SB Nation - Nick Collison

Game 27 Recap: Los Angeles Lakers 110, Oklahoma City 108

Zorgon — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 08:15:01 -0000

Here, Jeff Green kind of looks like a rich guy throwing away a piece of trash. As a result, the ball got stolen.

What a great game. That being said, argh!

This isn't at all the game I expected, but sometimes, I'm glad to be wrong. An incredibly intense game throughout. The game started off with both teams playing relatively evenly, but the there was something a bit different about the Lakers. They were playing lazy. They were letting far too many fast break dunks happen, and they weren't exploiting us on the inside as much as they should have. Eventually, their laziness lead to a 5 Point Thunder lead at the end of the first, a 12 point lead with 4:13 left to go in the 2nd, and a 7 Point lead at halftime.

But, if you know anything about the NBA, you know that inevitably, a third quarter collapse was coming. Immediately the Thunder started to fall behind, and everyone started to worry. But, unexpectedly, the Thunder never fell farther behind than 3 for a while, and they somehow managed to stay in the game. But, things seemed to be falling apart as they finally fell to 6 behind by the end of the 3rd, and 11 behind with 6:22 to go in the fourth. At this point, I thought the game was over, and was ready to resign myself to another Thunder loss.

But hope arose once again. Russell Westbrook got it started by getting fouled, and then James Harden had an amazing fast break dunk. Kobe Bryant responded with freethrows of his own, and then KD managed to miss his second freethrow, and after Serge Ibaka blew an opportunity for a 3 point possession, I, again, thought it was over. Then, Pau Gasol passed the ball out of bounds. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Russell Westbrook made a mid-range jumper, Kobe missed a layup and fouled Russell Westbrook, and Russell Westbrook made 1 of 2. Suddenly, we were sitting on only a 5 point deficit with 3:55 to go. I was feeling the hope.

But then, the rays of sunshine got black again as Lamar Odom hit a clutch 3 Pointer. Game over, right? Wrong, as Sefolosha came back to hit an equally clutch 3 just as the shot clock expired. The rest of the game was essentially spent trying to beat LA's freethrows. Kobe hit two at the line, but Ibaka responded with a dunk. Kobe made a bad pass, and Westbrook responded with a jumper. It was down to three! After another Laker turnover, Sefolosha had an open three. I could see the light!

KD wanted to have an all-night dance party, but his 6 fouls cut the party short.

But no. He missed it. Kevin Durant then got some BS foul call (fouling him out), and the Lakers widened their lead back to 5. the Thunder set Serge Ibaka up for a great short, two point jumper, but he bricked it. Again, I figured the Thunder were toast at this point. But no. They came back again. Lamar Odom missed a 3, and Russell Westbrook somehow managed to run around the entire Laker defense and hit a relatively uncontested layup. Spectacular. Then, Paul Gasol committed an offensive foul, we got the ball back, and Westbrook scored AGAIN! A baseline jumper! We were within 1!

And thus, we entered the critical last 19 seconds of the game. Kobe Bryant was fouled, and the MVP chants were louder than ever. The first free throw was perfect, and so was the second. At this point, Ron Artest had some "words" for Russell Westbrook, and it's a wonder they never got into a fight. The Thunder came out of their time out....and Harden scored over Gasol! And Gasol even tried to flop! The lead was back down to 1 with 14 seconds to go, and Derek Fisher was immediately fouled. The first freethrow was rainbow perfect, and the second was shaky, but in. I really wish he was that good at freethrows when he played for the Warriors.

So it came down to the final seconds. The Thunder knew they needed a three. The ball was inbounded to Sefolosha. He handed it off to Westbrook. Westbrook worked around for an isolation 3 point jumper on the left side.....it's up...it barely rattles out. Ibaka tries to tip it in, and it falls out. Sefolosha tries a bank tip, and it falls out. Ibaka tries again, but the ball slips out of his hand, and it was too late by then, anyway. It was all over.

Sorry to bore you guys with the long game description, but this was one of the best games in recent memory, and I wanted to recap it well. We lost, but seriously, could you ask for more from a basketball game? I've never seen the Thunder or Warriors beat the Lakers, and it will be a very grand day when I do see that, but this game was still a pretty darn good Christmas present. Still, it would be even better if we beat Phoenix tomorrow!

Below: Analysis, Awards

Lets take a look at the five factors that I said would lead to a potential Thunder Victory, and see how they all turned out.

1. First of all Russell Westbrook has to exploit the Derek Fisher matchup somehow. He's done decently in the past, but I'd like to see him get to the line more often, which is kind of difficult to do gainst Derek Fisher, one of the best floppers in the league.

Success! Russell Westbrook effectively exploited this matchup by being able to spot up for easy jumpers and, at times, being able to run around the entire defense for a easy layup. It also helped in that he fouled Derek Fisher at the end of the game, and Derek Fisher is a lot less likely to hit those two free throws than Kobe Bryant is. Granted, he still hit them both, but the 2nd one almost fell out!

2. Secondly, Jeff Green needs to find his way around Pau Gasol. Not an easy task, but maybe resorting to a good amount of mid-range jumpers will do the trick.

Success! Jeff Green didn't have a career game, but he was able to have 12 Points, 7 Rebounds, and 4 Assists. That's a pretty solid game, and about as good of a game as you're going to get from Jeff Green.

3. Thirdly, Ibaka, Krstic, Collison, and Thomas all need to play out of their shoes and prevent Bynum and Gasol from exploiting us inside too much.

Success! Bynum and Gasol were limited to a combined under 50% shooting, and they only combined for 26 Points. It's nothing to sneeze at, but Bynum scored about that amount on his own in the past two Thunder games, and Gasol has the potential to do the same.

4. Fourthly, James Harden needs to step up and make his shots. In the close game he was 3 of 9, but in the blowout he was 2 of 15, also going 0 of 10 from 3 Point Land. Yikes. Just pass the ball if you can't make it, dude.

Success! 2-3 may not seem like much, but it's a definite improvement.

Kobe tried out some new stretches tonight. They must've worked!

5. Fifth, Thabo Sefolosha will have to have a profound effect on Kobe Bryant. I'm talking turnovers, missed shots, whatever.

Failure. Okay, he had 5 turnovers. That's not that huge of an amount when the ball is in your hands most of the time. I mean, he scored 40 Points! Turnovers, big whoop. To go along with those 5 Turnovers and 5 Fouls, he had 14-26 shooting, 12-14 Free Throw shooting, 7 Rebounds, 6 Assists, and 2 Steals. Okay, I will admit that Thabo did a good job closing out on his shots and did force a few turnovers, but Kobe resorted to lots of penetration, and it worked out for him. Great job by Sefolosha tonight, but also a Thunder Plunderer worthy performance by Kobe tonight.

