SB Nation User Blog: Zorgon

Game 8 Preview: Oklahoma City at Los Angeles Clippers

Zorgon — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 00:41:00 -0000

More photos » by Noah Graham - NBAE/Getty Images

We probably won't see D.J. White tonight, but that doesn't make his, "Puffer Fish" dunk any less hilarious.

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

Time: 9:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Staples Center, Los Angeles, California

TV: KSBI-TV 52, Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Clips Nation, ClipperBlog

Backstory: More than anything else, the Los Angeles Clippers are known as the unluckiest team in the NBA. That moniker continues into this season, as they've had recent injuries to Black Griffin and Eric Gordon, all leading to an underwhelming start of 3-5. I mean, if I told you a team had a lineup of Marcus Camby, Chris Kaman, Blake Griffin, Craig Smith, Al Thornton, Rasual Butler, Eric Gordon, Ricky Davis, Baron Davis, and Sebastian Telfair along with a Championship Coach in Mike Dunleavy Sr. and the 2nd largest market in the US, you'd think I was talking about a championship winning Lakers team, right? Wrong. I'm talking about just another sub-.500 Clippers team.

Despite the talent-laden roster, this is a very winnable game. The Clippers have only won against the Timberwolves, Warriors, and Grizzlies, who are possibly the 3 worst teams in the West. They've lost to the Lakers, Suns, Jazz, Mavericks, and Hornets. This game will determine exactly where we will be on the map for this season. Will we be lurking around the 12th or 11th seed, waiting for the lottery and mired in mediocrity, or will we be around the 10th-8th seed, fiercely competing for a playoff spot? Lets hope it's the latter.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Chris Kaman vs. Nenad Krstic

Chris Kaman is a better inside banger, and will probably get some crucial points against Krstic inside. Hopefully Krstic can pay him back with his mid-range jumper, but all of that will depend on if he's feeling hot or cold tonight. Still, I'd tend to think that Chris Kaman will have the better day.

Power Forward: Marcus Camby vs. Jeff Green

A mismatch if I ever saw one. Camby is a good ball handler for his size, but if Green can get hot from the perimeter, then it will be all over. If the Clippers can slow our game down I'd give the win to Camby, but otherwise, I think Green gets the win.

Small Forward: Al Thornton vs. Kevin Durant

Al Thornton is and will be a solid player, but he's no Kevin Durant. Thornton has been cold so far this season, so lets hope Durant can take advantage of that and exploit him.

Shooting Guard: Ricky Davis vs. Thabo Sefolosha

Ricky Davis is a good name, but he's not much more than a streaky shooter. He might drop more points than Sefolosha, but Sefolosha will beat him in every other area of the stat sheet.

Point Guard: Baron Davis vs. Russell Westbrook

Ah, the young versus the old. I used to watch Baron Davis on the Warrior teams of old, and it was good times. But now, he's trapped on one of the unluckiest organizations in history, and his scoring production has seen a serious hit. He'll beat Westbrook in assists, but it will be interesting to see who gets more rebounds and who can score more points, especially after Westbrook's cold performance last night.

Battle of the Benches

The Clippers have a deeper and more talented bench than we do for sure, but we have a more cohesive unit. Still, I think talent wins in this case.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Clippers have played 4 games in 6 days, and the Thunder are on the second game of a back-to-back, so both teams will be tired. The Clippers are at home, but they've had two crucial injuries, so I'd say this category is about even for both of us, unless you're counting the style points brought on by the suit of Mike Dunleavy Sr. In that case, the Clippers win.

Bottom Line

The Clippers are more talented, but they're older and bigger, so if the Thunder can exploit bad matchups, then they'll have a serious advantage. Remember when I said that if the Thunder lost to the Kings, it wouldn't matter that much? Well, if the Thunder lose here, it will put us 2 games in the hole, and it will matter.

Prediction: Thunder 97, Clippers 95

I feel like a homer here, but somehow I think that we can pull this one out against the Clippers, since their main scorer in Eric Gordon is out, and they have a lack of athleticism on their front line.

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 might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Game 7 Recap: Sacramento 101, Oklahoma City 98

Zorgon — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 06:05:52 -0000

More photos » by Rich Pedroncelli - AP

D'Oh! This pretty much symbolizes the entire game for the Thunder.

