Memphis Takes Game 3 After Meltdown

Losing games like this make me furious. More furious than locking my keys in my car, driving through water immediately following a car wash, or even glancing at Jeff Foster.

I'm not saying Memphis can't win a game against the Thunder, as doing so would be idiotic. But when OKC blows a 16-point lead in their building in a crucial Game 3, I can't ignore the growing frustration building inside of me. The problems were glaring in Game 1. Then Z-Bo was contained for Game 2. The major issues appeared to have been addressed with only minor tweaks being needed from here on out. 

For the majority of Game 3, OKC played well. Good enough to win a pivotal road playoff game. Then, something happened. A switch flipped. The offense was taken for granted. Laziness reared its ugly head. Turnovers started piling up while shooting percentages went down faster than a skydiving rhinoceros. 

For 3 quarters, the Thunder were in control. They played their brand of basketball and forced the Grizzlies into submission. Then the 4th quarter began. 

Shots stopped falling, passes went to the other team or fans, and OKC began to lose energy. Combine that with Memphis creeping back into the game, and you have an entire arena of fans going absolutely berserk. 

Here's a stat for you. Memphis outscored OKC 23-10 in the 4th quarter. 10 points? But we have Kevin Durant, the back-to-back scoring champion, and Russell Westbrook, the uber-athletic All-Star point guard. Unfortunately, good players in a stagnant offense are as ineffective as bad ones. And it wasn't a few minutes that OKC's offense was downright horrible. It was an entire quarter. Where were the adjustments? Yes, I'm looking at you Scott Brooks. OKC is one of the worst teams at coming up with a high percentage shot out of a timeout. And that falls on the shoulders of Scott Brooks.  When things aren't working, change them up. What about Nate Robinson? The offense for the Thunder was so abysmal that Nate was as good an option as everyone else.

OKC played winning basketball for 3 quarters, and then fell flat on their faces. I give credit to the Memphis Grizzlies for stepping up, hitting shots, and never giving up against OKC. Memphis could have called it quits going into the 4th down by 13 but they kept fighting and salvaged their perfect home court record in the playoffs.

As for OKC, Game 4 is now Game 7. If OKC fails to steal a game on the road, they will be on the wrong side of history being made. 

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: Game 4 @ Memphis Grizzlies, 8:30 pm CT on TNT.

1. Describe the importance of blogging to modern day journalism. Limit--one paragraph


With the way modern technology has progressed, the public is not looking to read thousands of words to get to the main point. They want something instant. They want the journalistic equivalent of fast food. While it hasn't ruined the traditional style of writing, blogging gives journalists an informal way to express their unbridled thoughts and opinions. It is for this reason that I am able to take joy in portraying my thoughts in a conversational style instead of coloring inside the lines of an outdated ideal.

2. If you are going to continue to blog, why? or why not?1 paragraph


If you love what you do, you will never work a day in your life. Amen. I will absolutely keep blogging for one all-important reason. I LIKE DOING THIS! Hopefully, I can cultivate this petty production into something people plan on reading every single day. And until then, I will keep blogging until I become important enough to listen to.
3. If you were going to keep blogging, how will you change your blog in the future? 1 paragraph


I would like to purchase a domain name and start a web site. For promotion purposes, the address for this site is hard to remember for someone that may not care in the first place. Also, having a website that you pay for shows a certain self-confidence. Running a free blog with predesigned templates could be seen as lazy or unprofessional. I want to appear as neither.




Thanks for everything, Dr. Clark. You are one of the few professors I have had that I won't completely ignore if I see you in public. Trust me, that's saying something. 

Question For Our Final

Here is my suggestion for a question on our final for Blogging for Journalists.

Give me 3 examples of internet lingo.

Answers may include but are not limited to: LOL(laugh out loud), ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), LMAO (laughing my a** off), STFU (shut the f***), GTFO (get the f*** out), IIRC (if I remember correctly), TBH (to be honest), SMH (so much hate), BRB (be right back), G2G (got to go), IDK (I don't know), IMHO (in my honest opinion), LTTP (late to the party), TY (thank you), YW (you're welcome), GL (good luck), etc.

OKC Advances To 2nd Round With 100-97 Win Over Denver

I love playoff basketball. Granted it helps that my hometown squad just advanced to the 2nd round with a gritty win over a solid Denver squad but that is neither here nor there. Playoff basketball is more exciting to everyone, especially dedicated fans like myself. Go ahead, ask the casuals. Even they will tell you that playoff games have a more important feel to them. Possessions mean more, misses became bigger, turnovers more costly. 