If all of those things happen, we'll win. If 3 or 4 happen, winning is a possibility. If less, then I really doubt the Thunder will win.

Correct! Four of these things did happen, and guess what? Winning was a possibility, but it didn't happen. Granted, I'm no master predictor of this game, as I thought it'd be a blowout, and I'm surprised that these things happened at all. But still, man, it hurts to have lost when we were so, so close.

Russell Westbrook had this fierce determination all game, and it showed.

And I don't think there's any question around here who the Thunder Wonder was. It's Russell Westbrook. In the first half, he had 10 Assists, creating ball movement and keeping this team ahead. Towards the end of the game, he stepped up as KD stepped out, almost steamrolling us to victory. This was, unquestionably, his game of the year. Enjoy it, Russell....even though the Thunder lost. Heh.

And guess what? I'm giving the Thunder Down Under to Serge Ibaka! Again! If you don't like it, too bad! He was an essential part of the great defense on Gasol and Bynum. Also, he grabbed a whopping 14 Rebounds. Sure, his 8 points and 4-12 shooting was a bit underwhelming, but he didn't shoot irresponsibly, and a lot of his shots were tightly contested and in the post. I almost didn't want to give him this award from his easy jumpshot miss late in the fourth, but this game wouldn't have been possible without him. Accolades also go Sefolosha, who helped immensely defensively and offensively, Durant, who had a great game besides his turnovers and fouls, Harden, who did a great scoring job, and Jeff Green, who managed to partially overcome his lack of production against big men.

The Thunder Blunder? This one is a bit harder to pick. But, you can't really blame Nick Collison, as his objective this game was to basically put pressure on Gasol and Bynum. Rather, the Thunder Blunder for this game is going to be Nenad Krstic. He had a horrible plus minus ratio (-16) and didn't manage to defend the post all that well. He did manage to get 4 points, which was nice, but it was pretty obvious that this wasn't his game even since the game started.

Next Game: At the Suns, Wednesday, December 23rd, 8PM Central Standard Time

Poll

Will the Thunder beat the Lakers on March 26th?

Loud Links: 12|16|09

daddydai — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 00:24:48 -0000

More photos » by Michael Dwyer - AP

Browse more photos »

2009-2010 Hollinger Projections - All Players - ESPN
[Guys we have a new superstar on our hands. Just click the link above and see how Hollinger's numbers put Kyle Weaver above the league's creme de la creme.] The rookie swingman was a poor man's Thabo Sefolosha, showing an ability to defend and handle the ball but displaying an iffy shooting stroke and generally poor offensive instincts. Weaver wasn't half-bad shooting on the rare occasions he launched, hitting 34.4 percent on 3s and 47.7 percent on long 2s, and he made a stellar 59.6 percent in the immediate basket area. But too often he was a wallflower -- only two shooting guards had a lower Usage Rate and he averaged just 10.2 points per 40 minutes. Additionally, for a guy who spotted up for his rare shot opportunities, he was shockingly turnover prone. Weaver's turnover ratio was the third-worst among shooting guards; normally guys like this are in the top ten because they're required to do so little. Although he seemed a good ball handler, his pure point rating also was poor, coming in at 44th at the position.

Livingston Keeps Moving Forward Without Looking Back -- NBA FanHouse
[It is great to see Shaun Livingston get more playing time. Doesn't Jamario Moon and Shaun look like brothers? I hope Shaun gets those hops back.] "There's certainly things that I lack athletically,'' said Livingston, comparing himself to before the injury, when he was averaging 9.3 points for the 2006-07 Clippers and appeared well on his way to being a fine NBA player after being taken with the No. 4 pick in 2004 directly from high school. "Speed and quickness and the initial burst and a maybe a little bit of jumping. But I'll sacrifice a little bit of that just to be able to play the game. I can still play in this league and make a difference.''

Just seeing Livingston on the court serves as an inspiration to his teammates. Forward Nick Collison said he's "really impressed with him with all that he's been through.'' Ollie feels likewise. "To see him being out there playing, you look at a guy who has persevered and gotten through certain things in his career, and he's not given up,'' Ollie said. "That fires up everybody when you see a player who's going through those things and you know he's a better person for it . ... He's continuing to bounce back and continuing to fight and hopefully he'll have success this season and beyond and get back to the position he wants to be.''

Biggest Story of the Year? SI.com
So as not to bring out the big storylines yet, I'm going to say the Thunder's being above .500. Generally, a young team with one dominant scorer -- Kevin Durant, at 28.3 points per game, is averaging 12 more than the second-highest scorer, Russell Westbrook -- equates to a struggling team. But there the Thunder stand, just one game out of a playoff spot, even as people in Seattle remain angry about a franchise that was hijacked from under them. But "quarter pole" should be in boldface -- it's really early.

Sweat Equity: Arinze Onuaku's path to 1,000 points | Orange Basketball Blog - syracuse.com
[Etan's record in Syracuse is being threatened.] In the past 20 years, 24 players have reached the 1,000-point mark at Syracuse. Of those two dozen, only three were true centers — Otis Hill (1,416 points) and Etan Thomas (1,340)."Over the years, the guards do most of the scoring," said Onuaku. "You have to have the mentality that if you get the ball in scoring position, you have to take advantage of that and you’re going to score." Onuaku’s done that. He reached 1,000 points despite the fact that he’s never taken a 3-point shot. In fact, one could probably count on one hand the number of shots he’s taken outside the free-throw lane. But once Onuaku establishes position close to the basket, he’s nearly unstoppable. He is Syracuse’s career leader in field-goal percentage. His career percentage of 64.3 represents a Bob Beamon-esq leap beyond former leader Etan Thomas’ mark of 60 percent.

CavsHQ Running Thoughts - Cavs v. Thunder - 12/13/09 | CavsHQ - cleveland.com - cleveland.com
[I really need to start giving Krstic more respect.] Shaquille O'Neal looked good on Friday against Joel Pryzbilla, which is why it was a surprise that he would struggle mightily against Nenad Krstic. Shaq had 5 fouls and 3 turnovers in just over 18 minutes of play, and was once again pretty insignificant out there. While Shaq does give the Cavs a consistent plan of attack in the halfcourt, it would be better if that plan was working better.

