This was a game which was very tough to watch. In fact, at every opportunity possible I found myself clicking over and watching the Warriors beat the Sixers in what was a great ABC feature game.
The Thunder lost their fourth straight game to a Spurs team which isn’t all that great and lost by a count of 116-102 in a game which really wasn’t ever close.
It was the second straight game which Paul George missed due to a sore shoulder and for the second straight game the Thunder looked lost on both ends of the court. Russell Westbrook may be the engine of this team, but clearly Paul George is the steering wheel and brakes of a team which looks markedly worse without him on the floor.
But of course the Thunder should look worse because they gave up Victor Oladipo and Domas Sabonis to acquire Paul George.
If Paul George doesn’t play tonight versus the Grizzlies…I’m not even sure the Thunder can pass this hurdle without their MVP candidate. Go beyond this Sunday game at home versus the Grizzlies and the schedule becomes murderous and stays murderous for the remaining nineteen games.
The question isn’t going to be if the Thunder fall to the No. 4 seed. The question is going to be if the Thunder fall all the way to the No. 6 seed or lower and find themselves playing on the road opening in the first round.
In this game the Thunder needed both Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder to be really good. They weren’t really good. They sucked. Combined they went 13-32 from the field and scored a combined 37 points against a Spurs team which just went 1-7 on its annual West coast road swing. These aren’t Timmy Duncan’s Spurs. This is a Spurs team which could have issues of it’s own as in making the playoffs.
I don’t think Billy Donovan ever says all that much to his team or his stars. I’ll say it for him on my blog…”Russell Westbrook and Dennis Schroder–step up.”
This is very simple for OKC tonight and beyond–if they have any intention whatsoever of being anything relevant this season…it might be the time to pull their head out of their ass and start playing some basketball. The All-Star break was over five games ago.
The Thunder host the Grizzlies tonight with both teams on the second night of a back to back.
Paul George, your team needs you.
Some guys on Facebook were talking about Pau Gasol going to Milwaukee. I kind of laughed about it because it made me remember when Gasol wouldn’t come to Oklahoma City to hook up with Durant and Westbrook because of the culture of Oklahoma City and such. And thinking of that made me think of this memorable Pau Gasol moment in the 2011 playoffs.