Pregame 30: Sunny, With A Chance of Thunder

VS.

Where: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma - Chesapeake Arena

When: Monday, December 31 @ 7 PM CST

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Southwest (Cox 37, HD 722; Tulsa Cox 27; DirectTV 679; UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

Tonight, the Oklahoma City face the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season. 

The Phoenix Suns do not have much interest as of late after the loss of their future HOFers, Steve Nash and Grant Hil. Before the loss of arguably the most important player for the Suns since Shaq, Steve Nash, Phoenix was at least a playoff contenders even if they were usually a 7th or 8th seed. However, if the season were to end today, Phoenix 

would be at the bottom of the Pacific Division and second-to-last in the Western Conference. 

The Suns are one of the more plain teams in the NBA, with no potential All-Stars, no future HOFers, and no big, standout players on the roster. If anything, Phoenix has become a hodgepodge group of players that other NBA teams traded for draft picks or players that were simply let into free agency by their teams. Channing Frye, Shannon Brown, Luis Scola and Jermaine O'Neal did not start their career with the Suns. None of the players on the team are very flashy, with most if not all the players having average to below average stats. Look for Goran Dragic and Marcin Gortat to be the most important players for the Suns and the players leading in points and rebounds, respectively.

Oklahoma City comes into the game playing some inspired ball, with some of the spunk from their 12 game winning streak flowing through their veins. OKC is only on a 2 game winning streak, but a couple games is all it takes to start another long streak of wins. An overtime win against Dallas and a 30-point win vs. Houston has put some pep in the step of the boys and the confidence of a big win against a struggling Suns team will only help the Thunder. Russell seems to have wrestled himself out of a recent shooting slump and the team is getting back some of their pre-christmas rhythm. All this leads to even more confidence and good things to come for Oklahoma City. 

Prediction: 109-82 Thunder 

Thunder Up!

Postgame 27: That Was A Foul?

Thunder Lose 103-97

Players of the Night

Oklahoma City- Kevin Durant (33 Pts, 7 Reb, 3 Ast)

Miami- Lebron James (29 Pts, 8 Reb, 9 Ast, 2 Stl, 1 Blk)

Box Score

(Credit: ABC)

Tonight was just one of those nights. 

As sports blogger/journalist, I have a duty to leave my emotions out of my work to a point and display a piece of work that is un-bias, again to a point. I know many people tonight are absolutely furious at the officiating, including myself, and I could spend all of this post speaking on the horrific officiating in this game. However, the Thunder left this game in the hands of the refs and when that happens, the outcome is usually not pretty. 

The Thunder are usually almost, or nearly, perfect from the line. However, Oklahoma City was less the perfect at the line and it was pivotal. The team, as a whole, missed 6 free throws. Six points was the margin of victory for the Heat. Westbrook missed two, Kevin Durant missed two, and the standard-bearer of free throw line efficiency Kevin Martin even missed a free throw. 

Russell Westbrook had an absolutely horrendous shooting night. Now, don't take this as blaming Wolverine for the loss. Westbrook, however, did play a bit out of wack tonight, missing easy layups, shooting up bad mid-range jumpers, and falling asleep defensively. Coupled with the lack of foul calls, Westbrook could never get in a rhythm and it completely stymied the offensive flow. 

The one if not only bright spot for OKC tonight was the MVP candidate, Kevin Durant. KD absolutely destroyed LeBron with a flurry of spot up shots, three pointers, step backs, and even a floater. If not for extenuating circumstances, this game would have placed KD in the sole top position for the MVP and would have been a prime example in the argument of Kevin Durant vs. LeBron James. However, the winning team gets the press, and this beautiful game by the Durantula will be mired in the loss. 

Pregame 27: Merry Christmas!

Vs.

When: Tuesday, December 25 @ 4:30 CST

Where: Miami, Florida - American Airlines Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: ABC (Cox 8, HD 705; Tulsa Cox 8; DirecTV 6; UVerse 5)

Stream: Click Here

The moment all Thunder fans have been waiting for. A chance to exact revenge. An opportunity to stick it to LeBron and his cohorts. A shot at showing not only that Kevin Durant is MVP worthy, but at showing that OKC is championship worthy. Barring any outstanding circumstances, all roads to the Larry O'Brien trophy run through the Heat. 

The last time these two teams met, one team was basking in the glow of victory, and another was consoling each other while looking towards the future. Most can guess who was which. The iconic image of James Harden, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook all arm-in-arm, watching the rest of the clock of Game 5 of the Finals tick away was one that was burned in the minds of all Thunder fans. 

Seeing the young, charismatic players, rarely seen without a smile, standing in the corner of the court with looks of sadness was more than many OKC fans could bare. Yet, there was always next year and always the promise of many more runs at it. The big three for Oklahoma City were the youngest in the NBA, looking forward to 10+ years together with opportunities abounding for this young super team. However, the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. 

A few days before the deadline to sign restricted free agents, James Harden was traded. The Beard, the threes to the ground, and the guttural roar from the darkness of Harden's face were all gone. The reigning Sixth Man of the Year was gone. Along with Aldrich, Cook, and Hayward (Lazar), Harden was traded to the Houston Rockets for Kevin Martin, Jeremy Lamb, a few first round draft picks, and a second rounder. No one knew what was next for the cinderella team from America's Heartland. 

Neither did anyone know how little it would actually affect them in the regular season. 