Thunder notebook: Star search | NewsOK.com
ESPN.com’s John Hollinger, whose computer ratings were plugged in and the rest of the season was played out 5,000 times, attended Monday’s game in Denver. His reaction to his rankings predicting OKC will finish 48-34 and earn the No. 5 seed in the West? "It often changes because there’s so much water that has to go under the bridge," Hollinger said. "You can’t predict injuries or trades. The computer builds in some of that, but can’t (predict injuries). Their blowout win (at home) over Orlando really helped them." Hollinger said fans, coaches and players usually are more emotional about PER (Player Efficiency Ratings) than playoff predictions. In Hollinger’s updated future Power Rankings on Tuesday — projections for the next three seasons after the current 2009-10 season — Hollinger moved Oklahoma City up one spot to third.

Game 23 Recap: Denver 102, Oklahoma City 93

Zorgon — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:56:58 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Serge Ibaka may have a name that is just as cool as Nene's, but he can only dream of similarly awesome dreadlocks.

Browse more photos »

Well, what is there to say about this game?

After the second quarter, this game was over. Sure, the game might have still been statistically in reach, but it wasn't realistically in reach. The Thunder couldn't hit a 3 pointer if their life depended on it, and 39% from the field doesn't exactly cut it either. It just reminded us of the painful fact that we have no shooters, and that almost all of our scoring come from right next to the basket and from the line.

Below: Analysis, Awards (I promise, they're lengthy!)

First, let me just say that defensively, we did everything right. We limited them to 40% from the field and 29% from the 3 Point line. Heck, we even equaled them in total rebounding. So, what was the problem, you may ask? Well, it all comes down to turnovers and free throws. They had 9 more attempts than us at the line (totaling up to 5 more points), and they had 3 less turnovers. The second quarter collapse didn't help either. You can play with a team for three quarters if you want, but you can't completely collapse against them in one and expect to win. This game was almost like the Cleveland loss, except the collapse here came in the 2nd, rather than in the 4th.

Yet again, the Thunder Wonder for this game is Kevin Durant. 32 Points, 10 Rebounds, and a better performance than Carmelo Anthony is all that I have to say. The Thunder Down Under is Nick Collison, who really battled down low and helped us stay in this game. He was a big part of the first and fourth quarter runs. 14 Points, 5 Rebounds, and a whole lot of ammo for the cannons that declare him as the starter for this team. There might be something I'm missing, but Nenad Krstic has proved to be totally worthless against anything but immobile or European Centers offensively, and he doesn't provide much in the way of defense or rebounds. Sure, he can clear the lane and set picks all day, but couldn't Nick Collison do that while also providing something offensively and defensively? Look, I used to sit next to Krstic's friends, great people, and Krstic is a great guy. In fact, he'd probably be the guy who's jersey I'd be out to get next. But until he can prove that he can perform better than Nick Collison on a consistent basis, it's my recommendation that this 15 million dollar man sits on the bench.

The Thunder Blunder, however, is not Nenad Krstic. Rather, I'm turning to the Point Guard situation and Russell Westbrook. It's games like these that make me really miss Kevin Ollie. Now, before the fingers of hate start pointing at me, let me just say that I'm not in the Jim Traber camp which claims that Russell Westbrook will never be a "true" point guard. But, I'm also not in the camp of "Russell Westbrook is the greatest Point Guard Ever, let's put him in the All-Star Game". I'm somewhere in-between. I think that he's learning. Some nights, he'll be one of the most unselfish players on the court, throwing out 10 assists while hardly scoring at all. Some nights, he'll score really well, while dishing out few assists. Then, there's nights like these, where his scoring will be mediocre, and his assists will be below par. It's on nights like these we lose, and it's also on nights like these where I miss Kevin Ollie. I mean, how many times to I have to see Russell Westbrook just dribble down to the post and brick a layup? He's starting to look like Kyle Weaver offensively. And I know he had 14, but 5 of his points were in complete garbage time at the very end of the game. I'm not saying Kevin Ollie is better than Russell Westbrook by any means, I'm just saying that he brings stability to the offense in the middle of the game. He only shoots it if he knows he's open, and he triggers excellent ball movement amongst the team. Shaun Livingston will just go out there and copy Russell Westbrook's game. But I think it's helpful to have both Ollie and Westbrook, and I think Westbrook will have less of these games as time goes on. Unfortunately, for now, he's the Thunder Blunder.

And finally, on the Nuggets side of things, it was business as usual. Though Aaron Affalo and Kenyon Martin were shut down by Thabo Sefolosha and Jeff Green respectively, they still got a huge surge of scoring off of the bench via Chris "The Birdman" Andersen and J.R. Smith, who both combined for 34 points. Talk about former Hornets coming back to bite you. But the best performance of the day, and the Thunder Plunderer Award, is reserved for Carmelo Anthony, who had 31 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 2 Assists, all while shooting over 50%.

Next Game: Vs the Mavericks, Wednesday, December 16th, 7:00 PM Central Standard Time.

Big 12 All Decade Team

Evan Pfaff — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 16:15:09 -0000

More photos » by Orlin Wagner - AP

With almost a full year yet to play, Kansas center Cole Aldrich muscled his way onto the Big12Hoops.com First Team All Big 12 Decade Team (AP Photo/Orlin Wagner)

Browse more photos »

In the first full calendar decade of the Big 12 conference, one thing was apparent: there were two schools that produced a good majority of the talent. And while the best individual players may not have come from Kansas or Texas, a look at the Big12Hoops.com All Decade team reveals that a majority were either Jayhawks or Longhorns.

Don't see your favorite? The Honorable Mention list is after The Jump

First Team All Big 12

PG – Jamaal Tinsley, Iowa St
SG – Tony Allen, Oklahoma St
SF – Kevin Durant, Texas
PF – Blake Griffin, Oklahoma
C – Cole Aldrich, Kansas

Second Team All Big 12

PG – Kirk Hinrich, Kansas
SG – Acie Law, Texas A&M
SF – Michael Beasely, Kansas St
PF – Marcus Fizer, Iowa St
C – Chris Mihm, Texas

Third Team All Big 12

PG – TJ Ford, Texas
SG – Andre Emmett, Texas Tech
SF – PJ Tucker, Texas
PF – Drew Gooden, Kansas
C – Nick Collison, Kansas

[UPDATE: Lots of good suggestions and opinions in the comments section. Lemme give a little insight into how I compiled this list.

I started with a list of Big 12 Players of the Year. My rationale was that if someone was good enough to be the best in the league, even for one year, he warranted entry into this exclusive club. 9 of the 10 Big 12 Players of the Year made the top three teams. The only one who didn’t was Wayne Simien, and that is because he played a PF position that, if you look at the past decade, was just STACKED. Blake Griffin, Marcus Fizer, Drew Gooden. Really you could put Simien in there, but who gets bumped off?

