Game 3 Pregame: Timberwolves at Thunder

At last, a winnable game. Really, if you're the Thunder, I don't want to say "must-win," but it would definitely be a disappointment if you didn't. I mean, the T-Wolves at home? If you can't win this game, what can you win? In the NBA, nothing is for certain, but you have to like your chances tonight.

Backstory: Unsurprisingly enough, the Thunder remain winless all-time in significant games. The sloppy play from the preseason seemed to carry over to the regular season. But Thunder fans, please don't be disappointed. We all know this team sucks. It's not about wins and loses though. It's about NBA basketball in OKC. So sit back tonight at the Ford Center, grab a beer, soda, hot dog, pizza, whatever, and thank Mick Cornett for bringing us a team.

Match-Ups:
Earl Watson vs. Randy Foye
Edge: Watson
This is a close match-up, neither player putting up the kind of numbers that absolutely blow you away. Earl Watson is at home, so I gave him the edge. There are times, really, where he looks pretty good. Neither of these point guards would be starting on a play-off team though, so definitely a lack-luster match-up.

Kevin Durant vs. Rashad McCants
Edge: KDKD is the better scorer (though McCants is second on the 'Wolves in scoring thus far this season) and should be a handful against Rashad defensively, so I think this is a pretty decisive edge.

Jeff Green vs. Mike Miller
Edge: Miller
Well, if it were the Mike Miller of three or four years ago, this wouldn't even be close. Still, Mike's still got game and Jeff Green is arguably one of the weakest Thunder starters.

Nick Collison vs. Al Jefferson
Edge: Big Al
OK, so apparently Wilcox is coming off the bench this season. I guess I can live with that. Even if he was starting, I seriously doubt that he'd be able to beat Big Al out for the power forward match-up. This guy is for real. If he were in L.A., he'd be Andrew Bynum.

Johan Petro vs. Kevin Love
Edge: Love
He's only played a few games, but has been pretty efficient in them. Averaging 10 points and 6 boards, plus a danger from downtown. Plus, does Petro really win at anything in life?

Battle of the Benches
Edge: Thunder
Now that Wilcox isn't starting, the bench is much more solidified. Desmond Mason and Russ Westbrook give you good energy players off the bench at nearly every position.

Coaching and Intangibles
Edge: Thunder
Props to my boyz in the Ford Center. Just keep doin what your doin.

Player to Watch: I say watch Earl Watson. He plays inconsistently, but I have a hunch he'll do well tonight. At least he'd better do well, or we'll have a hard time capturing victory.

Predicted Result: Thunder 88 Timberwolves 85

Game 2 Pre-Game: Thunder at Rockets

After being easily handeled by the Bucks, OKC hopes to rebound against the Rockets tonight, a task much easier said than done. Still, the NBA is where amazing happens, so don't rule it out. Likewise though...don't get your hopes up. This team is far superior to our own, and arguably one of the best in the league.

Backstory: Despite a full Ford Center, the Thunder were not able to punctuate opening night with a victory. Maybe the Thunder will turn out to be one of those road warrior teams that finds comfort in foreign arenas. OK, wishful thinking perhaps, but you never know. It would be wonderful if the first ever Thunder regular season victory was tonight in Houston. Being realitic though, we may have to wait untill Minnesota comes to town...or Boston!

Match-Ups:
Rafer Alston vs. Earl Watson
Edge: Alston
In my opinion, the street ball legend has the decisive offensive edge over Watson. Also, because his supporting cast is so much more talented, Alston doesn't need to concern himself as much with actually running the team and can spend more time making sure he contributes when needed.


Tracy McGrady vs. Kevin Durant
Edge: TMac
Let's not get ahead of ourselves now. Durant may be the team's best player, but he's no Tracy McGrady. TMac is usually, except when the Lakers are in town, the best shooting guard on the court. Tonight is no exception.

Ron Artest vs. Jeff Green
Edge: Artest
Another ridiclous match-up. Ron Artest is a proven defender, scorer, all-star, and fan puncher. Nothing about Jeff Green is proven. Some people (Jim Traber) say that there's all star potential in Green. Still, others question whether he should even be starting. Tonight should tell us a lot about who's right.

Luis Scola vs. Chris Wilcox
Edge: Weezy
Hey, I don't even know if Wilcox is going to start tonight...but he should be. At times he's the best player on the team, and if he plays to potential, which I'm optimistic (as always) that he will, he should easily outperfrom the overshadowed Scola.

Yao Ming vs. Nick Collison
Edge: YaoDon't make me laugh. Nothing against Collison, but he's not even tall for a power forward. At center, and against Yao Ming no less? Pfft, there will be times where he may as well not even be there defensively.