So far, the Thunder are showing little to no negative effect from the Harden trade. Oklahoma City's offensive has been as potent as ever, ranking in the top five of most, if not all, of the monikers of offensive efficiency. Field goal percentage, three point percentage, and free throw percentage are all up from last season. The Thunder are shooting, assisting,  and rebounding better than ever. Kevin Martin has effectively filled in most if not all of the holes that were left by James. Martin is just as, if not more, efficient as James Harden while spacing the court even more with his consistency from downtown. The question is, can Martin do what James wasn't able to do during the Finals, show up?

Prediction: 113-105 Thunder

Points of Interest 

• Kevin Martin. Every Thunder fan saw the effect of a game without Kevin Martin. Now that problem needs to be fixed just in the case that he is injured again, but having Martin back in the lineup is pivotal. In order to beat the Heat, OKC must be able to space the floor and use all of its offensive weapons, not just Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
• Assists, Assists, Assists. The Thunder have been setting a great precedent for future years as a team with a high assist rate. To spread the floor and take advantage of the full power of their offense, the Thunder must assist much like they have before. 
• Small Ball. In last year's Finals, the one weapon that worked for the Thunder all season was used against them. Miami infused a group of hot shooting guards into the lineup, torching OKC from the arch because of their inability to match the small ball that they installed. Oklahoma City must be able to defend against the small ball of Miami in order to win tonight. 

Thunder UP and Merry Christmas!

Pregame 26: All You Need Is a Silver Bullet

    vs.

When: Thursday, December 20 @ 6 PM CST

Where: Minneapolis, Minnesota - Target Center

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: TNT, No FSO Tonight ( Cox 31, HD 730; Tulsa Cox 29; DirectTV 245; UVerse 108)

Stream: Click Here 

Oklahoma City heads to the land of the Twin Cities, meeting Minnesota in the first match-up between the two this season. 

SFHM: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Straight From the Horse's Mouth is a 3-part Q & A series with different Thunder journalists and their views on a couple of current Thunder topics. 

Part 2: Royce Young, Editor and Operator for Dailythunder.com, ESPN TrueHoop network affiliate


Q: What do you believe is the Thunder's greatest strength?

A. Kevin Durant. Next question. But seriously, it's just the overwhelming talent the team has. Even on nights where the defense lacks and the offense is out of sync, there's so much raw ability on the team that they can stay close. These guys are ultra competitive and absolutely HATE losing. They work their tails off and are obsessive about getting better. Put all that together and you've got one heck of a team.

Q: What, in your opinion, does the Thunder need to do to win a title?

A. There are a whole lot of things you can fill this answer with, but in general terms, I'd say it's simple: Play to their potential. I think top to bottom, the Thunder have the best roster in the league. The pieces fit, the team makes sense. I think the Thunder were better than the Heat last season, but the Heat played better four of the five games. They got production from unlikely places while the Thunder didn't get anything from players they were counting on. If OKC can learn from those mistakes and just be themselves in the postseason, I think they have what it takes

Q: Do you believe the Thunder will win a title with the current lineup? Including coaches?

A. If you're asking if they NEED to make a trade to have a chance, I say no. I think the current construction is plenty good. And I know a lot of people question Scott Brooks, but he's not at all the reason the Thunder fell short last season. And to consider making some kind of move when the team has come so far with him in charge would be completely against the team's culture and philosophy. And I think it would send a really negative message to the player. 

But this group is built to compete for a trophy this season. Kevin Martin has fit better than I anticipated, Westbrook and Durant are better than ever, and Serge Ibaka is developing into a legit weapon.

Q: What ceiling do you see for Kevin Durant? Multiple MVPs and Championships? 30,000+ points? Hall of Fame? One of the best players of all time?

A. I honestly don't know if he has a ceiling yet. With how hard he works and the things he's gotten better at just over this past summer, I get chills when I think of what his game will look like at age 28. Winning MVPs and championships is hard though. It takes a whole lot to go right for it to happen. I think Durant should probably put one or two of each away at some point, but projecting that either will happen feels a little crazy. In the grand scheme, it seems like a lock, but actually picturing it is a little surreal. 

But just based on seeing and knowing KD, he's only going to get better. He's going to push himself to the limit of his ability. And when it's all said and done, I think he'll have the kind of resume that has us asking where his place belongs alongside Bird, Magic, Kobe and LeBron.

Next Up: Berry Tramel from the Daily Oklahoman. Make sure to check in frequently to catch the 3rd and final part of the Q & A series, Straight From the Horses Mouth.

Postgame 25: 12 of One, A Dozen of the Other

Thunder Win! 100-92

Leaders of the Night

OKC- Kevin Durant (41 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Blk)

Atlanta- Jeff Teague (19 Pts, 1 Reb, 9 Ast, 1 Blk)

Box Score

Now that was a win.

Oklahoma City was obviously looking for revenge tonight against the Hawks. From beginning to end, save a scoreless stretch in the 3rd quarter where the Thunder couldn't buy a basket, OKC took it to the Hawks with force. 

Offensively, this wasn't much of a team game tonight. No other players other than Russell and Kevin got above double digits in scoring, but when you have the Durantula on your team, who needs scoring from role players. Durant exploded in the second half, showing exactly how Not Nice he really is. He would go on to score 40+ for the first time this season, lighting up Atlanta like a Christmas tree; just in time for the holiday season. KD would end up with 41 points and 13 rebounds at the end of the night. 

