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Durant, Westbrook Combine for 67, But Griffin Steals the Show as Thunder Loses 100-112

Well that was not pretty. I think we can come out and say that loss was flat out ugly. I hope the players are embarrassed by this game. They let the Clippers dunk all over them all night. Where was the pride defensively? Kendrick Perkins said before the game that he and Ibaka strive to be an elite pick-n-roll defending tandem in the NBA. Well, Perkins has a nice memento from this game reminding him that he and Ibaka are not there yet.

Westbrook and Durant were playing very well offensively. Well enough, in my opinion, to win the game. However, the Thunder could not get a stop. If the Clippers wanted a dunk, they dunked it. If they wanted to shoot a wide open three, they shot it. The Clippers shot 52% from the three point line. Some might say that the Clippers won’t always shoot that well from three. Well, I think I could shoot 52% of three point range if I was left as wide open as Caron Butler, Mo Williams and Chauncey Billups were last night.

Durant had probably his best game offensively of the whole season. He had 36 points on 14-23 shooting and 13 rebounds. Russell Westbrook also had a high volume scoring game finishing with 31 points. However, offense was not the problem last night. If the Thunder wants to beat good teams, it has to sell out defensively for the entire game. At times, I thought the effort was there on defense, but players just took too many gambles. At other times, I thought the Thunder put on a pathetic display of defensive intensity.

Near the end of the second quarter, the Thunder had fought back and cut the lead to six. Then the Clippers hit four three pointers in 50 seconds to push the lead to 18. That run was a result of turnovers and lack of effort. I have been saying the past three games that the Thunder can’t turn the ball over against good teams because good teams will make you pay for them. Well, take this game as exhibit A.

Post Game Grades:

Transition Game: F
The Thunder let the Clippers run on them all night. The Clippers ran not just on missed shots, but also on made shots, which illustrate the lack of effort running back up the floor. The Clippers did a fantastic job limiting OKC transition. They always had three guys back defending the fast break and the Thunder was not sharing the ball well enough to beat the defense.

Turnovers: F
Plain and simple: The Thunder must take care of the ball. They had 16 turnovers, but the Clippers destroyed the Thunder on points off turnovers. If the Thunder doesn’t get turnovers under control, they will lose every game on this road trip.

Three Point Shooting: F (notice a theme)
Harden shot the ball poorly and Cook didn’t shoot it well until the fourth quarter. The only bright spot in the category was Kevin Durant who went 4-5 from deep. However, I am giving an F because the Thunder did such a poor job defending the three point line. Did I mention the Clippers shot 52% from three?

Thoughts on the Game”

• Westbrook puts out a lot of effort on defense, but it is mostly wasted effort because he takes too many gambles. That puts his teammates in a tough spot when he doesn’t come up with the steal
• Also, I understand that some calls weren’t going his way, but if the ball is in play, Westbrook needs to chill on complaining to the refs.
• I like what Durant said after the game when asked if he saw the Blake Griffin dunk on Perkins: “Man, I don’t care about that dunk.”
• This is a game where the Thunder missed Eric Maynor (depressing, I know)
• Harden continues to struggle on the road. I am on record saying that he will be selected to the All-Star team, but if he can’t play consistent on the road, I don’t know if it will happen.
• I think this loss will end up being a good thing for the Thunder because I know they are embarrassed. When everything is going good and the wins keep piling up, you don’t learn a whole lot. A good butt-kicking is needed every now and then to keep them hungry. I expect a much better game versus Dallas Wednesday.
• Westbrook had 31 points, 4 assists and 6 turnovers; Paul had 26 points, 14 assists and 2 turnovers – I would say Round 1 of the Westbrook/Paul battle goes to Paul.

Next up: Mavericks in Dallas Wednesday night.