Battle of the Benches
Edge: Rockets Bench
It's not even close. Rockets bench could give Thunder starters a good game. Shane Battier, Steve Francis, and Bobby Jackson off the pine? What do we got? DMase? Petro? Joe Smith masquerading as Rip Hamilton? Not really even comparable.

Coaching and Intangibles
Edge: Rockets
Both Adelman and Carlesimo are former Portland and Golden State coaches. Adelman, though, has made it to the Finals, where Carlesimo has never made it out of the first round. Then again, neither has McGrady. This isn't the playoffs though, so Rockets should coast.

Player to Watch: If you include the preseason, he's been a steady performer all season. So, no reason not to go with ole' relaible once more. Don't know why he didn't start the last game, not really a good reason. If P.J. sits him again, the fans won't be happy, not to mention Wilcox, who already has motivational problems.

Predicted Result: Rockets 110 Thunder 91

Thunder Day has Arrived: Game 1: Thunder vs. Bucks

Game Time, Bucks

Projected Starting Lineups:
Johan Petro C Andrew Bogut
Chris Wilcox PF Charlie Villanueva
Jeff Green SF Richard Jefferson
Kevin Durant SG Michael Redd
Earl Watson PG Luke Ridnour

Just as there was a "Teal Day" on the day of season opener of the Hornets, there is now a "Thunder Day today on the day of the Season Opener of the Thunder.

Teal Day featured Hugo in a Santa Claus suit, leading Ben and I to name him "Teal Claus".

But for this season opener, I doubt that there will be any winning gifts.

We prepare for a matchup with a extremely good Bucks starting lineup that has absolutely no bench. While most people are predicting that this team will finish near the bottom of the East, I and my good friend, Zach DiSchiano, think that this team is playoff worthy.

The key difference in this game will be Michael Redd. If he can get hot from 3 point range, then it's all over. Our extreme 3-point ineptitude will kill us vs. a team that shoots it well.

Richard Jefferson will struggle in this game. He's a guy who loves to slash to the hoop. He'll most likely be guarded by Kevin Durant, and on top of that he'll have to get over our our plethora of big men. He mostly thrives against smaller teams. Expect to see a lot of free throw attempts.

The main battle in this game will undoubtedly be in the low post. The Thunder have a lot of offensive minded big guys, like Wilcox and Collison who will face other offensively minded big guys, like Bogut and Villanueva. There will undoubtedly be a lot of low-post scoring on both ends, with the Thunder probably haveing a slight advantage.

The key to this game for the Thunder is tiring the Bucks out. The backups, sans Ramon Sessions, really stink. The Thunders big advantage is that for every big man that goes down, we've got 2 more ready to pick up where he left off almost as well. The Bucks only have the super-old Francisco Elson and the super-average Malik Allen. If we can keep our big men fresh for most of the game, I can forsee a Thunder Victory.

The key for the Bucks is to remember to be a cohesive unit. Ridnour, Jefferson, and mch of their bench are new acquisitions. They might have a little bit of trouble meshing together as a cohesive unit and gameplan. The first game of the season is the easiest time for a new team to fall apart, so they've got to stick together.

All gameplans aside, there will be some "celebs" returning to the Ford Center.

Luke Ridnour:
Our long lost Point Guard who clearly didn't want to go to Oklahoma City. Personally, I don't mind as we got Joe Smith and Desmond Mason out of the deal, but some fans might be sour. I doubt we hear more than a couple of boos, but it's something to watch for.

Kelvin Sampson:
The former University of Oklahoma basketball coach who moved to Indiana University and called his recruits one too many times. After doing it once and recieving a slap on the wrist, he did it again, and was fired. He was shortly re-hired as a coach with the Bucks. This totally ruins his formerly all red tie wardrobe (Washington State, Oklahoma, Indiana). He made this move despite an open invitation to coach at Montana State, his first head job.

Being an assistant coach for an NBA team seems to be the place to get away from scandal. Our own P.J. Carlesimo did the same, and now everybody's all but forgotten Spree, who experienced a sad retirement and owes thousands in back taxes. So, could we see an up and coming NBA team hiring Kelvin as their head coach in 2013? I wouldn't be surprised.

Reguardless, it's been a long road to the season opener. We've seen othe blogs come and go, crappy logos coming, and Blue Blitz being ranked the #2 Thunder blog on the net. Bend it like Bennett may think that they're the best, but we really appreciate all of the fan support we've recieved.

We hope you enjoy the season, as we are really looking forward to it. Oklahoma City finally has a pro team. Wow. No half New Orleans teams, no minor league. Just pro league Oklahoma City. It's a lot to take in.

Anyway, I'm going to enjoy all of the pre-game Thunder festivities. Go OKC!

Predicted Final: Milwaukee 112, Oklahoma City 93

Side Note: The ticket to this game is completely impractical. Too big for a pocket, easy to steal. I'm having to safety pin a baggy to the inside of my jacket. Ugh.