Regardless of a shooting slump in the second half, Russell started off with a BOOM, scoring with a fury and doing things such as this. He would end up with a double-double, scoring 27 points and registering 11 assists. Wolverine played with great control tonight, only having 3 turnovers and keeping the out of rhythm, off balance shots out of his game and taking nearly all good looks at the basket. 

Coming off his big game two nights before, Air Congo struggled to score much of anything tonight, going from a season high of 25 to shooting 2-9 and scoring only 4 points. Ibaka would be a terror on the boards, however, grabbing 14 of the Thunder's 52 rebounds. 

The real surprise tonight, even after Kevin Durant's 41 point game, was Scott Brooks wholesale roster change near the end of the 1st quarter. Along with normal bench players such as Thabeet, Maynor, and Martin, Brooks threw a curveball and played Jeremy Lamb for his most meaningful minutes this year. Lamb would go on to score 5 points with a sweet 3-pointer, showing either his trade worth or his worth in the rotation for Brooks. Nonetheless, the Thunder took the lead during that time and never relinquished it from there on. 

Pregame 25: Thunder Vs. Hawks

                         vs.

When: Wednesday, December 19 @ 6:30 PM CT

Where: Oklahoma City- Chesapeake Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Southwest (Cox 37, HD 722; Tulsa Cox 27; DirectTV 679; UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

OKC heads out to Atlanta tonight to face the Hawks for the second time this season. Last meeting between these two teams ended up in a 104-95 loss for the Thunder. 

Atlanta has played fairly well in the wake of losing one of the best players last year to trade, Joe Johnson. Johnson, having been traded to the Nets, had been an integral part of the offense for the Hawks but had become too much of a financial burden with his high priced contract. Atlanta traded Johnson for Jordan Farmar, several non-essential role players, and a first-round protected pick in 2013. Atlanta has gone on to put up a 15-7 record, mostly against lower-tier Eastern Conference teams, with one marque against the Memphis Grizzlies, 93-83. Players such as Josh Smith, Al Horford, and Jeff Teague bear the scoring weight for the team, with several quality bench players like Zaza Pachulia and especially Louis Williams, the primary sixth man for the Hawks. 

Oklahoma City comes into Atlanta riding a league-best 11 wins in a row, mostly at home, including a 14-point win in a rematch of the Western Conference Finals from a season ago against the Spurs. The Thunder have been playing at a feverish pace as of late, beating many of the teams during the streak by double-digits and destroying Charlotte by a franchise-best 45 points. Kevin Durant and Co. have done quite the job lately passing the ball around with Russell Westbrook leading the charge, assisting and leading the Thunder with 8+ assists a game. 

In the last match-up between these two teams, two factors were key, Turnovers and Play in the 4th quarter. OKC turned the ball over 21 times which resulted in 31 points for Atlanta. Surging in the 4th quarter, compounded with non-existent defense from the Thunder, Atlanta closed the game out and registered the W in the Chesapeake Arena. However, after only 20 games,  Oklahoma City is worlds apart from the team they were at the beginning of the season. 3 games into the season, OKC had traded the reigning sixth man of the year 3 days before the first game. Kevin Martin was just integrating himself into the offense and the team was just learning to deal the lost of such an important player in their lineup. Now 24 games into the season, Martin has integrated himself into the offense fairly well, and the Thunder has found a rhythm on both sides of the ball. It will be extremely interesting to see how the Thunder fair in the second instance of the match-up. 

Points of Interest 

• Martin: Martin had his coming out game early in the season, scoring 28 points against the Hawks in the first match-up. It will be interesting to see how he plays against Atlanta tonight and whether or not he can repeat his performance. 
• Assists: The Thunder assisted very well in the first game, registering 27 assists despite the loss. With the rhythm and increased play from the team, assisting as such should result in another win for the Thunder. 
• Russell: Westbrook shot 5-18 in the last match-up against the Hawks, so increased offensive output from Russell should surely change the result the second time around. 

Go Thunder!

Postgame 24: 11 Games and Counting

Thunder Wins! 107-88

Leaders of the Night

OKC- Serge Ibaka (25 Pts, 17 Reb, 1 Ast, 3 Blk)

San Antonio- Nando de Colo (14 Pts, 2 Reb, 6 Ast, 1 Stl)

Box Score

(Credit: NBA.com)

Gotta love a beat-down. Especially when its the Spurs. 

Coming into the game tonight, the Thunder were walking tall, kicking ass and taking names. There defense wavered slightly against sub-par teams, but it was never anything to worry about. Riding a 10-game win streak, OKC definitely started the game with a little bit of a swagger and ready to run over the Spurs. San Antonio came into the game, having gone 1-2 in the last two games and losing to the likes of Portland and Utah. Knowing the Spurs tendency to have a bounce back game and leave it till late in order to break the hearts of the opponents, no one would have been surprised if they just came out and took it to the Thunder because, unfortunately, it's happened before. Wow, was I surprised.

Air Congo took off for flight tonight, and there was no turbulence. Serge Ibaka was hot-lava smoking from the get-go, looking much like how he had in his game last year when he went a perfect 11-11 from the field against, you guessed it, San Antonio in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals. He ended up shooting 8-8 from the field until a throw up ball before the halftime buzzer hit rim and bounced out. 

Serge wasn't the only man getting in on the fun tonight against the Spurs. Kevin Martin was his usual super-efficient self, scoring from the arch, taking it to the hole, and stoppin' and poppin'. He would end up 7-10 for 20 points with 3 from the arch. 

OKC pounded the glass tonight like Amar'e, completely destroying the Spurs on the defensive and , most surprisingly, offensive boards. Serge lead the team with 17 and Nick Collison, having one of his best years of his career, registered 10. 

The Spurs finally bent to Oklahoma City's will in the 4th, keeping many of the starters out and resting for the next game against Denver. Gregg Popovich is a coach who, if he knows that he will lose, will rest his starters because there is not much of the point. 

The Thunder, having completed their home-stand with no losses and riding an 11-game winning streak, head to Atlanta. OKC has a touch stretch ahead, only playing 6 home games between the next game and the same day in February. If they can run the table against Atlanta, Minnesota, and Miami on Christmas Day, Oklahoma City will be a force to recon with and have the number 1 seed fully in there hands going into 2013. That's all depending on if we don't die on Friday. Just kidding!

Pregame 24: Thunder Vs. Spurs

vs.

When: Monday, December 17 @ 7 PM CT

Where: Oklahoma City- Chesapeake Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)

Stream: Click Here

I apologize to my faithful readers recently for missing the pre and post game on Friday. Because of the extenuating circumstances that we all know about, I decided not to write on that day. That is my personal choice and I apologize if I lost any of you readers because of it. However, on a lighter note, Here is your pregame! 

The Thunder host the San Antonio Spurs tonight in a battle for not just the Best of the West, but for the title of Best in the League at this current time. OKC has been riding a 10 game win streak that is the best in the league and the best winning streak in the Post-Sonics Era franchise. San Antonio themselves are limping into this game, having lost 2 of the last three games and having lost the hold on the top spot in the west. This is the second match-up between the two teams, with the first match up resulting in a Spurs win on the opening night for the Thunder, 86-84 on a Tony Parker buzzer-beater.

Oklahoma City seems to be clicking on all cylinders at the moment, bringing almost all parts of their game into a fine rhythm. The Thunder defense has been lax as of late but with offensive fire power like Kevin Durant, explosiveness such as Russell Westbrook, and the super-efficiency of Kevin Martin, a defensive slump can be easily overcome. Much of the product of the run-and-gun offense of OKC is players focused slightly more on the breakout then solid defense, which can lead to lapses in the defenses that are easily overcome.

The rivalry between these two teams has become a classic as of late, with all the parallels in the organization of the teams, the connections of the front offices, and the similarities of their lineups. Although there are very big differences in the way the teams play the game, with the Spurs playing a traditional, John Stockton-like, assist-heavy offense and the Thunder playing a fast-pace, fast break-heavy offense, all these differences accomplish are games that nearly always become instant classics. One teams weakness is another's strength, and all down the stat sheet, the advantage goes back and forth until it is nearly even and only factors outside of statistics determine the outcome of the game, whether it be clutch, luck, or the whim of Gregg Popovich. 

But enough words, lets get to the numbers!

“Far away, through the gash that led the way into the mountains, he heard the thick mouth of the perpetual thunder.”~ Stephen King (The Gunslinger)

Postgame 22: Close, But Not Close Enough

Thunder Wins! 92-88

Leaders of the Night

OKC- Kevin Durant (35 Pts, 9 Reb, 3 Ast, 2 Stl)

NO- Ryan Anderson (14 Pts, 7 Reb, 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 1 Blk)

Stats Here

Wow, gotta say that one had me a little puckered up at the end. Anyone else?

With a man I have seen as very stubborn in his rotations, Scott Brooks saved the game tonight. By placing sophomore Reggie Jackson into the Thunder lineup for the fourth quarter, the OKC head coach lit a fire that had been flickering on and off all night. Reggie infused energy into the boys and gave the team life when no one else was providing it.

Once the roll started, it never really stopped. Everyone from Kevin Martin, to Kevin Durant, to even Russell Westbrook started to feel the rhythm and miss barely anything.

The Hornets didn't go quietly into the night, however. Players such as Brian Roberts and Greivis Vasquez made big threes late, pushing the Thunder to the brink and testing the mettle. Thankfully OKC is as hard as iron and as cold as steel. KD showed his All-Star talent and put it away when no one thought it would be done.

The Hornets were close to ripping the rug right out from under OKC's feet tonight, playing hard from the opening tip. Players like Austin Rivers, Brian Roberts, and Ryan Anderson all stepped up their scoring early for New Orleans. outscoring Oklahoma City in both of the opening quarters. KD and the boys would wake up eventually though, going to outscore the Hornets in the next two quarters and securing the win tonight. This takes the Thunder to a 9-game winning streak, equaling their best streak ever from 2010. They go on to play the Kings and then their southern rival, the San Antonio Spurs.

Pregame 22: Third Time's The Charm?

Vs. 

When: Wednesday, December 12 @ 7 PM CT

Where: Oklahoma City- Chesapeake Arena

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal  (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722, Tulsa Cox 27, DirectTV 679, UVerse 754)

Stream: Here

Tonight, the Thunder play New Orleans for the 3rd time this year. Anthony "The Brow" Davis is finally back in the lineup. Is tonight the night? Well, Probably not.

