At last, the preseason finally is coming to a close. I am certainly relieved that we can finally get this over with and get to some basketball with some meaning. Undoubtedly, the Thunder are ready to put this behind them as well. It's been disastrous this pre-season, plagued with injury and above all, loses. I'm sure P.J. and the guys are ready for a regular season...also bound to be plagued by injuries and loses. But at least those loses will mean something.
Without further adieu, here's your preview for tonight's finale, live from...Ontario, California???
Backstory: Yes, it's true that the Thunder have only had one win in six attempts. I'm not here to make things appear better than they are, but to the Thunder's defense, they haven't really been destroyed in any game. I mean, that still isn't winning, but at least it is humiliation. It's probably important to the team to end on a positive note though, at least in their eyes. if one win is 10x better than being winless, then two wins must be at least 3x as good as one. Does a win for the final game of the preseason give a team any added momentum? I don't know, probably not, but there's a chance, and as long as that chance is there, the Thunder should try to reach out and grab it.
Analysis: This always seems to come up, but it has become a major storyline of the Thunder preseason. Injuries have pestered the team constantly thus far. Just as soon as Jeff Green and Robert Swift were able to come back, Chris Wilocx and Joe Smith found their ways back on the bench. This has resulted in key players like KD putting in way more minutes than they should, though to their credit they've handled it well.
As for how the team's match-up, the talent level is far higher on the Lakers. I've given up trying to predict who and how long players will be on the court this preseason, because I always seem to get it wrong. For this game though, it matters not. The Lakers will definitely have the talent edge no matter who takes the floor. If those players happen to include Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, or of course the assassin Kobe Bryant, we could be in for a drubbing, though.
Player to Watch: This is a stretch, and I'm not saying we should be expecting Thunder Wonder status for this guy, but look for John Lucas III to have a really solid game off the bench. Remember, he's fighting for his spot on the roster, so I think the motivation of trying to make the squad means he either will be spectacular or try too hard and look terrible (hoping for the former).
Predicted Result: Lakers 101 Thunder 87
Friday, October 24, 2008
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Pre-Season Game 6 Recap: Suns 102 Thunder 93
Yahoo! Boxscore
Hmmmm, so Shaq, Amare, and Nash all played extensive minutes and Weezy didn't play at all. I think a certain Pre-Game guy needs to be fired! Aside from this though, it was just another day at the office for P.J.'s bunch...We came, we saw, we lost. I suppose players continue to develop, but it obviously isn't enough for winning, and with so many players injured, how could we ever hope to.
As soon as I saw that for some inexplicable reason Suns were starting Shaquille O'Neal, Steve Nash, and Amare Stoudemire, I knew we were screwed. Even a Shaq who could care less about the game and, judging from his quotes, hates the idea of NBA basketball in Oklahoma, he's still 10x better than anything we could have put on the court tonight, as far as big men go. Despite my forecast of impending doom, the Thunder showed heart in the first quarter, led by KD and trailing only by one.
The fight continued on through the first half in the traditional Thunder fashion. We always remained in striking distance. Occasionally we'd get a tad behind that, but we'd always come back, never take the lead though, but always right there.
Of course, it didn't last, and the Thunder lost every quarter except the last, where we tied. Overall, everybody sucked. And I do mean everybody. Petro showed flashes of excellence and Robert Swift was decent in his debut, but both are far from where they should be. Overall, the only thing I think we accomplished in this game was hurting Amare Stoudemire. YEAH!!!
Thunder Wonder: Johan Petro, 17 points, 7-10 shooting, 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 3 blocks
Nobody deserves this, but I gave it to Petro because he hurt the team the least.
Thunder Down Under: Russell Westbrook, 22 points, 7-13 shooting, 2 3's, 4 assists, 8 TURNOVERS
All the rest of his stats were pretty great, but how could I ever give a guy with 8 turnovers Thunder Wonder???
Thunder Blunder: Damien Wilkins, 2 points, 1-5 shooting, 1 rebound, 2 steals, 2 turnovers. Damien, what happened?! You were once a prominent feature in the wonder category and now you're a blunder. Don't let it happen again.
Thunder Plunderer: Amare Stoudemire, 17 points, 6-8 shooting, 1 board, 3 assists
He gets thus, plus a purple heart for the injury. OK, no purple heart, but he was still pretty solid.
Thunder Plunderer Down Under: Matt Barnes, 12 points, 4-8 shooting, 2-3 from beyond the arc, 5 rebounds, 7 assists
You couldn't expect this from such a talented Suns team, and I hate Barnes, but after looking at his statline, I thought, hey, why not?
No wonder we suck, we're afraid of the ball
Zorgon's Note: An example of the great KSBI coverage:
Brian Davis is cut off in mid-signoff by colourbars with the text "AMV Gateway" superimposed on them, accompanied with that ever so pleasent noise. Then an Oklahoma City University commercial came on, immediately followed by the recording of an earlier High School Football game between Westmoore and Norman, with a "Thursday Night" message in the upper right corner of the screen. Classy.
Preseason Pregame 6: Thunder at Suns
The incoming NBA season is breathing down everyone's neck. The Thunder take on the Suns tonight, but the real thing on everybody's mind is the season opener against Milwaukee. Though the Thunder have played impressively at times, I think improvement is hardly the word for how the team has developed, as shown by their (1-4) preseason record. Will their fortunes turn around tonight? Does it even matter? All this and more on this installment of...Preseason Pregame!!!
Backstory: As said earlier, the Thunder have played less than 4 star basketball thus far. Granted, the number of injuries they've had have certainly held them back. Still, OKC typically plays their starters far longer than anyone else and still have only mustered one victory. Is this something to be concerned about? Sure, they haven't looked good and there's no reason to think that Kyle Weaver or Robert Swift being healthy is going to change that. Is it time to panic? Of course not! Like anybody on the court, aside from John Lucas III and other preseason acquisitions, care about what happens in the game. And aside from that, it isn't like the expectations for this team were that high in the first place.
Analysis: Once again, the Thunder will likely be starting all the main cast of characters. Look for Petro to again see a lot of minutes and likely even start. Dez Mason will probably see a good amount of floor time, as Jeff Green is still iffy. KD's play this season had been, frankly, unpredictable. At times, he's a god, at others, he gives Bricktown a new meaning.
Unlike the Thunder, don't expect to see the big names for the Suns taking the court tonight. Shaq, Amare, Nash, and Raja will all likely see no more than 5 minutes in this game, but most likely none at all. Watch out for Alando Tucker and Boris Diaw, though, both having decent pre-seasons thus far.
Player to Watch: Chris Wilcox seems like the natural choice to me. There's no real inside presence playing tonight, and Weez should be able to eat up the lanky Diaw and still raw rookie Robin Lopez. Weezy explodes, trust me.
Predicted Result: Thunder 100 Suns 91
Backstory: As said earlier, the Thunder have played less than 4 star basketball thus far. Granted, the number of injuries they've had have certainly held them back. Still, OKC typically plays their starters far longer than anyone else and still have only mustered one victory. Is this something to be concerned about? Sure, they haven't looked good and there's no reason to think that Kyle Weaver or Robert Swift being healthy is going to change that. Is it time to panic? Of course not! Like anybody on the court, aside from John Lucas III and other preseason acquisitions, care about what happens in the game. And aside from that, it isn't like the expectations for this team were that high in the first place.
Analysis: Once again, the Thunder will likely be starting all the main cast of characters. Look for Petro to again see a lot of minutes and likely even start. Dez Mason will probably see a good amount of floor time, as Jeff Green is still iffy. KD's play this season had been, frankly, unpredictable. At times, he's a god, at others, he gives Bricktown a new meaning.
Unlike the Thunder, don't expect to see the big names for the Suns taking the court tonight. Shaq, Amare, Nash, and Raja will all likely see no more than 5 minutes in this game, but most likely none at all. Watch out for Alando Tucker and Boris Diaw, though, both having decent pre-seasons thus far.
Player to Watch: Chris Wilcox seems like the natural choice to me. There's no real inside presence playing tonight, and Weez should be able to eat up the lanky Diaw and still raw rookie Robin Lopez. Weezy explodes, trust me.
Predicted Result: Thunder 100 Suns 91
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Northwest NBA Blogger Season Previews: A MUST READ!!!
Denver Nuggets
Jeremy: Pickaxe and Roll
Nick Sclafani: The Nugg Doctor
Minnesota Timberwolves
Derek Hanson & Staff: TWolves Blog
Andrew Thell: Empty the Bench
wyn: Canis Hoopus
Oklahoma City
xphoenix87: BallerBlogger
Zorgon: Blue Blitz
Royce: The Thunderworld
Portland Trail Blazers
Mookie: ...a stern warning
Benjamin Golliver: Blazers Edge
Coup and SJ: Rip City Project
Utah Jazz
UtesFan89: The Utah Jazz
Basketball John: SLC Dunk
Also see links to all the previews at CelticsBlog.com
Also also, Rays-Phillies tonight, who ya got?!?!?!
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
LA Ball Talk Blog Rankings Voting Starts Today!
Vote for Blue Blitz!
Here's our short description of why we should be voted into first:
"We started out in the Summer of 2008, right after we heard that the SuperSonics move from Seattle to Oklahoma City was official. We had our doubts at first, but it's been a wild and fun ride. We enjoy every minute of our blogging and our dedication to getting the facts straight rather than homering our team all of the time really shows through our writing. While Zebs true alligiances lie with the Golden State Warriors, that only serves to help him in providing level-leaded, critical opinion of the Thunder. Zeb and Ben have been NBA fans for a combined 17 years, so they know how things go in the NBA, and are by no means newcomers. There's not much else to say, but we hope that you enjoy our charm and wit enough to vote us #1. The Thunderworld may be more professional, Thunder Rumblings may actually have access to players, ThunderGuru may know more about stats, and Bend it Like Bennett may be way funnier. But we....are way awesomer."
Here's the Thunderworlds reasoning:
"The Thunderworld has a long-standing, time-tested history in the NBA blog world, much like the Oklahoma City Thunder has a long-standing, time-tested history in the NBA - they’ve both existed just a few months and no one really respects either at all. But that doesn’t mean both aren’t great. Well, one definitely isn’t great right now and might not ever get there, but the other is showing some tremendous upside potential. The blog really has made some major strides in just a few months. I’ve began writing unbelievably deep, thought-provoking articles about… stuff and each day, I’ll provide a laundry list of links that include the words “Oklahoma,” “City,” and “Thunder.” Turns out, a many of adult films include the word “Thunder” in their titles. Good or bad thing? Who knows but at The TW, the link will be there for you to decide (no, not really). Otherwise, really looking forward to seeing who comes out on top!
If you voted for us, as Tim and Eric would say, Great Job!
If not, than you have about as much mind as Weezy has work ethic. Just sayin'.
Here's our short description of why we should be voted into first:
"We started out in the Summer of 2008, right after we heard that the SuperSonics move from Seattle to Oklahoma City was official. We had our doubts at first, but it's been a wild and fun ride. We enjoy every minute of our blogging and our dedication to getting the facts straight rather than homering our team all of the time really shows through our writing. While Zebs true alligiances lie with the Golden State Warriors, that only serves to help him in providing level-leaded, critical opinion of the Thunder. Zeb and Ben have been NBA fans for a combined 17 years, so they know how things go in the NBA, and are by no means newcomers. There's not much else to say, but we hope that you enjoy our charm and wit enough to vote us #1. The Thunderworld may be more professional, Thunder Rumblings may actually have access to players, ThunderGuru may know more about stats, and Bend it Like Bennett may be way funnier. But we....are way awesomer."
