Tag Archives: Steven Adams

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) →

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 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 13 Oct 2017

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Happy Friday the 13th, guys!!!

Paul Pierce is now my favoritest retired basketball player:

Tim Cato (SB Nation) on how the team’s culture actually became it’s saving grace: “For the Thunder, this didn’t take years. It took one summer. After Durant’s departure, the Thunder doubled down on Russell Westbrook and let him run rampant for an MVP. It was delightful, but an inevitable first-round defeat followed. They were a team built for two stars in a league that demands several of them, and Westbrook was but one. From atop the franchise, general manager Sam Presti preached patience. “We feel really good about the momentum that’s been created,” Presti said at the Thunder’s exit interviews last May. “We’re trying to do something here that I don’t think there’s a ton of examples of in the NBA.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 13 Oct 2017 →

Five Takeaways From the Preseason

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The Oklahoma City Thunder’s preseason came to a close on Tuesday with a road win over the Denver Nuggets. The Thunder finished the preseason 3-1, losing only to the Houston Rockets in their first preseason game. Also of note in that game was the fact Russell Westbrook did not play.

In the games where all the starters played, the Thunder went undefeated, ushering the era of the Thunder’s Big 3. When it comes to the preseason though, each team has a different objective for what they want to garner out of these practice games. For the Thunder, it was clear they wanted to build chemistry between Westbrook, Paul George, and Carmelo Anthony. And they wanted to see what they had in a couple of their young guys.

There’s not a lot that can be extrapolated from four games. The Thunder likely won’t win 75% of their games this season. And the Big 3 likely won’t average just 21 minutes a game. With that said, there were some takeaways I noticed from this past week. Some are positive. Others are worrisome. Here are five takeaways from this preseason. Continue reading Five Takeaways From the Preseason →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 Oct 2017

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Royce Young (ESPN) recaps the surprisingly close game between the Thunder and Melbourne United: “Their aggressiveness probably at times took us out of some rhythm and flow, which was good,” Billy Donovan said, “and us having to work through that was really important.” It has been a mild theme thus far in preseason as they work in two star pieces to play alongside Westbrook, who set a usage rate record last season en route to winning MVP. It’s also a bit of a touchy topic for Westbrook, as he tried to get in front of any conversation surrounding on-court chemistry issues or ragged offense on Saturday.”

Nick Metallinos (ESPN) looks at one of the players that impressed from Melbourne United: “I love talk like that,” he said. “We were always the underdog, we knew that coming in. They didn’t scout us, they didn’t know nothin’ about us, they didn’t respect us. We knew that and we made them respect us tonight.” Defensively Ware was tasked with the job of containing the explosive Westbrook, and played him close all game. Despite giving up five inches and about 25 pounds to the Oklahoma guard, Ware forced Westbrook into a couple of early turnovers, pulling the chair on him twice in the first quarter forcing him to fall to the ground.”

Westbrook’s attire after the game may have been a shot at an old teammate.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 09 Oct 2017 →

Pelicans vs. Thunder Primer (Preseason Game 2)

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  • When: Friday, 06 October 2017 at 7:00 pm CST
  • Where: Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, OK
  • TV: okcthunder.com or the OKC Thunder app (stream)
  • Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM, 930 AM (Spanish))

One preseason game down. Oklahoma City Thunder fans finally got to see what Paul George and Carmelo Anthony will look like in Thunder uniforms. It didn’t always flow smoothly, but the set-up for something bigger was there. The two of the Big 3 who played put their vast array of skills on display. George showed his overall ability (offense and defense) and Anthony showed his shot-making ability.

Were there hiccups? Of course. George and Anthony overpassed a little, leading to a couple turnovers. In addition, they seemed a little lost on how to use Steven Adams. The chemistry developed between Russell Westbrook and Adams took about two seasons to actually produce fruit. It would be foolish to think the new players on the team would have immediate chemistry with the old players on the team. Continue reading Pelicans vs. Thunder Primer (Preseason Game 2) →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 05 Oct 2017

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Sports Illustrated picked which teams they thought would be the biggest flops in the NBA this season: “But there are still a bunch of open questions. Is Westbrook wired to balance his own exceptional scoring and playmaking with the pure distributing skills that are needed to fully involve George and Anthony? Is Anthony willing to scale back his ball-stopping and turn up his defensive intensity in a new role? Is George, who openly demanded every important shot in the 2017 playoffs for Indiana, willing to regularly take a backseat in crunch time? Can these three talented scorers find ways to make each other, and their limited supporting cast, better? Or, do their skills prove to be redundant enough to hold back Oklahoma City’s overall offensive efficiency?”