The Hornets enter tonight on a 4 game skid, playing the likes of playoff contenders such as Memphis and Miami, and then dropping a game to the league-worst Wizards, 77-70. The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Hornets tonight.

Oklahoma City comes into tonight on their second-best streak of their young history, the best being 9 games back in 2010. The Thunder have scored 100+ points in 12 straight games, going 11-1 with a lone loss to the Celtics. Kevin Durant is scoring at a clip harkening back to a few years ago when he averaged 30.1 ppg. Russell is more under control than ever, keeping turnovers down and being an absolute monster on defense, especially when he does this. Kevin Martin is scoring again, getting more looks and taking advantage of them. Serge Ibaka is protecting the paint much like last year, and shooting the mid-range better than almost anyone in the NBA. This loss will sting if the Thunder drop this one.

OKC has been known in the past to lay up a stinker game against a chump opponent while working on a long winning streak. This game could very well be considered a trap game, especially with the Thunder facing Anthony Davis for the second time this year. Davis could very well have a breakout game for the Hornets tonight, just destroying the paint against Oklahoma City. Greivis Vasquez could release his "inner Rondo" and make Russell look silly. Ryan Anderson could stroke it better than anyone in the house tonight. Can all this happen in one night? No.

The Thunder seem to have a focus that no one has been able to waver as of yet. Even going into overtime, Kevin Durant and Co. seem to be unaffected and making it look easy. So OKC will come out of tonight unscathed, equaling their longest streak ever heading into a game against another sub-.500 team in the Kings and then to the game everyone wants to see, the San Antonio Spurs. Gotta win tonight though, one game at a time. Thunder UP!

Prediction: 113-90. The only reason the Hornets get this many points is because the Thunder rest their whole starting 5 for the 4th quarter.

Now onto the Stats

"Loud roared the dreadful thunder, The rain a deluge showers."~ Andrew Cherry

Melo Yellow: Melo's turn at winning a 'ship?

         Carmelo Anthony is easily one of the best players in the NBA every year. Usually Melo is always on the cusp of MVP contention, lacking the supporting cast and the team record to be considered for the MVP award.

         However, the New York Knicks are very good this year. The Knicks have the best record in the Eastern Conference at 15-5. Melo has a supporting cast that is winning games and stroking threes like nobody's business, with the likes of Tyson Chandler, J.R. Smith, Jason Kidd, and Steve "Novakane" Novak (Arguably one of the best active 3-point shooters in the NBA). When the Knicks get Amar'e Stoudemire and sophmore Iman Shumpert back from injury, the Knicks stand to get even better then they are right now.      

        New York has soundly beat the defending NBA champions twice, by an average of 20 points a game. So with all of these factors present the question, Is this the year for Carmelo? Is this the year for the Knicks? Can they both win 16 playoff games and hoist the Larry O'Brien in June? Only time can tell. 

         The last couple of years have held quite a bit in store for one of the NBA's most famous franchises, the Knicks. Especially last year, the New York Knicks went through a great deal of changes and extremes, embodied wholeheartedly by last year's world-wide phenomenon "Lin-sanity". With the infusion of a sophomore point guard who had rode the D-league and the bench for most of his rookie season, The Knicks  rocketed (ha, irony) into the spotlight, winning 7 straight games and ridding the wave of ridiculousness that was Jeremy Lin. 

        The Knicks would then add Melo back into the starting 5 and would proceed to lose 7 of the next 8 games, and led to the eventual resignation of head coach Mike D'Antoni. New York would then to go on to bounce back with interim coach Mike Woodson, going 18-6. 

        Clinching a second-straight playoff spot, the Knicks would draw the short straw and face the eventual NBA Champion Heat. The Knicks would win one playoff game, breaking a streak of 13-playoff losses, but would eventually lose in a gentleman's sweep to the Heat, 4-1. Players such as Jeremy Lin, Shumpert, and Baron Davis were all out due to knee injuries during the series.  

        Even though the Knicks lost players such as Jeremy Lin and Landry Fields to free-agency during the summer, New York came back with a punch going 6-0 in their first 6 games this season, having the best start  since 1993. The Knicks have since gone on to win 9 more times with 5 losses. Their 15-5 record  is the most wins in the Eastern Conference and is tied for the least losses in the Eastern Conference. So Carmelo Anthony finally has the supporting cast and will most likely have a great team record come playoff time. 

The question still remains: Is this Melo's year to win?

Carmelo Anthony entered the league in 2003 with the Denver Nuggets, where he became known for being a player who could light up the score board, becoming the second-youngest player to score 40 points in a game. The Nuggets, led by Anthony, would become a perennial playoff contender, making the playoffs every year that Anthony was there. They would break their streak of first-round exits in the 08-09 season when they went all the way to the Western Conference Finals. Denver would eventually lose 4-2 to the Lakers. Two years later, Carmelo would be traded to the Knicks. Carmelo and the Knicks playoff woes would continue in the 10-11 season, losing to the Celtics in 4 games, and in the 2011-2012 season, losing to the Heat in 5 games. 

Carmelo has received his share of accolades over the years, being selected to the All-Rookie first team, making 5 All-Star appearances, and winning 2 Olympic gold medals. 

The only thing missing? The title of NBA champion. The accolade stating that for that year, you and your team and no one else, were the best in the world. With Lebron James securing his first title, Carmelo is the only player left at his age and talent level that hasn't won a championship. 

