Only because we didnt win the KEY game this season (Miami there and here) lol.

I think that was a rhetorical statement. But yeah, those Miami games leave me (& presumably every Thunder fan) with a bad taste in my mouth. I would feel a tidbit better about this season (sounding a little spoiled am I?) if we had won just one of those games, specifically the Christmas Day game.

I think that was a rhetorical statement. But yeah, those Miami games leave me (& presumably every Thunder fan) with a bad taste in my mouth. I would feel a tidbit better about this season (sounding a little spoiled am I?) if we had won just one of those games, specifically the Christmas Day game.

The christmas day game for me was a loss as soon as the NBA released the schedule, but what really left me with a bad taste in my mouth was when they beast us here right before the All Star break. i was very hurt that day. Lol

The christmas day game for me was a loss as soon as the NBA released the schedule, but what really left me with a bad taste in my mouth was when they beast us here right before the All Star break. i was very hurt that day. Lol

I was iffy on it. & the game that they drilled us in made me mad. We were at home & they came into our place & made us look silly. It's only fun if we go into other teams place & drill them! :)

Early tip tonight (thank you schedulers). 6pm on TNT.


Houston actually sent the team home for the past couple days during the break. I feel like they have already accepted this beating.



I wonder if Harden's hindsight realizes maybe $4.5 mil was worth being on a championship team. He looks miserable out there, hardly having fun. I know I am just a common peasant in the fray of the world, but wrapping my head around that sort of greed is difficult.

Harden probably looked miserable because his team was getting blasted. I doubt that he is generally miserable in his current situation. He may or may not have been happier in OKC, but I doubt he hates being in Houston. He's probably fairly excited about the prospects of this team going forward, considering that they are way under the luxury tax and will gain more pieces in the upcoming year to actually propel them forward.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5226vhJFuJU

Love this! Just shows how many people around the WORLD will be cheering for our little small market team!

^^Good stuff^^ :)

Good win last night. Looked like a blast from the past in the 4th with us blowing a 15 point lead.

Sefalosha and Ibaka with the daggers. This team is really great right now.

I know I am just a common peasant in the fray of the world, but wrapping my head around that sort of greed is difficult.

How many times have you taken a 20% pay cut out of loyalty? And even if you have done so, it's a personal decision. No one would blame you for taking the higher paying job. Maybe Harden wanted the challenge of leading his own team? Is there anything wrong with that? I have absolutely no problem with Harden asking for his market value. He has definitely proven that he is worthy of his contract unlike some other max (or near max) players (e.g., Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay). Finally, everyone seems to forget that Presti pulled the plug on negotiations and traded Harden. Harden did not end them.

I don't think last night was as much about our failure to play well. I thought we mostly did a good job. Granted, not stellar like G1, but we aren't going to play like that every game.

I thought last night was a better indication of what the true capacity of the Rockets is. I can't see them really playing a better game here on out. I think we've got this series in 4.

I generally agree with you, but championship caliber teams shouldn't give up 21-2 runs like that. Hopefully it was just a perfect storm of terribleness that we got out of our system, but great teams find a way to get easy buckets or get the line in that situation. What's amazing is that OKC gave up a 21-2 run near the end of the game and still won.

The Rockets are going to make a run at some free agents this summer. If they can land Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard, or another piece, they could become a headache in the near future.

How many times have you taken a 20% pay cut out of loyalty? And even if you have done so, it's a personal decision. No one would blame you for taking the higher paying job. Maybe Harden wanted the challenge of leading his own team? Is there anything wrong with that? I have absolutely no problem with Harden asking for his market value. He has definitely proven that he is worthy of his contract unlike some other max (or near max) players (e.g., Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay). Finally, everyone seems to forget that Presti pulled the plug on negotiations and traded Harden. Harden did not end them.


I don't think most people had a problem with him going after a max contract. I think the issue is his perpetual bullsh*ting during the negotiations about I want to play with my brothers, I'm willing to sacrifice a little, blah blah blah. Of course, when the rubber hit the road, he conveniently forgot those things. I would have a hard time turning down $80 mil, but it just sounds very insincere on his part.

It left a very bad taste in my mouth about him, but both he and the Thunder are probably better off in the long run where he is now. No hard feelings.

