All posts by Alex Roig

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About Alex Roig

Never been a writer. Probably will never be a writer. But always a fan.

Thunder vs. Kings Preview (Game 60 of 82)

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okc logo atkings

  • When: Thursday, 22 February at 9:00 pm CST
  • Where: Golden 1 Center, Sacramento, CA
  • TV: FSOK
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -7.5 | O/U – 214

The Set-Up: Rest. Relaxation. Reset. When you look at the Oklahoma City Thunder roster, names like Russell Westbrook, Paul George, Carmelo Anthony, and Raymond Felton jump out at you. These names are known because those guys are all veterans. They’ve been through past wars and know what it takes to get through a grueling 82-game season.  Continue reading Thunder vs. Kings Preview (Game 60 of 82) →

NTTB Rumblings – 22 February 2018

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img_4063Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on Carmelo Anthony using the All-Star break to unwind and disconnect: “Anthony hadn’t had a chance to “decompress,” he said, since that whirlwind weekend in September. The All-Star break afforded him the opportunity. Oklahoma City hasn’t played a game since last Wednesday. “I haven’t really got a chance to sit down and kind of breathe a little bit and relax,” Anthony said. “Everything’s happened so fast. So this past week was very helpful for me.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) on scheduling and prime-time matchups ahead: “But as the NBA comes out of the all-star break Thursday for the mad dash to the April playoffs, time to salute not only the efforts at easing the physical demands of scheduling, but also the dramatic effects. In a Western Conference race in which the No. 3 team (San Antonio) and the No. 10 team (hard-charging Utah) are separated by only 4½ games, the teams jostling for playoff positioning play each other repeatedly over the next seven weeks.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 22 February 2018 →

Scoreboard Watching: The Traffic Jam

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karachi-traffic-jam

With the All-Star weekend in Los Angeles ending, I think it’s quite apropos to look at the Western Conference standings as we head into the unofficial second half of the season and see a giant traffic jam. Eight teams are within 4.5 games of each other, with the bottom two teams in that mix likely ending up as lottery teams instead of playoff teams.

This has always been the major difference between the Western Conference and Eastern Conference over the past decade. The East is top heavy (usually just one or two teams – many of those teams usually involving some guy named LeBron James), while the West has a lot more depth, team-wise. It hasn’t been rare over the past decade for the eighth seed in the East to be at or below .500, while the West eighth seed has to win at least 45 games to get in. While that disparity seems to be improving, there is still a visible gap between the two conferences. Continue reading Scoreboard Watching: The Traffic Jam →

NTTB Rumblings – 21 February 2018

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img_4063Erik Horne (NewsOK) on Russell Westbrook being the instigator to many of the Thunder’s rivalries: “Joel Embiid knows now. He probably doesn’t care, but as Westbrook said “Oklahoma City, two to zero.” Embiid was guilty of waving Steven Adams off the floor when the Thunder center fouled out during a triple-overtime thriller in December. Then in January, Embiid dunked and gave Westbrook a stare down as the MVP was sprawled out on the floor. Mistake. Westbrook is already one of the most intense competitors in the NBA.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on the Thunder doing better in their local TV market this year compared to last year: “Oklahoma City’s local TV ratings are up 13 percent over a year ago, according to a report by Sports Business Journal. Thunder games on Fox Sports Oklahoma are averaging a 7.01 rating, third-highest for regional broadcasts in the NBA.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 21 February 2018 →

NTTB Rumblings – 20 February 2018

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img_4063The Oklahoma City Thunder look to make Jordan Rodriguez’s dream come true. We’re pulling for you Jordan.

Isaiah Freedman (Welcome To Loud City) makes a case for Steven Adams being one of the best big man in the league: “Often maligned by critics for averaging “only” 9 rebounds per game, 5.24 of those coming off the offensive glass, tops in the NBA and on pace to finish 3rd best all-time, Adams more than makes up for it by leading the league with more than 11 box outs per game.”