Game Day #20: Thunder at Clippers

Oklahoma City Thunder (16-3, 8-2 road) at Los Angeles Clippers, (11-6, 9-2 home)

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Where: The Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA
When: 9:30 p.m.
TV: FSOK (DirectTV 679, Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, U-Verse 754)
Online Stream: Here.
Radio: WWLS Sports Animal 98.1 FM/640AM/97.1 Tulsa
Projected Lineups:

Thunder:
Clippers:

Oklahoma City is coming off a nice win against the Warriors. Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka had double doubles. OKC is the best road team at 8-2.

The Los Angeles Clippers once they received Chris Paul from the New Orleans Hornets, became an instant team to watch. They’re pretty good too. With rookie of the year, Blake Griffin the Clippers are a force to be reckoned with on the court. Nick named “Lob City,” LA has not really lived up to their billing in my opinion.

The Clippers are just 2-4 away from the Staples Center. Plus, Chris Paul has missed a handful of games due to injury. However, DeAndre Jordan has been a defensive machine.

Keys to the Game

transistion game
OKC is one of the best teams on the fast break. However, LA is better Oklahoma City needs to limit the opportunities by rebounding and not turning thr ball over.

turnovers
Limiting turnovers is key here. Yeah, first key would benefit from this but OKC could really own this game by limiting turnovers.

Three-Point Shooting
On the road, OKC shoots less than 30% from behind the arc. Being able to hit against a team that plays decent perimeter defense is crucial.

Video: Thunder Finish Week 3-0, Tough Road Schedule Awaits

Durant Scores 37, Leads Thunder over Warriors

Halfway through the fourth quarter, I thought to myself “the Thunder are going to mess around like they did in Washington and lose this game.” This first 42 minutes were very similar to the Wizards game last week. It didn’t seem like the Thunder were very engaged in the game. They were playing sloppy, out of control, and without focus. But at the 5:35 mark in the fourth quarter, the Thunder turned it on and took it to another level.

The Thunder had a six-point lead with 5:35 left in the game, but it felt like at any minute Stephen Curry could drain a few threes and the game would be tied. Then, the following sequence occurred in less then one game minute: Durant nails a three; Westbrook outlets to Harden who throws a beautiful lob to KD for the slam; Warriors timeout; Westbrook make a driving layup, gets fouled and sinks the free throw. In less than a minute, the Thunder had pushed the lead to 100-86, which in actuality put the game away.

The Warriors fans didn’t know what hit them. Heck, I don’t think the Warrior players knew what hit them. I will tell you what it was. That sequence of plays epitomizes the Thunder’s potential this season. The roster is set. There is no more talk of one more missing piece. It is time to go out on the court every night and consistently bring the type of effort and explosiveness as the Thunder showed in the final minutes of this game. If they do, there are  very few teams that are capable of winning four out of seven games against the Thunder.

The box score from this game is a thing of beauty. The Thunder’s “young core” of Durant, Westbrook, Harden and Ibaka were all fantastic.

Durant: 37 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists
Westbrook: 28 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists, 7 steals
Harden: 19 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Ibaka: 20 points, 12 rebounds

I will take that every night and twice on Sunday.

Post Game Grades

Transition Game: B+
The Thunder did a good job of getting out in transition, scoring 20 points in transition. However, the Thunder did give up 25 points in transition the Warriors. I thought the Thunder got a little sloppy with the ball at times during fast break opportunities. Westbrook made some questionable decisions pulling up for jump shot, but let’s face it, if those go in, those shots are perfectly fine with all of us.

Blocking Out: A
The Thunder gave up 10 offensive boards which was a drastic improvement from the last time the Thunder played in Oracle Arena.  The Thunder absolutely murdered the Warriors on the glass, winning the rebound battle 53-34. Ibaka was a maniac on the offensive boards all night. He pulled down eight of his 12 rebounds on the offensive glass. He got several of his 20 points on easy put-backs. I think this is an exciting development for Ibaka’s game. If he can hit his spot up jumper three or four times a game AND get several put-back buckets, he could provide a nice offensive spark.

Turnovers: D-
The only reason I am not flunking them is because the Thunder only had four turns in the final frame, which is a big reason they ended up getting the win. The final total was 22 turnovers to 23 assists. We have seen a big improvement on rebounding in the past week. Hopefully the coaching staff is working to address this problem too. Because turnovers are certainly a glaring problem.