As for PG, Tinsley over TJ Ford and Kirk Hinirich has also garnered a lot of attention. Tinsley’s place as the 2000-01 POY got him on the first team. But you really cant go wrong with any of them.

Lastly, there is this question on what to do with Durant and Beasley. Each only played one year, but they dominated the league (and the country). Durant was a Naismith winner as the best player in the country and Beasley was a finalist for the award. Both were league POYs. Because they didn’t play a full 4 years, they didn’t accumulate career stats that some others players did, but my list was based on selecting the best players, during their time in the Big 12, at each position.]

All Big 12 - Honorable Mention

Baylor Bears
LaceDarius Dunn
Lawrence Roberts

Colorado Buffaloes
Reggie Roby
David Harrison

Iowa St Cyclones
Craig Brackins

Kansas Jayhawks
Wayne Simien
Aaron Miles

Kansas St. Wildcats
Cartier Martin

Missouri Tigers
DeMarre Carroll
Clarence Gilbert
Arthur Johnson
Kareem Rush

Nebraska Cornhuskers
Aleks Maric

Oklahoma Sooners
Taj Gray
Hollis Price

Oklahoma St Cowboys
Byron Eaton
Joey Graham

Texas Longhorns
DJ Augustine
LaMarcus Aldridge

Texas Tech Red Raiders
Jarrius Jackson

Texas A&M Aggies
Bernard King

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

daddydai — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 17:39:41 -0000

More photos » by Joe Murphy - NBAE/Getty Images

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 6:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Fear the Sword

Backstory: But first a disclaimer.

When it comes to Thunder basketball, I am an eternal optimist. Positive thought equals positive results, right? So being unbiased is a rough task for me. After the Thunder defeated the Orlando Magic, I feel OKC proved that they can beat any team. So let's continue with the task at hand.

The Cavs added Shaq to their roster in order to "Bring the King a ring". With the extra strength inside somehow the Cavs have already tallied up seven losses. Not to mention losses to teams that the Thunder have already defeated (Washington & Memphis). So should we be encouraged? I'd say yes. Plus we all know that KD and the boys like to step up to the top teams in the league.

Of course Cleveland has plenty of bigs that can contend with our paltry front court. So expect Krispy to jump start his jump shot in hopes to pull the Shaq away from the basket. Cleveland also has a nice outside game that OKC has to be aware of. Expect some nice cuts to the basket by Williams and Lebron. In order for the Thunder to pull this one off shots have to fall and rebounds must be collected.

Since, I'm always bouncing about the internet here are a few more thoughts about the game:

Cavs Hit the Road, Travel to OKC | King James Gospel | A Cleveland Cavs Blog
Cleveland’s starting shooting guard Anthony Parker played basketball in Israel for Macabbi Tel Aviv before entering the NBA and is very accustomed to the celebrations of Hanukkah. And AP comes out hot right from the opening tip. Parker picks up four of LeBron’s seven first quarter assists and pours in 12 early points to lead the Cavs to an early 14 point lead. Cleveland withstands a late second quarter run by the Thunder and goes into the locker room with an eight point advantage, 54 – 46.

The King takes matters into his own hands to start the third quarter and pours in 8 consecutive points and finished the quarter with a game-high 27. After sitting the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, James checks back in with his team

clinging to a four point lead. Kevin Durant tries to steal the King’s throne but LeBron matches him point-for-point. Jeff Green cans two from long distance in the last two minutes and the Cavs trail by 2 with 11 seconds.

LeBron takes the inbound pass from Delonte West and dribbles to his right. Anderson Varejao levels Green on a screen but LeBron runs out of room at the foul line. He swings out to Mo who feeds Parker with a touch pass in the corner. And Anthony Parker celebrates day three of Hanukkah with a game winning tre. Cavs win 103-102.

Cavaliers-Thunder Preview - STATS Senior Writer - NBA - Sporting News
The Thunder are three games over .500 for the first time since 2004-05, when the team was based in Seattle and finished 52-30. Oklahoma City, the second-youngest team in the NBA, has reached 12 wins after needing 50 games to accomplish that feat last season. "They have a very, very good young (group) of basketball players that love to play the game of basketball," James said. "We are looking forward to the challenge. It is going to be a good road test for us against a young, explosive team in their home building, and we have to come out with the same fire we did in the second half (Friday)."

Star Power: Comparisons grow between Kevin Durant and LeBron James | NewsOK.com
At first glance, it’s easy to think LeBron James and Kevin Durant aren’t in the same league. Simply suggesting the two players are seemed silly this summer when the connection first gained steam. Durant’s Thunder was coming off a shameful 23-win season. James’ Cavs, meanwhile, were fresh off yet another deep playoff run. But the comparison now seems credible as the two meet for the first time this season tonight inside the Ford Center. Durant, in his third season, is blossoming into the star many projected him to become and has his Thunder off to a surprising 12-9 start. Durant also ranks fourth in the league in scoring, sitting .1 point ahead of James.

Cavs (16-7)	Matchups	Thunder (12-9)
Mo Williams Some people call me Maurice	Point Guard Tonight's point guard match up will be overlooked since we will have a superstar match up on our hands. Williams is 44% from beyond the arc. Westbrook shoots 66% from three-land while facing Cleveland. One important note, Mo often leaves the ball handling responsibility to LeBron. Slight Advantage: Thunder	Russell Westbrook The Constant Evolver

Anthony Parker Not Tony	Shooting Guard Parker is a legitimate threat with the 3-ball. He has shot over 50% this season. Thabo can contain Parker, but Thabo will likely be spending time helping guard LeBron. Just how much time Thabo spends with James will determine the result of this match up. Advantage: Thunder	Thabo Sefolosha Swiss Army Defender

Bron Bron The King	Small Forward Here it is! The match up we all waited for. The summer long discussions of who is better will be re-sparked if KD can hold his own against Cleveland's Dancing Queen. Unfortunately LeBron is much quicker and stronger than Durant. Advantage: Cavs	Kevin Durant The Kid

J.J. Hickson Ze Son of Hick	Power Forward Hickson's rebounding average is only 3.8 rebounds per game. Green should us this to his advantage, even though Green isn't a rebounding machine himself. Who ever wins this match up will decide the game. Advantage: Thunder	Jeff Green Green Energy