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Wow. what an ugly, ugly game.

After a long fight, the Thunder ended up having the ball 6 points down and with 1:16 to go. Not too bad of a position. Then, the ball was passed in and Russell Westbrook bricked a wide open 3 point attempt, seemingly crushing our hopes. But then, the thunder got the ball back with a bad pass and Jeff Green scored a quick 2. The Kings almost responded with a Cassipi 3, but it missed. Then, Russell Westbrook barely missed a layup to give the Kings the ball and a 4 point lead with 17 seconds to go. But, miraculously, Omri Cassipi missed both of his free throws (after our foul) and we got the rebound and a time out.

So, what happens next? Yes, the obvious heroic Durant 3 Point Shot. After a near miss, Udoka rebounded the ball, got it stolen from him by Sefolosha, and watched Durant hit the 3 pointer that put the thunder within a point with 3 seconds to go. So, it'd free throw time for the Kings. Tyreke Evans up to the line. First free throw up, and it's perfect. Second free throw up, I was afraid it was gonna hit the front of the rim and bounce out, but it was perfect, too.

So, we have the ball with 3 seconds, a 3 point deficit, and a seemingly hot Durant. One can guess what happens here. Durant gets the ball, shoots a line drive 3, aaaand.....it clanks the front of the rim, Thunder lose. We had no business winning that game, as the Kings let the Thunder back into contention, but you hate to see an ending like that one.

Tonight, we were reminded of several things. But, the two most important things we were reminded of were:

1. We're not a playoff team yet.

2. The Kings aren't who we thought they were.

I mean, honestly, who would've thought the Kings could completely dominate us 80% of the time on the floor after losing their best player? Do they play better without Kevin Martin? Who knows? All I know is that we were dominated for a large portion of the game, with almost a third of our points coming from free throws, and our team being locked in scoring droughts for long periods of time.

Below: Analysis, Awards

One reason could be the fact that we played their type of game. The score may not look it, but it was back and forth down the floor all night long, and since we don't have the good shooting rosters of the Suns or Warriors, both teams ended up missing a lot of shots, turning the ball over left and right, and making the game as ugly as possible.

What happened to our rebounding? I've always been of the thought that we were one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, but I guess the Kings are better. It was mostly the fault of our bench, with Nick Collison getting shut out and Etan Thomas limited to just two.

One could also blame this loss on the foul trouble of Jeff Green. He got into foul trouble early, leading Scott Brooks to venture out a lineup of Collison and Thomas as Power Forward and Center. It was horrible. Every time they got handed the ball, they turned it over or missed a shot. Coupled with a couple of missed Westbrook shots, it was the first time in the game where we really fell behind and played catchup.

Don't throw up, KD! You didn't play that bad of a game!

There's many more things that I could point out, but those are the main reasons we lost. So, now lets move on to the good aspects of this game, like Kevin Durant. Please, don't blame him for this loss. You can't expect him to hit a clutch shot every time, and he scored 37 Points while hitting all 18 of his freethrows. His game didn't look pretty, but if you want somebody who can get it done the ugly way, this is your guy. If you add on his 5 Rebounds, 2 Assists, and 3 Steals, this equates to a Thunder Wonder performance.

You've also got to hand it to Nenad Krstic, who had 12 points on 5-10 shooting, and an unusually high 8 rebounds. Also of note is James Harden, who had a solid 9 point game off the bench, and a miracle half-court shot before half time. And what about Jeff Green? He got out of foul trouble, got back on the 'ol horse, and had a solid game. 19 Points, 5 Rebounds, and 2 Steals isn't too shabby. In all honesty, he might have been the right guy to take the 3, since he had 6-12 shooting, and Durant was 1-5 for the night, with his only make coming as a desperation shot. I mean, Durant's had his chance at big shot 3s and failed twice, so why not surprise the other team and give Jeff Green a chance? Maybe Scott Brooks knows something I dodn't know, and it's just a thought, but nevertheless, Jeff green has obtained the Thunder Down Under Award tonight.