Here's the Thunderworlds reasoning:
"The Thunderworld has a long-standing, time-tested history in the NBA blog world, much like the Oklahoma City Thunder has a long-standing, time-tested history in the NBA - they’ve both existed just a few months and no one really respects either at all. But that doesn’t mean both aren’t great. Well, one definitely isn’t great right now and might not ever get there, but the other is showing some tremendous upside potential. The blog really has made some major strides in just a few months. I’ve began writing unbelievably deep, thought-provoking articles about… stuff and each day, I’ll provide a laundry list of links that include the words “Oklahoma,” “City,” and “Thunder.” Turns out, a many of adult films include the word “Thunder” in their titles. Good or bad thing? Who knows but at The TW, the link will be there for you to decide (no, not really).
Currently, the Thunder has five or six solid blogs supporting it which is proof that this area is excited about the NBA in OKC. I won’t say The Thunderworld is the best out of all, but I will say this: It is the best of all."
And, just for fun, here's Bend it Like Bennetts reasoning:
"Bend It Like Bennett is the absolute gold standard for Thunder blogs, which is why Ball Don’t Lie’s Blog Association ranks us the number one Thunder blog on the web. The rest of the pack is in a heated seven-way tie for last.
Our fellow Thunderbloggers at Blue Blitz say BILB is “generally better, more popular, and more well-liked than our blog, Thunderworld, and ThunderGuru combined.” The Thunderworld calls us “The best Thunder blog - nay, best NBA - nay, best blog period on the Internet”. We are pleased, if not surprised, to have earned the respect and undying adoration of our colleagues.
We provide highly original content that goes above and beyond the busy work of amassing links to every Oklahoman article ever like some kind of paper shuffling mid-level corporate burnout—a task that could be done more effectively by a Google algorithm. We offer only the very best in insightful Thunder commentary, and will continue to delight our loyal readers until our business model is no longer profitable. We appreciate your blind support."
For the record: Yes, I did say that. And still stand by it. But I still like my blog more!
Also, Important Things to Note:
Thunder Fan and OKC Thunder are the same website. I think it goes by the mantra of "Oklahoma City Thunder News".
Oklahoma City BBall seems to have sort of given up. After July he only has about 3-4 September posts, all only about a paragraph long. He posted once October 8th, but the post is about 3 lines long. It promises "Notes tomorrow", but I don't see any. So you might want to remove them.
If you voted for us, as Tim and Eric would say, Great Job!
If not, than you have about as much mind as Weezy has work ethic. Just sayin'.
Monday, October 20, 2008
Open Practice/Blogroll Update
Before I begin, I apologize for the lack of pictures. I took none from the practice, and there are none in the media. I could put in some stock photos, but nobody wants to see those again.
So, tonight I got a small insight into how the Oklahoma City Thunder practices go. It was my opportunity to be Darnell Mayberry! I got there at about 6:15, and they were running drills. I got my pizza and Mountain Dew, and watched. There were several mini-hoops and face paint set up outside the Ford Center, and it was all free. Admission was free too, but since I got there late I had to stay behind the green railing. Eventually I was let down into the first row, but not onto the floor.
Then, all of a sudden, Mike Baldwin stands right in front of me and talks to some random people in a business type fashion. I wait for a while, but he doesn't move, so I have to move a few seats over in order to see. How inconsiderate!
Anyway, there wasn't much to be gotten out of the drills. Everybody basically did the same thing, and nobody really distinguished themselves. All the while you got to hear P.J. say things like "good hustle, Weeze!" over the loudspeaker. There was a short break between the drills and the scrimmage for water. It was pretty cool to see Chris Wilcox trying to steal some kids french fries and see Nick Collison giving all of the kids free Gatorade. Then, scrimmage started. I cheered for white, because they had Wilkins, Weezy, Petro, and Mason, but they lost both games.
There really wasn't anything substantial to take from it. The assistant coaches were miced up while P.J. Carlesimo max relaxed at mid court. The players obviously weren't trying their hardest, and several (like Joe Smith) didn't even play in the scrimmage. Durant showed up everybody, and Weezy had a nice dunk once. There were a lot of missed layups, and Russell Westbrook seemed to kind of hog the ball. Desmond Masons jumper looked like it needed work. But again, this is just practice. All will be revealed when the season actually opens.
The highlight (or lowlight) of the practice was a Derrick Byars injury. He drove to the lane hard, collided with a big man, and fell to the floor. He looked like he was in extreme pain. Everybody just kind of left him there except the trainers and Joe Smith. Eventually, a few more players came over. But, instead of seeing if he was okay, they started shooting hoops! Right in front of an injured player! They could have hit him in the head! I thought that was totally lowballin'. Then, to top it all off, I look up at the big screen, and it's showing me looking at the injury, as if they were expecting me to do some sort of dance or something. When that guy was injured, no less! Pretty surreal moment there.
After the scrimmage, Desmond Mason, Damien Wilkins, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant all paired with kids from local schools (who took up about 50-60% of the crowd, by the way) for a shooting contest.The kids were all somewhat good at basketball. Desmond Mason clanked an incredible number of shots, and his team ended up with 3 points. Damien Wilkins did fairly well, and they scored 17. Westbrooks team captured 21 (mostly due to his 3 pointers, worth 8) and Durants team scored 50, because Durant hit it from all over, and the kid hit the short shots. They then had a final round between Durant and Westbrook, and Westbrook won by a score of 40-30 (or something close to that) because he kept making 8 point 3s, which was a ridiculous way of scoring. Derrick Byars came back, but he had ice taped to his chest. He seemed fine, though. Then, P.J. gave a final word, and it was over. Some of the players spent some time meeting with the kids afterwards. And that was that.
