Thunder Drop Easy One, Lose To The Clippers 98-92

Are you kidding me? Not only did this loss surprise me, I also have to deal with a developing hatred of the hometown superstar. Blake Griffin not only flopped his way to 26 points and 16 rebounds, he complained every step of the way. While it's nice to marvel at his power and athleticism, the same needs to be taken into consideration on the defensive end. You're telling me this physical specimen can get steam rolled by any of our post players. Give me a break.

But then Air Congo lifted off to contest a Blake Griffin dunk. I know you just read that last statement and thought, "Doesn't he know that nobody has the nerve to do that." In spite of the popular belief that challenging a BG dunk would be like trying to out-crazy Charlie Sheen, Serge did this.

Excuse me, while I reenact me launching out of my chair with a raucous "Hell Yeah!"
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Ok, I'm back. Let's get on with the bad news already.

First, I'm talking about Russell Westbrook. 9 points on 1-12 from the field is pathetic. Also, he needs to take care of the ball. He doesn't dish out enough assists to warrant 4 or 5 turnovers. He did net 3 steals in the game and still did a decent job of getting assists. Overall, a very forgettable night for the dynamic point guard.

As for our other star, Durant didn't do much to help. Don't get me wrong 24 and 6 won't get complaints from me but on a night when Russell isn't enough to balance the scoring load, Durant may have to take over a little more than usual.

Off the other bench, BG and Eric Gordon supplied most of the attempts for the Clippers. While OKC did a decent job of keeping both of them at a respectable percentage, BG got to the free throw line all night. I'm not saying all, or even most, of the fouls were bad, but it felt like at times he was very well defended and still got the whistle. As for Eric Gordon, the two 3's he made were at crucial points in the game. If a guy isn't hitting one night, but you hope the shots he does make come at the right time, and they did for LAC.

And the technical foul situation was absolutely out of control. As soon as a ref gave anyone a technical, a massive snowball of technicals would start rolling downhill handing out technicals to anyone that came in a 5 foot radius of said referee. Ridiculous.

Overall, a bad loss that makes people wonder if the Thunder might be coasting into the playoffs like they did last year. The loss to the Clippers makes tonight's game a must-win scenario. Okay maybe not a must win but I am really excited to watch this game solely for playoff speculation alone.

Here is the box score for the OKC-LAC game courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: @ Denver Nuggets, April 5 at 8 pm CT.