Speaking of turnovers, OKC had struggled to take care of the rock last night. Turnovers are frustrating to me because many of them are unforced, similar to an unforced error in tennis. I would much rather the other team get a steal or knock it off one of our guys. Why? Because at least the latter requires action from the defender.

From my experience, mistakes are more visible when a team loses and overlooked. But Russell's performance glared at me like a grandma that overheard me say an inappropriate word like, "crap."

Don't get me wrong, I like Westbrook's style of play. But the times he chooses to assert himself on the offensive end seem to come at inopportune times. Like when the scoring champion hits a big three near the end of the game to give the team a chance at victory, please do not shoot your 7th and final 3 pointer after making 0. When you're shots aren't falling, find other ways to take over the game. For example, get 10 assists, lock down on the defensive end or grab a few extra rebounds. Russell is the not the only person that suffers from "checking out" when the offense isn't coming as easy. 

Some other notes from the game:

• I have waited this long, but I can't hold back any longer. Kevin Durant was other-worldly in the last 4 minutes of the game. He missed one shot on the way to racking up 16 points and getting a big block on a J.R. Smith 3. This is the kind of finish that people will talk about. And I don't mean for the next day or two, I mean years.
• Serge Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins. Ibaka and Perkins. Iblaka and Perk. That has a nice little ring to it, ya? When Perk gets into better game shape and erases any doubts about his knees, those two will be THE most intimidating front-court, at least physically. Defenders thoughts might echo something like this: "Should I stay down and get bodied up by Perkins, or attempt a shot and get embarassed by Ibaka. Better kick it out."
• Thabo slid under the radar pulling down 8 rebounds to go along with 8 points. The more of a threat he is offensively, the better our offense can execute. 

San Antonio survived last night by some late game heroics coming from Gary Neal, so the Thunder's 2nd round playoff opponent is still yet to be decided. Follow me on twitter, MakingItRainOKC.

Thunder Drop Game 4, Can Advance With Game 5 Win

OKC was behind for most of Game 4. Every time OKC got within striking distance, the Nuggets would push the lead back to a comfortable margin. I sat patiently waiting for OKC to stop settling for long jumpers or stale possessions. I waited for Russell to stop looking for his own offense and create open looks for others. I waited for Kevin to do a move other than shoulder shake, pull-up, CLANG. My patience went unrewarded as none of things happened, ultimately resulting in a loss.

Sure, there are other things you can point out that didn't help us. James Harden scoring only 7 points in 31 minutes. Nick Collison having taken maybe 1 charge in the whole series. Having more turnovers, more fouls and less assists. I could go on, but you get the point.

The Thunder played sloppy, reckless and uninspired. Couple that with a poor start from the field and the Thunder put themselves in a tough spot, especially on the road. Time to further analyze the good and the bad.

Pros

• Serge Ibaka played another good game. 13 points, 14 rebounds, and 5 blocks. Great line from the 3rd best player on your team. 
• Durant played a lot better than it seemed. 31 points on just under 50% shooting, 5-6 from 3 and 10-11 from the charity stripe. He had to work for every single one of those points.
• OKC out rebounded the Nuggets 50-44.

Before I get to the cons, you may want to go to the bathroom or maybe grab a beverage. Basically, you're going to be here awhile.

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Ready? OK, good.

Cons

• Russell Westbrook had 30 points on 30 shots. He attempted 7 shots from beyond the arc and made 0. He played almost 39 minutes and netted only 5 assists. Overall, a forgettable game. 
• The turnovers were out of control. 15 turnovers means OKC had 15 possessions that are empty. Less turnovers means more opportunities to put points on the board.
• Nazr and Daequan both got some playing time and scored as many points as I did.
• K-Mart made it rain from the baseline. Not a big deal except Serge didn't even bother putting a hand in his face half of the time. 
• Nobody could stop Ty Lawson. Not Thabo, Russell, Maynor, Harden, etc. I don't expect him to shoot that well again but we have to make his offense harder to come by.
• Yes there is a time for getting technicals. Losing on the road is the not the time. When an underdog is winning at home, a technical is a spark to the crowd's collective lighter fluid. Especially with how chippy this series has been thus far.
• The offense needs some tweaking. I'm not only talking about the plays that are ran throughout the course of the game. I'm talking about inbound plays, half-court sets and last second shot opportunities. The Thunder's offense looks clueless every now and then and the same set of plays that have been ran all season long are beginning to be defended much better. A play for someone other than Durant or Westbrook would surprise a lot of teams. 

OKC returns home for Game 5. Look for them to come out aggressive and confident. I am sure the players want to give the OKC fans their first taste of post-season success.

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: Game 5 in OKC, 8:30 pm CT on TNT.