Quick Blogroll Update:
Thunder Balls
This seems like a fan-made version of Thunder Madness. It's ad-ridden and just starting out, but you've gotta support anything that is an alternative to something run by Wimgo. As The Lost Ogle guys would say, "WTF is Wimgo?" Still, if you're into that sort of thing, check these guys out.
Or next games are Thursday versus the Suns, and Friday versus the Lakers.
So, tonight I got a small insight into how the Oklahoma City Thunder practices go. It was my opportunity to be Darnell Mayberry! I got there at about 6:15, and they were running drills. I got my pizza and Mountain Dew, and watched. There were several mini-hoops and face paint set up outside the Ford Center, and it was all free. Admission was free too, but since I got there late I had to stay behind the green railing. Eventually I was let down into the first row, but not onto the floor.
Then, all of a sudden, Mike Baldwin stands right in front of me and talks to some random people in a business type fashion. I wait for a while, but he doesn't move, so I have to move a few seats over in order to see. How inconsiderate!
Anyway, there wasn't much to be gotten out of the drills. Everybody basically did the same thing, and nobody really distinguished themselves. All the while you got to hear P.J. say things like "good hustle, Weeze!" over the loudspeaker. There was a short break between the drills and the scrimmage for water. It was pretty cool to see Chris Wilcox trying to steal some kids french fries and see Nick Collison giving all of the kids free Gatorade. Then, scrimmage started. I cheered for white, because they had Wilkins, Weezy, Petro, and Mason, but they lost both games.
There really wasn't anything substantial to take from it. The assistant coaches were miced up while P.J. Carlesimo max relaxed at mid court. The players obviously weren't trying their hardest, and several (like Joe Smith) didn't even play in the scrimmage. Durant showed up everybody, and Weezy had a nice dunk once. There were a lot of missed layups, and Russell Westbrook seemed to kind of hog the ball. Desmond Masons jumper looked like it needed work. But again, this is just practice. All will be revealed when the season actually opens.
The highlight (or lowlight) of the practice was a Derrick Byars injury. He drove to the lane hard, collided with a big man, and fell to the floor. He looked like he was in extreme pain. Everybody just kind of left him there except the trainers and Joe Smith. Eventually, a few more players came over. But, instead of seeing if he was okay, they started shooting hoops! Right in front of an injured player! They could have hit him in the head! I thought that was totally lowballin'. Then, to top it all off, I look up at the big screen, and it's showing me looking at the injury, as if they were expecting me to do some sort of dance or something. When that guy was injured, no less! Pretty surreal moment there.
After the scrimmage, Desmond Mason, Damien Wilkins, Russell Westbrook, and Kevin Durant all paired with kids from local schools (who took up about 50-60% of the crowd, by the way) for a shooting contest.The kids were all somewhat good at basketball. Desmond Mason clanked an incredible number of shots, and his team ended up with 3 points. Damien Wilkins did fairly well, and they scored 17. Westbrooks team captured 21 (mostly due to his 3 pointers, worth 8) and Durants team scored 50, because Durant hit it from all over, and the kid hit the short shots. They then had a final round between Durant and Westbrook, and Westbrook won by a score of 40-30 (or something close to that) because he kept making 8 point 3s, which was a ridiculous way of scoring. Derrick Byars came back, but he had ice taped to his chest. He seemed fine, though. Then, P.J. gave a final word, and it was over. Some of the players spent some time meeting with the kids afterwards. And that was that.
Quick Blogroll Update:
Thunder Balls
This seems like a fan-made version of Thunder Madness. It's ad-ridden and just starting out, but you've gotta support anything that is an alternative to something run by Wimgo. As The Lost Ogle guys would say, "WTF is Wimgo?" Still, if you're into that sort of thing, check these guys out.
Or next games are Thursday versus the Suns, and Friday versus the Lakers.
Friday, October 17, 2008
NBA Blogger Previews: The Oklahoma City Thunder
Oklahoma City Thunder
6. What do you think of the new uniforms?
Not much. To Zeb, the road uniforms look like the teal Pistons uniforms of the 90s. To others, they look like light-blue knicks uniforms. The home uniforms look a lot like the Warriors uniforms, and they are almost a mirror image if you look at them both above the team name. But the important thing to note here is that if you look at them design wise, they look like....the Hornets old uniforms. And who changed their uniforms this season? The Hornets! Conspiracy? Probably not. Reguardless, our uniforms suck, and Oklahoma City just looks crowded on the roads. High school teams have better uniforms. On top of everything, they had to include the incredibly gay logo on the back of the shorts, right on the butt crack. Who the hell wants to see that? I mean, comeon!
7. Who killed Thunder the Mascot?
Chris Cohan killed him, not Clay Bennett. While it is apparent that after the Thunder copied the Hornets, they decided to also copy the Warriors, Cohan wanted Thunder gone for a long time. He's been looking to change the logo for a long time from the Thunder styled logo to the flying W, but it costs $500,000 and he's too much of a cheap skate to do it. This was just an excuse to finally get rid of him. Still, Zeb thinks that he was the awesomest NBA mascot, and he'll always miss the muscley greatness. Lets bring him to Oklahoma City! Start a movement!
8. The Thunder have a plethora of project big men from a previous era. On a case-by-case basis, do you feel any of them are worth keeping around, or are they a waste of space?
You could put them in 2 groups. The first, "Like to Keep", consists of Collison and Wilcox, while the second, "Show me something or we'll cut you" consists of Sene, Swift, and Petro. Joe Smith doesn't count, since he's new.
