All posts by Alex Roig

Unknown's avatar

About Alex Roig

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

Kevin Durant officially named the 2013-14 MVP

News, , ,

durant thunder

Kevin Durant was officially named the MVP of the NBA for the 2013-14 season.  Durant garnered 119 of the 125 possible 1st place votes to win by a landslide. He led the Thunder to the 2nd best record in the league, while also filling in for Russell Westbrook who missed almost half the season recovering from various knee ailments. He averaged 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game on 50/39/87 shooting.

Let it sink in Oklahoma. A decade ago, we were a fly-by state with little to no chance of ever landing a pro-sports franchise. Now, the NBA’s Most Valuable Player resides here, in the 405. Enjoy the moment and appreciate the fact that we are watching greatness. Congratulations Kevin Wayne Durant, your 2013-14 KIA NBA MVP.

Durant will be presented with his MVP trophy on Wednesday night, before Game 2 of the Clippers vs. Thunder series.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Los Angeles Clippers Round 2 series preview

Game Previews, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

ibaka griffin thunder clippers

Whew! That was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. The Memphis Grizzlies had the Oklahoma City Thunder on the brink of elimination with a 3-2 series lead and heading back to Memphis. Fortunately, the “Lost” ad for Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s shooting stroke worked and they found their offense in time to put together two great games and advance to the 2nd round.

Just like in the first round, the finger prints of fate, are strewn all over this series.  Even though we’ve never faced the Clippers in the playoffs, the inevitability of this series happening has been building for the past 2-3 seasons now. Not only have the Clippers entered into the conversation as one of the contenders in the Western Conference, but their main players have an interwoven history with Oklahoma City that does not involve the Thunder. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are about the closest thing to basketball Prodigal Sons that Oklahoma City has. Now, those two players are in the way of the Thunder advancing to the Western Conference Finals.

Regular Season Series

westbrook paul thunder clippers

The Thunder and Clippers split their season series 2-2, with each team winning one on their respective home courts and losing one on their respective home courts. In the first meeting, the Thunder were cruising in the 2nd quarter, before a scuffle in the 2nd quarter between Serge Ibaka and Matt Barnes led to the ejection of both players. With Ibaka and Kendrick Perkins (who was out due to the death of his grandfather) out of the game, the Thunder’s 9-point halftime lead eventually evaporated in the 3rd quarter under a rain of shots in the paint from the Clippers. The Thunder went on to lose that game 103-111. The second meeting was one of those games where the Thunder came out hot and never relented, winning 105-91, going away. The third game occurred when the Thunder were in their transition period of working Russell Westbrook back into the line-up after the All-Star break. They ended up losing that one 117-125. In the final meeting of the season, the Clippers were without 6th Man of the Year Jamal Crawford and lost 107-101.

Series Schedule

  • Game 1 – Monday, 05 May 2014 at 8:30 PM CST (Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK)
  • Game 2 – Wednesday, 07 May 2014 at 8:30 PM CST (Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK)
  • Game 3 – Friday, 09 May 2014 at 9:30 PM CST (Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA)
  • Game 4 – Sunday, 11 May 2014 at 2:30 PM CST (Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA)
  • Game 5 – Tuesday, 13 May 2014 TBD (Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK)*
  • Game 6 – Thursday, 15 May 2014 TBD (Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA)*
  • Game 7 – Sunday, 18 May 2014 TBD (Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK)*

* If necessary

Probable Starting Line-Ups

Los Angeles Clippers

  • PG – Chris Paul
  • SG – JJ Redick
  • SF – Matt Barnes
  • PF – Blake Griffin
  • C – DeAndre Jordan

 

  • Bench Depth – Jamal Crawford, Glen Davis, Darren Collison, Danny Granger

Oklahoma City Thunder

  • PG – Russell Westbrook
  • SG – Thabo Sefolosha
  • SF – Kevin Durant
  • PF – Serge Ibaka
  • C – Kendrick Perkins

 

  • Bench Depth – Reggie Jackson, Nick Collison, Derek Fisher, Caron Butler, Steven Adams

3 Keys to the Series

1. Perimeter Defense – The Memphis series and this series could not be anymore different. While the Grizzlies were all about pounding the ball inside, the Clippers are more about getting dribble penetration to suck in the defense and then finding open shooters on the outside. With Chris Paul attacking the basket, JJ Redick, Jamal Crawford, and Matt Barnes will all be camped out on the 3-point line ready to shoot. This is where Thabo Sefolosha may be key in this series. While he may not start, he could provide valuable defense on either Chris Paul or Jamal Crawford in spots.

durant crawford thunder clippers

2. Rebounding – DeAndre Jordan has turned into a rebounding fool in these playoffs, averaging 15.1 boards per game in the Golden State series. With Blake Griffin contributing 6.3 rebounds of his own in that series, the front line for the Clippers did not let many missed shots get by them. Also of note, though, is that Golden State played the series with a front line consisting of David Lee, Draymond Green, and a hobbled Jermaine O’Neal. If the Thunder can control the boards, that should aid them in getting their transition game going.

3. Durant, Westbrook, and Jackson – With Chris Paul a bit hobbled, I see no wing defender on the Clippers that can stop either of the Thunder trio. Crawford and Reddick aren’t known for their defense, Collison is too small, and, if they dust off Jared Dudley, he’s too slow. The Clippers only real line of defense is Jordan, and that only occurs once the players has beat all the other lines of defense.

X-factors

For Los Angeles – Chris Paul’s health. If Paul is as hobbled as he seems, this may be an extremely difficult series for him. Russell Westbrook is a completely different animal than Steph Curry. While Curry is more perimeter-oriented, Westbrook is all out attack. And, unfortunately for the Clippers, they have no one else defensively that can stay with Westbrook and give Paul a reprieve on that side of the ball.

perkins griffin thunder clippers

For Oklahoma City – Foul Trouble. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul’s mastery of theatrics (aka flopping) can quickly put the Clippers in the bonus and also get key players out of the game because of foul trouble. It’ll be very important for the Thunder stay disciplined, not only defensively, but also emotionally.

Prediction

Thunder in 6.

The Thunder got their wake up call in Round 1. They know they nearly blew their opportunity to contend for this season. I don’t see them reverting back to the Thunder we saw in Games 2-5 of the first round. They know, offensively, they can probably get what ever they want. And defensively, they know what they have to do to beat the Clippers.

Five Thoughts from the Memphis Series

Random Thoughts, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

durant ibaka westbrook thunder

The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 120-109 on Saturday to move onto the 2nd round of the playoffs. But before we move on, here’s 5 thoughts about the series that was.

1. The Overtimes and the plays leading up to them.

Four consecutive overtime games. Let that sink in for a minute. Your adrenaline pumps and heart races for one overtime game. But four…..in a row. The life span of the average Oklahoman (and Memphian, for that matter) probably dropped by about 2.5 years in this series. But the overtimes only tell half of the story in those four games.

The mad dashes that led to the overtimes were even more impressive. Here’s a recap of the major plays that led to the 5th period in those games:

Game 2: Set-up – Thunder down by 5 with 18 seconds to go.

  • Fall away 3-pointer by Durant in the corner while being fouled by Marc Gasol. Free throw good. Thunder down 1.
  • Free throw by Mike Conley. Grizzlies up 2 with 12 second left.
  • Russell Westbrook 3-point miss rebounded by Kendrick Perkins who goes up for a put-back with no time on the clock. Tied game. And on to overtime.

Game 3: Set-up – Thunder down by 17 with 7:30 minutes left in the 4th quarter. Thunder go on a 17-0 run to tie the game at 81 with 57 seconds left.

  • Tony Allen lay-up to put the Grizzlies up by two with 45 seconds.
  • Tony Allen steal and lay-up puts the Grizzlies up by 4 with 33 seconds left.
  • Russell Westbrook 4-point play ties the game at 85 with 26 seconds left.
  • Each team misses their finals shots. And on to overtime.

Game 4: Set-up – Thunder down by 5 with 1:20 left, after starting the quarter with a 12 point lead.

  • Reggie Jackson (the only effective Thunder player the entire night) launches (and makes) a step-back three with 59 seconds left. Thunder down by two.
  • After stealing a pass off of Beno Udrih, Durant passes to Jackson who runs off of a pick and roll and scores on a floater with 30 seconds left to tie the game.
  • After a mad scramble on the defensive end in which the Grizzlies had 2 opportunities to tie the game, Jackson ends up with the ball with 4 seconds left, but inexplicably heaves a 60 footer that bounces inbounds as the clock expires. And on to overtime.

Game 5: Set-up – Thunder down by two after the first of Tony Allen’s two free throws goes down with 30 seconds left. (Of note: The Thunder have no timeouts left)

  • Allen misses the 2nd free throw, but Tayshaun Prince gets the offensive rebound. After almost getting the ball stolen, Memphis calls a time out.
  • After the time out, Mike Conley dribbles at the top of the key. With the shot clock running down, Conley makes a move towards the basket, but Westbrook reaches across Conley’s body, knocks the ball loose, and takes it the other way for a game-tying fast break dunk. And on to overtime.

In all honesty, the overtimes proved to be a bit anti-climatic in comparison to those crazy final minutes in the fourth quarters.

2. Interior Defense

When you play the Grizzlies, the one thing that has to be on point is your interior defense. If you don’t have a set of defensive bigs that can combat what Memphis throws at you, then you might as well pack it up. Last season, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol bore through the Thunder’s interior defense like a hot knife through butter. It was so much of an embarrassment, that Kendrick Perkins felt the need to apology for his play after the series. But this time around, Perkins, Ibaka, and Steven Adams proved up to the task, essentially neutralizing the Grizzlies’ biggest offensive strength.

perkins jackson ibaka gasol thunder grizzlies

In last season’s playoff series, Gasol and Randolph shot 68/146 (47%). In this playoff series, the interior duo for Memphis shot 89-220 (40%). Everybody talks about the struggles that Westbrook and Durant experienced during the series, but equally as damning for their team, was the struggles that Gasol and Randolph had with scoring. And once Durant and Westbrook got going again in Games 6 and 7, it was too difficult for the the Memphis duo to keep up, especially with Randolph being suspended for the final game.

3. The Role Players

Many people wondered why Caron Butler decided to sign with the Thunder, instead of with the two-time champion Miami Heat. If Butler was title chasing, the easiest route would have been to latch on with Miami and probably be a 9th man for them. But Tuff Juice probably saw an opportunity with the Thunder to not only compete for a championship, but also be a regular part of the rotation.

Many people like to label Butler as a champion since he was a member of the Dallas Mavericks team that won the championship in 2011. What many people fail to mention is that Butler had a knee injury mid-season, and didn’t participate in any games for the Mavericks in the playoffs that season. Yes, he got a ring, but I wonder if he feels like that ring hardly holds any weight. Pride can easily turn happiness into a question mark that stays on the mind.

So, when Butler’s number was called on to start in place of an ineffective Thabo Sefolosha for Game 6, he showed that he was ready for this moment. He only scored 7 points in that game, but the effect of Butler as a perimeter threat, opened up the lanes enough for Westbrook and Durant to get back in their groove.

butler westbrook jackson thunder

Reggie Jackson has the hardest job in the world. He has to be the main facilitator and scorer on a bench unit that is about as hot and cold as it gets. Then he has to be the third option on the floor with Durant and Westbrook. If he does something bad during his time on the floor with the superstar duo, then the spot light shines on him. But if he does something good, then it probably had to do with the fact that Durant and Westbrook took so much of the defense’s attention which allowed Jackson to have an open lane or a wide open shot.

Then Game 4 happened. I’ve never seen a situation where two alpha males completely give the reins to the game over to somebody other than themselves. A lot of times, Durant and Westbrook are like the Mike Lowery and Marcus Burnett of the NBA: “We ride together, we die together, bad boys for life”. But in this one instance, whether it was their own insecurities in their play or a new confidence in another player not seen since the Harden days, Durant and Westbrook allowed Jackson to take over the game and in the end, win it for them. In reality, Jackson saved the season with his mini-explosion in Game 4.

4. Durant and Westbrook returning to form

Probably the biggest narrative of this series was the slump that both Durant and Westbrook faced in the Games 2-5. Without an unexpected career game from Jackson, the series would have probably been done in 5 games, much like last season. In those 4 games, the duo shot 73-209 from the field. That is a whooping 35% for two All-NBA players. Many media member started playing the Westbrook vs. Durant angle to the point that Westbrook felt the need to address it in an interview after Game 3.

durant westbrook allen conley thunder grizzlies

Then the Oklahoman decided to print one of the dumbest headlines since the Chicago Tribune declared Thomas E. Dewey the winner of the 1948 Presidential election. Mr. Unreliable. A name that describes many people, namely deadbeat dads, parole violators, and teenagers. Not a name that describes Kevin Durant, the basketball player. If anything, he’s been Mr. Reliable his entire career. The attempted explanation and subsequent apology explained what the headline itself was trying to convey, but the damage had already been done to the newspaper.

Durant took it in stride, but you could tell that the headline perplexed him a bit. Great players always play their best when the cards are stacked against them. Down 3-2 with an elimination game in Memphis, Durant and Westbrook slowed their games down a bit, and started playing their brand of basketball. In Games 6 and 7, the pair averaged 60.5 points, 18.5 rebounds, and 12.5 assists per game on 54/53/88 shooting.

5. The Wake-Up Call

The Thunder needed this kick in the rear end. They slept walked through the final month of the season, and probably had this aura about them that they could turn it on or off at any point in the playoffs. But this season’s playoffs were a bit different. The 7th seeded Grizzlies were probably more of a 3 or 4 seed, were it not for injuries and having to play in the tough Western Conference.

But, the name of the game is surviving and advancing, and the Thunder did just that. If the Thunder are fortunate enough to rack up 12 more victories, they should look back on this series and appreciate the fact that Memphis made them work so hard to get to Round 2.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7 Recap

Game Recaps, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

butler durant thunder

Have you ever been away from your significant other for an extended period of time without seeing them (be it a job deployment or a self-imposed hiatus)? And then you see them again and they’ve lost 20 pounds, gotten highlights in their hair, and upped their confidence rating. And you are left wondering, “How do I act around this person?”

Well, that’s kind of how the first 18 minutes went for the Oklahoma City Thunder in this game. The Thunder had battled the Grizzlies the same for the past 6 games (the 2 bigs, Mike Conley, a streaky Courtney Lee, and an ineffective “why the hell is he still starting?” Tayshaun Prince, with Mike Miller, Beno Udrih, and Tony Allen sprinkled in between there). But the Zach Randolph suspension in Game 7 kind of flipped the script for Memphis and they came out with an entirely different line-up that threw the Thunder for a loop. Out was Prince (and, of course, Randolph), and in was Miller and Allen. The Grizzlies started small out of necessity and held their largest lead of 11 points with 40 seconds left in the 1st quarter. They finished the first quarter up by 9 at 36-27. That’ right. 36 points for the Grizzlies in a quarter.

The beginning of the 2nd quarter was more of the same, but Memphis’s depth issues started to become a problem near the middle of the 2nd quarter. After two free throws by Gasol at the 8:40 mark of the 2nd quarter, the Grizzlies missed their next 7 shots and turned the ball over twice. By the time Conley made a shot with 4:43 left, the Thunder had tied up the game at 44.

After that point, the Thunder smelled blood and kept on attacking to take a 3 point lead heading into halftime. In the third quarter, it was more of the same as the Grizzlies didn’t make their FG of the 2nd half until 6:35 remaining in the third quarter. By that point, the Thunder were up 78-65 and had all the momentum moving forward. They never let the lead get under 10 points for the rest of the game and ended up winning 120-109.

A couple thoughts on the game:

  • The Grizzlies were forced to play the Thunder’s style and it completely backfired on them from the middle of the 2nd quarter on. The pace was not condusive to the Grizzlies style, but it fit right in the Thunder’s wheel-house.

 

  • The pace also caused the Grizzlies’ turnovers to go up (14), which led to 31 points for the Thunder off of those turnovers.

 

  • If its a Game 7 against the Grizzlies, then Russell Westbrook must be due for a triple double (27/10/16)

 

  • After shooting 12-21 (57%) in the 1st quarter, the Grizzlies went on to shoot 25-62 (40%) for the rest of the game. Gotta love that regression.

 

  • Kevin Durant, since the headline: 69 points and 18 rebounds on 56/45/86 shooting. I’m still not giving you credit The Oklahoman.

 

  • Caron Butler only made one 3, but made 8-9 foul shots to finish with 15 points.

 

  • Reggie Jackson was great in his role – 16 points on 5-6 shooting (2-3 from 3 and 4-4 from the line). Efficiency, for the win!

 

  • It’s onto to Round 2. Oklahoma City, you can all let out a collective sigh of relief.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 7 Preview

Game Previews, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

gasol ibaka thunder grizzlies

  • When: Saturday, 03 May 2014 at 7:00 PM CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

Game 7. Those are the only 2 words you need to know about this game. Win or go home for both teams. Thankfully we have home court advantage. Game 6 was more what I expected to see from this team throughout this first round match-up. If Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook would have played 10% better in Games 2-5, this would’ve been a 5 game series. Instead, they struggled and allowed the Grizzlies to win three of four games that went to overtime.

Then the headline happened.

Durant doesn’t need motivation. There are some players that are self-motivated. Motivated by success. Motivated by legacy. Motivated by the hate to lose. That’s Durant. He’s been that way since day one. But sometimes, stupid headlines can piss you off to the point where it appears like motivation. If having your back against the wall wasn’t motivation enough, then this headline probably served as a accelerant, not only for Durant, but also for the entire team (coaches included).

Game 6 is more the pace that I expected to see from the team. Russell Westbrook playing a smart game, Serge Ibaka controlling the paint, Reggie Jackson giving what was needed when he was in the game, and Durant being his MVP self. More importantly, though, nothing came easy for the Grizzlies. The Thunder completely iced any pick and roll and the Grizzlies were not up to the task from the perimeter.

3 Keys to the Game

1. Adjustments – Oklahoma City made them in Game 6. The Grizzlies are being forced to make them in Game 7. The Zach Randolph suspension not only throws a wrench in the Grizzlies’ plans, but also in the Thunder’s plans. What do the Grizzlies plan to do? Will they start small with James Johnson or Mike Miller or will they remain big with either Kosta Koufos or Ed Davis? If the Grizzlies go small, expect to see Perkins’ minutes go down extensively. If the Grizzlies go big, business as usual.

2. Injured Bears – Randolph and Nick Calathes suspended. Mike Conley has a strained hamstring that he says would have kept him on the sidelines if this was a regular season game. Tony Allen is questionable because of migraines associated with an injured eye suffered in Game 6. To all of this, I say, poppycock. To me, all this information is lip service. Conley and Allen will play and will leave it all on the floor.

allen jackson westbrook ibaka thunder grizzlies

3. Pace – The biggest difference in Game 6 from Games 2-5, was pace. The Thunder pushed the ball and had the Grizzlies on skates all night. We’ll probably see a lot more small ball from the Grizzlies in this gam due to the Randolph suspension. But, it won’t be new to the Grizzlies. The dirty secret about the Randolph suspension is that the Grizzlies rarely played with Z-Bo in the 4th quarters of games. Gasol is a better big to have in small ball line-ups and it showed many times late in games in this series.

Memphis Grizzlies vs. Oklahoma City Thunder Game 5 preview

Game Previews, , , , , , , , ,

reggie jackson thunder

  • When: Tuesday, 29 April 2014 at 8:00 PM CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK

This series has been all about perspective. The Oklahoma City Thunder run the Grizzlies out of the gym in Game 1 and everyone one wondering if Memphis will win a game in the series. Then the Thunder lose Games 2 and 3 in crushing fashion and the national media (a.k.a. the vultures) start to circle around the Thunder’s apparent rotting carcass. Then they win Game 4 in the same nail biting, heart attack-inducing fashion as the last two games, and the pendulum swings once again.

Here’s the reality though. Nothing much has changed since halftime of Game 1. Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook are struggling. The bench, up until Reggie Jackson’s Game 4 explosion, has been abhorrent. And Tony Allen is still, somehow, blowing up every pass that comes his way. Since the beginning of the 2nd half in Game 1, the Grizzlies have outscored the Thunder 356-351. But with the Game 4 victory, the Grizzlies are now the ones facing the pressure of having to win two of the next three games on the road. I love back and forth series, but I dislike the pendulemic perspectives that come from them.

3 Keys to the Game

1. The Little Things – Other than Jackson’s Harden-like coming out party, Game 4 was won on the boards and at the free throw line. The Thunder outrebounded the Grizzlies 58-49 in that game, with 20 of those being offensive boards. And the Thunder shot 90% from the charity stripe as opposed to the 56.5% put up by the Grizzlies. They say every possession counts in the playoffs, but more than anything, especially in a close game, it’s the little things that become the deciding factors between winning and losing.