Other Thoughts on the Game

• Thabo left the game with “foot soreness” and did not return. Thabo is a key player in the Thunder’s rotation. Hopefully he does not have to miss any extended time.
• There was a huge free throw disparity in this game. The Thunder shot 37 and the Warriors shot 19. It had a little bit to do with how aggressive the Thunder were being, but that is still a huge difference.
• Harden and Thabo did a great job on Monta Ellis tonight. He scored 13 points on 5-17 shooting. The stat line is like the anti-Durant.
• I was pretty impressed with Klay Thompson. He was doing a great job of knocking down jumpers coming off a down screen.  I could see him having a fantastic career.
• Durant had seven turnovers…yeesh
• Poor Reggie Jackson. He got his ankle, knees, femurs, hips, etc. broken from a crossover by Nate Robinson. That will probably be played on every Nate Robinson highlight for the rest of his life.
• The Collison-Ibaka lineup was fantastic during the fourth quarter. It probably won’t work well against all teams, but the Warriors’ lineup was suited well for it. I like to see Brooks change up the rotation based on match ups. Early in his coaching career, he wasn’t quick to do that.
• Finally, in honor of Mark Jackson, the Warriors rookie head coach, I offer you this video. As you may or may not know he was the color commentator for NBA on ESPN for several years before coaching. Usually his commentary was not too awfully insightful, but very colorful. This is an example of his “colorful” commentary on a transition to a commercial:
  

Game Day #19: Thunder at Warriors

Oklahoma City Thunder (15-3, 7-2 road) at Golden State Warriors, (6-11, 4-6 home)

at

Where: Oracle Arena – Oakland, CA
When: 9:30 p.m.
TV: FSOK (DirectTV 679, Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, U-Verse 754)
Online Stream: Here.
Radio: WWLS Sports Animal 98.1 FM/640AM/97.1 Tulsa
Projected Lineups:

Thunder:
Warriors:

Oklahoma City should come into this game with their full attention on the Golden State Warrors. This Warriors team is just 4-6 at home. However, they gave Orlando all they could handle before falling late. They also beat the Chicago Bulls pretty well on this floor. This arena most may remember from the 2005 playoffs. It was loud and it was crazy. It willed Golden State to a first round upset over the Dallas Mavericks.

Golden State can score. We know that. However, new head coach Mark Jackson is preaching defense to his ball club. While, they’re not giving up the points like last season, they’re not scoring as much.

Their scoring is lead by basically by Monta Ellis who is averaging 21.9 points per game. David Lee is their force down low. He’s averaging a double-double. Also, cannot forget Stephen Curry. He for his career against the Thunder is pretty good. Averaging 27.8 ppg, 6.0 assists per game and 2.3 steals per game. This is also the first game for Nate Robinson since OKC released him in training camp.

Oklahoma City is on a three game win streak heading into this quick road trip. Oklahoma City has the best record in the league and this road trip will test their ability. This will be no cake walk.

Keys to the game

Thunder Swat the Hornets, Win 101-91

AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki

Oklahoma City led by as much as 14, but the New Orleans Hornets would not go away. Cutting it to 86-84 as the Thunder would pull away in the final 8 minutes, outscoring the Hornets 15-7 to go on to a 101-91 win. Kevin Durant led all scores with 25 points. Durant also had seven rebounds and three blocks.

Russell Westbrook who went into the fourth quarter in a slump. He was 1-10 with five turnovers. He finished the game by going 3-4 from the field in the fourth, finishing with 14 points, including 6-9 from the free throw line.

To start the second half, Oklahoma City led 60-51, but the Hornets would not be go away. They cut the lead to seven after three and then the lead was two with eight minutes to go. Oklahoma City shot the ball well and really should have blown this team out. However, the Hornets helped force 21 turnovers and turned it into 21 points, easily keeping them in the game.

Post Game Grade: