Tag Archives: MVP

Thunder At A Glance – 12 December 2018

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img_4063Isaiah Freedman (Welcome to Loud City) on whether the Thunder are currently title contenders: “OKC can match up with anyone defensively, and while their offense has not been the most efficient in the league (it hovers around league average), they are only a Russ or PG explosion away from rendering that stat useless. We still have not seen this team at full strength, and if Roberson can get back to playing all-world defense by the time the playoffs come around, the Thunder will be a true force to be reckoned with.”

Patrick Redford (Deadspin) on Paul George’s 2-way ability and how it’s helping the Thunder: “It’s working! Really well! George is averaging 24.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.2 steals per game, all of which are career-highs. All of the other advanced metrics point to this campaign as George’s best statistical season, which is impressive coming next to Westbrook, a man who likes to have the ball in his hands at all times, always, unconditionally. To his credit, Westbrook has backed down this year, using the rock on only 31.9 percent of Thunder possessions, a rate comparable to his first All-Star season in 2010-11. Westbrook also leads the league in assist percentage, and has cleaned up his shot selection. As he’s chilled out, George has stepped up, and their games complement each other perfectly; Westbrook explodes into the lane and creates chaos, George hits shots, cleans shit up, and exploits mismatches.” Continue reading Thunder At A Glance – 12 December 2018 →

Thunder At A Glance – 11 December 2018

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img_4063Jonathan Tjarks (The Ringer) on how the best offense for the Thunder is a great defense: “Oklahoma City is built around an overwhelming amount of length and athleticism. After getting off to an 0-3 start, it doubled down on both its strengths and weaknesses by benching Patrick Patterson for Jerami Grant, an all-world athlete and inconsistent shooter. Grant, at 6-foot-9 and 220 pounds with a 7-foot-3 wingspan, is a hyper-athletic wing who can defend players at all five positions. A frontcourt of Grant, Steven Adams, and Paul George stifles opposing teams, regardless of who the point guard is. That trio has a net rating of plus-13 in 373 minutes with Westbrook and plus-14 in 313 minutes with Schröder.”

Royce Young (ESPN) recaps the Thunder’s win against the Jazz, where Paul George excelled and Russell Westbrook struggled: “I just talked to [Westbrook] in the back [of the locker room] and told him, ‘It’s an 82-game season,’ and I told him, ‘I got your back,'” George said. “He’s had me on plenty of occasions where I had an off night and Russ took over offensively and put the game on his shoulders. I’m his counterpart, and I’ve got to do the same for him. It’s a long season, there’s going to be games like that. Special thing, good thing about this team: We’ve got two guys that can fill it up on a nightly basis. But he’s fine, it’s nothing he’s gotta get coached through. He’s been a scoring leader. He knows how to score the ball.” Continue reading Thunder At A Glance – 11 December 2018 →

Topic: Thunder Podcast – The Weekly, Episode 10

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Topic ThunderOn the latest episode of The Weekly, the Topic: Thunder crew discuss the following topics:

  • Hooking up the TiVo – Loss vs. Denver, Wins vs. Cleveland and Atlanta
  • Quarterly NBA awards (MVP, ROY, DPOY, MIP, etc)
  • Quarterly NBA awards (MVP, Newcomer, DPOY (minus Paul George & Steven Adams), etc)
  • What to do about Deonte Burton
  • Andre Roberson setback and what to expect moving forward
  • Thunder Forecast – Looking forward towards 3 road games in Detroit, Brooklyn, and Chicago
  • And more

Thank you for listening to our podcast. You can catch the post-game recaps on the 2018-19 Schedule page on this site and on Thunderous Intentions. You can listen to us anywhere you get your podcasts. Please leave us a 5-star review on Itunes if you would like. That really helps with our ratings on Itunes. You can follow us and interact with us on Twitter (@OKCTopicThunder). Thank you for listening, and as always, Thunder Up!

https://anchor.fm/dashboard/episode/e2m83b

Thunder @ Bucks preview (Game 7 of 82)

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okc logo @ bucks

  • When: Tuesday, 31 October 2017 at 7:00 pm CST
  • Where: BMO Harris Bradley Center, Milwaukee, WI
  • TV: NBATV/FSOK
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))
  • Line: OKC -1.5 | O/U – 212.5

Consistency is something the Oklahoma City Thunder have been lacking this season. Play one great game and follow it up with a subpar game. And while a lot of that may have to do with the opponent (all the losses have come against teams that will likely be in the playoffs), the Thunder have got to start winning those games.

Tonight is no different. After obliterating the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, the Thunder face one of the up and coming teams in the East in the Milwaukee Bucks. Giannis Antetokounmpo is playing like a bonafide MVP candidate and the rest of the team is playing well in their roles.  Continue reading Thunder @ Bucks preview (Game 7 of 82) →

What does a regular Westbrook MVP season look like?