2. Reginald Shon Jackson – First off, you don’t see many people that spell Shon in its correct phonetic fashion. I’ve seen Sean, Shawn, Shaun, but never Shon. Must be an Italian thing (he was born in Italy, if you didn’t know). There are probably a lot more people in the world today that know those two factual tidbits now, that didn’t know them three days ago. Jackson not only saved the game for the Thunder, but he may have saved the season and he may have saved Scott Brooks’ job. If the Thunder would’ve gone down 3-1, it may have been a hole that would’ve proven too difficult to climb out of.

So, which Reggie do we get for Game 5? The Thunder NEEDED Jackson to do what he did on Saturday. It’s impressive when Durant and Westbrook are basically handing you the steering wheel to the game, and you get the job done with ice water in your veins. But let’s not forget the horrible performances in Games 1-3 (5.0 pts/4.3 rebs/3.0 asts on 15.8% shooting (and 0/6 from 3-point territory). The Thunder would love Game 4 Reggie every game. But, if Reggie sticks to his regular season averages of 13/4/4, the Thunder should be okay.

durant thunder grizzlies

3. Durant, Westbrook, and Milk Cartons – It’s gotten so bad these last couple of games, that I went to the local milk packaging plant and bought a “Missing” advertisement. It reads:

Missing

Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook’s Shooting Stroke

If found, please contact Sam Presti at 281-330-8004.

A guy named Mike Jones might answer.

Their struggles have been the main reason why the last three games have been so close. If these two guys shoot anywhere close to 42%, these three games aren’t even close.

Scott Brooks: It Might Be Time For A Change

Random Thoughts, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

scott brooks durant thunder

If you look at the recent history of the game, every great player who has won a championship needed a championship level coach to push him to the promise land. And by great player, I mean the transcendent players of their generation. In recent memory, those players have been Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. Each of these players needed to go, not only through adversity, but also through a coaching change before they led a team to the championship. Tim Duncan should also be included in the list, but he has played for the same coach his entire career while racking up 4 titles in the process.

Kevin Durant, of the Oklahoma City Thunder, is paving his path towards being a transcendent player. He is on his way to winning his 1st MVP, has won 4 scoring titles before the age of 26, and leads a team that has been a championship contender for the past three season. He has a top 10 player by his side in Russell Westbrook, a versatile big man that can block shots and hit mid range jumpers in Serge Ibaka, and a great 6th man in Reggie Jackson. With all this at Durant’s disposal, why is it that the Thunder are struggling with their first round opponents, the Memphis Grizzlies?

The answers to that question are like pieces of a puzzle. When you analyze everything, you’ll see that many factors are contributing to the Thunder’s struggles in the first round. First off, Memphis is not your run of the mill 7th seed. The Grizzlies struggled out the gate due to Marc Gasol’s knee injury, but finished the season on a 33-13 tear that brought them up to the 7th seed. Without Gasol’s injury, this team probably finishes in the top 5 in the Western Conference. The next factor is that Memphis is built for the playoffs. They are a half-court oriented offense with one of the best defenses the league has to offer. And, their core is playoff-tested and has been together for at least 4 seasons. But these factors are more a microcosm of who the Grizzlies are.

It’s what the Thunder are doing (or not doing) that is affecting them in this series. Oklahoma City is a team that can play a variety of ways, but they’re at their best when they are running in transition and causing havoc in the paint through penetration. But those things tend to get muddled in the playoffs. Teams protect the ball more and defenses make it  a point to protect the paint. Less turnovers means less transition opportunities. More defenders in the paint means less avenues to get to the basket. Unfortunately for the Thunder, the Grizzlies are great at two things: protecting the ball and defending the paint.

scott brooks westbrook thunder

But with players as dynamic as Durant, Westbrook, Ibaka, and Jackson, the Thunder should not be struggling as bad as they are in this series. Part of that could be attributed to bad luck as both Durant and Westbrook seem to be in shooting funks. Part of that could be the Grizzlies’ defense, which packs the paint and dares you to beat them with perimeter shots, of which the Thunder aren’t making. But a lot of the Thunder’s problem has to do with scheming (or lack thereof), and that falls squarely on Scott Brooks.

Unfortunately, this has always been the knock on Brooks. The lack of an offensive system rarely rears it’s head for the Thunder, except when the transition faucet is turned off, the paint is packed, and the shots aren’t falling. It’s understandable that you would have an iso-oriented system when your two best players thrive in isolation situations. But it’s also important to have a system in place when the defense keys in on those two players. And that’s what is severely lacking for the Thunder in this series.

It’s almost asinine that Brooks, with the weapons he has at his disposal and the amount of time he’s had those weapons, would never have created a fail-safe offensive system that would play, not only to the strengths of his stars, but also to the strength of the role players around them. Brian Windhorst of ESPN tweeted during Game 3, “Grizzlies know all of OKC’s plays. When the 1st option is taken away the Thunder often just shut down their offense.” If anything, last season should have been a sign that the team needs an offensive system outside of superstar iso-plays. When Westbrook went down, it should have signaled to Brooks that a change was needed in order to prevent what happened in last season’s playoffs. Instead, with Durant and Westbrook both in tow, it seems as if Brooks has defaulted even deeper into superstar isolation mode.