9. Jeff Green was overshadowed by fellow rookie Kevin Durant last season. What role should he play for this team? Should they rely on him as a starter right away or continue his development on the bench?
Jeff Green should basically be our key sixth man. He's definately a good player, but his talent level at this point doesn't warrant playing him or somebody else out of the position to put him in the starting lineup. While Durant is now playing at SG, the general feelings of us at Blue Blitz is that he should be put at SF, and the team should allow someone like Russell Westbrook or Damien Wilkins to play SG, leaving Watson and Lucas III at PG. It just makes more sense than having a bunch of huge guys on the floor and forcing them to create for themselves. It would just be a lot better overall if the Thunder could trade a couple of big guys for a solid PG. With our current log jam though, it's obvious that Jeff Green is going to be starting for some time, unless Desmond Mason or Joe Smith step up to take it away from him.
10. How secure to you feel P.J. Carlesimos coaching job is after this season?
If this were a normal development team, this year would be still kind of a honeymoon period. But since this is Oklahoma City, it's not. Carlesimo plays a slow, plodding brand of basketball that scores very few points. To Oklahoma fans, if you're not winning, that's suicide. Even when Kelvin Sampson was doing well coaching the Oklahoma University basketball team, people would call for his head. When Billy Tubbs, a very fast-break minded coach, coached the same team, he could do no wrong in the eyes of fans. So, unless P.J. wins at least 30 games this year, we'd think that public opinion of him would push him very close to being ousted, albeit unfairly. Still, hopefully management will not give in to the requests of fans and keep him on at least through next season. If there was a guy who could coach a team of mostly big men who can't shoot 3s, it's this guy. Even without this situation, NBA coaches generally have extremely short lifespans unless you're named Sloan, Riley, Karl, Jackson, or Nelson. Mike D'Antoni and Avery Johnson were both fired shortly after being coach of the year, and Sam Mitchell is on the hot seat after doing the same, so that's got to say something.
11. How do you expect attendance to be like this year?
We'll pack the arena at first, but when the team starts losing games, less people will want to come to the games. Still, we'll never reach a low like Atlanta used to. We'd say it'll reach a low af maybe 10,000 for those snoozefests against the Clippers, but people will still pack the Arena for matchups against teams like the Spurs and for the last game of the season.
12. Who do you expect to be the "break out" player this year, if any?
We'll disregard the rookies, since it's impossible for them to "break out" from a previous season. This is a unique situation, because a lot of the guys are in that last year where its really possible to break out before they're declared a known quantity.
Zeb would go with Damien Wilkins. He's had a hell of a Pre-Season. He seems to be the only guys shooting well from the floor. On a roster absolutely loaded with so many big men, Wilkins is gonna get a lot of burn at SG. If he can really exploit his ability to score without having to go to the line, improve his defensive ability, and become the teams one reliable 3 point shooter he'll look really really good this year.
Ben's going with Wilcox. For years he has had the reputation of not bringing his all to the games and not leaving it all on the court. However, new city, new crowd, new uniforms (albeit ugly ones) could inspire more passionate play from the Thunder big man, which would be key to any sort of winning they hope to achieve this year. I mean, he was "Sleepless in Seattle", but in OKC, there's nothing to do but sleep, so he'll be plenty rested for those home games.
13. How long before we can expect this team to be a playoff contender?
According to Jim Traber, local afternoon radio host on WWLS The Sports Animal, 2 years.
According to Ben, we could be waiting a little longer, possibly 4 or 5 years. We're soo far from being anywhere near the playoffs right now and I have legitimate concerns about being able to draw in big name free agents to OKC. I mean, for the most part we'll be ok, don't get me wrong, but we're not signing anyone thats going to make us contenders right away, and hell, you can just forget about D-Wade and LeBron in the approaching free agent mega sweepstakes. Still, if we give the young players time to develop, we may be able to have our own homegrown playoff team. With some trade help and lower profile free agent additions, of course.
According to Zeb, this season. The NBA is a league where over half the teams make the playoffs, and a league where teams with horrible rosters, like the Hawks and Warriors, can challenge ginats like the Mavericks and Celtics. Granted, we shouldn't think about the regular season conference or division crown in a realistic sense. But the sky's the limit, and every team starts with the same amount of players, the same amount of game to play, and the same record: 0-0. The playoffs are possible every season, and that's something that is so magical about the NBA that is never realized in the NFL and MLB.
According to Jim is a horrible show.
14. Do you think that the Tulsa 66ers (The Thunder D-League Affiliate) should be used as a serious farm team?
It was a good idea for Clay Bennett to purchase them. Socially, it solidifies the connection between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, making the team moreso of an "Oklahoma Thunder". They should definately be used kind of like the Los Angeles D-Fenders are. They should try to run the same type of offense that the Thudner do. If you've got a Don Nelsonesque guy coaching up there, it's not going to help your team that much. But if you've got a guy doing the same thing we're doing here in Oklahoma City, you can find a guy who thrives well in the system and potentially get a really solid backup. Or, if we're lucky, we could find a star. Still, don't expect too much from it. The NBA is not baseball yet.
15. Who do you think on the team is most likely will throw the wildest parties that Oklahoma City has ever seen?
Ben says that it will be Robert Swift, because he looks like the ultimate party type. Kevin Durant has the most bucks to make spectacular parties, but I see him as more of a small posse kind of guy. Ain't no party like a Petro party! Masons got a family, and he's an art kinda guy, and not even in the drug sort of way. Wilkins is hard to define by just looking at him. Zeb says that it will be Joe Smith, because he's obviously most experienced with partying. I mean, what do you expect he did all of those years in the NBA at all of those different cities he played for? Had massive parties, of course! We would say Weezy, but he's too laid back, and he seems like the type of guy who would hang around in the back and use his silky smooth saxophone to woo the ladies.
