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They looked sharp out there today. Thunder swag!!
wolves destroy okc tonight
DirkOriginally Posted by Michael Knight
solid win last night. took care of a decent magic team, and perk did a good job of neutralizing howard inside. liked how westbrook seemed to be making a noticeable attempt to play PG instead of SG. still too many turnovers, but he had some good-looking assists in there (specifically the bounce pass on the break). trying to not let my hopes get too high, but i don't think there's a team in the west that can beat the thunder in a playoff series. the shortened season will help the spurs, and i think they'll be legit conference contenders, but i don't think the mavs, lakers, clippers, and nuggets will be true threats.
the heat, on the other hand, looked $#@!ing scary.
It's cause Dirk is white right? I mean you love Colt Mccoy and Jordan Shipley , but not Vince Young and Roy Williams.
unreal
Is this bull$#@! true?
stay the $#@! off this thread then. $#@!.
Always like these T-Wolves games because I really enjoy the Love-machine's game. If there were one player in the league I would put on the Thunder to compliment KD/Russ... it'd be Kevin Love.
KD goes off tonight. Thunder win. Kind of excited to watch the game tonight to see how rubio does. The match up of him vs. Westbrook should be a good one
JJ Barea is on my top 5 all time of players under 6'. What a balla! Cuban screwed up but letting him go.
We ended up winning the game but i dont like how we ended the game. Need to close off game better and get the ball into the hands of our best player. KD. Well we are 2-0 starting off the season on the right foot.
not gonna win many when the other team misses only 2 ft's, and you go 3-21 from 3 pt range...rickys the man tho, made some very nice 1 handed bounce passes tonight
Ridnour got the treatment.
i hate luke rinour. that was an awesome cross over that ruined my least favorite twolves ankles. too bad he was good healthy enough to come back in the 3rd to let okc build up a double digit league since hes worthless
End our back-to-back-to-back at Memphis... this will be a tough win to get tonight.
I know it's only 2 games, but I don't like what I'm seeing from Westbrook as a PG so far this season. He received tons of criticism in the playoffs for not being a good distributor, and it looks like his mindset didn't change in the offseason as he still looks to shoot too often. 14 turnovers in two games is ridiculous. I like Russ a lot, but c'mon, man.
KD looks stronger and better. Surprise!
Ibaka off to a rough start.
Harden is a better fit with KD compared to Westbrook.
OKC has got to be the favorite to get the #1 seed in the Western Conference. Roster stability and their youth are huge advantages in a shortened season.
@Memphis is Wednesday (NBAtv), followed by Dallas on Thursday night (TNT).
Their 3-day stretch (I think all teams must have one) is from Jan. 6-8 (Hou, @Hou, and SA).
They play five games in the first seven days. 3-2, I thought, would have been acceptable.
westbrook is a $#@!face. i dont like him. he elbows every time he touches the ball to create separation and he takes durants shots. durant was def smooth last night, that up and under he had against darko was sick. love him, homo.
Yeah, thought today was the 28th... oops. Good to get a rest before the Memphis game... they are going to be jacked up for it.
Great win tonight. KD was on fire in the second half and hit a clutch fadeaway jumper to ice the game. Westbrook went 0-13 from the field, and he's been terrible in OKC's first 3 games this season.
Also, this happened.
http://newsok.com/thunder-notebook-r...stom_click=rssRussell Westbrook let his emotions get the best of him Wednesday night, and it led to an altercation with Kevin Durant on the bench during a second-quarter timeout.
Westbrook never recovered and finished with arguably the worst performance of his career, scoring just four points on 0-for-13 shooting with six assists, three rebounds and four turnovers.
Westbrook's frustration appeared to have started with just 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the second quarter when he drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to Thabo Sefolosha in the corner. Sefolosha passed up a wide open 3-pointer, which prompted Westbrook to yell at Sefolosha “shoot the (expletive) ball.”
Sefolosha and other teammates, including Durant and center Kendrick Perkins attempted to calm Westbrook down immediately during an ensuing trip to the free throw line. But the emotions spilled over to the bench one minute later.
Durant appeared to again settle Westbrook, but Westbrook appeared to take exception to how Durant delivered his message. The two began shouting at each other and had to be separated.
Durant patted Westbrook on the head when the two took the court out of the timeout, and the two seemed to communicate well throughout the rest of the game.
“We’re going to disagree sometimes, like I’ve always been saying,” Durant said. “But I’m behind him 110 percent, and he’s the same way with me. And you seen when we came on the floor we clicked and everything started to work from there.”