It’s either that, or those two superstars aren’t trusting their teammates, which leads them to take it upon themselves to try and save the day. Whether Brooks is heeding both players to look for teammates more or not, this still goes back to Brooks. If isolation ball isn’t working, get onto your superstars and tell them to run the offense. Oh yeah, I forgot. There is no offense. Ibaka, one of the best release valves in the league and probably the best target for a pick and roll outside of Durant and Westbrook is getting completely frozen out of the offense in the fourth quarter and overtime. Jackson, who up until Game 4, was struggling mightily, was basically benched for games 2 and 3. Brooks could have and should have incorporated those two into the offense even more, especially in Games 2 and 3. Instead, the Grizzlies defenders keyed in on the superstar duo and made it extremely difficult for them to get into their sets, let alone get off a good shot.

durant collison allen gasol randolph grizzlies thunder

The other transcendent players I talked about in the opening had to endure coaching changes that brought about success. Michael Jordan went from Doug Collins to Phil Jackson. Kobe Bryant went from Kurt Rambis to Phil Jackson for his first three championships and from Rudy Tomjanovich to Phil Jackson for his next two championships. LeBron James went from Mike Brown to Erik Spoelstra for his two championships. The one constant between these two coaches is that they had an offensive system to fall back on. They had great players, but also a system that helped them out offensively if the opponent was exclusively targeting the star player. Jackson had the triangle offense and Spoelstra has a system that spaces the floor for James, Wade, and Bosh to operate.

It’s especially frustrating when you compare Brooks to Spoelstra. Both are young coaches in their first head coaching gigs who were basically gift-wrapped super-teams. Spoelstra found a way to develop a system that played to the strengths of all his players. Meanwhile, Brooks is still relying on the greatness of a couple players to get him out of jams. Westbrook and Durant are good enough to win you enough games to stay employed.

Don’t get me wrong. I don’t think Brooks is a bad coach. He’s done a great job in developing the talent OKC was loaded with over the years. He’s done a great job managing egos and developing the culture the Thunder are now known for. But as an X’s and O’s coach, I think Brooks has hit his ceiling. Just like players eventually reach a point where they no longer improve, I think Brooks has gotten to that point with this team. I’ve always said that Brooks is a great coach to lead us to the mountain and maybe even to get us halfway up the mountain, but it will take another coach to get us over the mountain. If Durant and Westbrook are ever to get over the hump, they may have to do it with another coach at the helm. I hope I’m wrong, but I’ve experienced too much of Brooks to think otherwise.

Oklahoma City Thunder vs. Memphis Grizzlies Game 3 preview

Game Previews, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NBA: Playoffs-Memphis Grizzlies at Oklahoma City Thunder

Going in, we knew this would be a tough series. Memphis has their short-comings, but they do two things extremely well that make them a tough out: they play defense and they play as a team. We’ve seen both of these qualities exhibited in the first two games. Even when Memphis got down by 22 at the half in Game 1, they never abandoned their principles and pulled within two points before tiring out at the end. In Game 2, Memphis’ defense made life for the Thunder miserable, but it was Memphis’ offense that came alive. The team that scored 96.1 points per game in the regular season, erupted for 111 points in the second game. Many will look to the Thunder’s offense for adjustments in Game 3, but the key will be the Thunder’s defensive adjustments.

3 Defensive Adjustments

1. Go Over the Screens – Of all the teams to go over on screens in the Western Conference playoffs, this would be the best team to do this against. Mike Conley and Ben Udrih are not willing 3-point shooters and are more comfortable on the move towards the basket. But instead, the Thunder keep going under the screens and allowing the Memphis guards to move towards the basket. This causes the defense to collapse and puts it on skates. If the Thunder perimeter defenders are able to stay in front of the drives, this will go a long way in preventing the slew of points in the paint.

westbrook conley grizzlies thunder

2. Don’t Lose Your Man – The Thunder got caught ball watching a couple times in the game, and it cost them. Tony Allen and Tayshaun Prince aren’t necessarily great offensive players, but if you give them an open look near the basket, they’ll make it a high percentage of the time.

3. Rebounding – One of the big adjustments the Grizzlies made was getting back on defense after every shot in order to stop transition. If the Grizzlies are going to do that, then the Thunder cannot allow them to get 12 offensive boards, three of which were in the overtime period and led to four extra points.

3 Offensive Adjustments

1. Bench – If the Thunder are to win, they are going to need more than 14 points from their vaunted bench unit (which consequently, was the same amount of points that Beno Udrih scored). Derek Fisher and Caron Butler only combined for one 3-pointer on four attempts and Reggie Jackson looked like a shell of himself. Also, Steven Adams would have probably helped on the big boys from Memphis. Hopefully, the bench comes out more aggressive in Game 3.

durant randolph allen grizzlies thunder

2. Spacing – The Grizzlies like to crowd the floor with their big men. The Thunder were caught too many times either having their pick and rolls iced or picking up their dribble and not being able to find their intended target (usually Durant). The key will probably be Ibaka. If Ibaka can hit that mid-range jumper, it may cause the defender to lay off the guard and stay on Ibaka. Once that happens, Durant, Westbrook, or Jackson will have the space necessary to operate in the paint.

3. Kendrick Perkins Pick – You want to get Tony Allen off Kevin Durant? Have him meet Kendrick Perkins. Nothing malicious, but enough to send a message.

