Author: Mike

OKC Thunder 125 — Memphis Grizzlies 88

OKC’s Thunder finally put the game together its fan base has been craving. Showed why Vegas and Charles Barkley had them mentioned in the same breath with Golden State, Cleveland , and San Antonio back in October. Proved why Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook belong together on a basketball court as one as they displayed a level of basketball almost Jonathon Livingston Seagull–esque. It was simply beautiful to watch. A state of basketball perfection.

Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant  are my OKCThunderGround No. 1 Stars of the Game. It was a flash photo of how Westbrook can win an NBA championship with Kevin Durant. Westbrook’s line… 13 points on 5-7 from the field. Sixteen assists. Two steals, and +26. The ball moved effortlessly. It never stuck. It found the hands of open, willing Thunder teammates. It was perfection. Russell Westbrook was perfection on this Tuesday night in Memphis.

If Westbrook was Jonathon Livingston Seagull  in this one, then his buddy Kevin Durant was Father Gull. If you haven’t read the book–then you’re out of luck on this recap and you need to be reading more good books about the state of perfection on various planes of existence. Kevin Durant was beautiful in basketball flight as well. Every nuance, every movement, every gliding maneuver, almost every play was perfection in accord within the basketball universe. Durant’s line… 32 points on 11-16 from the field, 10 rebounds, 6 assists. Perfection in flight.  Basketball perfection in flight.

Serge Ibaka went for 17 points and excelled on rolling to the basket off the pick and roll.

OKC…31 assist to 12 turnovers.

Dion Waiters was superb in the second quarter and helped blow the game open. DJ Augustin and Anthony Morrow scored the ball.

Billy Donovan coached his pants off and went small ball making Dave Joerger and his team look helpless.

Mike Conley didn’t score a point. Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph went a combined 7-19 from the field.

It was 59-47 at halftime….98-63 at the end of the third period. It was a game where OKC’s Thunder showed a glimpse of what they could possibly become.

It was clearly Oklahoma City’s best game of the season.

It was beautiful.

 

 

Where to start, what to write? Game 21 and OKC is 12-8, which is still .600 ball even with Durant missing six games. That’s where I’ll start.

Take what Golden State has done and remove it from the equation. Just focus on what OKC can do to become better in the short term and be a much better team by March. That’s the beginning point.

Thunder in Memphis tonight where historically they usually struggle shooting the basketball. Earlier this season–Memphis on Mario Chalmers Career Night beat the Thunder 122-114. And, of OKC’s eight losses to date this might be one of the most revealing in that they allowed the slow paced Grizzlies to score an unthinkable 122 points.

These first twenty games have revealed the Thunder to be soft defensively, vastly inconsistent on the bench unit, and Serge Ibaka failing to be the strong third piece he needs to be for OKC to be more than just Durant and Westbrook versus the world post James Harden Era in Oklahoma City. And, oh, by the way…oil closed at around $38 dollars a barrel yesterday.

In addition, these first twenty games to date have not been a strong endorsement of any of Sam Presti’s recent moves to bolster the roster or the coaching staff.

Kyle Singler to date has been a bust even in a niche, minor role. DJ Augustin gets torched defensively at times. Dion Waiters has shown some improvement, but  then regresses back into bad habits. Anthony Morrow is all over the place as a three point specialist. Steven Adams’ play fluctuates depending on the opponent. Andre Roberson is a nice defender, but I certainly can’t put him in the elite lockdown defender category.

Then there’s the Enes Kanter resign which led Charles Barkley to pick the Thunder to win the NBA championship this season.  The only way that works is if Enes Kanter gets a much larger share of shots and can provide more points to offset his defensive liabilities. But then again–defense wins championships. Not sure what Sir Charles was thinking on this one, but then again he never won a ring.

In short, as a team, OKC looks scrambled so far and the same it did last spring when it was missing key pieces due to injuries.

It appears from reading the Daily Thunder comments section this morning they’re ready to trade Russell Westbrook because Sam Presti’s moves haven’t panned out to date with this roster. Not sure I’d pull that trigger just yet. Why would the Atlanta Hawks trade Jeff Teague and Al Horford for Westbrook when he enters free agency the year after Durant? Plus, why would they move the one piece which possibly keeps Durant in OKC a year longer to contemplate his future? And why would Russell Westbrook stay in Atlanta when his parents and his wife’s parents live in Los Angeles? Triple sigh, but you have to love the DT Trekkies if for nothing else their sheer exuberance in creating scenarios. Sigh.

