Thunder Barrage Silences Jazz

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.

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: Memphis Grizzlies, February 8th at 7:00 pm CT.

Thunder Swat Hornets, Take Season Series 3-1

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.

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

Next up: @Phoenix Suns, February 4 at 8:00 CT.

Heat Burn Thunder Late For Win

The game today meant a lot. It was a battle of the "Big 3's." On one side, you had a humble small market team built through good draft picks. On the other side, you had a team built through free agency collaboration. One superstar anounced his new contract on Twitter. The other anounced his decision, or betrayal in some eyes, in a nationally televised show. In essence, this game was a battle of good versus evil.

The beginning of this game served as a reminder of how I fell in love with basketball. Ball movement, back-door cuts, transition buckets. Everything was dropping as the superstars showcased their talents. Overall, both teams played great basketball.

As the game progressed, the pace of both teams slowed. With Thabo Sefalosha still out, James Harden started his second game in a row. All 3 stars played for the Heat which I was happy about for 2 reasons. The first is that nobody could make excuses (No, not even you Lebron). The second is that when the regular season comes to a close and the playoffs begin, I want the Thunder to have experienced the highest level of competition available. I know every team has injuries but beating up scrubs won't prepare you for the big boys.

Now back to the game. I understand the "Respect the game" initiative that the referees are abiding by this season. However, there are certain times when it feels as if they toss out technicals like beads at Mardi Gras. Russell Westbrook made a gesture after being called for the foul that earned him a technical. Upon replay it was clear, at least to me, that the gesture was not directed to the referee. Unfortunately, the ref took it as an outburst towards the call and gave him the tech.

Kevin Durant and Chris Bosh also put their emotions on display after Bosh fouled James Harden on a breakaway. When Durant yelled something to Harden, Bosh felt the need to make a comment. That sparked Durant to get in Bosh's face and later surfaced in Durant's post game comments about the altercation.

"I was talking to my teammate and he decided he wanted to put his 2 cents into it. I'm a quiet guy, a laid-back guy, but I'm not going to let nobody talk trash to me. He's on a good team now, so he thinks he can talk a little bit," Durant said.

"There's a lot of fake tough guys in this league and he's one of them," Durant added.

I like seeing our superstar stand up for himself. Hopefully he can back up those words and hand the Heat a loss at their place.

Late in the game, I honestly felt that the Thunder could pull it out. When the Thunder got a stop with under 30 seconds left to play and up by 1, I thought we had a win in the bag. Unfortunately, a problem that has plagued OKC this year reared it's ugly head up at a pivotal point in a big game and it was defensive rebounding. Limiting teams to one shot per possession can go a long way especially when that team is not a defensive stalwart to begin with.

Tonight, one more rebound could have sealed the win on national t.v. against one of the best teams in the league. Instead, Mike Miller grabbed the offensive rebound, kicked it LBJ who then hand-fed Eddie House a wide open 3. What makes it even worse was the way Eddie House reacted. In the end, not a bad loss but a loss none the less.

Here is the box score.

Next up: New Orleans Hornets, February 2nd at 7:00 pm.

Underdog Bites Back

With the the Wizards road record sucking harder than a Hoover, I was hardly scared as they came into the Oklahoma City Arena. Thabo Sefalosha suffered a injury late in the game against Minnesota allowing James Harden to start. I don't know if this makes me a bad person, but I was hoping another starter could tweak something and let their backup shine. However, we were playing the Wizards so really anyone could start and it wouldn't matter.

With Javale McGee out, Flip Saunders was short a big man. Andray Blatche got into foul trouble extremely early picking up two fouls in the first 1:38 of the game. With Flip looking down the bench, I can only imagine what his thoughts were.

"Should I put in the overhyped Asian or maybe the Frenchman that has trouble getting dressed for games. Decisions, decisions."

At first he went with Yi Jianlian. After picking up two fouls in the first quarter and getting overpowered by the unstoppable physical force that Nenad Krstic brings every night, Saunders was forced to put in Kevin Seraphin. Seraphin had virtually no impact in the game except for being the target of a highlight block by Serge Ibaka.

With the Thunder having trouble making shots in the 1st half the Wizards were able to hang around. By the time the 2nd half started, I figured OKC would turn it on and run Washington out of the everyone-still-calls-it-the-Ford center.