It's pretty hard to give a Thunder Blunder, considering the only players with atrocious offensive performances were Thabo Sefolosha and Russell Westbrook. Sefolosha had an amazing 6 Rebounds, 6 Assists, 3 Steals, and 4 Blocked shots. Thus, I suppose the Thunder Blunder performance falls to Russell Westbrook, who had 9 Points on 3 of 13 Shooting, 5 Rebounds, 6 Assists, and 2 Steals. Still, the performance isn't that bad, just the worst when compared to his teammates.

I don't even want to know what's going on here....

Lastly, it's time to talk about the Kings. The entire lineup shot at around 50%, and many of them had excellent numbers. Tyreke Evans was the clear winner of the Russell Westbrook matchup, coming out with 20 Points, 5-16 Shooting, 10-10 Free Throw Shooting, 8 Rebounds, and 8 Assists. His 5 Turnovers are bad, but it doesn't keep him from being the Thunder Plunderer of tonight. Also of note is Jason Thompson, who had 21 Points and 14 Rebounds.

Oh, and, many thanks to the people from Sactown Royalty who came over, pointed out my homerism, and made the comment section much more lively (250 Comments? WOW!). I had a much bigger stake in the game, and I had to admit my complete wrongness in predicting the game. We're a small blog, but hopefully we can get a rivalry going or something. I look forward to our next matchup! Congratulations on being .500!

Next Game: At the Clippers, Wednesday, November 11th, at 9:30 PM Central Standard Time

Now, can we get back to .500?

Game 7 Preview: Oklahoma City at Sacramento

Zorgon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:31:49 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

I expect a lot mo' of this, Uncle Jeff. (Also, as evidenced by this picture, Omri Cassipi isn't that good!)

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

Time: 9 PM Central Standard Time

Place: Arco Arena, Sacramento, California

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Comcast Sports California

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Sactown Royalty

Backstory: Finally, an easy game!

Maybe it's my extreme bias after seeing only 6 games, but I'm feeling that we have a cream puff matchup tonight, facing the Kings without their star player in Kevin Martin. The Kings are 3-4, and the Thunder are 3-3, but our situations are very different. The Kings have gotten two of their wins over the free-falling Grizzlies, and the extremely talented yet lazy Warriors. I saw the Warriors game, it was like watching a team play a bunch of street ballers. Granted, they do have a win at Utah, but they've shown that they can have a freak win every once in a while, as evidenced by them beating the Lakers last season. Granted, our wins aren't much better coming against the Kings, Grizzlies, and depleted Magic, but the key win in there is against the Kings. And it wasn't a luck win, it was a beatdown. And they had Kevin Martin.

Still, before we think we're in cake walk city, we have to think of the Kings recent success. This team, while not very talented, plays as a cohesive unit and follows a very specific game plan. The management obviously isn't looking for talent, as evidenced by their recent cut of Desmond Mason and unwillingness so sign any big name FAs. They're saving money, and in the meantime, trying to create an exciting, fast break team that people might actually watch. As a result, they're going to win some games they shouldn't win, and, perhaps, lose some games they shouldn't lose. Luckily, we have their number.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups: (Note: The Kings switch their lineup a lot, so I'm doing the best I can to determine who will start where.)

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Spencer Hawes

Nenad Krstic had a good game against the Magic, but I'm not sure whether he can keep up the pace against the young and athletic Kings. He's a big question mark, but against an average Center like Krstic, you can imagine that Hawes will have an average night.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Jason Thompson

I wouldn't expect anything out of the norm to happen here. It's a perfect opportunity for Jeff Green to get back to his old scoring form, and a prefect opportunity for Jason Thompson to have a good game, as usual. Jeff Green will win in most categories, but I imagine Jason Thompson will get more rebounds.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Andres Nocioni

Last time, Nocioni had a pretty bad game, but this time, he might be considered the focal point of his teams offense. Thus, while his overall production will improve, I don't see Kevin Durant's performance being any different than the first time around. And he was pretty darn good in that first game.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Beno Udrih

Thabo Sefolosha had an average game the first time around, but his shooting has gotten a lot hotter. Meanwhile, Beno Udrih has moved into the starting lineup, and he's helped out in the scoring and assist categories. So I'd say they score about equally, Thabo does better with the intangibles, and Beno does better with the assists.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Tyreke Evans

Tyreke Evans has turned out to be a great scoring point guard, a average passer, and a great rebounder for his size. Does this remind you of anyone? Oh yeah, Russell Westbrook. Still, Westbrook is a better rebounder and passer, which, to me, is more important than scoring and stealing, which Evans is better at. The key factor here could be turnovers, which is troubling, because Westbrook has a lot more, and Evans is an adept stealer. We'll see, but this is definitely an intriguing matchup.

