Should feel decent about the Rockets with CP3 out, or was that injury only for the game?

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Oklahoma City Thunder 103 - Utah Jazz 89

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975239

Thunder are 10 - 3 in December. Season W-L 18-15 with a 4 game win streak.

Outstanding leadership by Russell Westbrook, Paul George & Carmelo Anthony.

Kudos to Patterson 4-4, Paul George 2-2 & Jerami Grant 2-2 - 100% at the free throw line. Thunder went 13-16 for 81.3%

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Oklahoma City Thunder 112 - Houston Rockets 107

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974448

Thunder stayed focused & increased the streak to five games; no third quarter lows--30 point high, Dre kept Harden at bay and Jerami Grant had an outstanding game. Best non ugly complete game performance by the Thunder this season.

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Oklahoma City Thunder 112 - Houston Rockets 107

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400974448

Thunder stayed focused & increased the streak to five games; no third quarter lows--30 point high, Dre kept Harden at bay and Jerami Grant had an outstanding game. Best non ugly complete game performance by the Thunder this season.

It was a very nice luxury to have both pg13 and roberson focus on Harden.

Don’t look now, but Paul George now leads the league in steals (2.53 per game). Second place belongs to...Russell Westbrook (2.09).

Don’t look now, but Paul George now leads the league in steals (2.53 per game). Second place belongs to...Russell Westbrook (2.09).
Good observation; he's also top 25 in many individual NBA player categories.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=106&v=e1XdQNYU71o
Carmelo Anthony is becoming more consistent in the last 5 games as our Big 3 mesh.

Carmelo is doing a much better job of accepting a role here as a spot-up shooter, which is very different than the style of play that he’s used to. Old dog/new tricks, tiger changing his stripes, whatever you want to call it, I think it says a lot about his teamwork, humility, desire to win with this team, and also about how the catching staff has helped him adapt. It could not have been easy after all of these years, and I think we saw that on court for sure.

You still see flashes of his brilliance in iso, and you don’t want to see that go away completely. He’s one of the all-time greats at that. But for this team to fully leverage the advantage that having Russell Westbrook brings, it’s important for people to check their egos at the door, something Carmelo’s detractors said he’d never do. Glad he’s quietly proving them wrong.

^^^
And this is after Melo volunteered to play the 4 at the beginning of the season. He’s consistently shown the willingness to make sacrifices for the team. He’s a pro’s pro. Still need to figure out some roles (e.g., Patterson, Abrines), but this team seems to be figuring it out a bit. The key is consistency and time will tell...

I was watching the game last night with my cousin who lives in Long Island and is a huge Knicks fan. He said he never liked Melo because he was a black hole in that as soon as the ball got to him, it didn't go anywhere else. He said, if he can accept his role and pass more and not have to be the man on the team, the Thunder will thrive with him.

I was watching the game last night with my cousin who lives in Long Island and is a huge Knicks fan. He said he never liked Melo because he was a black hole in that as soon as the ball got to him, it didn't go anywhere else. He said, if he can accept his role and pass more and not have to be the man on the team, the Thunder will thrive with him.

Yeah, but the Knicks were disastrously constructed. Melo was a pro in New York too, but Phil Jackson’s insistence on running the Triangle and signing old, injured, and ineffective players required Melo to shoulder a huge offensive load. When the Knicks had a decent team they won 54 games. Anyway, Melo should ge a little blame, but he’s largely a scapegoat for a poorly run franchise. Overall, New York fans love Melo.

If the Thunder can have no more than 1 of the Big 3 having an off night you'll see a strong finish by the Thunder with no team wanting to meet them in the playoffs.

Melo has found his niche and the team is playing markedly better. Donovan is now being heard and listened to.

Melo has found his niche and the team is playing markedly better. Donovan is now being heard and listened to.

So does this mean Donovan won’t be fired by the All Star break as some around here predicted or does that prediction still stand?

I don't think you change staff when the their work is just starting to pay off. Anyone who thinks all the team changes weren't traumatic, especially considering the histories of the new players, probably hasn't played a lot of team sports. I think Donovan is secure, at least through this year and until we see which players are with us for next year.

So does this mean Donovan won’t be fired by the All Star break as some around here predicted or does that prediction still stand?

I am still not sure if Donovan is correct for this group in this situation. But like I mentioned a few days ago, winning solves everything. If We can keep stringing together W streaks and get a homecourt seed for the first round, then the season was turned around big time.

Remember, our schedule has been relatively easy thus far. We have an absurd amount of losses to teams that are not just below .500, but are fighting for lottery positions. The flipside is we seem to play really well against good teams. Tonight will be another tough one against TOR, as they are recently on a tear except for losing to Dallas last night. May catch a break by getting them on the end of the B2B.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/normantranscript.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/a/53/a53b6b28-eab2-11e7-bbfb-bf77e0132a3a/5a430dde1d52c.image.png
Thunder unveil 'City' edition uniforms; What are your thoughts?

