While seeing BG fly through the air for yet another display of ferocity and elevation is thrilling, I was primarily concerned with OKC getting a key win over an inferior opponent on the front end of a back-to-back. Sure, the Blake show is more than welcome to create a poster co-starring a particularly pale Serbian so long as the Thunder can get the win. Hopefully Nenad is willing to sacrifice his pride by occasionally getting a whiff of BG's shorts as the cameras flash because it was more than likely going to happen.
With Eric Gordon out for the game, Thabo's effectiveness dropped significantly and it showed. James Harden played 24 minutes and Daequan Cook even got 7 minutes. I'm happy that Brooks gave them the chance. When Thabo is not required to shut down the opponent's best wing player, his inability to consistently to knock down shots on the offensive end is exacerbated.
Griffin and Durant both got off to their regular hot starts and kept the game close during the first quarter and a half. But when Griffin got into foul trouble the Thunder took advantage and ripped off a nice run to close the 1st half.
All they had to do in the 2nd half was keep taking care of the ball and limit the runs. Fortunately, the Clippers never seemed to get into a good rhythm and the Thunder never let up.
James Harden was a big reason the LA never got close. Harden provided the kind of spark that Sam Presti has been looking for out of the young guard. Harden shot 50% from the field along with 50% from beyond the arc. Plus he knocked down all three of his foul shots in what is becoming a habit of getting fouled when shooting from 3 point land.
With the Thunder having a minimal 6 turnovers and the Clippers shooting less than 60% from the FT line, OKC had no problem putting the Clippers in their place and taking care of business at home.
With the All-Star festivities lingering in our rear-view mirror, I want to express my thoughts on how the Thunder were represented. The first event to feature OKC was the Rookie-Sophomore game. Serge Ibaka and James Harden had a chance early to showcase the Thunder's young talent.
Serge seemed a little unsure of how the game was supposed to be played. While he knew defense wasn't going to be totally apparent, he seemed to take it even EASIER, as if it was possible. Overall he didn't provide much merit for any water cooler discussion. James Harden on the other hand had his swag turned up to 100k. He played confidently and didn't show any sign of hesitation on any of his shots. Luckily for James, his make-or-break moment in the game barely went his way and got some people wondering where this guy has been.
Harden got the ball on a breakaway and was staring down an open canvas to showcase whatever he wanted. He nonchalantly rose up into the air for what I figured was a left handed tomahawk. That's when he threw down a windmill jam that, on slow motion replay, barely got over the front rim. The thing that most people will reference in determining his position on the nasty scale is the reaction garnered from Carmelo.
After the initial night was over, I was moderately satisfied with OKC's performance. They would get a better chance to show off in the Skills challenge.
I thought this was the best chance for a Thunder player to win their respective challenge. Russell's speed and athleticism should have been enough to emerge victorious.
After the first round, I thought Russell had it in the bag. He posted the best time by 4 seconds and did it in 2nd gear. In the final round, Stephan Curry turned it up and posted a near-perfect round finishing in about 28 seconds. I knew Russell would have to put his best foot forward to take home the title. After he missed his second jump shot, I knew Curry was the champion. So he didn't win, no big deal. I was really looking to forward to the next two events anyway.
Then came my low point in watching the All-Star activities. Durant entered the 3-point contest as the lowest percentage shooter from beyond the arc. However, I honestly believe he had a good chance to compete behind the reasoning that a great shooter unguarded might as well be textbook shooting in motion.
His performance did not back up my assumptions. He posted the lowest total of the competition and wasn't even in the general conversation about the contest until the ending review of what happened. OKC's young superstar enjoyed the rest of the competition watching from the bench.
Finally, the dunk contest was upon us. Blake basically had to show up and the competition was his. But I feel that Serge Ibaka got short-changed. The other dunks were sweet, but Serge did his free throw line dunk on the first try and from farther away than anyone else in history. Yes, even you MJ and Dr. J. Check it out.
It was a pipe dream to think he could win, but I thought more respect was deserved for his dunk. When he did the skit with the little kid and missed his first attempt, he lost a lot of buzz and momentum when they had to bring out a ladder and some muzak while they refastened to doll to the rim. Anyway Blake ended up winning the contest like a storybook ending to a fairytale.
When Durant got a chance to redeem himself in the All-Star game, he played an average game by his lofty standards hopefully erasing the 3-point performance from everyone's memory.
Overall a good weekend for OKC. But now it's time to get back to business.
Here is the box score for the All-Star Game for those who missed it.
With the Thunder's narrow win the night before in Sacramento, I was hoping tired legs wouldn't not be my go-to excuse if they lost. Turns out, they did lose and tired legs is the only thing I can think of.