Westbrook was not available for comment after the game. He appeared to have exited the locker room before the media entered.
Stop being a little bitch, Russ.
If at anytime you find yourself in an argument with Kevin, check yourself.
I can't get a good read here. Russ may either be a hothead, which is something other teams have and will continue to win with. Or he could be a full-blown cancer, which would be bad and implicates immediate trade talk to remove him from the organization in exchange for something else of equal value.
You've also been a Rockets fan, right Hank? You've probably followed a pro team longer than I have because my experience have only included the Thunder and the brief stint with the Hornets. Is sideline jawing between a hothead player and an MVP candidate destructive? Or is it the natural effect of two motivated players who care? Basically - is it something OKC cannot and ought not try to work with?
westbrook is a bitch, plain and simple.
really wish they could have worked out a westbrook for paul trade.
I'm no basketball expert, but yes I'm a lifelong Rockets fan that also follows KD and the Thunder closely. Westbrook and Durant can co-exist because KD is mature enough to handle the bull$#@!. And when you're winning these little spats don't mean much. But what happens when there's another dust up during a losing streak? Westbrook acts extremely selfish at a position where being the exact opposite is crucial.
Russ is an incredibly gifted player with a brain full of dog$#@!. He had some poor performances in the playoffs last year, and he didn't respond well to the criticism. So instead of maturing and learning from his mistakes during the long offseason, he's come out and played like the "bad" Westbrook in 3 straight games. I don't think this issue is that big of a deal...right now. We'll see. The fact that "OKC needs to trade Westbrook" is even being uttered by fans and sports writers is enough reason to address RW's mental issues now. The problem might be blown out of proportion, but it's still a problem.
That said, I think Presti and the organization are pretty happy with RW and will sign him to an extension. I believe an argument could be made that OKC would be better with a more traditional point guard. $#@!, I'd trade Lowry, Scola and whatever else OKC wanted for Westbrook. Russ is worth the risk for my Rockets who severely lack star power. I love Kyle Lowry and think he'd be a great fit with OKC. It would obviously would never happen.
Last edited by Hank Kingsley; 12-29-2011 at 12:48 AM.
Great win tonight.
Edit: On Westbrook, I saw a trade machine deal on ESPN that had a trade scenario of Westbrook/Ibaka for Howard. I'd do that in an instant, and have Maynor run the show. Stick Collison at the 4 and find a FA PF to back him up. KD+Dwight = RINGZ
Last edited by Sooner; 12-29-2011 at 01:03 AM.
$#@! that noise. Give me Westbrook/Ibaka over Howard all day. Westbrook can be an elite distributor when he wants to be, is probably the 2nd most athletic PG in the NBA, is a legit 6'4", and can shoot the hell out o some free throws. With D Howard you get the same defense as Ibaka, only now you have a starting lineup that features Thabo Sefalosha and Eric Maynor as your starting guards. I know a lot of people here hate on Westbrook, but he's just an emotional guy, and anyone who's ever played basketball has known someone who always got a little too heated on the court. This is a non issue. I can guarantee you 100% that whatever little argument they had tonight has been forgotten. It happens in every NBA locker room, pretty requently. Guys have disagreements, who gives a $#@!. In OKC you have a young and ridiculously talented core in RW, Harden, and KD, surrounded by some really good role players (Thabo with hi D and 3's, Perkins and Ibaka with D and rebounds, Maynor as a solid backup, etc, etc). Why would you mess that chemistry up just to get another superstar? it doesnt make sense team wise. Those guys have all stuck up ffor Westbrook countless times, they obviously like the guy. Sending him away for anything that isnt an upgrade at PG (ie Deron Williams, CP3, etc) makes zero sense.
agree with DD above, RW needs to be a 2 though obviously and karma will come to OKC. This is the same problem with Miami/Lebron who is not a PG or Point Forward in the mold of a Larry Legend. Let someone qualified run the offense.
Good posts. From my experience watching sports, sideline spats that are combined with a player's on-court struggles generally tend to be ominous signs of inner-organization dysfunction. This is not the case when the organization genuinely supports its players by entrusting in him their view that he's a key part of their core and chemistry.
Russ has become one of the game's most fascinating personalities. Before last season's playoffs, he had the reputation of being a fun-loving, almost childlike person off court. At the All-Star event, he seemed to have a blast with the challenges and competing for the kids. In this community, people don't see him as a primadonna (like KryptoNate, or Daequan Cook when he first joined). Now, he's fast gained the reputation for being a ball hog, selfish, a poor decisionmaker (which ought to be a death knell for a point guard), and a ticking timebomb. He needs to temper his emotions, because it's something that has caused him to bump heads with his teammates.