Last Years Record: 20-62
Key Losses: Luke Ridnour, Donyell Marshall, The City of Seattle, Squatch
Key Additions: Desmond Mason, Joe Smith, Russell Westbrook
1. What significant moves were made during the offseason?
As with any bad team, our off-season moves usually start with the NBA draft. The Seattle SuperSonics began with a questionable pick of Russell Westbrook out of UCLA at #4. It wasn't totally out of the blue, but some might have rather had Kevin Love, who was drafted a pick later. Later in the draft, we selected Serge Ibaka, a Center from Spains Club Baloncesto L'Hospitalet. The SuperSonics also traded for D.J. White, giving up second rounders Walter Sharpe and Trent Plaisted. Lastly, the SuperSonics drafted DeVon Hardin pretty late, but before Pre-Season began he signed with an Isreali team. There's not much to say about the later moves. They made a good move in getting a potential project in White, over two worthless second rounders, and a good move in drafting someone they could potentially bring over later in Serge Ibaka. If he was drafted in the first round, he's gotta be good.
Then, there was the little move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. Most of it has been said, but for the people who would still like to know, I'll give a little recap. The people of Oklahoma City really don't feel the hostility from Seattle fans. A lot of the Oklahoma University fans went up to Washington for the game against Washington University, and they didn't feel any open hostility from the people over there. Zeb has relatives who live in Spokane, and they've told him also that nobody cares. In the words of Bens second-cousin, Jackson, "You can have 'em." Now, this is doing nothing to insult the people who were actually fans of the team. In Oklahoma City, we know what it feel like to lose a team (the USFLs Outlaws, Arena Footballs Wranglers, the Hornets). When Zeb left the final Hornets game, he would describe it as "like the last night of the ABA". It's never fun, we know that it was a terrible way to go out, but you've gotta pick up, move on, and hope that David Stern decides to expand the NBA again. Or, hey, just steal another team. As for how we feel? Totally psyched. Ever since we were little kids, we'd go to minor league baseball games or play NBA Live 98 and ask our parents why we couldn't have a team of our own. Now we have one, and we plan on having as much fun as possible, even if they suck.
Lastly, we had an off-season trade. We traded Luke Ridnour in a three-team trade, and when it's all said and done, we got Desmond Mason and Joe Smith. I think that if you look at it initially, it was a trade to bring the beloved Mason back to OKC in order to alliviate the hate that will come with a losing season. But if you look at it more deeply, we also get the best player from the Bulls last year. He will undoubtedly produce late in the season and late in the game, when most of our younger guys will tend to fade. Lastly, we get rid of a guy with large ties to Seattle. He grew up in Washington and starred at the University of Oregon. Undoubtedly, he was unhappy about the move, and it's not unreasonable to think that he asked to be traded. On top of that, he's one of the dirtiest defenders in the NBA, and not many NBA Point Guards like him very much.
2. What are the team’s biggest strengths?
Most here would make a joke about how bad we are, but we've heard it all already, so I'll cut to the cheese (as in how bad we stink! like a fart or stinky cheese! haha!)
Our #1 skill is, undoubtedly, rebounding. Our lineup, quite simply is huge. Durant is big enough to play PF, but he's an SG. We have a log jam of inside tendencied SF/PFs (Mason, Collison, Wilcox, Smith, Green), and our Centers (Swift, Petro) are like sticks. I mean, we don't have a Troy Murphy like rebounding star, but we can rebound the ball simply because we'll have so many tall guys with hands in the air.
The #2 skill we have is post defense. Like we said before, the Thunder have a lot of tall guys. Tall, tall guys. But, most of these guys are defensively minded. However bad one may think Petro, Swift and Sene are, it's obvious that they weren't drafted for their 3 point shooting. These guys are defensive specialists all the way. Our Power Forwards (Collison, Wilcox, Swift) are a bit more offensively minded, but its easy to argue that they also can play well on the defensive end. Again, nobody is an all-star here, but with so many teams going small these days, having tall guys who can play some sort of defense can pay massive dividends for team that like to slash to the hoop a lot. Now, I'm not going to claim that we can stop Kobe, but we can stop a lot of And 1s and easy buckets. And if they foul out, don't think that we're afraid to put in reserves that are almost as good.
Regrettably, our #3 skill is getting to the line. We have some guys (namely Kevin Durant and Jeff Green) who drive to the basket and then act like they just got hit with a brick wall, causing a lot of ticky-tack fouls. It makes the game boring, but it's very useful when the offense is stalled, and as long as they sink their free throws, it's all good. There are others who go inside a lot, like Desmond Mason, Damien Wilkins, and Jeff Green, but they generally have the intention of actually making the shot. Still, they also get to the line.
Our last major skill would have to be mid-range jumpshots. We shoot less 3s in a game as a team than Steven Jackson does, but we're mid-range monsters. Most of this comes from Wilkins, Durant, and Green. They do it less than driving, but when the mid range shots actually start going down, it's oh-so-sweet.
3. What are the team’s biggest weaknesses?
The #1 weakness is just lack of overall talent. Our Team revolves around Kevin Durant, Jeff Green, and Russell Westbrook. Those guys are all young, and not ready to be stars. Aside from that, we have Chris Wilcox, Nick Collison, Desmond Mason, Joe Smith, and Earl Watson....do you see a star here yet? While all guys have their respective skills, none of them have what it takes to lead a team or be a 20 point scorer every night. In a couple of years, sure, maybe Durant could do that....but right now, he doesn't look like Chris Paul.
