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!