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Behind what was essentially a Russell Westbrook triple double, the OKC Thunder won the season opener over an energized Sixer team on Wednesday night in Philly. It didn’t come easy though as the Thunder found themselves trailing by six entering the fourth period on Joel Embiid Night before a playoff-like crowd on the road. But behind Westbrook, Enes Kanter, and others the Thunder won the fourth period by a 34-22 count in claiming their first win in the post Kevin Durant era in Oklahoma City.

Any road win is a good one in the NBA, but this win was essential as the Thunder overcame Joel Embiid’s professional debut and a raccous crowd to get this season on the right first step without Kevin Durant and Serge Ibaka.

For the most part I thought OKC was pretty good on the night. Russell Westbrook was superb. He basically tripled doubled at 32,12,9. His court management was exactly what this young team will need through the course of the season. He steered his team, but didn’t bully his usage to an overbearing extent. He was just about right in getting other players involved.

Steven Adams scored 16 points while grabbing 5 rebounds, but more importantly he was involved offensively to the point where he attempted 16 shots. Adams was solid, but you almost feel certain his level will amp up even higher in coming games.

Victor Oladipo struggled–no way around it. Oladipo went 4-16 from the field and was 0-5 from three point range. He finished with 10 points and did redeem himself in the fourth period with two big buckets as the Thunder rallied to win the game.

Enes Kanter was excellent in the fourth period. He had a solid night going for 17 points and 12 rebounds in 24 minutes of play.

Domas Sabonis actually started the game, thus becoming the first ever Thunder player to start as a rookie. He looked a bit nervous initially, but settled in and gave Billy Donovan solid minutes. Sabonis will become a core player as time moves along.

Ersan Ilyasova was good. He hit two big threes, had ten points overall, drew two charges, and was decent defensively. I liked what I saw from him as he fit into the Westbrook flow and will give Donovan two solid stretch four options.

Andre Roberson didn’t do much for me. He scored one point, didn’t attempt a three, and missed on several opportunities around the basket. But scoring isn’t Roberson’s thing so I won’t dwell on it. If he scores more than six points in a game it’s a bonus.

Alex Abrines played 13 minutes and hit a big three in the fourth period. Kyle Singler hit his first three then missed his next four, but his hair looks better this season. Backup point guard Semaj Christon played and was decent from my perspective. In all ten players saw the floor for the Thunder on opening night.

I’d give the Thunder a B on their report card. I’d have Westbrook, Kanter, and Adams as my three stars of the game in that order. I was impressed with Sabonis and Ilyasova as stretch fours, and okay with Christon as the backup point guard. Abrines was about what I expected. Oladipo had a tough shooting night. His integration alongside Westbrook has to become smoother for the Thunder to become a top four team in the West.

But anytime a young team can go on the road and win in a playoff like atmosphere you take it as a positive, an incremental step forward, and then get ready to host Phoenix on Friday night in the season home opener.

I think this is a very good discussion on the Durant-Westbrook dynamic and their broken relationship. I pretty much agree with everything Skip and Shannon say in the discussion.

It is what it is, but enough of the pettiness from Kevin Durant. You were an unrestricted free agent. You exercised your right within the rules of the NBA. You earned the right. But shut up with the little girl bullshit in reference to Westbrook, Donovan, and Presti. You went 10-31 with two of the worst late game turnovers in NBA history in Game 6. You then moved to the team which benefitted from your horrible performance in Game 6.You didn’t go to San Antonio, Miami, LA, Boston or even your hometown Wizards with Scott Brooks. You took what you and your handlers perceived was the best hand to beat LeBron James and win a championship. Just admit it once openly on the record and be done with it.

The much awaited debut of Kevin Durant’s AAU Super Team in Oakland left much to be desired as the San Antonio Spurs destroyed the Golden State Warriors by a 129-100 count on Tuesday night inside Oracle Arena.

Durant was actually decent as he led the Warriors with a 27 point night. The rest of his new team in a word…sucked. Golden State looked awkward, confused, and thoroughly outcoached by one Gregg Popovich. It wasn’t just that Curry, Thompson, Green, and other Warriors were off, more to the point they looked nothing like the team which won 73 games last regular season.

The Warriors turned the ball over sixteen times and gave up 129 points at home in their much awaited ‘super team’ opener. All summer we’ve had to listen to Kevin Durant’s immature references to Russell Westbrook, Billy Donovan, or the OKC Thunder culture in general so it’s more than ironic his new super team looked this bad on the national stage in their debut. I won’t go any further.

I’ll circle this though, teams have bad shooting nights–it happens. But with ZaZa Pachulia as the Warriors’ new rim protector the Spurs did whatever they wanted near the rim whenever they wanted to do it. Andrew Bogut wasn’t an All-Star, but he clearly was better than ZaZa Pachulia.

Granted–it’s only one game out of eighty-two, but what the Warriors showed on Tuesday night is that winning an NBA championship with ZaZa Pachulia as their starting center might be challenging.

In closing–Kawhi Leonard led the Spurs with a career 35 point night and showed why he’s the second best overall player in the NBA only behind LeBron James.

Maybe Durant will end up a Spur after this season exercising his option year. If Nike and his handlers tell him to do it–maybe we’ll see Durant playing with Leonard next season.

Hope Jerry West and Ron Adams tucked Kevin Durant in and kissed him on the forehead when they told him his bedtime story tonight.

Hey–KD, Steven Adams is in Oklahoma City, ZaZa Pachulia is in Oakland.

Just sayin’.