Thunder Save Game 3, Lead Series 3-0

Going into the 3rd game, I was nervous. Why? Because Denver knows how to protect their home court. Also, the scoring from their team is so random that maybe OKC could be overwhelmed in the hostile environment. Plus, I know the Denver fans were going to yell their loudest with the home team winless in the playoffs.

The Thunder got out to a decent start which is a good thing especially playing away from home. If OKC started like they did in Game 1, it would have been over after the 1st quarter. Then all of the national viewers would mercilessly hound the Thunder about being a young team not ready to make the next step, which of course if winning road playoff games.

George Karl hit the nail on the head when he said Durant and Westbrook wouldn't combine for 72 points a game. I knew that, Scott Brooks knew that, heck everyone knew that. Unfortunately they haven't played up to their potential since Game 1. Little does that matter though since OKC has yet to lose to Denver in the last 5 meetings now.

Let's get into the action. Durant started off slowly missing a few jumpers and didn't seem to catch his for the whole game. Westbrook started OKC off on the offensive end by hitting a few pull-ups and controlling the offense. But Serge Ibaka was the main reason OKC had a shot a victory in this one.

Air Congo amassed 22 points, 16 boards, and 4 rejections. Folks that is downright filthy. You could put that line alongside any elite power forward in the league and it would be a great game. Nice sign of what are hopefully things to come for the young Congolese player.

For Denver, they scored collectively, again, with no name really jumping off of the stat sheet. Nene and K-Mart had almost the same line which would be a good thing if one of the two was really good. Unfortunately, Denver is missing the star that has the ability to take over the scoring load, and sometimes entire games altogether.

The end of the game was a complete disaster for both sides consisting of sloppy play and bad passes/shots. OKC escaped with a win and look to sweep with a win tonight.

On a side note, an obviously upset Denver Post writer posted a pretty entertaining read. Go to Daily Thunder for the link.

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: Game 4 in Denver, 9:30 pm CT.

Game 1 Goes To Thunder, Despite Goaltending Controversy

Ever since the Thunder made the playoffs last year, I have treated playoff games similar to the way a 6 year old might treat Christmas morning. I count the days until the playoffs start and the seconds in between each game anxiously awaiting the next.

With the 1st game behind us, two things must be done. The first is I must post my thoughts and analysis of the game. That is what you are reading. Next, I must ATTEMPT to control my excitement until tomorrow night when I can unleash a fury of towel waving whilst screaming any noise I feel appropriate at the top of my lungs. Saddle up, things are about to get real.

The very beginning of the game felt eerily similar to the beginning of a nightmare I had the night before this game. I dreamt that OKC would come out with poor play exacerbated by no energy and missed shots. And that is exactly what happened. The Nuggets came out on fire jumping to a double digit lead early in the game. Having seen enough basketball, I was fairly confident that Denver wouldn't finish the game shooting 100% and also that OKC wouldn't finish the game shooting 1.5%, so I really wasn't that worried.

When things finally settled down, the Thunder started to play a more relaxed and free-flowing game. It is at these times when the athleticism of OKC really begins to shine. KD started to warm up creating this cup of confidence. When he continued to torch the nets, that cup runneth over spilling onto his teammates and spreading through the crowd. Once the crowd was ignited, the snowball of momentum started to pick up pace and culminated in a small run that brought OKC to within 1 at the half.

When the two teams jogged out to resume play, OKC managed to hold on to a piece of the buzz they took into halftime with them and continued their inspired play. Then, as if the Nuggets could get anything going right, Nene fell to the floor after banging knees with Kendrick Perkins. If there was any point in the game where the Thunder needed a run, it was with the talented Brazilian headed to the locker room for treatment.

As Kevin Durant entered "the zone", the basket turned into an ocean for the lanky superstar. He could have shot granny shots from half-court and I would have expected them to swish through. Then, for no apparent reason, Russell tried put his stamp on the game. Unfortunately, the time he tried to do so pushed Durant to the back-burner. I don't mind Russ having free reign, but that time that free reign is exercised in its fullest is the concern.

With the game coming to a close, every single play, shot, pass, turnover, foul, etc. became more and more important. In particular I am referring to the jumper by Westbrook that appeared to be touched by Kendrick Perkins while the ball was still in the cylinder. For those who haven't heard, the NBA has apologized for the ruling saying it should have been whistled for interference.

I admit, I initially thought the ruling was right. Apparently I saw what the referees claimed to see, or not see. While this did affect the game, it wasn't THE game changer. Denver could have done several things to win the game. Making free throws that haven't changed since middle school would be a start. Playing defense on either of the two all-stars for the other team also would have helped. Rules are rules. But, a win is still a win. Luckily for the Nuggets, this is a series, not just one game. In the end, the better team will move on.