The pressure will either get to him, much as the pressure got to Lebron against the Mavs two years ago, or Carmelo will rise to the occasion and secure himself the one accolade that puts him in a whole 'nother ball park of great players. 

Will this be the year?

New Logo

The first iteration of this logo was just the first draft and this is the final product. Tell me what you think!

Postgame 21: Setting The Pace

The Thunder secure the win tonight, 104- 93, tying the Spurs for the best record in the NBA at 17-4. The Thunder also increase their win streak tonight to 8, which is a league best. 

The game tonight was back and forth, even though the Thunder rarely gave up the lead during the course of the game. Several times the Pacers took the lead back but the Thunder kept Indiana far away enough towards the end of the game to secure the win. 

David West scored 10 quick points to keep the game close in the first quarter, ending in the Thunder leading 25-22. Kevin Martin would hit a few shots and free throws and then the real fun would begin. Kevin Martin would go on to score 20 points in the quarter, going 4 of 5 from the field, 3 of 4 from the arch, and 7-8 from the line all within 11 minutes spread over the two quarters. Indiana would keep up with the Thunder, however, trailing only 1 at half time, 57-56

The Thunder and the Pacers would go back and forth for most of the 3rd quarter, with Indiana and Oklahoma City trading baskets and the lead, with Indiana ahead for a few minutes during the 3rd. The game would then fall into a miss festival, with a two minute period where neither team made a shot and the score stayed at 79-72 until late in the 3rd quarter when both teams would make shots, ending the quarter at  82-74.

The game would stay close for most of the forth quarter, with the Pacers staying within 3-4 points until 6 minutes into the quarter, when the Thunder started to press the pace. With Russell Westbrook hitting several shots in a row and Kevin Durant adding to the late scoring, the Thunder would break the lead open to 11 where it would stay for a 104-93 Thunder win. 

The Thunder shot fairly well, regardless of Kevin Durant's "off night", shooting nearly 50% from the field and 83% from the line. However the Thunder would shoot horrendously from outside the arch, with KD going 1-5 from the arch, Russell going 1-3 and the team shooting 5-19 (26%). The Thunder rebounded well, however, out-rebounding the Pacers 40 to 36. Oklahoma City took care of the ball tonight, keeping their turnovers to 9. 

Oklahoma City's defense was sparse at times tonight, letting the whole starting 5 score 10+ points and letting the Pacers make runs throughout the game, keeping the game close until the end. The Thunder showed strength late in the game, though, holding the Pacers to 5 points in the last 6 minutes and effectively stemming the threat from Indiana. 

Pregame 21: Pacing the Court

The Indiana Pacers find their way to the Chesapeake Arena tonight, entering the match-up with a 7 game winning streak and tied for the least losses in the league, with Memphis, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City all losing just 4 games so far. 

The Pacers enter tonight with a record even at .500, 10-10. The Pacers have somewhat underwhelmed since their 6th game exit in the the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Miami heat and their gentleman's sweep of the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 2011-2012 playoffs. The Pacers were 14-6 last year this far into the season, winning games against teams such as the Bulls, Lakers, and Celtics. So the Indian Pacers have a ways to go to reach the heights they reached last year as a team. 

The Pacers do have a lot of youth to them at this point in the year, with still being a team that is trying to find their identity and their chemistry as team. Once Danny Granger returns from injury, it will be interesting to see how this team functions and integrates him back into the lineup. 

The Thunder come into tonight on a blazing hot streak of wins, winning their 7 last games, 15 of their last 17, and . The Thunder have really played up to their potential as of late, showing the NBA how good they still are even after the loss of James Harden in October to Houston. Kevin Durant has seemed to finally settle into a scoring rhythm this year, scoring 35+ in 4 of the last 9 games for the Thunder. 

Russell Westbrook has continued his improved clip of assists this year, registering 8+ assists in each of the Thunder's last 7 seven wins. Russell has also down fairly well keeping up with the Durant in terms of scoring,registering 25+ in the last two games in wins against Los Angeles and Brooklyn. 

Tonight's game should be interesting, with a rolling Thunder team who might be resting on their laurels as of late and a Pacers team who has stayed close in games against several teams in loses, such the 92-89 loss to the Nuggets and a 104-97 loss to the Spurs. This is more than definitely a trap game for the Thunder, who has a tendency to drop a game here and there with the simple fact that they have won so much. However, I think the Thunder are going to play a solid game here, with a big crowd for a Sunday afternoon game cheering for them all they way there. 

Prediction: 107-92 Thunder. I am going to go with the hope that the Thunder can keep their streak of 10 straight games with 100+ points going for an 11th game. 

Now onto the stats.

"Mother, it's cold here. Father, thy will be done.Thunder and lightning are crashing down, they got me on the run."~(Only the Young) The Killers

SFHM: Straight From the Horse's Mouth

Straight From the Horse's Mouth is a 3-part Q & A series with different Thunder journalists and their views on a couple of current Thunder topics. 

Part 1 of this series starts with Charles Chaney, who runs the Thunder blog, Thunder Obsessed. 

Q: What do you believe is the Thunder's greatest strength?

