Category Archives: NTTB Rumblings

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2018

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img_4063The Thunder will continue their long-standing relationship with WWLS: The Sports Animal: “The Sports Animal has been a tremendous and loyal partner since our inception in Oklahoma City in 2008. The station’s strong listener base and powerful reach have made it the ideal radio partner. We are excited to continue this successful relationship,” said Dan Mahoney, the Thunder’s vice president of broadcasting.”

Brady Trantham (The Franchise) on how new assistant coach Bob Beyer could help the Thunder: “With the Pistons, Beyer was pivotal in influencing the switch from a heavy based pick-and-roll offense for the first three years of his tenure in Detroit into a motion attack.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 21 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 20 August 2018

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img_4063Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) on the resilliency of Andre Roberson during his rehab process: “At the beginning of August, he joined some teammates in Los Angeles for informal workouts, participating in what he could. A couple weeks later, he ran. He didn’t get very far, but that’s because his sprinting came on a high-speed treadmill. It was a proud moment that Roberson showed to the world on Instagram, and a sign that even if Roberson isn’t completely back to 100 percent, both his health and his confidence are heading that direction.”

A great piece by Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on how the last 10 years of Thunder basketball have helped shape Oklahoma City: “According to data provided to the Thunder by the city, each home game translates to $1.5 million in economic impact for OKC. That’s almost $700 million since the team arrived in 2008. Since the Thunder arrived, downtown’s residential growth has outpaced the city’s as a whole. There are more than 5,000 residential units downtown, a dramatic increase since 2008.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 20 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 August 2018

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img_4063Lawrence George (Thunderous Intentions) on why the Vegas odds differ from those of ESPN’s Kevin Pelton: “Westgate lines from Vegas and Pelton’s projections tell two different stories. Vegas expect Oklahoma City to improve while KP predicts the Thunder to be the same or slightly worse despite trading Anthony and acquiring a number of young assets.”

Brian Mazique (Forbes) on Russell Westbrook’s 2K rating: “This just might be the most accurate representation of Westbrook we’ve seen in any sports video game. Previous years, we’ve seen some questionable renders surface for Westbrook, but this one is probably the benchmark. Westbrook is coming off his second straight season averaging a triple-double.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 15 August 2018

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img_4063Tamberlyn Richardson (Thunderous Intentions) on Corey Brewer’s interview with Aaron Torres: “Brewer says Russell Westbrook is one of the most positive players he’s ever had as a teammate and what people say about Russ being driven isn’t just idle talk. It’s often been discussed by his teammates, but Brewer mirrors the notes of how incredible of an athlete Russ is.”

Steven Adams made the richest New Zealander list for the first time (via NewsHub): “Adams is included for the first time, coming in at the bottom of the list with a net worth of $50 million. He’s halfway through a four-year $145 million dollar deal with the Oklahoma City Thunder in what is the largest contract ever signed by a New Zealand athlete.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 15 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 14 August 2018

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img_4063Erik Horne (NewsOK) on the Thunder signing Tyler Davis to their final 2-way contract: “Davis (6-foot-10, 265 pounds) averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game in three seasons at Texas A&M. Davis’s signing was first reported by Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports.”

Alex Miller (Dallas News) looks at Tyler Davis’ draft journey: “Davis went undrafted in June’s NBA Draft, but soon signed a deal with the Brooklyn Nets and stayed with the team through Summer League action. In four Summer League games with the Nets, Davis averaged 11.0 points and 4.5 rebounds per game.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) on the Thunder having a case of the Mondays: “One side effect is more games on week nights. One benefit is fewer home games bunched together. One of the major commitments of Thunder ticket-holders is time. When the Thunder hosts three or four home games in a seven- or eight-day span, it taxes fans’ ability to get to the arena.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 14 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings -13 August 2018

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Give a listen to the new episode of the NTTB Podcast. We discuss whether Russell Westbrook is running out of excuses, review the schedule, and much more. 

Erik Horne (NewsOK) chronicling the loss of long time NBA/Thunder photographer Layne Murdoch, who passed away on August 10: “We’ve lost a friend and special member of the Thunder family,” the post reads. “Layne was among the best in the business and a fixture on the Thunder baseline for the first ten seasons. The images he captured at our games and events provide a vivid archive of our team and organization. Beyond his skills as a photographer, Layne’s smile, sense of humor and engaging personality connected him with anyone he met. He had a deep passion for his craft, our team and our city.”

