows up, fills in some circles and leaves. That’s what the Thunder’s doing right now. And they were playing the kid that’s got a 4.0 and can get a 95 in his sleep. While it’s not exactly what you want to see, it is what it is (whatever the heck that means).
I could rant about effort and intensity and place blame on someone, but is it really worth it? Come next season, I don’t think we’ll look back and point at this game and say, “See! If they just would have brought effort here, they’d be competing for a playoff spot!” It’s just loss No. 59 in a season full of them. Sure it was pretty ugly, but this has been a long year for a lot of young guys and I’m sure they’re worn out both mentally and physically.
I know what you’re thinking, and you’re right there’s no excuse for it. But does the fact that the team has been uninterested and uninspired this last week and a half mean that all the good things that happened the past three months be ignored? Even though I knew exactly what was happening and I tried to tell myself that was the way it was going to be before tip, it didn’t make it any less frustrating. I was still bothered and agitated at each turnover, each defensive collapse and each Greg Oden uncontested dunk. Read more…
Recap
Portland Trail Blazers
vs. 
Thunder (22-58, 7-32 road) at Portland Trail Blazers (52-28, 32-7 home)
TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)
Time: 9:00 CST
Offensive Rating: Thunder: 102.8 (29th), Portland: 113.8 (1st)
Defensive Rating: Thunder: 109.6 (21st), Portland: 108.3 (16th)
Pace:Thunder: 93.5 (8th), Portland: 86.5 (30th)
One thing I think we’re all going to have to accept is what’s happening. There’s two games left, the team is on the road, there’s nothing to play for but pride and I’m sure it’s tough to be motivated. I really don’t blame the team. I think it bothers me (and others) because we’ve come to expect so much more from this team in terms of effort, but right now, they’re just trying to get to the finish line and start thinking about next year.
I know Scott Brooks surely isn’t happy about it seeing as he’s still fighting to keep his job. And I’d absolutely much rather win than lose. Forget the ping-pong balls. If OKC is meant to get the No. 1 pick, it’ll get the No. 1 pick.
But the Thunder travels to Portland tonight for what most would expect another ugly affair. Remember last time? A 37-point margin and it wasn’t even that close. Let me warn you: That could very well happen again tonight. The last eight losses, OKC’s average losing margin is 19.4 points. That’s quite a jump from all those six point losses the Thunder had been piling up. Lately it’s been either win, or get whooped trying. And since I’m not really expecting a win, I’m thinking we may be flipping over to Letterman during the fourth quarter. Read more…
Preview
Portland Trail Blazers