How many times have you taken a 20% pay cut out of loyalty? And even if you have done so, it's a personal decision. No one would blame you for taking the higher paying job. Maybe Harden wanted the challenge of leading his own team? Is there anything wrong with that? I have absolutely no problem with Harden asking for his market value. He has definitely proven that he is worthy of his contract unlike some other max (or near max) players (e.g., Joe Johnson, Rudy Gay). Finally, everyone seems to forget that Presti pulled the plug on negotiations and traded Harden. Harden did not end them.



20%?

It is $4.5 million total. That is 7.5% of his contracted salary.

This situation has nothing to do with anything you mentioned in your post if you assume Harden was being honest. Which is what I am assuming. Harden said long before final negotiations that he and others are willing to make sacrifices to keep this team on the path it was/is on.

Also no, Presti did not pull the plug. Harden and his agent did. When they declined the offer of 55.5 which was clearly stated to be the final offer, Harden/his agent pulled the plug. How much more "sacrificing" can you make when you won't accept 4.5 less than max?

There comes a time where you cannot give someone the benefit of the doubt, when someone lies to the public and front office about how they are willing to make sacrifices, then they go and do the exact opposite for a measily 7.5% - you see who is truly here for the large picture. I feel like this is what Presti instills this team to be, and Harden declining the offer essentially made it clear that not only could we not afford him, but we truly cannot afford him.


Harden was a no-show in the Finals, that's fine - everyone has a bad series/stretch. But to come home to OKC and lie to the fanbase/media/front office and then pack your bags for pocket change is not a person I want to root for, nor my fellow fanbase to root for.

^
I see we posted at about the same time LOL. Definitely some good points here. People seem to forget that he checked out during the Finals.

20%?

It is $4.5 million total. That is 7.5% of his contracted salary.

This situation has nothing to do with anything you mentioned in your post if you assume Harden was being honest. Which is what I am assuming. Harden said long before final negotiations that he and others are willing to make sacrifices to keep this team on the path it was/is on.

Also no, Presti did not pull the plug. Harden and his agent did. When they declined the offer of 55.5 which was clearly stated to be the final offer, Harden/his agent pulled the plug. How much more "sacrificing" can you make when you won't accept 4.5 less than max?

There comes a time where you cannot give someone the benefit of the doubt, when someone lies to the public and front office about how they are willing to make sacrifices, then they go and do the exact opposite for a measily 7.5% - you see who is truly here for the large picture. I feel like this is what Presti instills this team to be, and Harden declining the offer essentially made it clear that not only could we not afford him, but we truly cannot afford him.


Harden was a no-show in the Finals, that's fine - everyone has a bad series/stretch. But to come home to OKC and lie to the fanbase/media/front office and then pack your bags for pocket change is not a person I want to root for, nor my fellow fanbase to root for.

The way I thought I read it, was that Presti gave Harden's agent 1 hour to make a decision, and when it didn't come, he pulled the plug and traded him to Houston. Harden said he was in disbelief he only had an hour to give an answer. As far as I'm concerned, he had most of the Summer and Fall to decide.

Harden said he was at the Cheesecake Factory when he got the call that he was traded.

The way I thought I read it, was that Presti gave Harden's agent 1 hour to make a decision, and when it didn't come, he pulled the plug and traded him to Houston. Harden said he was in disbelief he only had an hour to give an answer. As far as I'm concerned, he had most of the Summer and Fall to decide.

Harden said he was at the Cheesecake Factory when he got the call that he was traded.

Yeah, that's how it went down.

When Presti told him you have 1 hour to make up your mind, he was probably thinking, oh they'll never trade me, whatever Sammy. It just reeks of arrogance. Presti is as cold as ice, did he not think he was serious? I'm wondering what happened to him last summer. It's almost like his agent or somebody else grabbed his ear and started pumping up his ego. He got his money though, maybe just not the way he wanted.

I would have paid to see him get that call/text that he was traded and almost choke on his cheesecake LOL. In all seriousness, I am really not convinced he is as happy in Houston as he was in OKC.

Exactly adaniel. I am sick of reading/hearing others talk about how it was a mistake to trade Harden... When it was clearly Harden who put himself on the trade block and pressed the button.