Kevin Durant was eh. Russell Westbrook was eh. Jeff Green was better, kinda. Basically, nobody really shined for OKC last night. That doesn't bode well when Monta Ellis, Stephen Curry, and David Lee all play like all-stars. They all showed what they do best. Ellis scored 33 points on 25 shots. Curry created opportunities for himself and his teammates scoring 23 points and dishing out 13 assists. Lee grabbed rebounds and converted the opportunities that he was given.
Reading those stat lines now makes me wonder how on earth OKC was still in the game throughout the 4th quarter. I thought the Thunder played a very average game. I guess it's a good thing when they can play a average game and still compete against a team playing very well. I am naive enough to think that strategy will work against the top teams in the West, but still.
I guess I just don't understand how +/- works. Dorrell Wright had the highest grade for the Warriors but wasn't even close to a force against the Thunder. Maybe I will look in to how that statistic is supposed to work.
The first night of a back-to-back against a team that is no good should not have looked this difficult. Other than Tyreke Evans, the Kings don't really have that much. DeMarcus Cousins has potential but is way too immature and unpolished to be considered a nightly force. Omri Casspi has some nights where he is a outside threat but this was not one of them.
Unfortunately for Casspi, he also had the near impossible task of slowing down Kevin Durant on the other end. Durant torched him for 35 points shooting better than 50% from the field. However, Durant didn't feel like rebounding which could have potentially lost us the game. What irks me is that when he wants to rebound, he can grab 10+ boards. Russell had an average game by his standards. Every point he provided ended up being essential for OKC to get the win.
That reminds me. Thabo has a long road to go before he gets back to providing anything beneficial to the starting lineup. I know he is coming off of an injury so I'm willing to show patience while he recovers. But having a player on the floor that can be literally no threat to do anything on offense really holds back our team. If he was playing shut-down defense then at least he would bring something of value. This is probably as close James Harden has ever been to becoming a regular starter.
There has also been some talk about possible acquiring Samuel Dalembert for his defensive presence in the paint. I didn't see anything overly magnificent from him against the Thunder but I will need to see a lot more film of him before I make a decision.
AOL just spent a ton of money to have HuffPo take over the content operations. You would think that when this much money is spent, the company doing the spending would have done its research in order to ensure profitability for the years to come. From my viewpoint, it seems as though AOL has gone the big risk big rewards strategy. We'll see if AOL comes out smelling like a rose, or something that fertilizes roses.
With Rudy Gay not playing, I thought that this game was a guaranteed win. I'm sure my assumptions were the same thing Boston was thinking when they played sans Durant. Unfortunately, the outcome for the team doing the assuming does not turn out well.
A couple of things happened that I didn't anticipate. The Thunder set a record high for turnovers and Tony Allen had what might be one of the top games of his career. Zach Randolph abused OKC.....again......by dominating the paint and coming up with key rebounds on the offensive end.
While Durant and Westbrook put up their typical numbers, it was not enough to win the game. Jeff Green got abused on defense and was atrocious on offense. The bench didn't provide the typical spark that they normally bring.
The difference in this game was turnovers. Memphis capitalized off of the turnovers and were able to stay in the game, eventually finishing it out in overtime.
There is a lot of stuff going on in the NBA today. Below are a few clips that I found interesting. Read them and learn something. Enjoy.
According to John Rohde, Serge Ibaka is doubtful for tonight's game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Somewhere Zach Randolph just guaranteed friends and family at least 20 points and 15 rebounds.
Kevin Durant will be competing in the 3-point contest along with the All-Star Game. The other contestants don't seem to pose a huge threat, but then again I thought Jason Kapono wasn't a threat either.
If you haven't heard by now, the Melo trade rumors have made their way to Hollywood. The Lakers have entered the discussion in acquiring Melo's talents.
I have watched a lot of Thunder basketball but never have I witnessed what took place last night in Utah. The Thunder, a notoriously bad 3-point shooting team, launched 21 shots from beyond the arc making 13 of them. That's 61% for all you mathematicians out there. The most surprising detail of this long range display was who led the charge. Not Kevin Durant, James Harden, Daequan Cook, or Jeff Green. Russell Westbrook didn't miss from long distance and led OKC in scoring with 33 points. Any avid Thunder fan knows that Westbrook is capable of taking over games. But the way he took over against Utah was something that I can't recall ever happening before.
While I highly doubt Scott Brooks will start calling up plays for Russell to launch a triple, this could be the final weapon in Westbrook's arsenal. If he can develop a decent 3-point shot, it will greatly influence the ease of getting penetration into the lane which he already has no trouble doing. Adding that threat will give opposing point guards all over the league nightmares on the eve of playing OKC.