Shaquille O'Neil The Big Question	Center So the Vanilla Gorilla poked Shaq in the eye, and the Big Whateva is listed as questionable. Either way, I don't see Krstic winning against anyone from the Cav's front court. Perhaps Thomas will get minutes tonight? Advantage: Cavs	Nenad Krstic Mr. Comb Over

Anderson Varejao Curly Fries	Bench & Role Players Serge Ibaka and Nick Collison will face off against Curly Fries and Nosferatu (better known as Varejao and Ilgauskas). While Lucky Harden and Shaun Livingston will compete against the really athletic Jamario Moon and gun-toting Delonte West. If Harden's shots fall we will be fine, otherwise I'm expecting Moon to defy gravity. Advantage: Cavs	James Harden Wonder Beard

Mike Brown Former COY	Coach I could be completely wrong, but I believe LeBron won Brown's coach of the year. Brooks on the other hand has done a great job harnessing the Thunder. Oh yeah, don't forget the Thunder also have Mo Cheeks and Ron Adams helping from the bench. Advantage: Thunder	Scott Brooks Next COY
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Injuries Shaq might be out with a poked eye. Daniel Gibson injured his finger in Battier's jersey the other night. Of course Leon Powe, Kyle Weaver, and Kevin Ollie are out of commission for awhile.
	Intangibles If the Thunder keep this game close, LeBron will likely wear himself out. Can Sefolosha's defense and Collison's rebounding keep this game close? Will Westbrook maintain his composure?
	Prediction Expected a very energetic game from both teams. In the long run the Cavs will dominate the game with dribble penetration, while the Thunder will rely on mid-range shooting. Prediction: Cavs 98 - Thunder 93

Poll

Who will win tonight's game?

Oklahoma City Thunder

16 votes

Cleveland Cavaliers

13 votes

29 votes | Poll has closed

Game 18 Recap: Oklahoma City 117, Philadelphia 106

Zorgon — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 21:49:10 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Ew! Get this ball away from me!

Browse more photos »

Another Day, Another Dollar.

That saying perfectly describes the game on Wednesday Night. Not boring, not exciting, just a typical game in which you're nervous about the outcome for a bit, but you realize that, in the end, the game will turn out as predicted.

The game was actually pretty darn close for the entire first half, with the 76ers barely re-grasping the lead at the end of the first half. But, once the second half broke out, the Thunder re-took the lead, and the lead never got smaller than 3, towards the end of the 3rd. By the 4th, it was all over, and the 76ers weren't threatening the lead at all.

Below: Analysis, Awards

What?! I made it in?!

Despite my depiction of the plainness of the game, it was actually one of the highest scoring games this year. It was raining 3s, with both teams combining for 47 3 point attempts altogether. Kevin Durant was the main culprit on the Thunder, hitting an amazing 5 of 7, and Jason Kapono and Jrue Holiday were the main culprits on the 76ers, both going 3 of 6. It was kind of refreshing to see that the Thunder were actually capable of keeping up with the other team from the 3 point line, especially when they had sharpshooters like Jason Kapono and Thaddeus Young. Even though we were able to keep up with the other team, I'd venture to say it was through a sheer lack of perimeter defense, rather than the ability of our shooters. I can say this because Sefolosha, Green, and Durant all hit well above their usual percentages, while only Westbrook (who had a really off night), Harden, and Collison (who only shot one 3) shot below par.

It was also nice to see Jeff Green finally come back to form as the second leading scorer of the team, with 19 Points, 6 Rebounds, 4 Assists, and 2 Steals. The bad thing is that he was matched against a comparable opponent for tonight's game. He usually excels against men of his size and stature, but when faced with a bigger opponent (like Elton Brand), he'll usually get into foul trouble and have a game well below-par. I'm not trying to downplay what happened tonight, just tell of something to keep tabs on moving forward.

Wow, that looks painful.

The biggest story of the night was Nick Collison. He easily contended with Philadelphia's low-post monsters (Dalembert and Brand) by getting 18 Points, 7 Rebounds, 1 Steal, 1 Block, and no Turnovers in 20 minutes of action. The only shot he missed was a 3 Pointer, making for possibly his most efficient performance of the year, and grabbing him the Thunder Down Under Award. I'd like to give him the Thunder Wonder just for showing Philadelphia's lazy big men who's boss, but that award has to go to Kevin Durant, who had 33 Points on excellent shooting all-around, 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, and 3 Steals.

The big failure of the night has to be James Harden. In a game where he would typically excel (poor perimeter defense, lots of opportunities for assists), he flopped, shooting only 3-7, having only 1 assist, and turning it over 3 times in 27 minutes. I may be a bit harsh in giving him the Thunder Blunder Award, but this is a game where virtually everybody contributed offensively, given the amount of time they all played. Sure, Russell Westbrook got only 7 Points and hit only 1-11 Shooting, but his career high of 15 Assists, solid 5 Rebounds, minimal 2 Turnovers, and solid 2 Steals more than make up for it.

Yet another "afraid of the ball" picture.

On the 76ers side of things, I think they're regretting playing the Thunder's game by demoting Elton Brand to the bench and starting Andre Igoudala. As a result, it just showed how ineffective Brand and Dalembert are in the lane without a partner, and what Jeff Green can do to a comparable opponent. Still, there were some good tales to be told, as both Andre Igoudala and Thaddeus Young had great scoring nights, with Igoudala dropping 28 and Young dropping 20. Still, Igoudala's 6 Rebounds and 5 Assists sets him apart, and earns him the Thunder Plunderer Award.

Next Game: Versus the Celtics, Friday, December 4th, at 7 PM Central Standard Time

Game 18 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia

Zorgon — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:32:54 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Back in action? Nope, not yet!

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Comcast Sports Philadelphia, NBATV

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Liberty Ballers, Sixers4guidos, DepressedFan

Backstory: The 76ers are a surprise dissapointment among all of the good surprises that have happened this year. Someone has to fall, right? Granted, Elton Brand and Louis Williams have been injured....but that's only been recently. The bottom line is that they lost Andre Miller. And with him, they lost the glue that held the team together. Even in the latest 2 point loss to the Mavericks, the team had 4 more turnovers than assists. That isn't a recipe for winning, and it's bad news for a team that thought they could make the playoffs. Indeed, in the last two years they have made the playoffs, but it looks like they'll have to do even more post-Allen Iverson rebuilding. And no, getting Allen Iverson back doesn't count!

