Tag Archives: Carmelo Anthony

NTTB Rumblings – 26 October 2017

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Great win last night. Sure wish Oladipo could have consistently played like that for the Thunder last season.

Jeremy Lambert (Thunderous Intentions) would like to remind you the sky is not falling in regards to the Thunder: “We’re one week into the NBA season and the OKC Thunder sit at 2-2. Not a bad record, but given the firepower on the squad, most fans probably hoped for better. And it could be 3-1 if not for an Andrew Wiggins buzzer beater, so the sky isn’t exactly falling. That’s the theme for this column: the sky is not falling. Neither is Paul George’s shot, Russell Westbrook’s free throws or Andre Roberson’s anything.”

Royce Young (ESPN) on Paul George’s struggles against his former team: “George then fouled out with 6:15 left in the fourth, with only 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting in 19 minutes. “That hasn’t happened often in my career,” George said of winning the game despite his struggles. “Fortunate to have those guys carry me. They knew how big this game was for me, and they went out and got it for me.”

The Thunder opened up a new basketball court in Calumet.  Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 26 October 2017 →

Pacers vs. Thunder preview (Game 4 of 82)

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  • When: Wednesday, 25 October 2017 at 7:00 pm CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: FSOK
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -14.5 | O/U – 218

I’ve never been a huge fan of moral victories. It feels like a gateway to developing a losing mentality. The great, “Oh, we lost, but…” A team says that enough times and failure becomes an acceptable habit. “Missed it by this much” becomes the norm.

Sunday’s loss felt different, though. Yes, it was definitely a moral victory, which means it was a loss. But it felt like the team discovered something about itself in that fourth quarter (almost) comeback. Russell Westbrook, who has had to adjust on the fly to having two scoring wings next to him, reverted back to what felt natural to him. And it worked. Shots fell. The team got stops. And what started as a 13-point deficit heading into the quarter turned into a one point lead with 5 seconds left. Of course, we all know what transpired after that as Andrew Wiggins and the three referees made sure Minnesota came out of that game with a victory (shouts out to you, Last 2-Minutes report).  Continue reading Pacers vs. Thunder preview (Game 4 of 82) →

NTTB Rumblings – 25 Oct 2017

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Kyle Wagner (FiveThirtyEight) on the Thunder’s sudden inability to rebound: “However, the George and Anthony moves do seem to have had an effect on another piece of the team’s core identity: For the first time in a decade, the Thunder are struggling to rebound. The Thunder have grabbed just 47.5 percent of available rebounds in their first three games — about 6 percentage points lower than last year and 24th in the league. As a team, the Thunder haven’t finished outside the top 10 since they moved to Oklahoma City.”

When the robots finally attack, they can point its genesis to the Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Clifton Brown (Indy Star) on Paul George facing his old team for the first time: “There was no way to reconcile those conflicting emotions, as George prepared to play his first game against the Pacers on Wednesday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena. George was smiling and had the aura of a man at peace after Tuesday’s practice at the Oklahoma City Thunder’s practice facility. But George admitted that the timing of his departure from the Pacers was awkward and that if he could do it again, he would have handled some things differently.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 25 Oct 2017 →

NTTB Rumblings – 23 Oct 2017

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Tough one last night. But we move on…

Royce Young (ESPN) on the crazy finish from last night’s game: “It was the perfect finish, the ideal answer to the first crunch time test for the new look Oklahoma City Thunder. Russell Westbrook remained the clutch-time king, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the final five minutes. But in the biggest spot, after Karl-Anthony Towns put the Minnesota Timberwolves up two with 8.9 seconds remaining, Westbrook did what many within the team claimed he’d do, but many outside were skeptical of — he found the open man. He drove right at Carmelo Anthony’s defender, and dropped a pass off to an open Anthony, who splashed the go-ahead 3-pointer with 4.9 seconds left. Then, Andrew Wiggins went and messed it all up.”

Kent Youngblood (Star Tribune) gives a recap of the game from the other side: “Andrew Wiggins did not call glass. After the game was over, surrounded by reporters, taking all sorts of abuse from his teammates, Wiggins admitted that much. “No,” Wiggins said, smiling. “I did not.” A few lockers down, Karl-Anthony Towns laughed. “He called ‘game,’ ” Towns said.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 23 Oct 2017 →

Thunder lose on a Wiggins game winner, 115-113

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Why does it always have to end like this? Whether it’s Anthony Davis double clutching one in at the buzzer or Stephen Curry shooting it from Gotebo, the Oklahoma City Thunder always seem to succumb to buzzer beaters that should count as 4-pointers.

This time it was Andrew Wiggins unleashing a 35-foot running banker that had MidFirst Bank wondering whether they should give him a $20,000 check or not. It was a shame too, because the Thunder finally started looking like Thunder after a 7-quarter slumber. Between the Utah game and the first three quarters of this game, the Thunder did not look anything like a team that featured three 20-point scorers. Instead they looked like a team that was completely unsure of how it should play with it’s plethora of talent.

But with the Thunder down by 13 heading into the 4th quarter, the light kind of started to turn on over the Thunder’s collective heads. It started with (duh!) getting stops on the defensive end. The Thunder went on a 12-2 run in the first three and a half minutes of the fourth. Once the Thunder brought it down to about 5, it became a game again. Continue reading Thunder lose on a Wiggins game winner, 115-113 →

Timberwolves vs. Thunder preview (Game 3 of 82)

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  • When: Sunday, 22 October 2017 at 6:00 pm CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: FSOK
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -4.0 | O/U – 210.5

Six points? Six points for current MVP, Russell Westbrook. Much of the credit needs to go to the Utah defense, who executed a great defensive game plan. But it didn’t much seem like Westbrook was trying to attack the defense, either. He almost looked like he was settling. And the words Westbrook and settling don’t necessarily go together in a sentence.