Enjoy the Moment: Durant and the MVP

Random Thoughts, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

durant thunder

Since the NBA’s first season in 1955-56, there have been 58 MVP’s. Those MVP’s have been won by 29 different players in 19 different cities (four of which currently don’t have NBA franchises). Of the 30 teams in the current NBA, 15 of those cities have never experienced an MVP season by one of their players. So when the inevitable happens and Kevin Durant is named the 2013-14 NBA MVP, Oklahoma City will join an exclusive fraternity of cities that have experienced a magical individual season by one of their players.

Oklahoma City has been lucky enough, in its short time as an NBA franchise, to experience a Coach of  the Year (Brooks, 2010), a Sixth Man of the Year (Harden, 2012), and a Rookie of the Year (Paul, 2006 with the New Orleans/OKC Hornets). The ultimate goal as a sports franchise is to win a championship. But what are teams but a collection of individuals. And if your team, if your city, houses the best individual player in that sport, that is like winning a championship in and of itself.

When an MVP season plays out, you see it coming. Of the 450-500 players that cycle through the league in a given season, only about 2-3 players are deserving of even being considered for the top individual prize in the NBA. And if you, as a fan of that team, are lucky enough to enjoy that experience, then you need to savor it. Because for as much as we like to think that MVP’s and championships will beget more MVP’s and championship, the future is never a definite when it comes to sports. The Russell Westbrook injury last season taught us that. A twist of the knee here, a tweak of the back there, an argument with the front office, and that player could be gone in an instant. Prime example is the last man to win an MVP not named LeBron James. Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose won the MVP in his third season in the league. He looked well on his way to contending for (and possibly winning) multiple MVP’s. But you know the rest of the story. Injuries and re-injuries have completely derailed his career to the point where we wonder whether he’ll ever get back to the MVP form he had pre-injury.

It’s not everyday you get to witness greatness. There are plenty of good players in the league. In any given game, you may see a 20-point scorer, a double digit rounder, or a defensive maven. Most nights the names change. But for MVP candidates, that dominance is seen on a night in/night out basis, over the course of an entire season. That degree of excellence goes from late October usually into late May/early June. That consistency is probably the biggest factor in determining who is MVP-worthy and who isn’t. It’s easy to get up for a game against Miami on a prime time Thursday TNT telecast. It’s that much harder to get up for a Tuesday night game in January against the Milwaukee Bucks. But those select few do it every night.

durant lebron james thunder heat

Eat it up Oklahoma City. Our story is a weird one in which we were basically gift wrapped a once in a generation player. Most cities, when they first get a team, have to toil around in the dredges of the league before they finally find those couple of players that actually make them competitive. But OKC was like “insta-rice”. We got the team, popped in the microwave for one minute (season) and, Voila!, playoff contender. It happened so quickly, that media decided to call it the OKC model of team rebuilding. This model, though, only works if you get a player like Durant in your clutches. It will be very interesting to see where teams like Orlando, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and New Orleans stand in about 3 years when their rebuilds should start bearing fruit.

I always wonder how the OKC fan base will be react when this current run ends. Whether its in two years (a.k.a Durant’s free agency) or in 15 years, Thunder fans have been spoiled beyond belief. But this is the NBA, and success is very cyclical, especially for small market teams. Most Oklahoma fans suffer from what is locally called, the “Sooner mentality”. In three words, the Sooner mentality means “Championship, or bust!”. And we are starting to see that with Thunder fans. Lose a game in a series, and there is a section of fans that is clamoring for Scott Brooks’ head on a platter, and another section clamoring for Thunder GM Sam Presti to sign every available free agent, luxury tax and careful budgeting be damned. Those are the fans I wish I could grab by the shoulders, shake them a bit, look into their eyes, and say, “Stop worrying and enjoy this moment! It may repeat itself next season, but it also may be a once in a lifetime event”.

As we enjoy this moment, look back on the season that made Durant an MVP. Don’t focus on the numbers though. Even though the numbers improved, they don’t tell the entire story. Focus on the maturation of the man. Many players hit their head on ceilings they create because they get satisfied with what they’ve accomplished. Like the theme in the poem Ozymandias, they stand there relishing their accomplishments without realizing their satisfaction will eventually be their downfall. Durant could have been one of those players, and he still would have been considered great. But, instead, he took the hard lessons from the previous season and focused on how he could get better. It is a rare trait in a player to never find satisfaction in their successes. Instead of basking in the glow of their brilliance, they instead survey the field and know that others will be coming after what they have. LeBron James made that transition three seasons ago. Kobe Bryant before him. And Michael Jordan before him. This is the road the Durant is on, and luckily, for us, like Route 66 and I-44, that road runs straight through Oklahoma City. Congratulations Kevin. We are all proud of you.

Money in the bank: The Increase in Salary Cap and the Thunder

Uncategorized

presti thunder

On Friday, the league sent a memo to all the teams in the league that the salary cap will increase by about $5 million dollars and the luxury tax line will follow suit. For teams beckoning for free agents, this is like manna from the heavens. But for teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, who already have their top 3 players under contract, this type of financial relief will allow them to not only to stay out of the luxury tax, but also to remain competitive in the free agency department.

If the Thunder doesn’t trade anyone during the draft or during the offseason, here are the players that are under contract for the 2014-15 NBA season

  • Kevin Durant
  • Russell Westbrook
  • Serge Ibaka
  • Kendrick Perkins
  • Nick Collison
  • Reggie Jackson
  • Jeremy Lamb
  • Perry Jones
  • Andre Roberson
  • Steven Adams
  • Hasheem Thabeet has a team option for $1.25 million. The team picking up his option is probably dependent on whether they bring Tibor Pleiss over from Europe.
  • While still unknown, it is believed that Grant Jerrett also has a team option for the next two seasons.
  • Thabo Sefolosha, Caron Butler, and Derek Fisher will be unrestricted free agents.

