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)

NBA Fines San Antonio

Greg Popovich, you ol' rascal you. 

The NBA recently issued the San Antonio Spurs a $250,000 fine for sending their best 4 players home before an upcoming prime time game of against the Miami Heat. The players included were Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, and Danny Green. Commissioner David Stern was quoted as saying that Gregg Popovich and the Spurs were doing a "disservice to the league and our fans." Now no one can really be quoted as saying that this move was a surprise. Gregg Popovich has been known for two things during his tenure with the Spurs: 1) Resting players in big regular season games, knowing health for playoffs is more important than regular season winning percentage, and 2) doing crazy unexpected things, much to the displeasure of fans and the league. So the question can be asked: Whats the big deal?

Most of the arguments lately that side in favor of the league on the issue of fining the Spurs over their actions goes along the lines that the players have a responsibility to the league to play and also that the Spurs violate a part of the league policy that prohibits resting players in situations that are contrary to the best interests of the league. Honestly, what a bunch of bull. For one, the players play almost 40 minutes a game, 82 games in the span of 6 months, not including the playoffs, and practice every single day for most teams with little rest in between. Some of these games are back-to-backs, even some including ending games early in the morning of the day of the next game and flying a plane in order to get to the next one. Secondly, the coach has full control over how much he wants to play his players and the strategy he wants to use in order to not wear out his best players. So what does the league have to do with this?