Westbrook is known for his attacking nature and his ‘never say die’ style of play. But last night, he seemed almost content with passing the ball to Carmelo Anthony and Paul George and letting them shoot the Oklahoma City Thunder out of the rut they were in. The Westbrook from last season would have looked at the Westbrook from last night and wondered ‘what the hell are you doing?’.  Continue reading Timberwolves vs. Thunder preview (Game 3 of 82) →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 20 Oct 2017

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Great start to the season. Let’s keep it rolling. 

Royce Young (ESPN) says Carmelo Anthony is ready to move on from the Knicks after his Thunder debut: “I was actually surprised the first shot was that wide open,” Anthony said. “Just happy it went in, got that first shot out of the way and was able to focus on the rest of the game.” Then he missed his next seven shots. But like the rest of the Thunder, it was a slow burn as Anthony revved up in the second quarter and into the third, scoring 22 on 8-of-20 shooting in a 105-84 win over the New York Knicks on opening night.”

Ben Rohrbach (Yahoo) looks at Russell Westbrook debuting with what else? A triple double: “Following an MVP campaign in which he set the record for triple-doubles and became the second player to average one for a full season, Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook began 2017-18 with another one, collecting 21 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds in a 105-84 victory against the Knicks.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on Enes Kanter’s return to OKC: “Kanter got a long, loud ovation when he was announced among the Knicks starters. And he didn’t get the hard elbow he’d been promised from Adams, his former teammate and Stache Bro. “He was just kind pushing me and elbowing me a little,” Kanter said. “It wasn’t really nothing hard.”

Berry Tramel (NewsOK) on if Westbrook can lead the league in assists this season: “Could the Thunder buy itself insurance against any kind of disconnect by telling Westbrook to lead the league in assists? Why not? Westbrook is a why-not kind of guy, perhaps you’ve heard, and any hint of Westbrook not being able to accomplish some achievement is usually followed by Westbrook scaling that exact mountain. Can’t be an NBA point guard? Can’t lead the league in scoring? Can’t average a triple double? Can’t possibly stay in Oklahoma City without Kevin Durant? Westbrook is East bound and down, loaded up and truckin’. He’s going to do what they said can’t be done.”

Knicks vs. Thunder Primer (Game 1 of 82)

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  • When: Thursday, 19 October 2017 at 7:00 pm CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: TNT
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -12.0 | O/U – 215

Ten years strong and we’ve almost seen it all. We’ve seen two MVP’s. We’ve seen one Coach of the Year. We’ve seen one 6th Man of the Year. We’ve seen four Western Conference championship appearances. We’ve seen one NBA Finals appearance. We’ve seen injuries derail promising seasons. We’ve seen front office moves that have left us cheering and ones that have left us confuzzled (confused and puzzled). We’ve seen players we love traded. And we’ve seen players who were once heroes to us turn into absolute villains.  Continue reading Knicks vs. Thunder Primer (Game 1 of 82) →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 19 Oct 2017

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It’s GameDay. Finally!

Royce Young (ESPN) on Paul George having to re-live his own gruesome injury after the Hayward broken ankle: “If there’s one player who understands what Gordon Hayward is going through, it’s Paul George. The Oklahoma City Thunder star said seeing Hayward’s devastating injury Tuesday night made him “nauseous.”

Marc Stein (New York Times) on who really convinced Carmelo Anthony to accept OKC as a destination: “My son said he wanted me to play for O.K.C.,” Anthony said. “Even before O.K.C. was in the picture.’’ Anthony proudly told that story on Tuesday afternoon after practice, lounging on a comfortable courtside bench while watching his son, Kiyan Carmelo Anthony, who is 10, work on his one-on-one moves against some Thunder staffers and, for a few minutes, Westbrook himself.”

Caroline Vandergriff (FoxNews25) on the Thunder opening up the Thunder experience to sensory-sensitive fans: “The atmosphere inside Chesapeake Arena is electric when the Thunder hits the court, but sometimes that energy can be overwhelming for fans living with autism, PTSD, Parkinson’s, or early onset dementia. “Whether it’s kids or adults who may be challenged by the noise or the commotion, there are opportunities and solutions to provide a better experience for those fans,” said Brian Byrnes, senior vice president of sales & marketing for the Thunder.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 19 Oct 2017 →

20 Thunder-centric predictions for the season

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Am I a homer? Heck yeah. I’m a fan of the team I write about. It’s not a difficult concept. I like to write about things I’m familiar with. I know basketball, but more specifically, I know Thunder basketball. So I write about it.

Predictions are always a difficult thing when it comes to sports. They are usually made with the caveat that a ton of variables remain static. Things such as injuries, front office moves, suspensions, chemistry can’t be taken into account.

When you look at these 20 predictions, know two things: 1) They are likely going to favor the Oklahoma City Thunder in some form or fashion. And 2) Because I know a little about basketball, I’ll never make a prediction so outlandish that it won’t have a chance of coming true. Without further ado, here are the predictions:

20. Josh Huestis will play over 750 minutes this season for the Thunder.

In his first two seasons, Huestis played a grand total of 86 minutes for the Thunder. But the third year forward looks determined to get some minutes this year, and his play in the preseason may warrant some looks. While 750 minutes may seem like a lot, that’s just 9.2 minutes per game over 82 games. I think Huestis will be a full-time NBA player this year and will get enough playing time to reach that minutes mark. Continue reading 20 Thunder-centric predictions for the season →