Except there was one little problem. Trevor Booker got to play a significant amount of minutes due to McGee's injury and put up all-star numbers. Now, open another tab or window, find out who the heck Trevor Booker is and then look up his stats for the game. I'll wait here...

O.K. As we have all seen time and time again, Jeff Green has a knack for getting dominated by the opposing power forwards. Rookie Trevor Booker entered the game averaging 4.0 points and 2.6 rebounds. Against the Thunder, however, he looked like a skilled forwards that had been in the league for 7 or 8 years. Completely unacceptable. Then again, our defense as a whole has been sliced and diced all year.

Luckily, our stars were shining with Russell Westbrook notching another triple-double and Kevin Durant dropping 40. If either one of them had an off night, we easily could be staring at the Wizards 1-22 road record knowing we are the ONLY team in the entire league to let them win in our house. Yikes.

But, the Thunder finished strong down the stretch played barely good enough to win. For sake of pride, I'm going to chalk the 2OT win as the Thunder looking ahead to hosting the most hated team in the NBA on Sunday.

Here is the box score for the game.

Next up: Miami Heat, January 30 at Noon.

Disaster Avoided, But Barely

Initially, I thought this game was a 4 out of 10 on the difficulty scale. The Timberwolves suck and everyone in the league knows it. The only thing worth watching in the Target Center are the opponent's best players and Kevin Love grabbing an absurd amount of rebounds. Last night, both counts held up in providing the half-full arena with some entertainment.

The game started off as the Michael Beasley show. With a mixture of jumpers, 3 point bombs, and driving to the hoop, Beasley couldn't be stopped. Turnovers made the game a lot more difficult for the Thunder in the early going. The person that really kept OKC in it wasn't either of the players that have emerged as the future for this young team. It was Jeff Green who put his work in early dominating with an array of low post moves. While I think Jeff has a knack for getting buckets down in the high percentage areas, I will save that talk for another day.

When the 2nd half began, I thought the Thunder would turn it on and pull away. More shotty defense made the turn around a lot slower than I expected it to happen. With every tick of the clock, my emotions were in an epic struggle. The poor defense got me hotter than the pan I burn my eggs in. But Kevin Durant started heating up at about the same rate.

Shot after shot fell through the hoop as Durant crept closer to his average. But when he didn't cool off several others, including myself, hoped we might see a record set that didn't include grabbing other players' misses. You remember that guy that carried us in the first half? Yeah, Jeff Green finally made an appearance by tying the game up at 110 by burying yet another post shot with just over 4 seconds left. The rest is history.

When all was said and done, Durant had the best game of his young career, and the Thunder barred the basement door just before leaving Minnesota.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310126016

Next up: the Washington Wizards come to the Oklahoma City Arena on January 28th.

Buzzer Beaten

The Oklahoma City Thunder went in to New Orleans to face the hottest team in the NBA. Following a late game thriller with the New York Knicks, the Thunder looked to ride that momentum into a strong road performance.

The Thunder jumped out to a quick lead dominating the 1st quarter and giving them a 14-point cushion. However, New Orleans kept things competetive by responding with an even more dominant 2nd quarter and went into the half on top at 50-45. OKC got 5 back on the Hornets to even things up at the end of 3.

As the 4th quarter played out, neither team was pulling away and a fantastic finish was unrolling right before my eyes. Sitting as close to the T.V. as my couch would let me, I was praying to the god's of basketball that Kevin Durant would bury another game-winner. With less than 10 seconds left and OKC with the ball and tie score, I thought my prayers were being answered.

Then, my emotions got to the top of the first hill of the roller coaster. It took what I interpreted as 14 seconds to inbound the ball to Nick Collison. At this point, I was already disappointed. Then Chris "I flop like I invented it" Paul interrupted the hand-off to Russell Westbrook and the ball squirted to the other end of the court. When I opened my eyes, New Orleans had a side out with around 6 seconds left and a tie ballgame.

When David West's fadeaway J dropped through, I only had one word. Figures. Don't get me wrong, I don't expect Kevin Durant to bury game-winners every night but everything was in place for him to at least get an attempt for his first make in the quarter. After seeing OKC's chance at winning the game play out, the only suitable ending was for it to be the complete opposite. In less than 20 seconds, I aged approximately 20 years.

Here is the box score courtesy of ESPN.

http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=310124003