Victor Galvez of Clutch Points says the Rockets/Thunder preseason game was the most watched preseason game since 2011.

Kevin O’Connor (The Ringer) looks at how the Thunder will play with a Big 3 in tow: “After Thunder general manager Sam Presti pulled off a miracle by trading for both Paul George and Carmelo Anthony this offseason, Westbrook now has teammates worth sharing with. Like Westbrook, both George and Anthony have experienced their share of playoff disappointments. They know the burden of trying to build a winner without another superstar on their side. “Honestly, in this league, it’s hard to [win] alone. Russ averages a triple-double and couldn’t get out of the first round,” George said at Thunder media day. “You just need guys of that stature and that level to be able to help and create something special.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 05 Oct 2017 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 04 Oct 2017

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Danny Chau (The Ringer) looks at the Thunder’s best and worst-case scenarios in his preview: “What apprehension exists in Melo’s fit doesn’t exist for George, who has exhibited all of those qualities and abilities in his time with Indiana—he can create his own shot, spot-up, position himself off the ball, and defend just about every position. He is not only the perfect running mate for Westbrook—he’s just about the perfect running mate for any franchise player. The Thunder will go as far as their new Big Three takes them, and their talent alone suggests they could go deep.”

Tony Heim (Thunderous Intentions) with five take-aways from last night’s game: “Throw away the score when you break down this game. While Mike D’Antoni was focused on working Chris Paul with his main playing partners, Billy Donovan used the time to get Oklahoma City’s young prospects valuable playing time. Terrance Ferguson, Daniel Hamilton and Josh Huestis all got at least 14 minutes; they all looked pretty good too. More importantly, Carmelo Anthony and Paul George looked comfortable in Billy Donovan’s offense. There were obviously moments where players were late to screens and misreading teammates, but overall the ball movement on offense is already better.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 04 Oct 2017 →

Rockets beat the new look Thunder 104-97

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Sue Ogrocki – AP Photo

BOX SCORE

Before we even go into specifics, there are three things you need to know about this game:

  1. It was the first preseason game for both teams.
  2. The Thunder were without Russell Westbrook, Patrick Patterson, and Alex Abrines.
  3. The Houston Rockets launched 55! three-pointers (Why?)

In essence, the Thunder treated this game like it was a preseason game. Work out little kinks here and there, let the starters get comfortable with each other for the first half, and find out what you have from the bench. Houston, on the other hand, almost treated this game like it was a regular season game. The eight players who will likely be prominently featured in Houston’s rotation all played over 20 minutes, with James Harden leading the way with 29 minutes.  Continue reading Rockets beat the new look Thunder 104-97 →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 29 Sept 2017

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Ian Begley (ESPN) says Carmelo Anthony was nearly a Rocket and also nearly a Cavalier: “Actually, it was funny because me and PG was supposed to be in Cleveland on draft night,” Anthony said. “We were communicating about that. The deal was actually done, and it got called off on draft night, so me and PG stayed connected throughout the course of the [offseason]. We never even talked about OKC, though.”

David Purdum (ESPN) on ESPN’s odds going up with the acquisition of Anthony: “After acquiring Paul George and Carmelo Anthony in an active offseason, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s odd have moved from 60-1 to 16-1 to win the 2017-18 NBA championship at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. With George and Anthony joining reigning MVP Russell Westbrook in Oklahoma City, the Thunder have narrowed the gap with the other top tier of contenders in the Western Conference. The Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs are each listed at 15-1 to win the championship at the SuperBook.”

OKC will be Thunder Up Tulsa in preparation for their preseason game on October 3rd.  Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 29 Sept 2017 →