It’s simple for Sam Presti, Billy Donovan and the Thunder organization as a whole–start playing much better or there’s no reason for Kevin Durant to stay in Oklahoma City beyond this season with the belief Sam Presti can construct a championship roster worthy of a generational player like Durant.

This is dedicated to my father. The best father a son could have. Love, Mike

 

Need something positive on here this morning to get the negative feel off the first quarter of the season. Good interview. Dan Patrick…clearly the best interviewer in sports today.

 

OKC Thunder 98 — Sacramento Kings 95

With 3:06 left in the fourth period, the struggling OKC Thunder somehow found themselves trailing at home 93-86 to the basically defenseless Sacramento Kings. Up to this point in the game, Kevin Durant had been gutter wretched horrible with ten turnovers against a team which doesn’t play defense for the most part. But somehow, Durant and the Thunder finally made some plays coming down the stretch even if it was against the perennially undisciplined Kings.

With 24 seconds left–Durant made a key two which put the Thunder up 96-95. Then with 4.4 seconds left–Durant made two free throws to stake the Thunder to a 98-95 lead. Marco Belinelli air balled a corner three at the buzzer to allow OKC to escape with a win.

Durant told Fox Thunder Courtside Princess Leslie McCaslin he was terrible on the night….and he was right on the mark with the comment. Kevin Durant was indeed terrible.

Five Thunder players scored in double figures. Durant with 20, Westbrook 19, Ibaka 12, Kanter 14 and Dion Waiters with 10 on an abysmal 2-12 shooting night.

OKC turned the ball over 21 times and had but 18 assists. But evened it out by pounding the Kings on the boards 62-41. Steven Adams, of the bad hair look, is my OKCThunderGround No. 1 Star of the Game with a 12 rebound game even though Westbrook had his third triple double of the season. At least Adams has shaved the dead animal beard look which counts something with me. He has nice bone structure—kid needs a cleaner look.

OKC ‘improves’ to 12-8 with the win. The Thunder have now  beaten the Kings 23 of the last 26 times they’ve played.

Six Kings scored in double figures with Rudy Gay leading the way with 20 points. Darren Collison had 16 points, and Demarcus Cousins 13 points. Two of my favorite name NBA players … Marco Belinelli and Omri Casspi had double figure nights as well.

Kings are 7-15 and headed absolutely nowhere but down…again. George Karl would be better served sitting on a porch somewhere playing a banjo and enjoying his golden years with some dignity rather than this.

OKC lost the fourth period 31-22, but somehow won a game on a night Kevin Durant was wretched except for the very end. But then–again, that’s why you never quit feeding your alpha closer. Lesson well learned Sir Russell Westbrook. Feed your alpha closer even when he sucks.

OKC in Memphis on Tuesday night.

Mike Jackson

 

Hard to believe the season is twenty games in after tonight. The preseason excitement is gone for many. Golden State is 21-0 and the Thunder are already down eight games in the loss column before the first Monday in December.

Difficult to cling to the notion OKC is a legitimate contender considering how they play defense and finish close games, but still, there’s the hope Durant and Westbrook can create a winning streak and a run of games at some point.

The 7-14 Sacramento Kings in town tonight. A team which gives up just under 110 points a game. A team which is one of the worst defensive teams in the league.

Kings have some name recognition in their top three players with Rudy Gay, Demarcus Cousins, and Rondo. The remainder of the rotations are filled with Marco Belinelli, Omri Casspi, Darren Collison, Kosta Koufos, Ben McLemore, and Willie-Cauley Stein. But in the end–same old Kings. A horrible defensive team.

OKC  is 11-8 and the third seed in the West. Under Billy Donovan they have mastered losing close games, having monumental defensive lapses at times, and are still not moving the ball. In essence–all the things he was hired to clean up.

Thing is…when OKC was healthy with Scott Brooks coaching–at least they still won even with the blemishes.

OKC should score whenever they want tonight. Nothing will be learned from this game. The Kings are bad and the Thunder haven’t been able to kick start their season so far.

Hard to be excited about this game.