The Thunder reserves will be key:


Alex Abrines/Terrance Ferguson
Raymond Felton
Josh Huestis
Dakari Johnson/Jerami Grant
Patrick Patterson

ESPN Oklahoma City Thunder Roster: http://www.espn.com/nba/team/roster/_/name/okc/oklahoma-city-thunder

Oklahoma City Thunder 124 - Toronto Raptors 107

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975258

December:


Thunder are 12 wins & 3 losses.

Currently on a 6 game win streak: Home 8 - 1 . . . . Road 4 - 2

http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gif Let's Go Thunder!

Don't look now, but after last night the Thunder has wins against three of the best teams in the NBA. Have to start beating all the crap teams on the schedule now.

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Oklahoma City Thunder 133 - Los Angeles Lakers 96

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975311

Well T Ferg pretty much just removed any hopes Abrines had of getting meaningful minutes, at least for now.

Well T Ferg pretty much just removed any hopes Abrines had of getting meaningful minutes, at least for now.

Yep, although he can't be expected to perform like that for every game. I mean, the guy shot 75% from the field, 67% from 3 for 24 points and had three steals. His previous best game was against Dallas on 11/25 where he had 21 minutes and only seven points, 60% FG shooting.

T-Ferg plays way better defense than Abrines. He and Daniel Hamilton will keep moving past Abrines. Abrines plays defense from behind.... would have to shoot 60% from 3 to make up for his defense.

I can see Abrines on the trade block. It would be a salary dump also. The Knicks wanted him but we gave them McBuckets instead.

T-Ferg plays way better defense than Abrines. He and Daniel Hamilton will keep moving past Abrines. Abrines plays defense from behind.... would have to shoot 60% from 3 to make up for his defense.

If Abrines shot 60% from three he'd be starting and getting 35 minutes a game. Lol. But, yeah, I think Ferguson will get a shot. It's easy to overact to one game so I'm interested to see whether he's ready to be a consistent contributor. I love his defensive intensity, but as he gets more minutes, more teams will take advantage of his slight frame and that could become a defensive liability. In regards to Daniel Hamilton, he absolutely has not passed Abrines in any way. He got garbage time minutes in one game when Abrines was injured, but he did look good yesterday.

I can see Abrines on the trade block. It would be a salary dump also.

I don't see Abrines being on the trade block because his value is so low right now, but the latter could be possible. It's hard to see the Thunder giving up on him already. Remember, Abrines is still only 24. I could still see him developing into a productive rotation player. But with the Thunder paying so much tax, maybe they'd dump him to a young team for an expiring player who could contribute this season.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPfHexAaPZ8
Terrance Ferguson SG #23 had an outstanding night against the Lakers.

^^good stuff. Nice to see him shine!

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Oklahoma City Thunder 127 - Los Angeles Clippers 117

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975313

Well the Suns were on fire, but the lack of defensive effort is really bad with this team. I know we are missing a huge piece in Roberson, but it looked like OKC didn't care about that PHX game.

We now have horrible losses to Orlando, Dallas twice!, Phoenix, New York, Sacramento, Utah, Charlotte. These will come back to haunt OKC in the playoffs when it comes to home court.

We now have horrible losses to Orlando, Dallas twice!, Phoenix, New York, Sacramento, Utah, Charlotte. These will come back to haunt OKC in the playoffs when it comes to home court.

How so? We have some pretty nice home wins too... Anyone remember that Golden State game? How about Houston? How about Toronto? How about Minnesota?

Something I've been wondering..... How much could LaVar Ball being toxic in LA influence Paul George to want to stay here?

The Thunder have the potential to beat anybody. They also have the potential to lose to anybody.

How so? We have some pretty nice home wins too...

Because giving away "should-be" wins to teams that aren't even close to .500 is unacceptable on a regular basis. Sure the random off night is allowable where a tanking team has a player that has a breakout game against us. But the Thunder has a pathetic resume against these bad teams.

You get homecourt advantage in the playoffs based on your record against your opponent. Just think if back in 2016 that OKC hosted WCF game 7 instead of Oracle. The entire NBA landscape would likely be drastically different if we win that game. Home court matters in the West.

Ok... You are right.... Let's just ignore all those home court wins against playoff teams.... They don't matter.

I am not sure you are understanding my original post...

I am not sure you are understanding my original post...

You are probably right as I re-read it now.

We have a terrible record against the Suns for some reason.

I'll go ahead and hammer it home in the event there is a misunderstanding.

It seems like OKC happens to play to the level of their opponent, and have a really bad record against <500 teams.

With how the NBA is perceived, having a losing record against <500 teams will result in no home field advantage in the playoffs if even making it to the playoffs if losing to enough <500 teams.

Yes, the wins against Houston, GSW, and MIN are impressive. OKC is wasting the potential benefits for it though with these losses

I'll go ahead and hammer it home in the event there is a misunderstanding.

It was simply a matter of a dyslexic reading of the word "home".

