I have to admit I watched almost all of the Thunder’s 85-83 win over the Clippers with my index finger atop the back buttom on my remote going back and forth between the Thunder-Clippers and the Cubs-Indians. Lucky for me, both of the teams I wanted to win did so.
OKC won it’s fourth straight out of the gate and now remain as the only unbeaten team in the West heading into Oracle tonight. Actually, I’m not all that amped about tonight because I finally heard something authentic and honest come from the lips of Kevin Durant which touched me almost as much as his 2013-14 MVP speech. What Durant said was that basically, unlike Russell, he’s still trying to find himself as a human being and that in a sense he envies Russell for the relationships he has with his wife, both of his parents, his brother, and close friends. I couldn’t agree more with Kevin. That’s a significant step forward. I completely respect him for saying that instead of some of the other nonsense he’s said of late.
As far as the win over the Clippers–Westbrook was once again magnificent even though his 35-6-5 line was somewhat pedestrian compared to Week 1. No other Thunder player scored in double figures. Oladipo scored nine points and was the second leading scorer.
Steven Adams and Enes Kanter both had double figure rebounding nights. But this was a game about Westbrook hitting key baskets when it mattered and the Thunder playing some great team defense. On the night, the Clippers shot 39.1% from the field. More to that point, Blake Griffin and Chris Paul went a combined 11-32 from the field.
Three things stood out to me about this game. Samaj Christon, Joffery Lauvernge, and Jerami Grant were all solid and will continue to play significant roles moving forward. Plus the fact, Billy Donovan now has three guys who can play the point in Westbrook, Oladipo, and Christon. So why is there really need to keep Cam Payne moving forward?
Jerami Grant doesn’t shoot any better than Andre Roberson, but I love his defense and raw athleticism. OKC now has four perimeter defenders in Westbrook, Oladipo, Roberson, and Grant who should be able to somewhat match up with the Warriors. The dilemma with the Warriors is how to go small with them. Sam Presti has now given Billy Donovan his own small lineup of Westbrook, Adams, Oladipo, Roberson, and Grant. But again–OKC now has four guys who can defend on the perimeter. The Thunder have never really had this as a team. And, yes, BTW…defense wins championships. You can never have enough guys who can defend.
As far as tonight, I have no idea what will happen. I’m not all that much into the Westbrook-Durant narrative at this point. I’ve completely moved forward with all that. I’ll never boo Kevin Durant even though he did disappoint me. It’s his life, not ours. It was his decision–not ours. Instead I’ll remember the good things about Durant and how he touched all of our lives in Oklahoma City for almost an entire decade. Having written that though–I clearly hope we beat his ass tonight.
LET’S GO THUNDER!
Yes!