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USP NBA: OKLAHOMA CITY THUNDER AT MEMPHIS GRIZZLIE S BKN MEM OKC USA TNRecently, Bovada, the online gambling site based out of Las Vegas, released their NBA MVP odds for next season. Leading that list was current league MVP Russell Westbrook, at 7/2 odds. Former league MVP and Westbrook’s former teammate, Kevin Durant, was second with 9/2 odds.

The fact that Bovada would have Westbrook listed as their leader for MVP odds seems  a litte strange to me. Not in the fact that Westbrook doesn’t have the credentials to be an MVP-worthy candidate. That, he definitely does. But in the fact that, with the Oklahoma City Thunder’s moves this offseason, an MVP season for Westbrook this year will look completely different than the MVP season from last year. Continue reading What does a regular Westbrook MVP season look like? →

NTTB Podcast (Episode 9) – Space Jam for life

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IMG_4109On Episode 9 of the NTTB podcast, we discuss the following topics:

  • Bovada releases their MVP odds for next season
  • What does a regular Russell Westbrook MVP season look like?
  • Anthony Morrow shows up in Oklahoma City
  • Enes Kanter scrimmages with LeBron, Melo, and KD.
  • Twitter questions
  • Southeast Division preview

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!

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 18 August 2017

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img_4133-5Hello, Friday. Hopefully, it’s a payday for you. Here are the Rumblings.

Nick Gallo chronicled Paul George’s visit to Castaic Lake with Russell Westbrook and other members of the Thunder organization: “This day was very special,” George explained. “Everyone here had a wonderful time. This has been a dream of mine for a very long time, to push it out of its nest and hopefully let it take off and be something down the road. About an hour later, a sports car pulled into the parking lot near the west ramp of Castaic Lake. Fresh off of an airplane, Russell Westbrook had just cruised up the 405 to meet George at his event. A large contingent of Thunder players, coaches and staff who had attended a staff member’s wedding reception the night before had boarded a 6 a.m. flight out of Oklahoma City on Sunday morning, including the league’s reigning MVP. Per usual, the ever-punctual Westbrook was the first to make it from LAX to George’s event.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 18 August 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 28 June 2017

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Are you still buzzing off the Westbrook MVP win? I know I am. Here are the Thunder happenings for this Hump Day on DTR.

The Westbrook extensions looms large on the mind of Oklahomans: “Some 1,500 miles away, the reporter’s question still lingered in Oklahoma City: “Saturday you have a chance to sign a long-term extension and be with the city for a long time. Is that something you’ve thought about or are you ready to commit to stay with the Thunder for the long-term?” Monday night marked the second time since the end of the season that the All-Star point guard has evaded questions about whether or not he will sign the so-called super-max extension this summer, which would pay him an additional $201 million and keep him in Oklahoma City through 2022-23.”

Fred Katz looks at the difficulty in bringing in another superstar: “There may be a deeper meaning when general manager Sam Presti boasts about the talent already on the Oklahoma City Thunder. Reach back to almost two months ago, when Presti spent much of his end-of-season exit interview discussing continuity, the value in keeping together a youthful group that was actually the NBA’s youngest playoff team this past season. He was signaling more than just faith in the present talent when he explained the Thunder’s offseason prospects.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 28 June 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 27 June 2017

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In case you didn’t know, Russell Westbrook won some sort of award last night. Here’s some Thunder news related to that and other things on DTR.

Royce Young’s write up on Westbrook MVP coronation: “It was a goal to win, and while Westbrook’s focus of course remained on the Thunder winning games, as he closed in on the MVP, he wanted it. In year one without Kevin Durant, Westbrook produced something memorable, something that will stand the test of sport history. It was a season that transcended the game. It was a total eclipse, something probably seen only once in a lifetime. Westbrook didn’t erase the pain and heartbreak of Durant’s leaving, but he did somehow make it seem less important. Which was maybe his greatest achievement of them all. But with all of that done and the book finally closed on his 2016-17 season, hardware in hand, it’s the same two words Westbrook asked following the departure of his All-Star teammate: What’s next?” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 27 June 2017 →

Russell Westbrook wins the 2016-17 NBA MVP

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The NBA held their inaugural NBA Awards Show and the Oklahoma City Thunder racked up their fair share of accolades. First up, Russell Westbrook won the Best Style award voted on by the fans. I mean, was there even a debate with this award. This was the first of three fan awards the Thunder would win.

Next up, Victor Oladipo won Dunk of the Year for his viscous two-handed double pump on Dwight Howard in Atlanta. The dunk was so savage that Hawks’ management moved Howard to Charlotte under the assumed identity of Hight Doward.

The third fan award won by the Thunder went to Russell Westbrook who won Gamewinner of the Year for his 35 foot bomb in Denver that knocked the Nuggets out of playoff contention and capped off Westbrook’s record setting 42nd triple double.  Continue reading Russell Westbrook wins the 2016-17 NBA MVP →