Des Bieler (Washington Post) looks back at the mending of fences that was this weekend for Westbrook and Kevin Durant: “Speaking at a media session ahead of Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, for which he and Westbrook are teammates on a squad drafted by LeBron James, Durant told reporters, “I just got out of my own head, and got out of my own way, and stopped thinking it was even a thing.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 20 February 2018 →

NTTB Podcast (Episode 27) – All-Star Weekend

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IMG_4109On Episode 27 of the NTTB podcast, we discuss the following topics:

  • Recap of the previous week’s games (vs. Memphis, vs. Cleveland, @ Memphis)
  • All-Star Saturday (3-point shootout, dunk contest)
  • All-Star Game
  • Westbrook and KD getting friendly
  • Opening Act w/ Kevin Hart and National Anthem: What the hell?
  • Lauren Ingraham’s comments on LeBron and the Parkland mass shooting
  • Playoff seeding reorganization via Adam Silver
  • Thunder: Post All-Star break
  • SG position
  • Buy-out market
  • Percentage to land LeBron James
  • Wu-Tang top 5
  • Black Panther

Intro/Outro music provided by OSC Productions

Thank you for listening. We will be doing a podcast once a week. If you have any Thunder or NBA related questions, make sure you hit us up on Twitter (@alexroig_NTTB or @Montero_A13).

We are on ITunes under the NTTB Podcast. Make sure you leave us a 5-star review if you can. As always, Thunder Up!

NTTB Rumblings – 16 February 2018

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img_4063Kyle Wagner (FiveThirtyEight) on the effect Andre Roberson’s absence is having on the team: “But the Thunder have yet to capitalize on the additional space available with Roberson out. Westbrook has played well in some ways, creating at James Harden/Chris Paul levels on the pick and roll, and poorly in others, shooting just 43 percent from the field and 18 percent from the three in the games since Roberson’s injury. George has been hot from the three — he’s hit at least five 3-pointers in four consecutive games — and has averaged 29.6 points on a 62 effective field goal percentage through those 10 games. But Anthony has gone absolutely dormant, and both he and Westbrook missed two games to injury.”

Dan Woike (LA Times) on Russell Westbrook’s defining characteristics even being there in high school: “Arturo Jones, the current basketball coach at Leuzinger, helped out with the program while Westbrook was in school and said some of the things that stand out about him now were apparent then. “He was always a hard worker,” Jones said. “His trajectory always continued to grow.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 16 February 2018 →

NTTB Rumblings – 15 February 2018

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img_4063Heartfelt thoughts and condolences to the people of Parkland, Florida.

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) recaps the Thunder’s victory over the Grizzlies in Memphis: “It wasn’t just Anthony (19 points) and Westbrook (23 points, 15 assists, 13 rebounds) who saved the day for the Thunder. There were a variety of characters who made an impact. The most prominent was Paul George, who had an outrageously good first half where he scored 22 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including a 5-for-6 mark from the three-point line to extend his streak of games with 5-plus made threes to an NBA season-high-tying five games.”

If you’re into this kind of stuff, Colin Cowherd said some drivel about Russell Westbrook’s leadership: “Now, Russell Westbrook, you give him, not only new teammates, but excellent teammates. He still can’t figure it out. They add Carmelo, who’s going to be a Hall of Famer. They add Paul George, who’s an All-Star. And they’re one game worse than last year.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 15 February 2018 →

Thunder @ Grizzlies preview (Game 59 of 82)

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okc logo at grizzlies

  • When: Wednesday, 14 February at 7:00 pm CST
  • Where: FedEx Forum, Memphis, TN
  • TV: FSOK
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -4.0 | O/U – 208

The Set-Up: It’s difficult to plan for a team that has only been on the court for one game. When the Oklahoma City Thunder faced the Cleveland Cavaliers last night, the Thunder’s coaching staff had exactly one game of film to review in order to scout the Cavs. A good scouting report usually takes about 10 games worth of data to find patterns and habits. Continue reading Thunder @ Grizzlies preview (Game 59 of 82) →

NTTB Rumblings (Valentine’s Day Edition) – 14 February 2018

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To all my readers: I thunderyou!

Royce Young (ESPN) on Cleveland’s new bunch getting the best of the Thunder this time: “It’s one of James’ many remarkable traits that a roster halfway turned over just a week ago can show up and play cohesively, moving the ball to open players and generating connected offense. James is so adaptable, and carries a gravity that forces teammates to fit, that the Cavs can remodel their team on the fly, whereas it took the Thunder three months and 30 games to start to figure it out.”

Heather Koontz (Thunderous Intentions) with some hilarious Thunder-related Valentine’s Day cards.  Continue reading NTTB Rumblings (Valentine’s Day Edition) – 14 February 2018 →