Tag Archives: Victor Oladipo

Miss Me With That Westbrook Slander

Random Thoughts, , , , ,

russ pg

“Miss me with that bulls***”

Such a short statement in a long complex song. This quote, of course, is from the song “King’s Dead” by possibly the best rapper in the game currently, Kendrick Lamar.

There is something about the way that he begins the phrase.

“Miss me”

It’s like he’s saying, “Take all the shots you want, but don’t come at me weak because you have no clue what you’re actually talking about.”

At least, that’s how I take it.

Now I’m not one to curse. Personally, I don’t see the point. But that’s neither here, nor there. So while I agree with what Mr. Lamar is saying, you won’t ever hear me say that statement. Instead, I have actually taken the concept and simplified it so that you know exactly what I’m talking about. Continue reading Miss Me With That Westbrook Slander →

NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 August 2018

NTTB Rumblings, , , , , ,

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 – 16 July 2018

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img_4063Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on Thunder summer league (and Blue) coach Mark Daigneault: “He learned basketball from Jim Calhoun, for whom he worked as a student manager at UConn, and Ralph Willard, who hired him as an assistant at Holy Cross, and from Billy Donovan, who brought him on at Florida as a graduate assistant and ultimately followed him to Oklahoma City.”

Erik Horne (NewsOK) looks at the rotational players for the Thunder during summer league: “Diallo shouldn’t have lasted until the No. 45 pick in the draft. In Las Vegas, the 19-year-old showcased elite athleticism, was efficient (20-of-41 shooting), rebounded well (4.8 per game) for 6-5, and showed the ability to handle the ball on the fast break. Could he make a Thunder roster that wants to play faster? The Thunder minimized Diallo’s responsibility on offense in Las Vegas and he needs to continue to improve his perimeter shot, but purchasing his draft rights from Charlotte was a nice, low-risk play by Sam Presti.” Continue reading NTTB Thunder Rumblings – 16 July 2018 →

NTTB Podcast (Episode 21) – Talking Thunder and Marvel

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IMG_4109On Episode 21 of the NTTB podcast,we discuss the following topics:

  • Looking back at the 4 games from this past week: vs. Charlotte, @Indy, @Philly, @NY
  • Looking back at how the Thunder Big 4 did (Russ, PG, Melo, and Adams)
  • The Good, Bad, and Ugly from this past week
  • The Thunder’s City jerseys
  • NBA News
  • And a surprising 40 minute conversation on Disney/Marvel’s purchase of Fox

Intro/Outro music provided by OSC Productions

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!

NTTB Rumblings – 11 December 2017

NTTB Rumblings, , , , ,

cropped-nowthatsthunderbasketball_sheriffbadge1.jpgJimmy Do (OKCThunder.com) looks at Paul George’s Christmas party for stroke awareness: “Through the Paul George Foundation, the friendly zap session was part of the fun and games at Main Event Entertainment during the inaugural PG Christmas Celebration for seven local families with stroke survivors. With a red Santa hat sat cocked atop his head, George arrived with a large bag full of gifts slung over his shoulder doing his best impersonation of Jolly Old St. Nick.”

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on Carmelo Anthony’s recent offensive struggles: “But Anthony is known — and sees himself, first and foremost — as a scorer. And in that regard, he isn’t just in a rough patch. He’s having a difficult season. Anthony is shooting 40.6 percent from the floor, which would be a career low. He’s hitting 33.8 percent of his 3-point shots, which would be ranked in the middle of his 3-point shooting seasons but is his worst mark since 2012.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 11 December 2017 →

NTTB Rumblings – 31 Oct 2017 (Halloween edition)

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okc halloween

Erik Horne (NewsOK) on Paul George finding his rhythm: “Throughout the game we know Russ is going to push the tempo, really create all the mismatches with his aggressiveness and attacking the floor,” George said. “But yeah, if I get going early, especially being a shooter out there, it’ll only open up the game for all of us.” George has found a rhythm early in games for the Thunder so far, one which could be a boon for a Thunder team feeling out who shoots when this season.”

The NBA’s version of Cain and Abel featuring Jerami Grant and Jerian Grant.

Brett Dawson (NewsOK) on Giannis Antetokounmpo giving the Thunder their biggest defensive test yet: “I think the biggest thing with him is trying to take away that deep paint where he’s getting all the way to the rim, because then he’s a monster finishing,” Thunder coach Billy Donovan said. “But he’s also a really good passer. He sprays the ball around really well and obviously, they’ve got good shooting on the perimeter. He’s an incredible player.” Continue reading NTTB Rumblings – 31 Oct 2017 (Halloween edition) →

The Week That Was: 23-29 October 2017

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big 3This “superteam” was supposed to be 6-0 and on their way to the first 96-0 (82 + 16 playoff games) record in league history. The Oklahoma City Thunder were supposed to leading the league in Offensive and Defensive Rating. They were supposed to be winning games by at least a margin of 20+ per game and Dakari Johnson should now have six games worth of experience under his belt.

Instead the Thunder find themselves at only 3-3. Chemistry is still an issue as they attempt to assimilate three alpha-dog scorers into a cohesive system. It is no longer just grab the ball and score, as all three have been used to throughout their careers. Now, it’s run the offense until there’s an open shot and if nothing develops, then revert back to your natural instinct of isolation dominance. All the while, there are two other players out there on the floor that can be involved in the offense also.

It’s going to take some time. We can look back at all the other recent iterations of super teams and see that there were adjustment periods for all of them. Some of those teams adjusted quickly, like the Warriors of last year and the Celtics of 2007-08. Others took at least a season to find themselves, like the 2010-11 Miami Heat. But they all eventually found success. Continue reading The Week That Was: 23-29 October 2017 →

Pacers vs. Thunder preview (Game 4 of 82)

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pacersvs. okc logo

  • 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) →

Daily Thunder Rumblings – 08 August 2017

NTTB Rumblings, Offseason Beat, , , , , ,

img_4133-5Happy Tuesday. 70 more days until the NBA season starts. Here are the Rumblings….

David Aldridge of NBA.com ranks the teams in terms of what they’ve done in the offseason: “Compounding the rest of the league’s dilemma is that there was far less money in the system — about a third — than there was a year ago, when most everyone in the game lost its collective mind and threw money at any free agent with a pulse. Also, the league is about to tip over, it is so imbalanced at present, with a significant majority of the game’s elite talent in the Western Conference.” Continue reading Daily Thunder Rumblings – 08 August 2017 →