A: Just their offense in general. You have two MVP-type players in Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant on your team, you're always going to be an offensive threat. When Westbrook isn't on, you can always rely on Durant and vice=versa. Oklahoma City's ability to develop players is showing greatly with the offensive progression of Serge Ibaka. Ibaka's shot is just improving, which means his confidence is growing, very scary. I haven't even began to mention Kevin Martin's lethal three-point shooting gives Oklahoma City another source of points that hasn't always been there in the past. Watch out N.B.A.

Q: What, in your opinion, does the Thunder need to do to win a title?

A:  Rebound the basketball. I know, very curious why. In losses, Oklahoma city is allowing on average of 12.4 offensive rebounds contributing to 16 second chance points to the opposition. That means you're giving a team an extra 12 possessions a game, adding up to 16 extra points each contest. That's like starting the game down 16-0 and having to fight back. 

I could talk about the turnovers, but honestly that is just a product of being aggressive. We showed everyone last year that, come playoff time, Oklahoma City can take care of the ball when it matters. Not worried there.

Q: Do you believe the Thunder will win a title with the current lineup? Including coaches?

A: Part two of this question made me stop and really think. With the current line up? Oklahoma City can easily win a title if Miami was to be upset some how. However, I think the head coaching position is a weakness for Oklahoma City. I feel that if Oklahoma City is ever going to win a tight N.B.A Finals match up, they'll need solid coaching moves, I don't think Scott Brooks has the ability to do that. He's too stubborn in his way right now. He needs to realize that sometimes you have to buck the trend for the better of the team.

Q: What ceiling do you see for Kevin Durant? Multiple MVPs and Championships? 30,000+ points? Hall of Fame? One of the best players of all time?

A: I think Kevin can become one of the top 10 players of all-time. He's on pace for 31,890 points if he was to stay in the league for 16 years. That would put him at fifth all-time. I do believe he'll win an MVP or two, and hopefully a championship. However, take this in, Karl Malone, one of the best power forwards to ever pick up a basketball has zero NBA titles. He did win two MVP awards. One of them was without Michael Jordan being a threat. Kobe Bryant has only won one MVP award, and look at how great he is. So, I think he'll be a first ballot hall-of-famer, but hard to predict 'ships and MVP's with Lebron James in the league.

Next Up: Royce Young of the Daily Thunder. Check in often to see the second part of this three part series, Straight From the Horse's Mouth. 

Postgame 20: Cut!

The Thunder win it tonight 114 to 108, moving the Thunder to 16-4 on the year. 

This game ended a lot closer than the game felt the whole night. The Thunder led by as much as 19 in the second half at one point, but the Lakers kept it close towards the end, with Kobe making shots like only Kobe Bryant can make. 

The Thunder played the Lakers nearly even in the first quarter, with the Lakers ending the first quarter up 27 26 with Westbrook hitting the sweet buzzer-beater to end it. Who knew that would define the whole rest of the half?

Westbrook would go off in the second half, pushing the Thunder point total in the second quarter to 41, first half total to 67, and his own first half point total to 27, the most points scored in a half by Westbrook in his whole career. Russell went 5-6 for three pointers in the first half, making the most 3-pointers in a half of his career. 

The game would even out in the third quarter with both teams scoring the same amount leaving the lead at 16 by the end of the third. Russell cooled off considerably after his hot-as-lava first half, going 0-8 from the field, struggling even to make free throws. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Durant would pick up the scoring duty for the third quarter, with Durant scoring 10 points and Ibaka scoring 6. 

The fourth quarter would be much of a colluded mess, with the Lakers constantly pulling the lead down to less than double digits, threatening to make the game much closer and leaving the possibility of a comeback. However, the Thunder's new renewed defensive focus held the Lakers at arms length and ensured the win tonight against the Lakers. 

The Thunder shot well tonight against a pretty non-existent defense of the Lakers. Thunder shot nearly 50 percent from the field, with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook shooting very efficiently from the field, the arch and the line. The Thunder once again had an assist total over 20 tonight, totalling up 22 assists with 8 of them being from Westbrook. Both KD and Russell scored 30+ tonight, with 36 and 33 respectively. This is the 21st time that Westbrook and Durant have scored 30 or more in the same night in their careers. Collison added 13, Serge added 14, and Kevin Martin scored 11 to round out the double digit scoring for the Thunder tonight. 

OKC played good defense against the Lakers, holding them to 43 percent from the field and 39 percent from the arch.  The Thunder ran away with the game for the most part, outscoring the Lakers in the fast break 28-8. However, the Thunder lacked inside presence, allowing the Lakers to score 44 out of their 108 points in the paint.

New Logo

The logo has a bit to change, but for all those who are interested in this blog, here is what the logo is going to look like. Logo will go on everything from this site to anything coming from this site. Enjoy!

Pregame 20: Lights! Camera! Action!

Hollywood finds its way to the "Peake" tonight (quick, someone call TMZ!).

The Thunder play the Los Angeles Lakers tonight for the first time this season, playing in a rematch of the Western Conference Semifinals from last season. Both teams have completely new looks this season, with LA doing away with Bynum and acquiring Steve Nash and Dwight Howard and the Thunder trading James Harden and acquiring Kevin Martin (man, I am going to definitely miss those Kobe V. Harden match-ups). So even though this a rematch, it feels like we have two different teams coming into tonight.

The Thunder step onto the court tonight riding a 6-game win streak, most notably with a win against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, 117-111. The Thunder are tied for the best record in the NBA with the Spurs, both teams being 15-4.