Before the Perkins trade, Westbrook was productively one of the top players in the league. Not just at point guard, but all players. Last December, he got off to a hot start, averaging 24 points, 9 assts, and 5 rebs. In January, he averaged 23.5, 9.5, and 5.8. He was shooting at around the same rate he is now (~17 shots per game). The assists decreased after the Perkins trade when the Thunder gave up a reliable pick-and-pop player (Krstic) and another guy Russ liked to find in transition or to shoot a spot-up jumper (Green). I think he lost about 2-3 assists per game from that trade when Perkins, Ibaka, and Sefalosha became entrenched into the starting lineup; all three at times may be nonfactors offensively, and I can see how that hurts a point guard running half-court sets. The offense has looked better in the third quarter when Russ is on the floor with Cook and Harden, then when the starting 5 begins the game. I think he's overcompensated the lack of on-court offensive threats by trying to take the game into his own hands too often, letting his shooting regress, and his emotions get the best of him.
This is probably what keeps the trade talk to die down each time it comes up. KD is a candid and mature presence. Perkins is much smarter than his on-court persona would reflect, and the guy understands team dynamics from winning an NBA title and earning the locker room trust of two teams. Both of them support Westbrook. He's still a young guy (23).
If Russ were a true cancer, I think his BS would have been intolerable a while back. OTOH, if Kendrick Perkins is calming you down, then you probably need to check your emotions.
In summary: he needs to make smarter basketball plays (improve the A/TO ratio and his shot selection) and control his emotional bursts (not dispel it, just control it). These were things we knew after the playoffs, but acknowledged that his reward had, up to that point, outweighed his risks.
Last edited by Messi; 12-29-2011 at 08:58 AM.
Im frustrated with the coach here. Russ is a sg, harden a pg, seph 6 man. Why cant they roll out that lineup?
Thabo gets the start based on his D alone...and to me he should. Him being a 6th man wouldn't give any spark to the 2nd unit, and Harden has the ability to handle the game while KD and/or WB are sitting.
I agree, but we are at a point where Harden needs 35 min pg. He had 28 last night which is inexcusable.
And Derka, I would have to think long and hard about trading RW. A guy like Howard or Kevin Love would be the only way I let him go.
And Ibaka has started really slow this year. It kind of has me worried.
Last edited by Sooner; 12-29-2011 at 12:27 PM.
Russ is NOT a shooting guard. He has the mentality of a 2, but he still needs the ball in his hands to create and score. His outside shot is still below average.
Harden is a combo guard. He's a scorer with good passing ability. Not a PG. Harden still comes off the bench because it's better for their rotations. So far this year Brooks brings in JH around the 3 minute mark of the 1st and 3rd quarters, and he usually plays the whole 2nd and 4th quarters. That adds up to around 30 minutes which right now is fine. There's a 3-4 minute period during the beginning of the 2nd/4th q where JH is the main scoring option(KD and RW on the bench) and he's been great.
Thabo's defense is overrated at this point. KD really wanted Battier to sign with OKC in the offseason, and that's because Shane's a better version of what Thabo can do. That said, Harden should still come off the bench for reasons stated above.
I think Russ is drunk tonight
Our 2nd team is so $#@!ing sick.
Serge Ibaka would beat the $#@! out o Vince Carter's old ass.
OK I amend what I said earlier: Russell Westbrook is DEFINITELY the 2nd most athletic PG in the league, and he may be every bit the athlete that D Rose is. That and 1 dunk was unbelievable.
He is a flat out monster! I just wish he closes every game like this! It would free up shots for KD.
I agree. Serge has the African pride and would beat Carter's ass to the ground.
How the $#@! does Serge not get another FT? Dirk jumped out into the lane and then jumped back, totally $#@!ing up Ibaka's rhythm. That was clear as $#@!ing day!
and thats exactly why that was $#@!ing bull$#@!. What a $#@!ing hose job. Complete horse $#@!.
Hats off to Dirk for being a popular, white, NBA vet. No way in $#@! Joey Crawford was blowing his whistle despite the obvious as $#@! lane violation by Dirk. God I hope KD wins this $#@!er right now.
Boom.
wow KD
Wow. Durant for the win. Nothing but net.
SUCK MY $#@!ING $#@! EVERYONE! HAHAHAHAHA $#@! YOU MAVS, $#@! YOU JOEY CRAWFORD. hahahahaha
holy sheet
money
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