Battle of the Benches

The Kings are willing to go 11 or 12 deep on their bench, as they're still trying to figure out an optimal lineup. That doesn't make it any more talented, though, so I'd say we have the advantage talent-wise, but they have the advantage stamina-wise.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Kings and Thunder are coming off big wins against the Warriors and Magic, respectively. The Kings are at home, but their fans are looking pretty thin these days, they're without Kevin Martin, and we've beaten this team before. I'd say the intangibles are in our favor.

Bottom Line

If we're truly going to be a .500 team, this is a game we shouldn't lose. But, if we do lose, all hope is not lost. All in all, it's really just another bump in the road, and I don't see it shifting momentum hugely towards or against us either way. Nevertheless, a win here and against the Clippers tomorrow would do wonders for us going into Saturday at the Spurs. As long as the Thunder take care of the ball, keep the pace in our favor, and play good defense, we should win this game easily.

Prediction: Thunder 107, Kings 89

Alright, alright....I'm being a homer. But come on, it's the Kings without Kevin Martin!

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 might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Poll

Will the Thunder go 2-0 against the Kings?

Amazing video of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook lip-synching to "Say Ahhhh". It's...

Zorgon — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:15:58 -0000

Amazing video of Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook lip-synching to "Say Ahhhh". It's all about team unity!

Hat tip to Ball Don't Lie.

Game 6 Recap: Oklahoma City 102, Orlando 74

Zorgon — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 08:30:29 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

No, not 4 wins, Coach Brooks. 3, 3 wins. And 3 losses. 4 wins comes on Tuesday.

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Yahoo! Sports Box Score:

Taking care of business.

No joke. There's not other way you can put this game. The Magic were missing two key players in Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. As a result, they became a broken team without its two main scorers, and when you can't find anybody to pick up the slack, you end up losing. And losing badly.

Granted, we really should have won this game, and we were facing a broken team, but you can't help and be proud of our guys. A 28 point win? If you told me that a year ago, I'd ask if everybody on the Magic had been shipped off to Russia.

It all started with a great Thunder run at the end of the 2nd, with a lot of scoring by Westbrook and Durant. The Thunder were only ahead by 9, but they opened the half with a 18-5 run. After that, the Thunder never looked back, and it was garbage time.

Among the very little bad news of tonight is the complete shut down of Jeff Green. 9 Points, 4-7 Shooting, 4 Rebounds, and 6 fouls in only 22 minutes. Hopefully we're only seeing a minor lull in his production, but until I';m proved otherwise, I'm gonna make him tonights Thunder Blunder. There's no reason to get fouled out in a blowout like this one.

But, back to the good news. The Thunder dominated the 3 Pointers tonight. 9-16, with Sefolosha a perfect 3-3, Westbrook a cool 3-4, Green with an okay 1-2, and Durant with a mediocre 2-6. They were left open beyond the line all night, with very little perimeter defense being offered by the Magic. As far as field goals go, we were 40-70. I'll take that any night.

Comeon, now I just need you to fly into the hoop more often....please? I'll give you some extra air....

And guess who got double doubles tonight? Nope, guess again. It was Russell Westbrook and Thabo Sefolosha. Westbrook had 10 assists, which is no surprise, but Sefolosha got 10 rebounds. Why? Well, let me put it simply: The Magic play one big man. One. It's always either Howard or Gortat. If they can't grab the rebound, it's probably going to fall into enemy hands, because their athletic forwards can't rebound worth a darn. Luckily, pretty much everyone in our lineup can rebound (except Krstic, ironically), leading us to outrebound the Magic by 15.