Meanwhile, the Thunder are a shade over .500, and they're looking to keep it that way. They've taken care of business against teams like the 76ers in the past, and the game is at home, so things are looking up. Still, injuries to Nick Collison (possibly out tonight), Kyle Weaver, Kevin Ollie, and Shaun Livingston haven't helped matters, so it remains to be seen whether they have the depth of talent to win this game.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Samuel Dalembert

Luckily, Nenad Krstic will be back tonight, along with a possible chance of Nick Collison. The thunder will need all of the help they can get, because Samuel Dalembert is a mean machine in the post, along with being the 2nd greatest basketball player ever to come out of Canada. I'd expect Krstic to be able to score, since both Dalembert and Brand are immobile centers, but I'd also expect Dalembert lay the smack down in the post.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Elton Brand

Yet another mismatch. Jeff Green will have to make sure to stay out of foul trouble, and Elton Brand will have to make sure to guard Green on the perimeter. Expect Green to have the upper hand if he can stay out of foul trouble.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Thaddeus Young

Heh, good luck Thaddeus. He'll have a better 3 Point percentage than Durant, but not much else.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Andre Igoudala

This is yet another tough matchup for Sefolosha, as Igoudala is the primary scorer of the 76ers. Still, he won't walk all over Sefolosha, like Ariza did. Rather, I think Sefolosha will be able to shut him down in some cases and force turnovers.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Jrue Holiday (Possibly Willie Green)

I don't think either one of these guys is any better than Westbrook. Willie Green is a scoring-type bigger guard, and Jrue Holiday is still a Rookie, with not many stats to his name. This is a real opportunity for Russell Westbrook to shine, get those assists, and score well.

Battle of the Benches

I'll breathe a huge sigh of relief if Nick Collison gets to play tonight, as he'll help out a lot down low. Still, despite all of their badness, the 76ers have a solid bench, with young life-long backup Center Jason Smith, 3 Point Sharpshooter Kapono, and solid scoring guard Willie Green. But Royal Ivey sucks. It's not a bench that blows you away with depth, but they don't really take a huge hit in talent when their backups are on the floor, and they all have clearly defined roles. Their bench gets the win over ours, because I'd say Kapono and Green pretty much own their equivalents on our team.

Coaching and Intangibles

The 76ers have just signed Allen Iverson, so the team might go into "cruise control", as they have some sort of savior coming to the team on Monday. On the other hand, they might be motivated to perform well before he gets there, but that's something I'm doubting. On top of that, they've lost 7 straight, and are away from home. The intangibles are definitely on the side of the Thunder.

Bottom Line

The real danger of the 76ers is their big post guys. If they can dominate inside, and out-rebound us, then we might have a game on our hands. Yet, if they just let Jeff Green and Nenad Krstic nail mid-range jumpers all day, then this could very easily turn into a blowout.

Prediction: Oklahoma City 100, Philadelphia 86

I haven't predicted an over 10 point victory since the Kings game....let's hope I haven't jinxed anything.

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I'll be in the Ford Center cheering the team on, but I'll be back to write a recap later tonight. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

24 votes

The Philadelphia 76ers

2 votes

26 votes | Poll has closed

Loud Links: 11.02.2009

daddydai — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 22:57:37 -0000

Kevin Durant Next - ESPN
[Durant has been named "Next" by ESPN. Watch out world here we come!! Click the link and read the .PDF article.] Before he signed his sneaker deal with Nike, Durant turned down an offer from Adidas worth $70 million. "That’s a lot of money," he says. But when it came right down to it, he just plain likes Nikes better. He grew up wearing them, and they felt good on his feet. The deal made him happy. For him, it wasn’t a function of addition; it didn’t come down to logic. It came down to hunch. It came down to gut. It came down to instinct. Not a killer’s, but a kid’s.

As Thunder rookie James Harden puts it, "If you grow up too fast, what’s the point? Kevin’s not childish. He’s just different. He just likes to have fun. He’s young, man. We’re all young. But we’re learning when we can joke around and when we have to be serious." Learning the difference between joking and serious, between consistent and dominant, is this season’s homework assignment for Durant.

NBA.com: Durant on big expectations, being skinny and Beyonce

[Who ordered the KD love-fest? NBA.com asks KD some great questions in this lengthy Q&A.]

NBA.com: How do your teammates treat you now that you have a semi-celebrity status?

KD: I put myself on the same level as everyone else. From the first man to the end of the bench. Nobody has a "celebrity status" attitude here. Especially me. I always put the team first and without them I surely wouldn't be the NEXT athlete or talking to NBA.com for articles. Once I step into this building for practice and games, it's all about the team.

NBA.com: Would it be easier if there were fewer expectations for you and you could be a sleeper player in the league?

KD: Either way it's cool with me. I like being the underrated and sleeper guy, too. However, people started recognizing me and it feels good as well. As long as I handle my business here every day as a professional I will have no regrets.

NBA.com: The most constant criticism of you since you were drafted in 2007 is that you're too skinny and need to build muscle. Are we going to see Durant 2.0 with more muscle, or is this wiry frame what we will be working with for a while?

KD: I'm trying my hardest just to get there. It's tough. I'm a lot skinnier then other people, so it's tough for me to make it look like I'm stronger. I feel like I'm getting a lot stronger and bigger. Ask anybody in the organization. Hard work will take care of my fame. In a way, me being skinny makes me who I am and a lot of people are getting used to me being skinny. It's kind of unique that I can say I'm the skinniest guy in the league.

Suns, Kings likely to see early success even out over season | SI.com
The flashy stat in OKC may be Kevin Durant's 27.4 points per game, behind only Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James among the league leaders, but the better story is that Durant is playing 80 percent of the minutes for a team ranked fourth in the league in defensive efficiency and fifth in points allowed per game. It's a limited sample -- Durant has only been off the court a total of 154 minutes thus far this season -- but the Thunder allow just 99.1 points per 100 possessions when KD plays compared to 115.4 points per 100 possessions when he doesn't. Throw in significant jumps, for the second straight year, in Durant's rebounding and assist rates, and even persistent critics like yours, truly, have to concede he's a budding MVP candidate. More to the point, the Thunder's upgrade on defense this season (they were 23rd in points allowed last year should forestall long losing streaks. Factor in a rough early gauntlet that has already included two games apiece versus the Lakers and the Magic, and quality wins over Orlando, San Antonio and Utah, and Presti's rebuilding job, ably abetted by coach Scott Brooks, looks to be a year or two ahead of schedule.

