OKC Thunder 2013 - 2014

[warreng88]

I'm talking about the second part, the Clippers...

I am too. I was referencing Urbanized post:

Those games were aberrations. Over the past couple of seasons OKC has owned the Mavs, and I really don't see that changing. Clippers though...

I know we split the season with them and I think it would go a full seven games if we were to meet them in the second round.

[Laramie]

Good chance the Thunder will be playing the Dallas Mavericks...

So, get your pillows to Dallas!

Wed, Nov 6 vs. Dallas; Thunder Win 107-93. Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - Box Score - November 06, 2013 - ESPN

Sun, Mar 16 vs. Dallas; Thunder Loss 109-86 (without Westbrook) Dallas Mavericks vs. Oklahoma City Thunder - Box Score - March 16, 2014 - ESPN

Tue, Mar 25 @ Dallas; Thunder Loss 128-119 OT Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Dallas Mavericks - Box Score - March 25, 2014 - ESPN

Let's see what the Mavericks can do against the Thunder in a best of seven series.

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[dankrutka]

Why Dallas? We'll play the winner of the Memphis-Dallas game being played tomorrow night.... in Memphis. The Grizzlies will certainly be favored to win at home.

I hope Dallas wins though. I'd rather play them.

[Anonymous.]

Pretty cool that they are both tied at 7th and 8th, and their last game is against each other. NBA is awesome.

OKC just needs to take care of business tomorrow and we are good. However, I doubt the Clips beat both DEN and POR tonight and tomorrow.

[OKCretro]

Has game 1 time and date been leaked yet? usually game 1 gets leaked before the whole series is announced?

[warreng88]

Has game 1 time and date been leaked yet? usually game 1 gets leaked before the whole series is announced?

One of my coworkers has season tickets and she said she got sent an e-mail that is was going to be on Saturday with the time yet to be announced. The Bleacher report is saying there are four games on Saturday: 3, 5:30, 8 and 10:30. My guess would be the Clippers/Warriors game would be at 10:30 and anyone of the Eastern conference games in the 3:00pm slot. That would leave the 5:30 and 8:00 slots available. I know I would prefer the 8:00 game, but on a Saturday, that could very easily go to the Bulls/Nets which is the largest market match up in the first round of the playoffs.

[Laramie]

Why Dallas? We'll play the winner of the Memphis-Dallas game being played tomorrow night.... in Memphis. The Grizzlies will certainly be favored to win at home.

I hope Dallas wins though. I'd rather play them.

Marc Stein's NBA Power Rankings - ESPN Video - ESPN


Thanks for the correction: I jumped the gun, dankrutka

It's going to be tough for Dallas to beat Memphis four straight with the last two being in Memphis.

Dallas (49-32) vs. Memphis (49-32) (Dallas leads series 3-0)

Nov. 2 @ Dallas 119-111 Dallas +8
Dec. 18 @ Dallas 105-91 Dallas +14
Feb. 5 @ Memphis 110-96 Dallas +14

Dallas & Memphis probably want to avoid San Antonio; Spurs have won all four against Dallas & Memphis

Spurs vs. Dallas 116-107 . . . . . 112-90 . . . . . 112-106 . . . . . & . . . . . 109-98
Spurs vs. Memphis 101-94 . . . . 102-86 . . . . . 110-108 OT . . . & . . . . . 119-92

Links: Dallas Mavericks 2014 Schedule - Mavericks Home and Away - ESPN

San Antonio Spurs 2014 Schedule - Spurs Home and Away - ESPN

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[Urbanized]

If it's Dallas I will only go to a game there if I am really needed (ie, lost home-court advantage, down in series, etc). My best friend and I have been there five times now for Mavs-Thunder games, including playoffs, including the Mavs' championship season, and including when the Thunder stunk, and we are undefeated. We have now decided that we won't jinx them by going to an unimportant game.

[dankrutka]

Yeah, I'm hoping it's Dallas as I'll probably be able to make a game in both cities. And I think we'll beat the Mavs in 5 or 6.

[OKCretro]

I hope it's Dallas just so I can sell my extra tickets for more money

[Dustin]

"Definitely. No quesiton"- James Harden on if money wasn't a factor would he still be in OKC

Harden: Money was the deciding factor in leaving OKC | Daily Thunder.com

[Mel]

That was a squeaker.

[Pete]

Wow, was that first lead of the game??

Good thing to not be going into the playoffs on a 3-game losing streak.

Nice fight back! Now, let's get ready for the playoffs!!

[ljbab728]

Wow, was that first lead of the game??

Good thing to not be going into the playoffs on a 3-game losing streak.

Nice fight back! Now, let's get ready for the playoffs!!