Presti offered Harden 55.5 million. That is 4.5 shy of what he got from Houston... Read this sentence over and over to people who complain about Presti "sending Harden away".

The kid is 23 and has a lot to learn. This series will be a great example as he watches his former team progress through the playoffs while he sits on his 4.5 million dollar couch.

First, as others have pointed out, Presti pulled the plug, not Harden or his agent. This is well documented. I agree that Harden should not have talked sacrifice if he wasn't going to do it, but I give him the benefit of the doubt just because of everything he did here. A lot of players would have complained to come off the bench when they're better than the starter and top 5 at their position, but he never complained. Because of this I'm not as hard on Harden for implying he would sacrifice salary. I wish him nothing but the best when he's not playing the Thunder. Although I still think it was a mistake on the part of the Thunder. I think we'd be even better with Harden this year, but we'll never know.

Anyway, moving on.... We've had this argument before.

The bigger question now is whether Martin will sacrifice. He's implied that he will like Harden did (maybe not too the same degree though), but will he? Should the Thunder do it? Or is Martin expendable because of Lamb?

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! !!!!!!!!!


from the daily thunder: Russell westbrook will undergo surgery for a meniscus tear in his right knee. No timetable announced.

Yikes!!!!

Goodbye any chance of championship this year. :(

I feel so bad for him right now. The man has never missed a game. This has to be tearing him up.

Maybe not the best choice of words... but, yeah.

we won't know until after surgery but it could be only 2-4 weeks

This should be intersting, Reggie has been doing great, but there's going to have to be more contribution from Kmart and Thabo. It also wouldn't hurt to get the ball down low a couple times

from the thunderfans facebook page:

"Scott Brooks today: Reggie Jackson will start for Russ, but others will see extra minutes too. "

Well, Reggie is no Russell. But as far as backup pg options go, he's a pretty darn good one.

Good luck Reggie. This will be your chance to shine.

Goodbye any chance of championship this year. :(

Thunder is not winning against the Heat in the Finals anyway

Thunder is not winning against the Heat in the Finals anyway

I really like the Knicks chances against the Heat in ECF should it come to that.

I really like the Knicks chances against the Heat in ECF should it come to that.

I don't know if I like the Knicks chances, I would be surprised if the Knicks win the series against the Heat

Epic game Saturday night. Those last two shots were unbelievably lucky.

Tonight we put the brooms to 'em.


It is great to see Liggins reappear. I really like watching that guy play with the intensity he has. And I think we saw a glimpse of what is to come with Martin now that Russell is no longer there to take shots. Martin is going to get WAY more touches and he will be able to play more like he did when he was with HOU.

Tonight's game is @ 8:30 on TNT.

Close game. Durant got us back in in the final minute or two. But it just wasn't enough.

Ibaka was MIA all night. And the missed lay in at the end pretty much summed up his night.



At least we get to close it out at home tomorrow. Late night once again 8:30pm tip. I am selling my tickets, cannot afford another late night this week.

Food courts tomorrow night at "Thunder Corner" (SE corner of Myriad Gardens).

From 5:30pm - 8:30pm (or about game time)



Myriad Gardens Brings Family Friendly Food Trucks to Thunder Corner for Playoffs

Oklahoma City – The southeast corner of the Myriad Botanical Gardens is affectionately
nicknamed Thunder Corner, and tomorrow starting at 5:30 and ending shortly after game time,
it will be home to food trucks, a hotdog cart and bistro tables and chairs for folks to enjoy a fun
dinner al fresco before we send Houston back home where they belong!

In addition to great eats, diners will enjoy knowing that a portion of the trucks’ proceeds benefits
the Myriad Gardens, which means eating chicken and waffles is a charitable thing to do!
The prices are reasonable, the food is fabulous and the setting is perfect.

Food trucks will be parked in front of the Gardens Restaurant space, on Robinson between
Sheridan and Reno. Tables will be set up adjacent to the restaurant area, to the south.


Participating vendors:

Wild Al’s Food Truck
Hawk’s Hotdogs
Taste of Soul Egg Rolls
Taste of Soul Chicken and Waffle Truck
Pizza 23

Source: https://www.facebook.com/MyriadGardens/posts/656029934413516

I really like the Knicks chances against the Heat in ECF should it come to that.