The Lakers, however, have been a disappointment to NBA fans and their own because of the lack luster season they have had so far. The Lakers have started out with a record under .500, at 9-10. The Lakers were staged for one of the best season of all time with 4 future Hall of Fame candidates, but because of injuries to Steve Nash and Pau Gasol and an offense and team that has yet to gel, the Lakers have failed to live up to their potential.

Tonight will be a defining game for both teams. The Thunder can prove for good that there team is still what it was last year even without Harden, a Finals contender. The Lakers can show the NBA tonight that they are still one of the best teams out there and still have a team that can live up to its potential.

Steve Nash and Pau Gasol will be out for this game, Nash with a fracture in his shin and Pau Gasol with tendinitis in his knees.

Now onto the stats

“It is not light that we need, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake." ~Fredrick Douglas

Postgame 19: Nets Get TKOed

The Thunder win it tonight 117-111, improving to 15-4.

The Thunder pulled it out tonight in a close one at the Barclays Center. OKC relied greatly on their big three tonight, with the trio combining for 75 of the 117 points tonight. Kevin Durant chipped in another on of his signature games with 32 points on 16 shots and adding 5 rebounds along with 6 assists. This is the 3rd game in the past 6 that Kevin Durant has scored 30+ plus points (About damn time!). He was also perfect from the line, 12 out of 12, and the arch, 2 of 2.

Russell had a very typical night, with ups ( 25 points, 9 assists, and 3 steals) and downs (5 turnovers and 5 fouls). Russell seemed to have a hard time defending D-Will tonight, with Williams shooting 5 of 9 from the arch and scoring a total of 33 points. However, you can't really blame Russell. Brook Lopez, one of the the leading scorers for the Nets, was out with an injury which caused the ball to fall into D-Will's hands more than usual.

Serge Ibaka continued his extremely efficient streak as of late, shooting 66% and scoring 18 points along with his usual 3 blocks. Thabo Sefolosha added to the scoring tonight, adding 14 points although 10 of them came in the first quarter. Three other Thunder players scored above five points with Kendrick Perkins, Kevin Martin, and Eric Maynor chipping in 7, 7, and 9 respectively. The team shot an impressive 60.6% from the field and 50.0 percent from the arch with the typical 88% percent from the line. The Thunder got out fast tonight and pushed the pace, scoring 20 fast break points, and pounded the paint against the Lopez-less Nets, scoring 44 points in the paint.

The Thunder defense did a decent job tonight, holding the Nets to 43% from the field and out rebounding the Nets on the defensive boards 31-24. They also kept the Nets from keeping up with their pace, holding the Nets to only 9 fast break points.

Pregame 19: A Brooklyn Street Fight

Am I the only Thunder fan that wishes that Kris Humprhies would lay a hard foul on Perk? I am pretty sure we could apply Russel Westbrook to that situation and we would have about the same turnout as the Rondo confrontation. Anyways, back to the important stuff.

The Thunder play the Brooklyn Nets for the first time tonight, as the "Brooklyn" Nets did not exist until this year because of their move from New Jersey to Brooklyn. Surprisingly, The Nets come into tonight with an 11-5 record and 2 wins against Boston on top of a win against New York. They are getting increased input from their surprise leading scorer, center Brook Lopez, and input from assist specialist and Olympian Deron Williams along with rebound specialist Reggie Evans. It will be interesting to see how the Thunder handle the Nets and how well they do against this formidable team.

The Thunder come into tonight riding a 5 game win streak, even though it is against  teams such as Charlotte and New Orleans. They will get there first test tonight with a team that is put together and clicking, a team that has a chip on their shoulder and who is ready to show the NBA how legitimate of a team they really are.

Now onto the stats.

"So musical a discord. Such sweet thunder"~ William Shakespeare

The Blame Game

The Blame Game is a problem that has plagued the NBA for many years of its long history. Players have blamed each other, coaches have blamed players(and players blamed coaches), fans have blamed refs, and the Spurs have blamed David Stern. It is a prevalent part of the game that can either be justified with horrendous play calls or horrendous officiating, or turn in to whining on the part of a player who seeks attention for themselves. Recently the Blame Game has affected the Showtime Lakers 2.0. Or is it 3.0? or 2.75? The court is still out on that one. 

To give context to the situation, and information to anyone who has decided to live their lives under a rock for last 5 months, the Lakers brought together a super team of 4 future Hall of Famers, with the longtime Lakers Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant, and adding on to the duo with Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash and Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard. Everyone and their dog in LA immediately believed that this team would destroy everyone in their path and start off as one of the greatest to ever grace the planet. However, things like that rarely ever turn out the way they seem in the NBA. The Lakers have hobbled out to a 8-9 start with losses to sub .500 teams such as Sacramento (who has a total of 4 wins, one of which is against the Lakers), Dallas, Portland, Indiana, and finally Orlando, Dwight's previous team, in a 113-103 stinker of a game. Now, remember, Steve Nash is out with a fracture of his shin bone, but 3 future HOF should be enough, right? With arguably the second best player ever in the NBA, arguably the best center since Shaq in his prime, and with one of the best shooting power forwards, the Lakers have very much underachieved. 

Even with all this underachievement and none of the 3 playing to the best of their abilities, with the possible exception of Kobe Bryant, the Lakers and and their coach Mike D'Antoni are not focusing on their real problem of cohesiveness and team ball but are more focused on blaming each other for the current state of their team.