They were putting up banners and getting the area around the arena ready today.

[Anonymous.]

Here we go. Glad we got Grizz over Mavs. Mavs may actually challenge Spurs a bit.


Game 1:

MEM at OKC | Sat., Apr. 19, 9:30 PM ET | ESPN



Game 2:

MEM at OKC | Mon., Apr. 21, 8:00 PM ET | TNT



Game 3:

OKC at MEM | Thu., Apr. 24, 8:00 PM ET | TNT



Game 4:

OKC at MEM | Sat., Apr. 26, 9:30 PM ET | ESPN



Game 5:

MEM at OKC | Tue., Apr. 29 | If Needed



Game 6:

OKC at MEM | Thu., May 1 | If Needed



Game 7:

MEM at OKC | Sat., May 3 | TNT | If Needed

[dankrutka]

Mavs may actually challenge Spurs a bit.

I'd like to see it, but the Spurs absolutely own the Mavs. They've taken 9 straight over a few seasons. I think the Spurs win in 5, but I hope the Mavs give them a series.

[Teo9969]

OKC gets the Dallas pick in the draft at the best slot possible #21. So the Thunder now have some combination of the 21/29/30 pick in the first round (the 30 in place of either pick should either team win the championship). Realistically, Dallas has no shot to win it all so it will be 21 + 29/30. OKC does NOT have a 2nd round pick in this year's draft.

Remember, Reggie was the #24 pick in what has turned out to be a pretty unspectacular draft (looking through that list, there may be 4 players at most that I think are unquestionably better than Reggie).

Next year's current Depth Chart looks like this:

5 - 12 - 34
9 - 4
35 - 3
21/11
0 - 15

With 10 roster spots taken already + Thabeet's $1.2M contract that's non-guaranteed, OKC for sure needs 2 more players to meet the 13 minimum. They are currently at $69.89M. Sefolosha may take one of those positions, I think it depends on how he does in the playoffs and what he wants financially. I can't see OKC giving him more than $5M and that's only if he plays fantastic in the playoffs. I think Derek Fisher is done after this year, but not sure about Butler (if OKC would even want him).

Beyond re-signing current players not under contract, OKC has quite a variety of options to add depth to the squad. No question the playoffs will be important in deciding the exact outcome.

Players with the most on the line in this order:

Reggie Jackson
Thabo Sefolosha
Jeremy Lamb
PJ III

Nobody else has a realistic chance of being on another team next season.

How good Presti has been as a General Manager is still up for debate, but for sure he keeps it interesting more than just about any other GM. The amount of flexibility that OKC has right now is incredible for a team that is chasing titles. Most teams chasing titles have given up a decent amount of draft picks, don't have many bird rights, and have older players on contracts that people are rightly skeptical of.

The next 6 months are going to be 10x more interesting than the previous 6.

[warreng88]

I would love to see them bundle them together with maybe PJ3 to trade up to the top 15 maybe the top 10. Not sure who we would want but I always trust Presti.

[Urbanized]

Apparently after Detroit clanked the game-winner last night and confetti was coming from the rafters they quickly swung a camera for a crowd shot and got a close-up of me high-fiving everyone in my section like a goof. Good times.

[Laramie]

I'd like to see it, but the Spurs absolutely own the Mavs. They've taken 9 straight over a few seasons. I think the Spurs win in 5, but I hope the Mavs give them a series.

Maybe the Mavericks can extend this series with the Spurs to five or six games. Coach Popovich would love to knock the Mavs out in four; this would allow him to rest his team for the next series. These old Spurs are surviving on a cocktail of Geritol, Centrum Silver & Viagra.

Let's hope that the Thunder emerges as the WC Champion to take on any beast in the East (Brooklyn, Indiana or Miami).

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[Urbanized]

Just got a text from NewsOK that George Kaiser has purchased a minority interest in the Thunder. Interesting development.

[BoulderSooner]

Just got a text from NewsOK that George Kaiser has purchased a minority interest in the Thunder. Interesting development.

He bought tom wards interest in the team

[Pete]

George Kaiser buys Thunder stake | News OK

[Laramie]

Day one of the 2014 NBA playoffs have been tough for the home teams:

Eastern Conference
Brooklyn Nets 94 @ Toronto Raptors 87
Atlanta Hawks 101 @ Indiana Pacers 93

Western Conference
Golden State Warriors 109 @ LA Clippers 105
Memphis Grizzlies @ Oklahoma City Thunder

"Oklahoma City looks oh-so pretty... ...as I get my kicks on Route 66." --Nat King Cole.

[ljbab728]

The Thunder don't seem to be following that trend so far.