New York Knicks 93 — OKC Thunder 90
Difficult game to write about, maybe why I’ve taken my time deciding on how to recap it in my season journal. I’ve thought how to start it, but here’s what I ultimately have to go with.
Thinking, thinking—let’s go with this.
With about 26 seconds left and OKC trailing by three, Russell Westbrook penetrated the lane then fired an on target pass to Serge Ibaka in the corner. A completely wide open Serge Ibaka. Just a perfect basketball play until Ibaka clanked the wide open look. OKC would ultimately get another chance to tie the game, but Westbrook fired a wild three which missed badly, and Dion Waiters missed on a second chance three which went half way down. Knicks win despite really not making a game winning play in the last thirty seconds or so.
These are the Oklahoma City Thunder without their closer Kevin Durant to steady them in the end of close games. These Thunder are a borderline 8th place team in the West regardless of how many times Russell Westbrook triple doubles or Enes Kanter double doubles.
Serge Ibaka is my favorite player from Congo in the NBA if you know what I mean, but he was bad again. In thirty minutes of play he went 4-13 from the field and had three rebounds if I read the box correctly. Steven Adams was a non-factor as well. Kanter and Waiters were decent, functional, but when you get virtually nothing from your two starting bigs its hard to win against solid NBA teams who are well coached. At 7-6, the NY Knicks under Derek Fisher appear to be headed in that direction. Not great, but solid.
There were two ex Duke players on the floor. The one who played for OKC the first part of last season was by far the most effective ex Coach K player on the floor. He scored 12 important points with several buckets coming down the stretch run. Here’s a clue—his name isn’t Kyle Singler.
Westbrook scored 34 points on the night, but I can’t give him the No. 1 Star, nor can I give it to Carmelo Anthony who scored 25 points and helped his team improve to 7-6. In all candor–I thought Lance Thomas and Nick Collison were the two most fundamentally sound players in the second half–so I’m setting precedent here by giving the other Duke player and Nick Collison my OkcThunderGround co-No. 1 Stars of the game.
OKC drops to 7-6, but an even more revealing 2-3 when Kevin Durant isn’t on the floor to bail them out in the final four minutes of tight games.
In watching these first thirteen Thunder games I’m coming precariously close to calling Sam Presti a chump who got his lunch money stolen by the playground bully for buying out Scott Brooks final contract year to see this type of basketball. The same mistakes. The same defensive miscues. The perimeter defense gone awol. Same things if you’re really honest with yourself as self admitted Scott Brooks and Kendrick Perkins blamers. Same damn things. Coachable things, correctable things. Especially on the defensive side.
But it’s still November and even though OKC is already six down in the loss column to the Luke Walton coached Golden State Warriors the week before Thanksgiving–I shouldn’t seethe thru a Thunder recap even if it is my own blog.
So I won’t. I’ll leave this to Jim Traber on Monday afternoon on the radio and live thru his seething vicariously.
Rick Carlisle and his streaking Dallas Mavericks at the Chesapeake Energy Arena on Sunday evening. You would think Kevin Durant will be on the floor. Better be.
Mike Jackson