Thunder’s Mike Wilks is well-traveled | NewsOK.com
It wasn’t to be for Wilks, the 5-foot-10 point guard who the Thunder signed Thursday out of desperation. Wilks played his college ball at Rice, went undrafted in 2001 and has spent the past eight years journeying the country in search of a job. Wilks is a walking stopgap to Oklahoma City’s injury-ravaged roster. Backup point guard Kevin Ollie will miss up to four weeks after undergoing surgery on his right knee. Third-string point guard Shaun Livingston also is healing from knee surgery and might be sidelined at least another week. And Kyle Weaver, a natural shooting guard who can fill in as an emergency point guard, is on the shelf at least four months after surgery to repair damage to a dislocated shoulder. All told, it creates an attractive opportunity for a player such as Wilks, the quintessential NBA journeyman. Wilks, 30, is now on his 11th team in seven seasons. In Oklahoma City, Wilks is that storybook character who was sitting at home before a pro franchise came calling for his services. "I’m just thankful that they thought enough of me to bring me in," Wilks said.

The Associated Press: Thunder guards Ollie, Weaver have surgery
The Oklahoma City Thunder says guard Kevin Ollie underwent successful "minor" surgery Monday to relieve pain in the patellar tendon in his right knee. Ollie has missed three games with the injury and is expected to be out up to four more weeks. Another Thunder guard, Kyle Weaver, also had successful surgery Monday on his separated shoulder, an injury he suffered last week during practice. The team says his rehabilitation will last at least four months. Oklahoma City center Nenad Krstic missed his first game of the season Sunday with soreness in his left Achilles tendon and forward Nick Collison missed his fourth consecutive game with a sprained knee. Guard Shaun Livingston has been sidelined following arthroscopic knee surgery two weeks ago, but practiced Saturday and participated in the team's practice Sunday.

Awards Watch: Kobe on top - ESPN
MVP #10. Kevin Durant, Can Durant win MVP? Not this season. But he deserves props for having the Thunder in position to challenge for a playoff spot, while taking the next step toward stardom. (Last week: NR | Team record: 9-8)

ROY #3. James Harden, Thunder: He is getting more comfortable in the Oklahoma City offense and has scored in double digits in five of the past six games. When he plays at least 20 minutes, he has produced.

COY #5. Scott Brooks, Thunder and Paul Westphal, Kings (tie): Oklahoma City won just 23 games while finishing last in the Northwest last season. This season the Thunder are 9-8. Sacramento won a league-low 17 games last season, finishing in the cellar of the Pacific Division. The Kings have started the season 8-8. (Last week: NR)

DPOY #2. Thabo Sefolosha, Thunder: On a team with Jeff Green, Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant, Sefolosha has still managed to stand out by playing lockdown defense. (Last week: 2)

THUNDER: Journeyman Wilks thankful for what he's got
"It’s a faith walk, man," Wilk said. "Everybody has different paths in life. I know a lot of guys dream that they’re going to go to the big-time school, get drafted in the first round, get drafted into the NBA and be an All-Star and be all of those types of things. But everybody has a different path. Mine wasn’t, but I wouldn’t trade my path for anything else in the world because it’s through that God has used to build character in me, and I wouldn’t be the person I am today had everything just come to me. "So I appreciate it, and despite how difficult it can be at times I’m blessed, man. The good far outweighs the bad. I have a beautiful family, I’m healthy, and just to have the opportunity to play in this league one time is a privilege, and there’s so many guys, there’s millions of people who have the talent but they just never get the opportunity. It’s something I don’t take for granted, and that’s what I have to focus on when it gets hard, when you’re here, when you’re there. Everybody would like to be on a team for a number of years, get a guaranteed contract and all that. But at the end of the day I’ll take it. It’s not what I would have wrote myself, but I’ll take it."

Grading the Coaches - West - Basketball News & NBA Rumors -
Scott Brooks - Oklahoma City Thunder After a start to the season that many were surprised by, the Thunder seem to have hit their first hurdle of the season. Injuries have started to pile up – Nenad Krstic, Nick Collison, Kevin Ollie, Shaun Livingston, and Kyle Weaver are all battling injuries at the moment and the Thunder will be challenged in the last three games of this five-game homestand. Brooks has his squad fighting in each and every game no matter who or where they're playing, as is evidenced by OKC's 5-4 record on the road (impressive for a young, developing team), a tough loss to the Lakers and a win against the East-leading Orlando Magic, both at home. Brooks is the main reason Russell Westbrook has improved as much as he has since he was drafted and Kevin Durant's offensive game is starting to reach the next level as well. Lastly, Brooks has done well in integrating new back-up PG Ollie, who needs minor knee surgery, and will now be faced with the same challenge with recently-added guard Mike Wilks. Grade: A -

NBA Insider: Nine predictions for the rest of the season | OrlandoSentinel.com
The Oklahoma City Thunder will make the playoffs: The Houston Rockets have been one of the league's most pleasant surprises, starting the season with a 9-8 record. But Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the Thunder will overtake the Rockets and clinch the West's No. 8 playoff seed.

Hardwood Paroxysm " Blog Archive " Missing Kevin Durant
So I think it’s pretty clear from Twitter and the blog and all how much I watch of the league. I watch a lot. Not a Dwyer amount. But a lot. I’ve seen all 30 teams at least six times by now, most way more than that. And I watch the Thunder more than usual. You want to know something bizarre? I’ve only seen Durant score, like, five field goals. No kidding. It’s just one of those things. I’ll have the game on and someone on Twitter will say something funny, or the dog will need to go outside, or the wife will holler to remind me of item number 8,795 on my to-do list, and then I’ll look up and just hear "Kevin Dur-ANT! Wow!" or some variation thereof. And now and again I’ll rewind it to see it, but usually I just say "Oh, I’ll catch it next time." Except I don’t. I just keep seeing his pull-up threes that clang or turnovers. So to me, Durant has played like crap this year. Which is, of course, absolutely not true, he’s been sublime.

Game 17 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Houston

Zorgon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 22:52:57 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Let's hope that Etan Thomas has more stylish blocks in his arsenal!

Browse more photos »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 6:00 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Houston

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): The Dream Shake

Backstory: Ah, so we meet the Rockets again, trying for our 3rd consecutive victory, something that hasn't happened since Ray Allen played for the team. Last time we saw them, we were pretty unsure of our future, as we had no real big name wins to our name, and we were in danger of losing 3 straight. But now, we feel a bit more confident. We're 9-7, which is good enough to make the NFL playoffs in some years, and we're coming off of quality wins against the Bucks and Jazz. Thus, the momentum is on our side.

