OKC Thunder 101 — Minnesota Timberwolves 96
Took my time tonight deciding what approach to take with this game . It was a dreadful game to watch as the Thunder plodded thru the game with what I thought was little joy or fun in the manner in which they played against a grossly inferior young team which will eventually challenge the Lakers for last place in the West.
Even though OKC jumped out okay and at one point had an eighteen point lead–I just wished I wasn’t watching this team play right now. They strike me as a team with little joy or motivation about this basketball season. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it because this is a team which basically had their entire season obliterated by injuries last season. I thought this Thunder season would be about redemption or playing with an attitude or just playing with reckless abandon and becoming the best team possible, but this apathy and indifference is not what I expected.
This has little to do with being 27-12 because that’s a good mark. That’s not the point. The point is they’re not getting better and they quite frankly appear to be a joyless team except when Westbrook and Payne do their pregame ritual. It’s still early January and the saying is you don’t want to leave your best basketball behind you in November and December. But this team has three new coaches and Mo Cheeks back for his second Thunder tenure, all should be in sync with the players by now, and vice versa. Halfway thru a season that excuse should just about be over.
But then again, maybe they’re just not that good and this is their ceiling. Maybe we’ve already seen their best.
With 3:15 left in the game, Andrew Wigins hit a two to trim the Thunder’s once eighteen point lead to three. Unlike the other night in Portland, when Durant didn’t score a point in the fourth as the Thunder wilted under Damian Lillard’s shooting assault, Durant took control of the game from this point forward and saved his team.
After going 7-21 in the first three quarters and appearing he wasn’t really all that much into the game, Durant scored 12 straight points for the Thunder in the final three minutes to seal a road victory for OKC’s Thunder. For these three minutes, Durant is my No. 1 Star of the Game. Durant finished the night with 30 points on an 11-25 shooting night.
Only two other Thunder players scored in double figures. Russell Westbrook with a 22 point, 7 rebound, 11 assist night, and Enes Kanter scoring 18 points on 8-10 from the field.
Once again, the OKC bench got blitzed as they were outscored 55-27 by the Minnesota bench. OKC had zero assists and five turnovers in the fourth period. Not pretty.
Zach Lavine and Andrew Wiggins led the Wolves with 21 and 20 points respectively.
Maybe Scott Brooks knew this team better than Sam Presti. Run back faster. Play hard. Maybe that’s how they liked to be talked to. But it doesn’t appear Billy Donovan is a tough love coach or all that difficult to play for.
These guys need to start with a fun win tomorrow night in OKC against the Mavs and see if they can redirect their season. Maybe have some fun. That’s all I’ve got right now.
Mike Jackson