Individually, you have to credit Thabo Sefolosha. 13 Points on 4-6 Shooting, 3-3 3 Point Shooting, 10 Rebounds, 2 Assists, 2 Steals, 1 Block, and a complete shot down of J.J. Redick, who had only 5 Points on 2-11 Shooting. It's easily enough to get him the Thunder Down Under award for tonight, and it would be enough to get him the Thunder Wonder award on some other nights, but tonight, that award goes to Kevin Durant. Just another beastly night for him, as he had 28 points, 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 3 Steals, and 1 Block. A nice defensive effort to go with his offensive one, altogether making for a huge reason we blew out the Magic tonight.

There wasn't a huge amount of scoring from the bench tonight, but Etan Thomas had 6 Rebounds, James harden had 4 Rebounds, 5 Assists, and 1 Steal, Nick Collison had 4 Rebounds and 2 Assists, and Kevin Ollie, as usual, didn't screw it up and helped ball movement. This is the type of performance you want to see from your bench.

Pay no attention to us, we're just chillin' at this point.

On the Magic side of things, there's little good to find in this game, but it is unquestionable that Dwight Howard was their best player tonight. 20 Points and 7 Rebounds is a bit subpar for him, but it still gets him the Thunder Plunderer award on a bad, bad night. Aside from Pietrus, who had a solid 15 Points and 3 Steals, everyone on the Magic played horribly, shooting very badly on the floor and getting very little ball movement going. Pietrus could hit the occasional jumper and Dwight Howard would eat Krstic alive inside the lane, but the Magic couldn't get any type of consistent offense going after the first half.

Next Game: At the Kings, Tuesday, November 11th, at 9PM Central Standard Time

Game 6 Preview: Orlando at Oklahoma City

Zorgon — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 22:19:39 -0000

More photos » by Phelan M. Ebenhack - AP

Vince Carter may look intimidating in a suit, but luckily, this isn't a corporate league.

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

Time: 6 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Ford Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Sun Sports

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Third Quarter Collapse, The Puns Are Starting to Bore Me

Backstory: The Orlando Magic (and, most importantly, Adonal Foyle) are coming to the Ford Center. They come with a 5-1 record, their only loss being to Detroit, a team we beat. Nevertheless, the Magic have high expectations of them this season, and rightfully so.

If you've been under a rock since last season, then you don't know that the Magic lost Hedo Turkoglu to Free Agency, and gained Vince Carter. That, with the additions of solid NBA journeymen Matt Barnes and Brandon Bass and old star Jason Williams have made many people think the Magic can contend for a title again. The signs this year, at least so far, have pointed to the fact that they can. Solid wins against Philadelphia, New Jersey, Toronto, and Phoenix have proven that they are definitely in the "good" category, but coming back to beat Detroit after a horrible night against them earlier in the week has proved that they are an elite team, especially without Rashard Lewis. And beating the Thunder here would only be another stop in the road.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Dwight Howard

Heh. Good Luck? Dwight Howard will dominate Krstic. He's athletic enough to compete with Krstic on the outside, and can easily outscore him, outrebound him, and outdefend him. It's looking like a 3rd straight bad night for Krstic.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Ryan Anderson

And, good luck to Ryan Anderson. He might be solid, but Jeff Green is clearly the better player. He might even outrebound Anderson. Thus, the greatness of Dwight Howard could potentially be off set by the greatness of Jeff Green.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Matt Barnes

I've watched Matt Barnes play for a long time, and while he's solid, he's no match for Kevin Durant. Easy win for the Thunder here, unless Barnes and his ugly jumper go absolutely insane.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Mickael Pietrus

Two defensive specialists go at it. There's no telling who wins, I suspect it will be whoever makes the most 3 pointers. Sefolosha will have to watch out for Pietrus in the corner.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Jameer Nelson

This is what the game hinges on, in my opinion. Two great Point Guards, both with the potential to score and dish out a great assist. Who scores more will depend on if Russell Westbrook can find a way around Dwight Howard in the post, and whether Jameer Nelson can get hot on the perimeter. I'd suspect Nelson gets the slight edge, but ho knows.

Battle of the Benches

We have similar benches....veteran point guards (Williams and Ollie), young scorers (Redick and Harden), and tough, inside bangers (Krstic, Collison, Bass, and Gortat). Still, you have to go with the Magic here. Williams was way better than Ollie in his day, Redick is more proven than Harden, and the big men look pretty equal.