I'm not sure what evidence from this season would support an argument that the Knicks can even be seriously competitive. If Tyson Chandler was healthy and playing well then I could see the Knicks putting up a fight, but I don't think the Knicks are even in the top 7 or 8 teams in the NBA. I think a sweep is more likely than the series going 6.

Off topic, but gotta get it out there. Really OKC?.. Tomorrows shirts will be the exact ones the fans were wearing during the Game 5 vs the Lakers last year. That makes me feel some of type of way... :/

Westboro Church will be protesting the outside the arena tonight.

Westboro Baptist Church: Threatening to picket Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff - Oklahoma City Top News | Examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/article/westboro-baptist-church-threatening-to-picket-oklahoma-city-thunder-nba-playoff)

Food courts tomorrow night at "Thunder Corner" (SE corner of Myriad Gardens).

From 5:30pm - 8:30pm (or about game time)



Participating vendors:

Wild Al’s Food Truck
Hawk’s Hotdogs
Taste of Soul Egg Rolls
Taste of Soul Chicken and Waffle Truck
Pizza 23

Source: https://www.facebook.com/MyriadGardens/posts/656029934413516


Update from MBG:
--------------------------

Slight food truck adjustment: we've added Off the Hook Seafood,
and Taste of Soul realized they can't come. So the lineup is:

Wild Al's BBQ
Pizza 23
Off the Hook Seafood
Hawk's Hotdogs

The world would truly be a better place without these sick minded people.

Thunder sucks, they can't win without Westbrook, yeah, they won without him but it is obvious they needed Westbrook, Thunder season MIGHT be over

Thunder have checked out...

I turned it off during the 3rd quarter. Love my team, but if they aren't going to show up, don't expect me to.

Its been a long time since they laid an egg like this. A complete team meltdown from the coach down. What happened?

Houston...first team to win series after being down 0-3?

Houston...first team to win series after being down 0-3?

That is a definite possibility. I guess it turns out Westbrook IS the best player on the team because the wheels have come off the Thunderwagon without him. They simply are not doing anything that resembles a team. It is just 5 guys on the court wearing the same uniform. If Houston wins game 6 there is no doubt in my mind they win game 7 as well.

Here is the thing - OKC cannot out score the Rockets by trying to match them in 3pt attempts. If the Thunder attempt one more 3pt shot in the next two game we will lose. Every shot needs to be at the rim. And would it kill the Thunder to try a fast break.

This whole Durant run the point and pass to the open guard thing is a losing formula when everyone is missing wide open.

Tonight was a definite wake up. Everything they've been practicing has been Durant finds the open guy since he's doubled. But our shooters are choking. Martin mustve watched tape from Harden's Finals appearance. Because he is GONE.

I think we could win the series still, but if we struggle against the #8, then next round is even more of an eye-roll.

Houston...first team to win series after being down 0-3?

Thunder will pull through... They'll pull through... I think they'll pull through... If I keep telling myself that, it will happen!

Chicago lost to Philly last year after losing Rose. It's hard to bounce back from that kind of blow.

Houston...first team to win series after being down 0-3?

Nope Boston will do it against the Knicks

Westbrook IS the Thunder. Funny that KD is being outshined by a player that is injured.

I was a little pissed at Westbrook for staying up in the suite in his lil blue Thunder fan t-shirt. Homie shoulda been down on the sideline with his teammates.

Can't wait for the 13-14 NBA season cause this one is over for us.

PS...if it weren't for the naysayers...there would be no winners to disprove us.

Disprove me...

I was a little pissed at Westbrook for staying up in the suite in his lil blue Thunder fan t-shirt. Homie shoulda been down on the sideline with his teammates.I wondered about that, but NewsOK reported that he couldn't be on the bench because he has to stretch his right leg and there's not enough room between bench and court to allow it...

What? Westbrook has crutches and his leg bandaged, and you are pissed because he was up in the suite? He was even sitting on the top of the chair to give his legs more room. Have you ever been to a game? You have about 3 inches in front of your knees before you are against the chair in front. Noway to comfortably sit there with your legs extended.