The Rockets have stepped down from being an early season surprise, and are now just considered to be average. They've won the games that they should have (with recent wins against Minnesota and Sacramento) and lost the games that they should have (with losses against Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas, and San Antonio). They have beaten the Lakers, Spurs, and Trailblazers in the past, which shows that they can compete, but not conquer.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Chuck Hayes

Last time, both Hayes and Krstic completely failed at scoring, leaving their backups, Carl Landry and Nick Collison, to do the dirty work for them. I'd expect it to turn out the same way for Nenad Krstic, who can't do very well against quick defending centers, but I'd expect Hayes to do better this time, especially against Krstic's soft defense.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Luis Scola

Last time, Luis Scola took Jeff Green to town, and completely shut him down. If Jeff Green's 3s don't fall, the same will happen again. Scola is just that much better inside.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Shane Battier

Kevin Durant is the clear winner here, ass he's a much better scorer and rebounder. Shane Battier will still get his fair share of buckets, but I wouldn't expect a lot of rebounds.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Trevor Ariza

Last time these two met, it was probably Thabos worst performance all year. Ariza went off for 21 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 6 Assists. This will probably be the key matchup. Can Thabo stop Ariza's relentless drives, or are we in for another scorefest? If I was a betting man, I'd opt for the later option. This could be Thabo's weakness - high flying dunkers.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Aaron Brooks

Westbrook completely owned Brooks last time, as he was much quicker to the hoop, and he forced Brooks into 6 turnovers. I'd expect the same to happen here, as this is a game that favors drivers over shooters.

Battle of the Benches

The Rockets have a thin bench, consisting mostly of Landry, Budinger, and Lowry. But, they're well rested, so I wouldn't think of it as too much of a concern. The thunder need to make sure that their backup big men can stop Landry inside, and Budinger outside, as they're both excellent scorers off of the bench.On our side, I wouldn't expect anybody to add anything meaningful offensively except Collison, since he's an inside banger.

Coaching and Intangibles

They're both equally rested, but the Thunder are at home and on a two game win streak. I'd say the intangibles go our way.

Bottom Line

I'm sorry to say that I think this is where our win streak ends. The Rockets are a fast, inside scoring team that can dominate us inside or outside. The only way we can win is if Sefolosha can stop Ariza from scoring, but since he has no help off of the bench, I don't think that's likely.

Prediction:

Rockets 102, Thunder 91

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

20 votes

The Houston Rockets

15 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

Game 16 Recap: Oklahoma City 108, Milwaukee 90

Zorgon — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:42:17 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Whoh.

Browse more photos »

Yahoo! Sports Box Score:

As I entered this game and saw the Bucks making a late first quarter run, all I could think about was how good the ball movement was on that team. Fortunately, while good ball movement may look pretty when they actually do score, it doesn't do a lot for winning games if the scorers aren't there. The team seemed to rely on a certain scorer getting hot an fueling the team. In the first, that guy was Carlos Delfino. In the second, that guy was Ersan Ilyasova. In the third, that guy was nobody. Nobody. They didn't score a point until there was 5:45 left to go in the third. Talk about total collapse. Needless to say, from that point on, the games was mostly garbage time, and the bucks never got closer than 10 from that point on.

You have to admire the complete shut down of Brandon Jennings. I really thought he'd take advantage of the fact that Mike Wilks was on the floor, but Wilks managed to hold his ground. I guess it was just an off night for him.

One has to admire the quality of post play that occurred on our side of the ball. Nenad Krstic was getting blocks and rebounds, Sefolosha got a double double, and, as a team, the Thunder destroyed them in the rebounding department. Ilyasova mostly concentrated on his mid-range game, Gadzuric was totally useless, Kurt Thomas is old, and former SuperSonic Francisco Elson only played in garbage time. This left all of the inside work to the undersized Hakim Warrick, who managed to do some extremely fancy dunks (one of which resulted in a BS technical foul call for hanging on the rim). Because of this, he earns tonight's Thunder Plunderer award. Unfortunately, he alone could not stem the tide of inside exploitation by the Thunder.

On our side of things, the game couldn't have gone more perfectly. Kevin Durant had another superb performance, with 33 Points, 12 Rebounds, and 5 Assists. That easily gets him the Thunder Wonder Award. And, as good of a job Sefolosha did going 13 and 11, I have to give the Thunder Down Under award to Russell Westbrook, for not only getting 20 Points, 6 rebounds, 7 Assists, and 2 Blocks, but also fro completely outdoing Brandon Jennings, who only had 12 Points, 3 Assists, and 3 Turnovers.

The Thunder Blunder of tonight is D.J. White, who did a bad job filling in for Nick Collison, who has a sore knee. 10 Minutes, 1-5 Shooting, 2 Rebounds, and 1 Assist? Eh. At least Ibaka, who didn't have too good of a game himself, managed to get 7 rebounds. Need evidence as to why both of these guys don't get minutes? Look no further than here, where they totally managed to screw it up on a day where the inside play was plentiful.

Also, you have to give props to the crowd. Obviously, they put on their best masks tonight, as it never would have been this loud if the Thunder were playing the Bucks normally. Still, it's nice to see them shop up when it's most needed, and show the nation what we're made of. I'll never re-watch the game on TV, as ESPNs coverage of the NBA is putrid, but I'm sure the announcers spent about 10 minutes commenting on "how loud it is in the Ford Center". And that's a good thing!

Next Game: Versus the Rockets, Sunday, November 29th, at 6 PM Central Standard Time

Bah, yet another annoyingly early 6 PM home game....at least I can look forward to what could become our tenth win!

Poll

If I told you we'd be 9-7 after 16 games, would you believe me?

Yes

28 votes

No

38 votes

66 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation - Nick Collison

Game 27 Recap: Los Angeles Lakers 110, Oklahoma City 108

Will the Thunder beat the Lakers on March 26th?

Loud Links: 12|16|09

Game 23 Recap: Denver 102, Oklahoma City 93

Big 12 All Decade Team

First Team All Big 12

Second Team All Big 12

Third Team All Big 12

All Big 12 - Honorable Mention

Game 22: Cleveland at Oklahoma City

Point Guard

Shooting Guard

Small Forward

Power Forward

Center

Bench & Role Players

Coach

Injuries

Intangibles

Prediction

Who will win tonight's game?

Oklahoma City Thunder

Cleveland Cavaliers

Game 18 Recap: Oklahoma City 117, Philadelphia 106

Game 18 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Philadelphia

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The Philadelphia 76ers

Loud Links: 11.02.2009

Game 17 Preview: Oklahoma City vs. Houston

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The Houston Rockets

Game 16 Recap: Oklahoma City 108, Milwaukee 90

If I told you we'd be 9-7 after 16 games, would you believe me?

Yes

No