Coaching and Intangibles

The Magic are early in the season, so they might let this one slip past them, especially with Lewis gone. And, the Thunder are at home, and looking to come back from a 3 game losing streak. The intangibles are on our side, but is that enough?

Bottom Line

If there was a night to beat the Magic, this would be it. Early in the season, without Rashard Lewis, without Vince Carter, and being at home.

Prediction: Thunder 97, Magic 93

We finally take advantage of a huge opportunity, and come out with an essential win. Now, if you don't mind, I'm jetting to the Ford Center.

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?

Game 5 Recap: Houston 105, Oklahoma City 94

Zorgon — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 23:50:23 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

Carl Landry is attempting to bear hug the ball, but thankfully Nick Collison is saving it from much pain, and having to touch that horrible looking McDonalds uniform.

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Yahoo! Sports Box Score:

Well, this is the latest recap ever, and the game is somewhat distant in my memory, but I will not let a game go unrecapped!

In any case, you hate to see a game like this. A game where the Thunder stay behind the Rockets for the majority of the game, with their lead slowly but surely increasing. The game was still within reach statistically, but by the 4th quarter, you could tell it was all over.

Jeff Green got totally shut down by Houston's defense, leaving him with a season (career?) low of 6 points. Nenad Krstic also had a terrible night against the Rockets athletic big men, and Sefolosha didn't find much time to play offense, so the scoring was left all to KD and Westbrook. We had no x factor able to step in and help the team out.

Aside from individual performance, the Thunder definitely succumbed to the long range shooting of the Rockets. I'm not necessarily talking about 3 pointers, but also about jumpers. Chase Budinger owned us on offense all game, hitting a 3 here, making a jumper there, passing it to the right man everywhere. Anyone who thinks that we should still have drafted B.J. Mullens, raise your hand. I thought so.

Below: Analysis, Awards

One of the most interesting aspects of the game is how KD managed to shut down Shane Battier. He only scored 9 points all day, and it didn't seem to be from missed shots. He shot 4-5, while playing 34 minutes. You see, this is the difference between a good role player on a good team and a bad role player on a bad team. Here, he didn't force unnecessary shots, and let his teammates have a good day. The same went for Chuck Hayes and David Andersen, who both went a mediocre 1-3. But, lets compare this to our team. Nenad Krstic went 1-8, and Jeff Green went 3-15. Our young stars are good, don't get me wrong, but our team is not to the point of being able to trust other players to score for you. We were forcing bad shots all night, which is a easy recipe for disaster.

As far as awards go, this game is pretty obvious. Russell Westbrook gets the Thunder Wonder for his 33 Points, 7 Assists, and 5 Rebounds, and Kevin Durant gets the Thunder Down Under for 27 Points, 9 Rebounds, and 3 Steals. And, 7 assists is a totally acceptable number for a Point Guard. So anyone who is looking to criticize Westbrook for that nights performance (I'm looking at you, Jim Traber), please, lay off.

As far as the Rockets go, you can't really pinpoint a "best player" for tonight game. It was a total team effort, with Ariza and Landry both contributing 21 points, and Luis Scola adding 19 points and 10 rebounds. But, I'm going to go off the beaten path, and name Chase Budinger the Thunder Plunderer, for his 16 point performance. Why? Well, because he totally embarrassed B.J. Mullens, who hasn't played an NBA minute.

Also, the Thunder Blunder goes to Nenad Krstic. Jeff Green had a bad scoring night, but he managed to contribute in other places. Krstic had 6 rebounds, but his 1-8 shooting and lack of defense just killed the team.

On my last note, I'll say that Shaun Livingston and D.J. White got some playing time tonight, and they contributed very little. At one point, we had Kevin Ollie, Shaun Livingston, James Harden, Nick Collison, and Etan Thomas on the floor. It was pretty hilarious, and they gave up major points. I'm not saying that their careers are over, that they should cry themselves to sleep, or anything like that, but I am saying that pre-season numbers do not equate to regular season success. There's a reason they're being eased in to the lineup behind less-talented veterans, and rest assured, they will have their day.

Next Game: Versus the Magic, Sunday, November 8th, at 6 PM Central Standard Time.

It's time for both me and the Thunder to get back into our respective saddles.

