Oklahoma City Thunder (0-3) vs. Chicago Bulls (0-2)
Time: 7:30 p.m. CST
Watch here (maybe)
Chicago roster
What to do on Friday night? What to do, what to dooo… Go see Harry Potter or stay home and watch some SUMMER LEAGUE BASKETBALL!!! I think we all know what the correct answer is. James Harden didn’t play last night, so I’d assume he’s going to get some good run tonight. I’d also expect very little to none of Shaun Livingston since it seems the coaching staff likes to hold him out of back-to-back games. Serge Ibaka was much more active last night and D.J. White had another productive game. Game 4 of the Vegas Summer League. Should be awesome!
Who do the Bulls got?
The Bulls have a couple of interesting players on their roster. They have their two draft picks, Taj Gibson and James Johnson. But they’ve also got some former college studs. Two-time national champ Taurean Green, DeMarcus Nelson from Duke, Josh Shipp from UCLA and Brandon Costner from NC State. Look out for guard Bryan Mullins, not to be confused with Byron Mullens. So watch yourself on that tonight. Our guy will be the tall, skinny guy shooting errant jumpers from 20-feet.
Tip at 7:30 p.m. CST.
Recap
Bulls, Vegas Summer League
BOX SCORE
No James Harden Thursday night for Oklahoma City and his absence really showed, especially in the second half as the Thunder couldn’t generate any offense as they lost 85-76 to the Spurs. DeJuan Blair and George Hill had 20 points apiece and Malik Hairston added 16 for San Antonio. D.J. White led OKC with 17. Some observations:
- Kyle Weaver again played a ton of point guard, scoring 11 points on 4-10 shooting and dished out three assists. But he had six turnovers. And these weren’t the “Oh, well they were really his teammates’ fault” kind of turnovers. He just made bad decisions and forced a lot of passes. Off the pick and roll Weaver goes airborne with no where to go with the ball a lot, like he’s expecting an open shot or an open teammate as soon as he turns the corner. He just looks unsure of himself at the point. Pass or shoot pass or shoot pass or shoot? AHHHHH!!!! It looked like he was trying assert himself offensively, but he just wasn’t that efficient. And George Hill abused him for most of the night scoring 20 with nine assists.
- D.J. White is such an awesome pick and pop guy. He is really almost automatic from 15-18 feet (17 points, 7-12 from the floor). I really don’t have anything bad to say about him. He does just what he needs to do. Eight years from now, whether it’s for the Thunder or someone else, White will be that savvy veteran bench big man that every team wants for a title run.
- OKC hit five 3-pointers, with four of them coming from Robert Vaden. About time for the Sith Lord to get it going. He finally looked totally comfortable shooting the ball and he didn’t really force anything. He scored 16, missed just one three and was 6-10 from the field in 33 minutes. I think Vaden can be a nice offensive player and I get the feeling his poor performances were more from him pressing to impress, rather than him not actually having the talent. Read more…
Recap
Spurs, Vegas Summer League
Onward to Vegas. The Thunder Summer League roster will shed a few players and pick up some replacements. (If you want to watch the games, you can get all Summer League games for the low, low price of $14.99 by clicking here or you could click here… shhhhhhhhhhh.) Westbrook is just playing one game Sunday and Tony Durant is a late addition, likely stepping in for Kyle Weaver who is doubtful after injuring his thumb in Orlando.
ROSTER
Russell Westbrook
Shaun Livingston
D.J. White
Serge Ibaka
Moses Ehambe
Robert Vaden
Byron Mullens
DeVon Hardin
James Harden
Kyle Weaver
Marcus Dove (F) – VOO Verviers-Pepinster/Oklahoma State
I’ve always liked Marcus Dove for some reason. Watching him shut down Adam Morrison was almost as fun as seeing a guy go off for 50. Defensively, he’s an extremely gifted player at 6-foot-9, which is why I’m a little surprised he hasn’t gotten much of a look. But as good as he is defensively, he’s as bad offensively. At OSU he took bad shots and was incapable of putting together consistent stretches of offensive play. He played last season in Belgium and averaged 10.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg, shooting 56 percent (but was just 1-13 from three). He’s got ability and I hope one day he catches on with someone. And he’s worth watching if for nothing else because of those incredibly thick, almost mutant eyebrows. Read more…
Commentary
Vegas Summer League