The Thunder waived Mitch McGary and Ronnie Price yesterday while keeping Semaj Christon as the third point guard. This pares the Thunder roster to fifteen the day before opening night. A very, very young roster. It’s imperative Westbrook and Adams stay healthy.

So who will be OKC’s top eight players as the season begins. I’d go 1 Russell Westbrook, 2 Steven Adams, 3 Victor Oladipo, 4 Andre Roberson, 5 Enes Kanter, 6 Domantus Sabonis, 7 Ersan Ilyasova, and 8 Cam Payne.

Until Cam Payne returns from his foot injury to fill backup point guard minutes Russell Westbrook will have to log especially heavy minutes.

Victor Oladipo has to find his comfort zone as Westbrook’s backcourt partner and define himself as the team’s third best player for this team to become one which hangs onto a fourth, fifth, or sixth seeding position.

I don’t watch NBA preseason games, but my guess is the new player to watch beyond the top three will be Domantus Sabonis. He’s a young player who should at some point give the Thunder another solid two way big man to go along with Adams. He’s smart, has good hands, nice feet, is tough,does everything relatively well, and isn’t a liability on either end of the floor. He should become a solid piece in the Thunder’s future moving forward.

You look at this current Thunder roster of fifteen players and it just seems to me that Sam Presti at some point in this season will be making a trade which shores up the roster a bit more. Oladipo’s level of play being the key as I see it. Can Oladipo become a consistent third piece to fit alongside with Westbrook and Adams is probably the most pressing unknown as we begin the season tomorrow night.

As we prepare to begin the season maybe a quick glance back at Durant and Westbrook’s last post game presser together as teammates. Game 7—Thunder lose at Golden State, Warriors advance to NBA Finals.

Time for the DT regular season bracket sheet.

1 Golden State Warriors
2 San Antonio Spurs
3 LA Clippers
4 Oklahoma City Thunder
5 Portland Trailblazers
6 Houston Rockets
7 Memphis Grizzlies
8 Utah Jazz
9 Dallas Mavericks
10 New Orleans Pelicans
11 Minnesota Timberwolves
12 Denver Nuggets
13 Sacramento Kings
14 Phoenix Suns
15 LA Lakers

With all the talk of the Westbrook-Oladipo backcourt potential, we can’t lose sight of perhaps the league’s most potentially deadly pick and roll combo in Westbrook and Adams. How far Steven Adams can take his game offensively this season is a major Thunder storyline in itself. Maybe the biggest storyline of all.

The Thunder season starts on Wednesday night against my former favorite team the Sixers. I would say guarded optimism is my feel going into this first Thunder season ever without Kevin Durant. Here’s one thing which steps out immediately to me in regards to the West, other than Golden State and Utah–I’m not sure anyone else in the West improved themselves enough to make a significant difference from where they finished last season.

Golden State should be a prohibitive favorite to win the West, while the Lakers, Kings, and Suns should finish in the bottom three in the West.

Utah should be better. I’m not sure if that means they can climb to say a No. 6 seed or so, but I give them credit for making some moves to become a better team.

Minnesota with new head coach Tom Thibodeau and their stable of young talent should be an interesting team to keep an eye on as playing defense becomes part of the process in Minnesota.

But after you get past the Warriors it would appear there will be a great deal of parity between San Antonio, the Clippers, OKC, Portland, Utah, Memphis, Houston, Dallas, Minnesota, and perhaps New Orleans and Denver.

As far as our Thunder they should be an extremely watchable team with Russell Westbrook making a run at a regular season MVP if the Thunder can get into that 50-52 win range at regular season’s end. Steven Adams is evolving into one of the league’s better big men and there’s the question if Victor Oladipo can morph his game with Russell Westbrook to form one of the better backcourts in the NBA.

It feels like a very long time ago that the Thunder lost in Game 7 to the Warriors. The sting from Durant’s July 4th defection is gone. It’s over. I’m fairly certain he’ll be booed out of the Chesapeake Energy Arena in February, but for me it will be more of an indifferent silence.

I’m ready for the NBA season to begin. Ready to see what Billy Donovan can do with this extremely young roster. I’m still hoping Presti has another trade in mind somewhere during the season to take the roster a notch higher, but really even with Durant’s exit Oklahoma City should be a fun team to follow.

Perhaps, Zach Lowe will enter the Daily Thunder Western Conference Regular Season Seeding Contest to make it even more interesting for me. That would be cool. Nothing more from me on the election until Election Night. It’s time to get my game face on for the Thunder season.

For the most part, large cavities of the NBA regular season are at times unwatchable as teams loaf defensively. So—it’s always been a creed of mine to ignore NBA pre season games. When the season begins–I’ll start watching the games, but not now. These kids who get all worked up on various blogs watching NBA pre season games are adorable. These bloggers are churning you. Royce Young…churner. Zack Lowe…churner. The entire newsoksports staff …. churners.

The Sports Animal…churners. I don’t churn. I refuse to churn.

I guess as the defending champion I should start putting my picks together for this season. Probably over the course of the past four NBA seasons I’d have to guess my overall score average is No. 1. Yawn. I’ve beaten Justin four years running. Dismissed of Royce Young as if he were Jim Traber or Jenni Carlson. I have to admit…I’m having trouble getting myself jacked up mentally for this right now. I’m bored with it. I need a challenge. I need Zach Lowe in the field to get my competitive juices flowing. I need him there so as there’s no doubt as to the alpha chain and how it goes. I need Zach Lowe in the field.