The #2 weakness is the fact that we have no true point guard that can lead the team. Okay, we have Earl Watson, but he's no great distributor. Mostly he just passes off to the other guys and hopes that they can create something on their own. He is supposed to be able to shoot 3s, but nobody creates opportunities for him, and I haven't seen anything from him yet. As Royce, from the Thunderworld, once said, "he has backup PG written all over him." Russell Westbrook is more of a slasher, and is better suited to a shooting guard role. Sure, he has maybe 2-3 "great" passes per game, and people will remark on how he could be our next PG, but in the end it amounts to less than 5 assists. You can't have that on your starting PG. John Lucas III might make the roster, but he's more of an overall energey guy, and definately not starter quality. Now, some would say, "Why not just have Durant bring up the ball, and then rely on Westbrook to slash or Watson to shoot 3s?" Well, first of all, Watson is no Derek Fisher, and Westbrook is no Monta Ellis. They aren't good enough at their respective skills to have your star SF bring up the ball and just dump it to them when needed. Secondly, Durant is no Kobe Bryant. Even if he does reach his potential, he will never be Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan. He's more of a Grant Hill....without the passing. Its hard to find a comparison. He can't create for his teammates very well, and most of the time he'll either try to drive to the hoop and get fouled or take a fadeaway midrange jumper with two hands in his face and clank it. He needs someone to create these open mid range shots or open lanes to drive for him, he can't create them on his own like Kobe or T-Mac can. And there's the fact that he can't shoot 3s. I know, sometimes he'll fire thme up at the end of games, but so does Kevin Garnett. We need a true point guard to really unlock the potential of all the midrange shooting and driving that we have.
Our #3 weakness is our lack of 3 point shooting. Some people put this as #1, but it's not a nessessity for teams to survive. Nevertheless, it is a weakness. The few guys who can shoot the 3, Watson, Wilkins, and to some extent Durant and Westbrook, are average at best. More importantly, no one gives them opportunities, and it doesn't look like Carlesimo gave them the green light to shoot many. Our team looks like it's from the early 1980s, when the 3 point line was just added. We continue to either go to the hole or shoot midrange, and avoid the line for the most part because nobody can shoot it. Most of the time, our scores will reflect this philosophy. The point that this weakness will effect us the most is late in games when we need to catch up and rely on Durants shaky long distance shooting. When we gave Ridnour away, no matter how good the social implications, we knew that we were saying goodbye to our only semi-reliable long distance weapon.
#4 is the fact that we have no offensive productivity. Just not that many guys are very good offensively. It's been said that the Thunder have to rely a lot of midrange shooting and inside play, but most of that comes from a select group of guys. We have a remarkable number of near useless, unskilled big men (Petro, Swift, Sene, maybe White) who give little to no productivity, meaning that we can't always have everybody be a scoring threat on the floor. And while we have other guys who can score, with our lack of PG to move them around, the Thunder are usually stuck shooting a lot of bad shots and driving the lane at bad times.
And our last major weakness is just how young our team is. Our only grizzled vets are Joe Smith, Desmond Mason, and Earl Watson. After them, we have some semi vets in Collison and Wilcox. And after them, the guys we have are still pretty young. It gives the title of the blog "Third Quarter Collapse" a whole new meaning. It's been said many times that if the NBA game was 3 quarters long, we'd see a lot more upsets. That will definately be true for the Thunder this season.
4. What are the goals for this team?
On the court, this team has absolutely no expectations. Almost everybody predicts them to finish dead-last in the West. Player-wise, we are looking to develop everybody. If we can find a star out of the blue, like David West was when the Hornets were here, we'd consider it a successful season. We're not looking to put a win-loss total on the Thunder this year. We just expect them to go out there, try their hardest, and have some fun.
5. What do you think of the Thunders Logo?
6. What do you think of the new uniforms?
Not much. To Zeb, the road uniforms look like the teal Pistons uniforms of the 90s. To others, they look like light-blue knicks uniforms. The home uniforms look a lot like the Warriors uniforms, and they are almost a mirror image if you look at them both above the team name. But the important thing to note here is that if you look at them design wise, they look like....the Hornets old uniforms. And who changed their uniforms this season? The Hornets! Conspiracy? Probably not. Reguardless, our uniforms suck, and Oklahoma City just looks crowded on the roads. High school teams have better uniforms. On top of everything, they had to include the incredibly gay logo on the back of the shorts, right on the butt crack. Who the hell wants to see that? I mean, comeon!
7. Who killed Thunder the Mascot?
Chris Cohan killed him, not Clay Bennett. While it is apparent that after the Thunder copied the Hornets, they decided to also copy the Warriors, Cohan wanted Thunder gone for a long time. He's been looking to change the logo for a long time from the Thunder styled logo to the flying W, but it costs $500,000 and he's too much of a cheap skate to do it. This was just an excuse to finally get rid of him. Still, Zeb thinks that he was the awesomest NBA mascot, and he'll always miss the muscley greatness. Lets bring him to Oklahoma City! Start a movement!
8. The Thunder have a plethora of project big men from a previous era. On a case-by-case basis, do you feel any of them are worth keeping around, or are they a waste of space?
You could put them in 2 groups. The first, "Like to Keep", consists of Collison and Wilcox, while the second, "Show me something or we'll cut you" consists of Sene, Swift, and Petro. Joe Smith doesn't count, since he's new.
Nick Collison is definately a starter to borderline starter, with Wilcox being a bit worse. They both are unlikely to improve, but both are known quantities and valuable to the team. While it may be impossible to keep both, ideally you like to try to hang onto them. They could be good trade bait.
Sene, Swift, and Petro, on the other hand, have virtually no trade value but filler. Sene looks really offensively horrible. Swift might've been good, but his bum knee will likely keep him from going far. Petro looks hopelessly average. Not average in the Ilgauskas sense, but average in the NBA bench center sense. Since big men generally command a lot of dollars, unless these guys improve a significant amount, we'd let them walk after one season.
9. Jeff Green was overshadowed by fellow rookie Kevin Durant last season. What role should he play for this team? Should they rely on him as a starter right away or continue his development on the bench?
