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Sacramento Kings 116 — OKC Thunder 104

With Kevin Durant’s big right toe healthy you’d have thought this would be another Thunder win over the usually self-destructive Sacramento Kings. But instead, with Durant and his big right toe sidelined on this Big Monday Night, it became a night of basketball history of sorts when the Kings beat the Thunder 116-104 inside Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Before tonight, the Sacramento Kings were 0-14 in games played in Oklahoma City. Make that 1-14 now as these Kings won their first ever against this franchise since the move from Seattle.

Speaking of Seattle, former Sonics coach George Karl notched the 1,156th win in his NBA coaching career which now places him in sole possession of fifth place on the all-time list. Good for him.

The third piece of history occurred in Lawrence, Kansas where Kansas and OU played a No. 1 versus No. 2 epic triple overtime game which in all candor put the Thunder game on the back shelf as far as basketball passion and drama.

Let’s be clear, without Kevin Durant—the OKC Thunder are not a top twelve team in the NBA and are perhaps at best a periphery playoff team which would be similar to Utah only with Russell Westbrook. Without Durant this team doesn’t know what to do–and that includes Russell Westbrook at times as well.

They look around. They don’t play defense. They hesitate taking open shots. But most of  all —they just look lost.

OKC started out fine in this game with Anthony Morrow subbing for Durant. In fact–OKC led 31-14 at one point before the bench unit came onto the floor. So much for the feel good glow about OKC’s bench play of late. OKC’s bench was in a word horrific on this night being outscored 51-25 in the game.

In thirty-five minutes of combined play — this OKC bench duo went 2-12 from the field and scored eight points total. If this were Jeopardy on television—the correct question would be …Who are Dion Waiters and Enes Kanter?

There’s no way you can sugarcoat it–both Kanter and Waiters were wretched topped with a touch of abysmal which is exactly what OKC couldn’t live with on a night without Kevin Durant and all ten of his toes.

Sadly—both Serge Ibaka and Anthony Morrow had season high scoring nights with 25 and 20 respectively….which in essence went wasted.

Steven Adams was pretty good scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. I liked the way Adams played actually and don’t have anything snarky to say about his hair.

Cam Payne went scoreless the first half, but came back in the fourth period to score all 11 points of his points as Donovan tried a lineup using both Westbrook and Payne, but to no avail as Russell Westbrook kept shooting when he shouldn’t have on a 6-23 shooting night. It was one of those nights where you just wished Westbrook would stop shooting threes altogether as he went 2-9 from beyond the arc.

Five different Kings scored in double figures…. Demarcus Cousins, Rajon Rondo, Rudy Gay, Marco Bellinelli, and Darren Collison.

DeMarcus Cousins is my No. 1 Star with 33 points and 19 rebounds.

With the win–the Kings improve to 14-20, and notch their fifth win of the season against a Western Conference team.

OKC’s win streak ends at four and the Thunder drop to 24-11. Good thing for OKC The UnderGround Power Poll came out yesterday.

In closing, on a night when it appeared OKC would coast and continue heading in the right direction under Billy Donovan–this Thunder team collectively took two steps backward and saw what they are without Kevin Durant.

Memphis Grizzlies in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Vegas spread on hold pending a health update on a big right toe.

Mike Jackson

Sacramento Kings in town tonight to play OKC at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Kings come in as the current No. 10 seed in the West—which means nothing right now other than they’re one of a generic group of sub .500 teams in the West that aren’t very good.

Kings last game was a win over Phoenix which gave Coach George Karl his 1,155th win and tied him with Phil Jackson at the No. 5 spot on the all-time winningest NBA coaching list. Since Jackson hasn’t coached since 2010-11, Karl’s next win puts him above Jackson on the list. Karl’s other NBA head coaching stops include Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, and Denver. Karl has never won an NBA championship, but his ’96 Seattle Sonic team made it to the NBA Finals before losing to the Chicago Bulls in six games.

So far in the Karl era in Sacramento—the Kings look pretty much the same as a sub .500 team with some nice athletes led by Demarcus Cousins, Rudy Gay, and Rajon Rondo, but still a team who can’t really pull it together. Kings are 4-11 on the road and 4-14 against Western Conference teams. In the only meeting so far this season between the teams, OKC played awful yet stole a game at the end with Kevin Durant making a couple of clutch plays in what was probably Durant’s worse game of the season.

OKC’s Thunder comes in on a roll with a four game winning streak and an overall record of 24-10. Thunder are 16-4 at home and have lost only twice this season to Western Conference teams with the losses being on the road to Houston and Memphis, and both by single digits. OKC is a Vegas 11 point home favorite tonight.

The January schedule for Oklahoma City is very favorable for a monster month of wins. Tonight isn’t any exception. Since the insertion of Cam Payne as the backup point guard–OKC’s bench has come back alive and been a plus instead of a negative. Payne has brought much better ball movement to the unit of which Anthony Morrow and Enes Kanter have benefitted from the most. Plus, with Payne in the game–there’s no need for the ball to stick in Dion Waiter’s hands. There’s no question as to who should be unit leader. Even Kyle Singler has suddenly found some life of late—to date it’s been good with  Cameron Payne on the floor.

