Thunder now has best record in the NBA

[Pete]

We beat Boston tonight on the road and the Bulls lost at Memphis, so at 12-2 we now have the best record in the league... And a 7-game winning streak.

Have a bunch of tough games coming up but these guys seem to consistently find a way to win.

[Easy180]

Let's just be thankful the Hornets didn't stay instead lol

[dmoor82]

Awesome Celtics tribute to Perkins.First time back in Boston since the trade!

[Snowman]

Let's just be thankful the Hornets didn't stay instead lol

While we did end up with the better team in the end, the hornets had to shed players after leaving OKC because it was too soon to move them back and keep the level of salaries they had at the time. Also the owners were able to clean up a lot of the mess the team was in before moving them to OKC, we missed out on the two dismal last years of the team being the Sonics (granted several of the years before that were not much better but they were under different owners then), which directly lead to them having so many losses they got #2 pick in Durant the year before the move and #1 pick in Westbrook as they moved. I am not sure if even one of the original coaches was retained from the time the bought the team to the time it was moved two years later.

[dankrutka]

Snowman 50% of what you just typed is completely wrong. Starting with your analysis of the Hornets salary situation (they could afford players, but made bad decisions by giving crappy players huge contracts) to when Westbrook was picked (#4) to no coaches being retained (Carlesimo was the coach in both Seattle and to start in OKC). Are you just completely guessing?

[dankrutka]

Cool tribute to Perk by Celtics fans. Very classy.

Great win tonight, but this team still has a lot to work on to seriously contend for a championship. It's a good sign they're winning while not playing their best though.

[Snowman]

Snowman 50% of what you just typed is completely wrong. Starting with your analysis of the Hornets salary situation (they could afford players, but made bad decisions by giving crappy players huge contracts) to when Westbrook was picked (#4) to no coaches being retained (Carlesimo was the coach in both Seattle and to start in OKC). Are you just completely guessing?

Westbrook I apparently was remembering wrong, the ticket sales did went down for the Hornets after they went back which should hit some other BRI as well. Carlesimo was hired a year after they bought the team.

[Laramie]

The NBA season is early and our OKC Thunder players are young. The attention this team is now getting will only add to the expectations of another banner year.

The Thunder appear to be a team with a lot of potential and promise to continue to excel. Let's hope we don't attract the type of attention that the Miami Heat did when Wade-James-Bosh trio put the bullseye taget on their backs. The last time the Thunder played the Heat in Miami, they played an outstanding game in their defeat of the Heat at the American Airlines Arena.

All signs point toward a successful season for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Let's get behind our team!

[dankrutka]

Lost to the worst team in the NBA tonight. OKC has been getting close wins with a lot of flaws... despite their exceptional record, there's a lot of improvement to be made still with this team.

Miami has received such a negative because of the way they were put together. The Thunder were put together the opposite way. They'll never be treated the same, but the better you get the more scrutiny that will come...

[ljbab728]

Obviously the higher the expections the more scrutiny you get. There are no gimmes in the NBA. You have to bring it every night and even that doesn't mean you're going to win against the worst team. The best teams still end up on top even if they get there different ways.

[ljbab728]

The talking heads at TNT all said recently that they would favor the Lakers over OKC. Anything is possible but I wonder if they have noticed that the Lakers have now lost three in a row and are 10 - 8. The Lakers are capable of beating any team in a series but I doubt that Vegas would bank on it.

[dankrutka]

The Lakers are always dangerous although Pau's recent decline in play along with Bynum's inconsistency, and no bench... I think OKC takes them. There are other teams that worry me more.

[Pete]

The loss of Phil Jackson is HUGE for the Lakers. They probably won't even win their division this year.

Miami still looks like the team to beat but the Bulls are very strong as well.


This is probably the season the guard really starts to change in the NBA... Where the younger teams like Chicago and the Thunder overtake aging teams like the Lakers and Mavericks.

[Snowman]

The talking heads at TNT all said recently that they would favor the Lakers over OKC. Anything is possible but I wonder if they have noticed that the Lakers have now lost three in a row and are 10 - 8. The Lakers are capable of beating any team in a series but I doubt that Vegas would bank on it.

There will be at least a couple talking heads that will play to the larger markets as long as the team is not totally out of contention.

[MDot]

Thunder are tied with the Bulls again for the best record in the NBA after the Thunder won tonight and the Bulls lost to Indiana at about the same time the Thunder game ended.

[ljbab728]

Thunder are tied with the Bulls again for the best record in the NBA after the Thunder won tonight and the Bulls lost to Indiana at about the same time the Thunder game ended.

With 8 of the next 9 games on the road that may be hard to sustain but we'll be happy with it for now anyway.

[ljbab728]

There will be at least a couple talking heads that will play to the larger markets as long as the team is not totally out of contention.

It may become difficult to keep playing to the Laker market if their trend continues. They are now 11-9 including 1-7 on the road. Not impressive. They could be in danger of not making the playoffs if that continues. They are currently 9th in the West in winning percentage.

[MikeOKC]

The loss of Phil Jackson is HUGE for the Lakers. They probably won't even win their division this year.

Miami still looks like the team to beat but the Bulls are very strong as well.


This is probably the season the guard really starts to change in the NBA... Where the younger teams like Chicago and the Thunder overtake aging teams like the Lakers and Mavericks.

The change is startling even in their own division. As of today, 01-28-12, the CLIPPERS lead the Pacific division. L.A. hearts are being torn for the first time in how long? With Griffin & Paul, the Clippers have a good chance of being the team of the future in SoCal with kids growing up with one darn exciting basketball team. That must take some getting used to out there.

[Snowman]

It may become difficult to keep playing to the Laker market if their trend continues. They are now 11-9 including 1-7 on the road. Not impressive. They could be in danger of not making the playoffs if that continues. They are currently 9th in the West in winning percentage.

Their best chance is having a better record than the Clippers, since someone has to win the Pacific division which gets an invite even if not in the top eight of the West. The Kings, Warriors and Suns do not seem likely to do so this year.

The change is startling even in their own division. As of today, 01-28-12, the CLIPPERS lead the Pacific division. L.A. hearts are being torn for the first time in how long? With Griffin & Paul, the Clippers have a good chance of being the team of the future in SoCal with kids growing up with one darn exciting basketball team. That must take some getting used to out there.

The Lakers have much better management and finances, I would be surprised if they do not have legitimate playoff team in three to five years. The question is are the Clippers going to turn around how they run the team over the long term.

[Pete]

The Lakers can (and probably will) just go out and buy a superstar or two.

They are already talking about getting Kevin Love from Minnesota.

[Bellaboo]

The Lakers can (and probably will) just go out and buy a superstar or two.

They are already talking about getting Kevin Love from Minnesota.

Love just signed a 4 year contract extension with the Wolves, but it does have some kind of opt out, just not sure what it is.

[betts]

Love can opt out his fourth year. He added the opt out clause because Minnesota wouldn't give him a 5 year contract, rumor has it. There are always lots of silly trade rumors out there.



www.okcthunderfans.com

[jn1780]

Speaking of Clippers, it looks like their going to kill the Thunder tonight.

[ljbab728]

Speaking of Clippers, it looks like their going to kill the Thunder tonight.

Yes, that's why I mentioned them earlier as one of the challenges on the Thunder's current road schedule.

[OKCisOK4me]

Speaking of Clippers, it looks like their going to kill the Thunder tonight.

Yes, our team blew up a "we suck" floatie and used it swimmingly to tread water at the Staples Center last night! They'll learn from it. I doubt that even if we had had Thabo, there would have been a W. Clippers are that good.