Jeff Green should basically be our key sixth man. He's definately a good player, but his talent level at this point doesn't warrant playing him or somebody else out of the position to put him in the starting lineup. While Durant is now playing at SG, the general feelings of us at Blue Blitz is that he should be put at SF, and the team should allow someone like Russell Westbrook or Damien Wilkins to play SG, leaving Watson and Lucas III at PG. It just makes more sense than having a bunch of huge guys on the floor and forcing them to create for themselves. It would just be a lot better overall if the Thunder could trade a couple of big guys for a solid PG. With our current log jam though, it's obvious that Jeff Green is going to be starting for some time, unless Desmond Mason or Joe Smith step up to take it away from him.
10. How secure to you feel P.J. Carlesimos coaching job is after this season?
If this were a normal development team, this year would be still kind of a honeymoon period. But since this is Oklahoma City, it's not. Carlesimo plays a slow, plodding brand of basketball that scores very few points. To Oklahoma fans, if you're not winning, that's suicide. Even when Kelvin Sampson was doing well coaching the Oklahoma University basketball team, people would call for his head. When Billy Tubbs, a very fast-break minded coach, coached the same team, he could do no wrong in the eyes of fans. So, unless P.J. wins at least 30 games this year, we'd think that public opinion of him would push him very close to being ousted, albeit unfairly. Still, hopefully management will not give in to the requests of fans and keep him on at least through next season. If there was a guy who could coach a team of mostly big men who can't shoot 3s, it's this guy. Even without this situation, NBA coaches generally have extremely short lifespans unless you're named Sloan, Riley, Karl, Jackson, or Nelson. Mike D'Antoni and Avery Johnson were both fired shortly after being coach of the year, and Sam Mitchell is on the hot seat after doing the same, so that's got to say something.
11. How do you expect attendance to be like this year?
We'll pack the arena at first, but when the team starts losing games, less people will want to come to the games. Still, we'll never reach a low like Atlanta used to. We'd say it'll reach a low af maybe 10,000 for those snoozefests against the Clippers, but people will still pack the Arena for matchups against teams like the Spurs and for the last game of the season.
12. Who do you expect to be the "break out" player this year, if any?
We'll disregard the rookies, since it's impossible for them to "break out" from a previous season. This is a unique situation, because a lot of the guys are in that last year where its really possible to break out before they're declared a known quantity.
Zeb would go with Damien Wilkins. He's had a hell of a Pre-Season. He seems to be the only guys shooting well from the floor. On a roster absolutely loaded with so many big men, Wilkins is gonna get a lot of burn at SG. If he can really exploit his ability to score without having to go to the line, improve his defensive ability, and become the teams one reliable 3 point shooter he'll look really really good this year.
Ben's going with Wilcox. For years he has had the reputation of not bringing his all to the games and not leaving it all on the court. However, new city, new crowd, new uniforms (albeit ugly ones) could inspire more passionate play from the Thunder big man, which would be key to any sort of winning they hope to achieve this year. I mean, he was "Sleepless in Seattle", but in OKC, there's nothing to do but sleep, so he'll be plenty rested for those home games.13. How long before we can expect this team to be a playoff contender?
According to Jim Traber, local afternoon radio host on WWLS The Sports Animal, 2 years.According to Ben, we could be waiting a little longer, possibly 4 or 5 years. We're soo far from being anywhere near the playoffs right now and I have legitimate concerns about being able to draw in big name free agents to OKC. I mean, for the most part we'll be ok, don't get me wrong, but we're not signing anyone thats going to make us contenders right away, and hell, you can just forget about D-Wade and LeBron in the approaching free agent mega sweepstakes. Still, if we give the young players time to develop, we may be able to have our own homegrown playoff team. With some trade help and lower profile free agent additions, of course.
According to Zeb, this season. The NBA is a league where over half the teams make the playoffs, and a league where teams with horrible rosters, like the Hawks and Warriors, can challenge ginats like the Mavericks and Celtics. Granted, we shouldn't think about the regular season conference or division crown in a realistic sense. But the sky's the limit, and every team starts with the same amount of players, the same amount of game to play, and the same record: 0-0. The playoffs are possible every season, and that's something that is so magical about the NBA that is never realized in the NFL and MLB.
According to Jim is a horrible show.
14. Do you think that the Tulsa 66ers (The Thunder D-League Affiliate) should be used as a serious farm team?
It was a good idea for Clay Bennett to purchase them. Socially, it solidifies the connection between Tulsa and Oklahoma City, making the team moreso of an "Oklahoma Thunder". They should definately be used kind of like the Los Angeles D-Fenders are. They should try to run the same type of offense that the Thudner do. If you've got a Don Nelsonesque guy coaching up there, it's not going to help your team that much. But if you've got a guy doing the same thing we're doing here in Oklahoma City, you can find a guy who thrives well in the system and potentially get a really solid backup. Or, if we're lucky, we could find a star. Still, don't expect too much from it. The NBA is not baseball yet.
15. Who do you think on the team is most likely will throw the wildest parties that Oklahoma City has ever seen?
Ben says that it will be Robert Swift, because he looks like the ultimate party type. Kevin Durant has the most bucks to make spectacular parties, but I see him as more of a small posse kind of guy. Ain't no party like a Petro party! Masons got a family, and he's an art kinda guy, and not even in the drug sort of way. Wilkins is hard to define by just looking at him. Zeb says that it will be Joe Smith, because he's obviously most experienced with partying. I mean, what do you expect he did all of those years in the NBA at all of those different cities he played for? Had massive parties, of course! We would say Weezy, but he's too laid back, and he seems like the type of guy who would hang around in the back and use his silky smooth saxophone to woo the ladies.
Predicted Record: 17-65
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