This should be a stretch of the season where OKC wins most of their games and becomes even more comfortable with Billy Donovan and vice versa.

Too many college bowl games yesterday to release the Power Poll–and the TCU game put me over the edge. A day late, but here’s this week’s OKCThunderGround Power Poll. Eat your heart out, Marc Stein. This is the blog where the TSN metric model (Toughness, Snarl, Nasty) was invented. You don’t stand a chance, buddy.

1   Golden State Warriors

2    San Antonio Spurs

3    Cleveland Cavaliers

4    Oklahoma City Thunder

5     Chicago Bulls

6     Miami Heat

7     LA Clippers

8     Toronto Raptors

9      Indiana Pacers

10    Boston Celtics

11     Memphis Grizzlies

12     Houston Rockets

 

OKC Thunder 109 — Charlotte Hornets 90

There are no excuses in the NBA. You play the schedule and suit up whoever’s healthy or available. Charlotte was minus Al Jefferson and Nicolas Batum on the second night of a back to back but nobody cares in the heartless grind of an 82 game marathon regular season.

Never give a sucker an even break and kick him when he’s down…which is exactly what OKC’s trending Thunder did Saturday night in Charlotte while posting an easy 109-90 road win.

OKC took care of business coming out of the gate with an opening 13-2 flurry, led 66-54 at the half, then answered a couple of obligatory second half NBA runs by the Hornets until Cam Payne and OKC’s second unit ultimately shut the door in the opening six minutes of the fourth period by expanding OKC’s lead to fifteen points.

Six Thunder players scored in double figures being led by Kevin Durant’s 29 points and Russell Westbrook’s relatively quiet 16 points. Fellow starter Serge Ibaka chipped in a 10-10 free throw night and four of OKC’s fifteen blocked shots.

Durant could be  my No. 1 Star of the Game, but part of me wants to give it to rookie Cameron Payne and the OKC bench which scored 44 points on the night and looked in sync from the moment Payne set foot on the floor. So–I’m going to give my No. 1 Star to OKC’s bench.

Payne played 20 minutes garnering 7 points and 3 assists. But it’s his smooth, poised ball distribution and shot making which has turned this unit back around of late. Payne was excellent.

Anthony Morrow continued his hot play of late scoring 12 points and stretching the floor with his three point shooting.

Enes Kanter was good scoring in double figures as was Dion Waiters who scored 10 points and had a season high 5 assists. It was a good night for the Thunder bench in general.

OKC held Charlotte to 34.5% shooting from the field. Only three Hornets scored in double figures with Kemba Walker leading the way with 32 points. Jeremy Lamb played 25 minutes going 3-12 in the game and was not a factor.

The Thunder improve to 24-10 on the season and appear to be melding the starters and bench just a little better each game as Billy Donovan learns more about his team.

Sacramento Kings in Oklahoma City on Monday night.

Mike Jackson

OKC on the road this evening to play the Charlotte Hornets. OKC comes in at 23-10 overall, 7-6 on the road, and 7-8 against Eastern Conference teams this season. OKC should come in fresh having last played on New Year’s Eve in a four point win over the Phoenix Suns.

Charlotte a respectable 17-15 overall, 11-5 at home, 3-7 in their last ten games, and the current No. 10 seed in the improved East. Second night of a back to back for the Hornets as they lost last night in Toronto by a 104-94 count.

Some have the Jeremy Lamb angle as a major storyline — I don’t. I’m happy for him in that he appears to have found a team which can give him consistent rotation minutes. I was a fan of his at UConn and wish the best for him. Never really found himself in Oklahoma City after coming over in the Harden trade as one of the two key pieces in the trade coming over to OKC. I don’t see this as big deal other than the fact OKC basically traded him for nothing and that might be a storyline if the Thunder bench struggles later in the season as post season gets near.

Charlotte is a nice team with a blend of youth and veterans though Al Jefferson is back on the  shelf with a torn right meniscus after recently making his return from a calve injury. Hornets are led by Kemba Walker, Lamb’s old running mate from Jim Calhoun’s last national championship team at UConn. Jeremy Lin, Nicolas Batum, and rookie Frank Kaminsky are other new additions to the Hornet roster.

The rest of Charlotte’s rotation goes Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, PJ Hairston, Spencer Hawes, and Tyler Hansbrough.

Kevin Durant in a bit of a shooting slump coming in, but not a big deal when talking abut the league’s most efficient natural scorer. Westbrook is coming off several games where he has been utterly fabulous from an offensive standpoint.

Cameron Payne as the backup point guard for the first time in a road setting is something to keep an eye on. Payne has been good since being inserted into the role for DJ Augustin and the bench appears to be revitalized. Tonight should tell us more. Enes Kanter, Dion Waiters, Anthony Morrow, and perhaps even Kyle Singler tonight need to give Billy Donovan quality minutes filling their respective roles.