Even when Russell was out, Eric Maynor came in and provided a hot hand from outside as well. What resulted was our point guard position going 6-6 from 3-point land. That is incredible. Cook and Green also contributed flawless performances from 3 helping the Thunder cruise to a win over a Jazz team that is slumping as of late going 1-7 in their last 8 games.
Deron Williams seemed to be uncomfortable with the tape on his wrists. The only thing Utah had going for them was Paul Millsap. Millsap scored 34 points in 36 minutes missing 5 of his 20 attempts. That, ladies and gentlemen, is efficiency. Had the Jazz won this game, Millsap would have been all over SportsCenter for the next day and a half.
When I first saw this back-to-back on the schedule, I thought that the Suns game was the easier of the two. With the recent slide the Jazz are on, it appears to be the opposite. The Suns came into this game with the same offensive game-plan they have used all season. Drive, kick, shoot a 3, repeat. Unfortunately for OKC, they are in the bottom third in defending shots launched from beyond the arc. I had a lurking fear that if the Suns caught fire, this game could be over by the 3rd quarter. On a side note, if this game took place 10 years ago, the Thunder would have no chance. Grant Hill, Vince Carter, AND Steve Nash? We would have had a much more difficult time. However, time travel is still not a reliable alternative to the present so let's continue.
Little did I know that Kevin Durant (24 points, 11 rebounds) and Russell Westbrook (19 points, 11 assists, 7 rebounds) would be overshadowed on this particular night. The towering figure casting that shadow while having his best offensive game of the season was "Double-Deuce," a.k.a. Jeff Green. Playing a game high 43 minutes, Green (28 points, 5 rebounds) made 3 pointers, free throws, lay-ups and jump shots. To put it simply, the guy was feeling it. Now before all of the Jeff Green fanboys out there start high-fiving and chest bumping, let reality sink in just a bit. The performance he delivered against Phoenix is not consistent enough to validate the minutes he is currently receiving. While I do like Jeff and the versatility he brings, I would STILL like to see him moved to a 6th-man role. But I tip my hat to the man for showing off what he can be capable of, so well done.
Green's back-up also played well. Serge Ibaka made two HUGE tip-ins late in the game to give the Thunder a two-possession advantage and providing a little bit of breathing room.
Vince Carter showed a blast from the past by reigning down shots from all over the floor. For a second, I thought we were in Toronto following all of the Y2K hype. Luckily, Carter's luck ran out when the Suns needed it the most and ultimately gave way to the come-back the Thunder had been mounting throughout the 4th. With this win under their belt, they need to get some rest and prepare for Utah. Back-to-back road wins could give all of the nay-sayers out there a glimpse of how tough the Thunder can be.
After providing me with my first taste of NBA action in my hometown, the Hornets flew back to New Orleans leaving me with a burning desire for a team to call mine--permanently. Everytime we have played them since their departure, I have slowly gotten over my petty crush. At this point, my petty crush has turned into a feeling very similar to hatred. Chris Paul flops, and it drives me crazy. The softest player we have is Nenad Krstic, but he's from Europe, the birthplace of miniscule contact resulting in grenade-esque reactions. Also, Trevor Ariza is overrated. He got paid for being a role player on the championship Lakers. And David West's game-winner against us pushed me over the top.
Emeka Okafor wasn't playing tonight which was a blessing because he habitually destroys us on the boards. Thabo Sefalosha was listed day to day which resulted in another start for James Harden. My emotions concerning him are as inconsistent as his 3 point shot. I like the guy but he needs to fill the role that we drafted him for. If that can't be done then another solution needs to be found. Settle down, Presti groupies. I know it is his 2nd year which is why I'm not demanding to trade him for a basketball rack...yet.
Early on, Kevin Durant was absolutely on fire. He scored 21 in the 1st half which had me dreaming of witnessing his first 50 point performance. When the 2nd half got underway, I was happy to see that halftime didn't cool him off. As KD continued to rain down jumper after jumper, I thought the basketball gods had heard me. But then something amazing happened, because it is the NBA: Where Amazing Happens (Ka-Ching). With 6 minutes left, KD had an open look on the left side. Instead of stroking yet another bucket, he made the extra pass to Jeff Green. You just don't see that stuff. Our superstar was lights out all game and was easily in reach of a career milestone. Instead of striving for a personal goal, he was focused on getting his teammates involved and securing the win. Granted, the win was never in jeopardy at or past this point, but to see him play unselfish basketball really caught my attention.
OKC went on to win the game playing virtually the entire 4th quarter on cruise control and clinched the possible playoff tiebreaker against the Hornets. Durant was on a different level than everyone else tonight and it wasn't even close. If Durant's stats are any indication, and they have been so far, he is going to continue on this scoring tear through February.