As of now, OKC looks like it's likely destined for the 4 or 5 spot. It'd be nice to get the 4 seed and play Minnesota with home court advantage, but most series do not come down to a game 7. As long as OKC keeps improving then it's not drastically important whether they're the 3-6 seeds in my opinion. Heck, OKC's best bet might be to drop to the 6 seed and match up against San Antonio in round 1 while avoiding the the Warriors until the Western Conference Finals (assuming they get the 1 seed). As for the 2016 Warriors series that was mentioned above. OKC actually had taken the homecourt advantage from the Warriors and had a series-clinching game at home in game 6 and it didn't matter. It's more important that this OKC team is playing its best ball in the playoffs than it is that they get homecourt advantage IMHO. NBA teams, especially veteran ones, can get wins on the road in the playoffs.

This morning on the radio I heard one of our guys doing an after game interview. I was doing paperwork so I was bit preoccupied and didn’t catch who it was. What did catch my ear was his answer to a question about what went wrong. His answer was “They just played with more intensity than we did”. So wait, you know they were playing harder than you and you couldn’t step it up a notch or 10?

I'll go ahead and hammer it home in the event there is a misunderstanding.

It seems like OKC happens to play to the level of their opponent, and have a really bad record against <500 teams.

With how the NBA is perceived, having a losing record against <500 teams will result in no home field advantage in the playoffs if even making it to the playoffs if losing to enough <500 teams.

Yes, the wins against Houston, GSW, and MIN are impressive. OKC is wasting the potential benefits for it though with these losses

What ? It's strictly won / loss record with implications from the conference you play within. I'm not so sure if division winners means anything against a better record ?

This morning on the radio I heard one of our guys doing an after game interview. I was doing paperwork so I was bit preoccupied and didn’t catch who it was. What did catch my ear was his answer to a question about what went wrong. His answer was “They just played with more intensity than we did”. So wait, you know they were playing harder than you and you couldn’t step it up a notch or 10?

That was Patrick Patterson - stating as a team the Thunder lacked effort.

Thunder looking like their ceiling is a 5-6 seed this season. Another bad performance against a team that doesn't have their best player. I think this might just be who they are.

Our defense of 3 point shooting has to be the worst in the league. At a time when 3 pointers are @ their highest volume ever. #justthunderthings

Roberson, how you feeling?

^^^^^^^
Agreed. My biggest gripe against this team for a while has been defending the three. Any team with ball movement* abuses them and usually ends up with a banner night from behind the arc. Slow on rotations, guys wide open on the wing, slow to nonexistent close-outs.

My other gripe is spotty defensive rebounding. WAY to many easy put-backs and second chance opportunities. Box out! It’s fundamental!

*notable exception vs GSW

Fast side question: we live in Denver and my son wants to know if there was ever any attempt to include the term Thunderdome as part of the Chesapeake Arena name? I don't recall it ever being discussed and it's probably a registered trademark or something.

^ Doubtful. The OKC organization is super boring with all things brand and design related.

OKC loses third straight. Butler and Wiggins cook the team and PG and Melo missed the flight to MIN.

22-20

This is the 2nd worst start in franchise history. (Team is only a decade old, but still)

Fast side question: we live in Denver and my son wants to know if there was ever any attempt to include the term Thunderdome as part of the Chesapeake Arena name?

I'm still holding out hope that when the next group gets naming rights to the arena that it's Sonic so they can call it the Super Sonic Center.

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http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gifOklahoma City Thunder 101 - Charlotte Hornets 91

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975375

It would be tragic to end this season short of making the playoffs; especially when the ownership has gone full throttle to get the best available players on the free agency market and retain Russell Westbrook.


Prediction:
Oklahoma City Thunder 112
Sacramento Kings 97

There should not be any home losses to sub par opponents who are well under .500 starting with Sacramento (last place in the Western Conference).

^ Oh don't worry. I am sure Buddy Hield will have a banner game and hit 6 threes on us.

Kings: have lost 9 of last 11 and are on a 4 game L streak.

OKC: hold my beer.

I’m not predicting a deep run at this point - though still believe they could click after All-Star break and make noise - but it is incredibly unlikely that the Thunder would miss the playoffs.

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http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gifOklahoma City Thunder 95 - Sacramento Kings 88

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975389



Thunder free throws 14-30 (46.7%)

OKC has a good chance to make a push on the 4th seed over the next few weeks. MIN's schedule is very tough and ours is relatively easy, except for maybe playing in Cleveland on Saturday. Depends if Lebron and crew gets their act together by then.

Looking at the standings reveals there is only a 1.5 game difference between 5th and 9th. Between 5th and 4th there is a 4 game difference. Take what you will from this.

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http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gifOklahoma City Thunder 114 - Los Angeles Lakers 90

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975406

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http://www.thunderfans.com/vforum/images/smilies/okc.gifOklahoma City Thunder 148 - Cleveland Cavaliers 124

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975420

Thunder now on a four game win streak.

What the heck just happened??? Did we enter an alternate reality???