With 10 players under contract, that leaves 5 possible roster spots to play with. The Thunder will not be under the salary cap for the foreseeable future, but their biggest battle is staying under the luxury tax to avoid its punitive penalties. With the increase in the luxury tax line, the Thunder are about $9 million dollars under the line. Here are 5 possible things the team may do with this increase in the luxury tax line:

1. Sign Reggie Jackson to an extension

It may not be this offseason, but with the increase in revenue, the team will make it a priority to keep Jackson in their camp. The reasons for resigning Jackson are threefold: First, he provides the necessary scoring and play-making off the bench that would seriously be lacking if he weren’t on the team. Secondly, he works great with Durant, Westbrook, and Ibaka as a 3rd/4th option in the crunchtime line-up. Third, and most importantly, he is a great insurance policy to have if Westbrook’s knee issues ever creep up again. The great unknown is how Westbrook’s knee injury will affect him for the next 3 seasons that he is under contract with the Thunder. Will the team have to maintain their rest policy on back to backs for the rest of his career? Will Westbrook have sporadic bouts with knee tendinitis that may keep him out for a couple games at a time? Will Westbrook have to have arthroscopic scopes from time to time to clean out any debris that will keep him out for 6-8 weeks at a time? These are all issues that will be alleviated if the team resigns Jackson in these next two offseasons.

reggie jackson thunder

This will not be another James Harden situation. For as good as Jackson is, he is not a top 10 player in the league. And the Thunder are in a much better position now to offer their current sixth man a sizeable contract than they were two seasons ago. Let’s not forget, the Thunder offered Harden a near max contract (somewhere in the neighborhood of 4 years/ $52 million) that would have put them over the luxury tax line had he signed it. The Thunder are willing to go over the tax line, but only for the right player and for the right price. I’m not saying that Reggie Jackson’s extension will push them into luxury tax territory because this extension will coincide with Kendrick Perkins’ and (sadness) Nick Collison’s contracts expiring. A 4 year/$26-28 million dollar contract would probably be what the Thunder are shooting for.

2. Keep Kendrick Perkins

If the tax line would have stayed the same for next season, I could have seen a scenario where Perkins would have either been amnestied or traded. Highly unlikely, but still probable. With the tax line bumped up, though, the organization probably sees no reason to let go of the big man at the moment. Say what you want about Perkins, but the team has a great winning percentage when he plays and looks a bit lost defensively in the games that he doesn’t. Is he offensive napalm? Yes. But he’s also a great communicator on the defensive end and holds his teammates accountable when they are not where they are supposed to be on that side of the floor. I don’t know if the Thunder are yet ready to head into a championship contending season with 2nd year center Steven Adams as their starter and Hasheem Thabeet/Tibor Pleiss as his back-up.

3. Use the Kevin Martin Traded Player Exception (TPE)

Many fans, me included, were disappointed when the team didn’t use the Eric Maynor TPE at the trade deadline this season. I thought the team could have used Maynor’s TPE (about $2.2 million) on a shooter from a team that was out of playoff contention. Players like CJ Miles of Cleveland or Anthony Morrow of New Orleans fit into that category. Instead the team let the TPE expire and got nothing from the Maynor deal other than the rights to a European player with a cool name that will never make the trek across the Atlantic.

When the Thunder convinced the Minnesota Timberwolves to do a sign and trade for Kevin Martin, the team obtained a $6.6 million dollar TPE. With the increase in the tax line, Thunder GM Sam Presti should be able to use some or all of the TPE to get a player they covet.

How will they use it? The few teams that are vying for Carmelo Anthony’s services will have to shed salary to obtain him. Those teams will be looking to shed salary without taking any salary back. The Thunder could deal with a team like Chicago to obtain Mike Dunleavy, whose $3 million salary fits nicely within the parameters of the TPE. The trade could work as follows:

  • Bulls get – Thunder’s 1st round pick (29th pick) and a $3.4 million dollar TPE
  • Thunder get – Mike Dunleavy and the Bobcats 1st round pick (via Chicago, No. 16)

The Bulls still end up with 2 first rounders, but the cost is less, which allows them more money under the cap to attempt to sign Carmelo Anthony. Dunleavy is an expiring contract and probably wouldn’t have been on the Bulls past next season.

4. Resign Caron Butler

butler durant westbrook ibaka lamb thunder

Caron Butler seems to be working out well in his short stint with the team. With Derek Fisher “retiring” and the possibility of Thabo Sefolosha not returning after this season, keeping a guy like Butler could shore up many of those intangibles that will be missing if those two guys leave. Butler would have to take a significant pay cut to stay on the team, but if he values playing for a contender, that may be a possibility.

5. Prepare for the next extension for the Big 3.

Presti is always looking 3 or 4 steps ahead. Durant has 2 years left on is current deal after this season, and Westbrook and Ibaka have 3 years left. If the Thunder really follow the Spurs’ model, they’ll be looking to keep this trio together. The next deals for Durant and Westbrook could take them in to the $20 million per season category. The Thunder may need Durant and Westbrook to make sacrifices in order to not only keep the team competitive, but also keep the core together.