OKC needs more from Serge Ibaka night to night. But that’s been a theme from Day 1 of this season. More consistency from both Ibaka and Adams are a must if OKC wants to take its overall team game to the next level.

All Thunder players not named Durant and Westbrook need to show up tonight. Should be an entertaining game.

OKC Thunder 110 — Phoenix Suns 106

I’m still in a college football state of mind, but actually did watch most of the Thunder game. Phoenix vs. OKC games are always funs games to watch. They don’t like each other, lots of small ball,  plus neither puts a premium on defense currently–so the games usually take on a playground feel. Fun games.

OKC outlasted Phoenix in a game which went down to the wire with Kevin Durant receiving an assist from Kyle Singler on a dunk which essentially sealed the game.

Durant scored 23 points on the night. Only one other Thunder player scored in double figures. As one would assume  it was Russell Westbrook. Typical Westbrook night–36 points, 12 assists, and 5 steals. Russell Westbrook is my No. 1 Star of the Game.

Phoenix had six players in double figures. The Suns shot 52.4% from the field and 40% from beyond the arc as OKC’s defense continued to struggle both in the paint and from beyond the perimeter.

Phoenix drops its seventh straight and stands at 12-23. With Eric Bledsoe out for the season and two assistant coaches dismissed this week–it wouldn’t be a shock if Jeff Hornacek does not make it thru the season.

Some bright spots for OKC were the play of Cam Payne, Kyle Singler, and Dion Waiters off a Thunder bench which scored 31 points on the night.

Payne once again took all the backup point guard minutes while DJ Augustin was DNP-Coach’s Decision. Payne finished with seven points and four assists while showing his natural playmaking ability during his time on the floor. Enjoyable player to watch.

Kyle Singler had his most productive game of the season playing important minutes as Donovan mixed and matched to find small lineups to defend the Suns. Singler had seven points, four rebounds, and two assists, including the game clinching assist to Durant. For the first time this season—Singler looked like the hustle/clutch player from Duke who was instrumental in winning Coach K one of his championships. If Singler could just produce ten quality minutes a game like this a game he could carve out an every game niche on this team.

Dion Waiters had a nice game after a sequence of games in LA and back home where he looked like the broken version of Dion Waiters from last season instead of the player who looked like he might turn his game around earlier this season. Waiters went 3-6 from the field, pared down his shot selection, grabbed six rebounds, and dished out  three assists. A nice solid overall game instead of jacking poor shots and making murky basketball decisions. This is the Dion Waiters who could help Oklahoma City become a better team, not the Nick Young version of Dion.

OKC won as they should have against a bad Phoenix team and improves to 23-10.

Mike Jackson

 

 

Clemson 37–Oklahoma 17,    Alabama 38–Michigan State 0

After week upon week wondering if the committee would penalize OU for belonging to the Big 12 Conference–OU let everyone involved down by getting shut out 21-zip in the second half before eventually losing 37-17 in the first national semi-final game of New Year’s Eve.

OU led 17-16 going into intermission, but it was all Clemson in the game’s final thirty minutes.

Clemson was clearly the superior team. Smarter, tougher, more resilient, better QB play, and more physical. Circle the lack of OU’s physicality on both sides of the ball. This was a simple game to break down. Clemson rushed for 312 yards, OU 67.

OU became one dimensional after their first drive of the game in which Perine had his only real success running the ball. Ironically, OU’s rebirth since the Texas loss had been attributed to running the ball with Perrine and Joe Mixon. Neither back finished the game.

But the players across the line of scrimmage from OU today weren’t wearing Kansas, Texas Tech, or O State jerseys. Clemson has a front seven who’ll hit someone in the mouth — which they did repeatedly to the Sooners.

Considering Baker Mayfield had little help–I thought he actually played decent only forcing the two picks when OU’s situation became more desperate as time began running out on OU’s dream of playing for an eighth national championship.

Deshaun Watson was excellent except for the late first half pick in the end zone by Zack Sanchez. Otherwise–he basically owned OU with his mind, feet, and arm in three equal parts. Plus, his offensive line gave him space and time throughout the game to exhibit his feel for the game. Not saying I think it’ll be the same for Watson against Alabama, but I was impressed. Nice player.

In all candor, this game reminded me of the Texas game where OU was blown away physically on both line of scrimmages and could never corral Hurd on the corner.

OU finishes 11-2 and did more than I thought they would after the loss to Texas in October. But still– after watching both national semi-final games–OU has a lot of work in front of them if they want to return to the highest level of national relevance by bringing that eighth national championship trophy back to Norman.

I’d go Alabama -8.5 in the national championship game. Hope it’s a good game, because both of the national semi-final games in a word …sucked and were close to unwatchable in the second halves. You can only smile at Larry the Dr. Pepper Guy ads so many times.

Mike Jackson