Game 5 Pre-Game: Oklahoma City at Houston

Zorgon — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:39:24 -0000

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

The Thunder were blown out by the Rockets in the Pre-Season, but does that translate to a regular season win? Rick Adelman doesn't seem to know.

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

Time: 7:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The Toyota Center, Houston, Texas

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma, Fox Sports Houston

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): The Dream Shake

Backstory: The Thunder are coming off two close losses to the Lakers and Trail Blazers, and are looking to get back above .500 with a win against the Rockets, which is seeming just as possible now than it was at the start of the season, but in a different way. At the start of the season, I'd think we'd have a chance to win because we were a sub-par team facing a par team, but right now it's looking like we have a chance to win because we're a par team facing a good team.

The Rockets are the NBA's enigma. To the casual fan, losing Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest, Yao Ming, and Dikembe Mutombo while gaining no real talent but Trevor Ariza does not equal a 3-2 start, especially with quality wins at Utah and Portland. But, if you've been following the Rockets all along, you know that they've played without the aforementioned players before. And when they do, their whole game plan changes, but they still manage to win games and play as a .500 team. They score a lot, small balling it up and down the floor. Trevor Ariza has proven himself to be a lockdown defender, Shane Battier is still there providing defense and 3 balls, Luis Scola is one of the best scoring big men in the league, Chuck Hayes and Carl Landry can both score well, and Aaron Brooks is quietly becoming one of the leagues better point guards, something the Rockets have been searching for ever since they landed Yao. In reality, this team is no surprise. They've just finally been given a chance to show their stuff.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups:

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Chuck Hayes

Chuck Hayes is pretty short for a Center, but that's not a good thing. It means that if Nenad Krstic even tries to make a jump shot, Hayes will be all over him. The only hope for Krstic to win this matchup will be to bang with Hayes inside or out rebound him somehow, but I really doubt that's going to happen. Hayes will easily outperform Krstic tonight.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Luis Scola

Scola will almost certainly out-rebound Green here, but the real question will be who can out score the other. Scola is limited to an inside repertoire, and with Thomas and Collison being able to defend him in the post off of the bench, I think that Jeff Green will have more opportunities to score.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Shane Battier

Shane Battier is a good defender and can shoot a hell of a 3 ball, but I don't think there's any stopping Durant here. Durant will score about the same as normal, so his main concern should be with taking care of the ball and making sure he doesn't leave Battier open for gut-wrenching 3s. Still, Durant is the clear winner here.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Trevor Ariza

Two fierce defenders going at it. Can they combine to score more than 10 points? I have a feeling that Ariza will be all over the floor tonight, so he might be guarded by Durant or on fast breaks at times, so I see him winning this matchup.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. Aaron Brooks

At the start of the year, or at pretty much any other time, I'd give the win to Westbrook. But Brooks is looking like a mean, lean scoring and assisting machine right now. And Westbrook as been in a total slump. So, while I think Westbrook's performance won't be negatively affected, I think his numbers will, in the end, be slightly worse than Aaron Brooks'.

Battle of the Benches

For how good the Rockets are, they don't have much of a bench. Kyle Lowry and Carl Landry get heavy minutes, and you'll see dashes of Chase Budinger and/or David Andersen. They're all solid players, but in all truth, they're about the same as our tandem of Kevin Ollie, Etan Thomas, James Harden, and Nick Collison. If our bench plays like it has been recently, then it's a dead tie. But, if they revert back to the way they played the first couple of games, then I say the Rockets win this one.

Coaching and Intangibles

This one's a dead heat too, as we're both coming off a recent close loss to the Lakers, both of us have had surprisingly good starts, and both of us are well-rested. I guess I'll give it to the Rockets though, simply because they're at home and Rick Adelman is a darn good coach.

Bottom Line

This should be a close, high scoring game, the perfect thing for a Thunder or Rocket fan to unwind to on a Friday Night. But, I don't see us slowing it down from the Rockets pace of game, and when we play at their pace and on their floor, they're going to win more often then not.

Prediction:

Rockets 105, Thunder 100

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 might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

Game 4 Recap: Los Angeles Lakers 101, Oklahoma City Thunder 98 (OT)

Zorgon — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:03:06 -0000

More photos » by Sue Ogrocki - AP

Sweet success.