Some people just can't give RW a break, even when he is off the court.



Anyways, Martin has to show up in HOU tomorrow night or Game 7 is going to be tough. Rockets for sure think they can win it now, they have nothing to lose.
One thing to note here, it took Harden to go 7/7 and Garcia 4/6 from 3 early on to even give HOU a comfortable lead. NO chance that happens again. Law of averages - I like our chances tomorrow night.

Okay, guys, I admit it. I know the real reason we lost last night.

Wasn't Westbrook's absence.

It was me.

This was my second Thunder home playoff game ever. We lost the last time I went. And we lost again last night.

It wasn't K-Mart's horrible shooting, or the Thunder's lethargic, often disinterested play, or their dazed and confused offense, or their often nightmarish defense.

So if this does come down to a Game 7 back here in OKC, I feel a lot better about the Thunder's chances as I likely won't have tickets for that one.

(intense sarcasm light off).

Okay, guys, I admit it. I know the real reason we lost last night.

Wasn't Westbrook's absence.

It was me.


You have been watching too much Celtic Pride. If you haven't seen that movie - you should.

I think we finally close it out tonight in HOU, the guys were embarassed the other night in the 'Peake. Many of Thunder players left a lot on the table and will likely make up for it tonight.


Also don't expect Harden to have another lights-out 3 pointer party. That was utterly ridiculous.

EDIT: Harden was diagnosed with strep-throat yesterday evening. And is expected to play tonight. <--- He played his best game in the series with strep... Yea I'm not sure I am buying it.
Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/houstons-harden-diagnosed-strep-throat-214541209--nba.html


Game is @ 8:30 on ESPN.

Grizzlies and Clippers will also be playing at the same time, on ESPN 2.

Well, Harden can't shoot better and Martin can't play any worse. Hopefully as can get it. But there are a lot of other factors too. (For example, KD can't play much better).

If Martin goes even 1-5 and Brooks doesn't replace him with Jeremy Lamb (because, seriosuly, he couldn't d any worse) then something big needs to happen. I have completely given up hope that we will win the next series, I just want to get out of this one so the Harden worshippers will go away.

Brooks has to do a better job too. Why, why why was Collison not in the game at all in the second half? Why was Jackson left wasting away on the bench while the MIA Martin was left in as a big hole in our offense and defense.

In the first half during his 6 minutes of play Collison had 6 points. All of those were cleaning up missed shots. He would have had a feast of garbage to clean up if he had been on the court during the second half.

Brooks has to do a better job too. Why, why why was Collison not in the game at all in the second half? Why was Jackson left wasting away on the bench while the MIA Martin was left in as a big hole in our offense and defense.

In the first half during his 6 minutes of play Collison had 6 points. All of those were cleaning up missed shots. He would have had a feast of garbage to clean up if he had been on the court during the second half.

Brooks reasoning was the Rockets went small and Nick doesn't work into their small rotation. It's Reggie, Martin, Thabo, KD and Serge with Fish and Liggins rotating in.

yeah, let's blame the coach. Good grief people. Losing Westbrook is equivelant to NE losing Tom Brady to begin the playoffs. Difference here is people would not expect the Patriots to make it back to the Super Bowl because we all know how important Brady is. Many around here don't understand just how important Westbrook is to this team. You don't lose an All-Star point guard who runs the show and think everything is going to be just fine. Like I said in another thread, people will soon find out just how important Westbrook is.

yeah, let's blame the coach. Good grief people. Losing Westbrook is equivelant to NE losing Tom Brady to begin the playoffs. Difference here is people would not expect the Patriots to make it back to the Super Bowl because we all know how important Brady is. Many around here don't understand just how important Westbrook is to this team. You don't lose an All-Star point guard who runs the show and think everything is going to be just fine. Like I said in another thread, people will soon find out just how important Westbrook is.

I'm not blaming the coach because K-mart played horribly, I'm blaming him for not taking him out and trying something else when he wasn't hitting his shots.

I cant wait for next season. Particularly next seasons playoffs. That when I will have all of my excitment, confidence, optimism BACK! =(

Guys, guys.... We might actually win this series...

Whew, I am glad that is over.

Yup, and here come the Grizzlies. ( A team we're very familiar with )