Condolences to Layne Murdoch’s family and friends. Lord knows, a lot of the pictures on this website have been used without his permission. He was a technician with the camera. He could tell a story with his pictures.  Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings -13 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 07 August 2018

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img_4063Berry Tramel (NewsOK) looks at the Vegas win odds: “A few things to remember. This isn’t a prediction. An NBA team or two will reach the extremes on both ends. But Vegas can’t account for that. It can’t predict that the star-studded Warriors will win 69 games. Few teams in NBA history will do that. Vegas can’t predict that Atlanta will win 14 games. Few teams in NBA history will do that. The Warriors might very well approach 70 wins again, and the Hawks might threaten the all-time worst record. But this isn’t a prediction. This is a process by which Las Vegas tries to remove as much money from your wallet as it can.”

David Aldridge (NBA.com) says Oklahoma City had the best offseason: “This is real simple: with Roberson on the court last year, OKC’s opponent offensive rating was 99.2; when he was off, it was 110.7. The Thunder was a near-elite defensive unit when Roberson played and was awful when he didn’t. His Real Defensive Plus-Minus, per ESPN.com, was 4.34, second only to Utah’s Rudy Gobert (5.06). So when Roberson ruptured his patellar tendon in late January, the Thunder’s ability to use George as a weakside defender who could freelance and use his length to create deflections and turnovers (because Roberson had the strong side absolutely locked down) went away.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 07 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 06 August 2018

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Check out the new episode of the NTTB Podcast, where we christen the Westbrooks with the name of their new bundle of joy, we discuss who should start at power forward, and we discuss the LeBron James vs. Donald Trump debate.

Nick Gallo (OKCThunder.com) looks at what Patrick Patterson can bring to the Thunder this upcoming season: “A step behind to start the year, Patterson’s role ended up being a 15-minute-per-game player, with averages of 3.9 points on an admirable 38.6 percent three-point shooting, along with 2.4 rebounds per game. In 2018-19, the Thunder and Patterson himself believe he can contribute more, not just on the stat sheet but also in terms of the team’s overall gameplay and style.”

Gallo (OKCThunder.com) chronicled the Thunder’s day at Lake Castaic in Paul George’s fishing tournament: “But then came one of the final boats, which included Nader, the newcomer to the Thunder roster who hadn’t fished before despite always enjoying the outdoors. Throughout the 6 hours on the lake, George, Westbrook and Roberson had been visible and camped out along the shore line. Nader was nowhere to be found. Turns out he and his professional partner knew Castaic’s secrets, because they brought back the limit – five bass fish – including the biggest fish of the day at 4 pounds, 12 ounces.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 06 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 03 August 2018

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img_4063Jerry Tipton (Kentucky Sports) on Hamidou Diallo getting used to NBA life in Oklahoma City: “I’m from New York,” he said. “So definitely any city I probably go to — unless it’s L.A. or Chicago or a couple other of those major cities — it’s going to be a little culture shock. For the most part, Kentucky prepared me for it. So I’m cool. It’s a cool city. Cool people.”

Noah Schulte (Thunderous Intentions) looks at 4 Thunder players that need to step up this season: “For the past two years they’ve been one of the shallowest teams in the league, rarely having any impact players to fill in when one of the starters goes out. Furthermore, OKC’s complete lack of three-point shooting has made their offense far too predictable to advance in the bloodbath that has become the Western Conference. Seemingly the Thunder have the right players to address those problems, but for one reason or another, those guys just haven’t come through to their potential yet.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 03 August 2018 →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 02 August 2018

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Torrey Hart (Yahoo Sports) on Kevin Durant doing Kevin Durant things.

(Complete sidebar: I love Twitter, but sometimes, when famous people “mobilize their stans” it can get ridiculous and almost threatening. This girl put out a tweet, KD responded knowing his followers would attack, and now there are people trying to hack into her account and threatening her. For as much as Kevin Durant talks of his disdain for Donald Trump, he sure does follow his Twitter formula.)

Colin Ward-Henninger (CBS Sports) grades every team’s offseason, and he rates the Thunder pretty high. Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 02 August 2018 →