Browse more photos »

Yahoo! Sports Box Score:

Well, well, well.

What else is there to say? It was a great, tightly contested game. Lots of good shots, lots of good defense, lots of ticky tack fouls, and lots of great dunks. A perfect game for the fans. And, a near perfect game for the Thunder.

In the 1st, Nenad Krstic showed that he didn't belong in this game right off the bad. He missed shots badly, played no defense on Bynum, and let rebounds fall easily into Laker hands. Obviously, he's tonights Thunder Blunder. In steps Etan Thomas. Everyone cheered for him when he came on the court, and I thought it was not rightly so. But, he proved his worth when he played tonight. Tightly contested defense, not horrible offense, and a good fight put up for every rebound. It is for this reason that he earns tonights Thunder Down Under award. To be honest, we couldn't have done it without him.

But, even though Krstic set us back, we came charging back, enough to get it to within one twice in the 2nd quarter. Buy the 3rd, it was a back and forth battle, with neither team able to establish any dominance until late in the 4th. The Lakers were down 83-81 with 5:24 to go. Then, Ron Artest made a free throw and drew the Lakers to within one. Then, after a couple of missed shots, Ron Artest made a layup, and Kobe sank a shot. Then, after a surprising Laker time out, Kobe hit 2 more free throws, and just like that, with 2:44 to go in the 4th, the Thunder were down by 5, and I figured it was all over.

Below: The Games' Conclusion, More Analysis, More Awards

Thabo played out of his shoes tonight!

Thabo Sefolosha had something to say about that. Just as my hopes lowered, I saw him sink an easy, open 3 to put us within 2. The Lakers tried to hold the ball, but they just ended up missing another shot, opening the way for another Sefolosha jumper, tieing the game at 88. The moments I just explained are critical to the development of a team. It's one thing to contend with a Championship caliber team for a half or even most of the 4 quarters, but it's another to come back from a 5 point deficit and force it into overtime. That's what good teams are made of. And that's why Thabo Sefolosha gets the Thunder Wonder award tonight. Simply fantastic!

After a couple of mid-range shots from Kobe and Jeff Green, the Thunder had the ball with an opportunity to win. 25 seconds on the clock, and the best shot we came up with was a Kevin Durant 3 Pointer? He was cold all game, and I would have much rather had Jeff Green take the shot. And we didn't even have to take a 3. Why not drive in for a layup and draw the foul? I guess it was a safe thing to do, but I'd rather us have gone for the win.

Unbelievable! Etan Thomas can play offense, too!

Eventually, it came down to overtime, and it didn't disappoint. Etan Thomas and Russell Westbrook both threw in points, and Jeff Green hit a clutch jumper to put us within 1 late in the quarter. Eventually, Sefolosha and westbrook both missed two potentially tieing 3 pointers at the end, and the Lakers came out victorious.

When you lose by 3 points in overtime, there's no obvious flaws to point out about our performance. Nevertheless, we could definitely do with a consistent 3 point shooter. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were ice cold from the arc, and while Sefolosha and Green did admirably, neither are specialists, and it would be nice to have a go-to guy for the type of thing. I'm looking at you, James Harden.

One thing to be proud of is how many turnovers we forced them to have tonight. On thing not to be proud of is how many turnovers we had ourselves tonight. They had 25, we had 21, and Kobe Bryant had a whopping 7. It's fair to say that if we took care of the ball more we could have established a solid lead, but it's amazing how close we were in the first place.

On the Lakers side of things, it was business as usual. Their bench was totally useless, and their starters were all superb (except Derek Fisher.) As much as I hate to do this, you've got to hand it to Kobe Bryant for playing with the flu and still leading his team in scoring. For that reason, he gets the Thunder Plunderer award for tonight.

Next Game: At the Rockets, Friday, November 6th at 7:30 PM Central Standard Time.

Lets get back above .500. Yay for an easier matchup!

Kobe Possibly Out Tonight

Zorgon — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:32:40 -0000

Kobe Possibly Out Tonight

If Kobe were out, it would be a huge boon to our chances of winning, as we'd have the clear back court advantage. Still, I'm betting he'll still go out there tonight, and play a little sub par. The Lakers always get their way.

Thanks to Daddy Dai for the link.