Thunder 93, Suns 102

If you believe in such a thing as moral victories then last night's 102-93 Thunder loss to the Suns was certainly one. The Thunder played their best game thus far in the preseason. Better still they did it with only 9 guys on the active roster and against a Suns team that, while aging, is still a viable playoff contender.

Johan Petro continued to show that not only can he be a serviceable Center, he is threatening to become a valuable asset on both ends of the floor. He is nearly deadly from the top of the free throw circle which reminds OKC NBA fans of that same favorite spot on the floor David West has now made millions from. Johan finished with 17 points and 5 boards.

Robert Swift saw action for the first time and played real well also. He's very good and clogging passing lanes and as he gets up to game speed could be pretty valuable on the defensive end. He's a big dude that takes up a lot of space and I don't just mean his goofy hair. Also, the nickname Big Red is going on a t-shirt soon.

Russell Westbrook looked sharp in his first matchup against Steve Nash. Most encouraging was Westbrook knocking down some 3's. This team desperately needs someone besides KD with a reliable stroke from deep range. His driving to the basket is solid against anyone.

Overall the team played really solid team defense and it was great to see legitimate strides were made in the last week. Even more encouraging is the fact Phoenix had their starters out for crunch time and the bench-short Thunder hung in. Granted, Phoenix is old but I think if given some truth serum they would admit some surprise with how doggedly the Thunder played them.

Keep in mind the following regular players were out of action for the Thunder; Earl Watson, Chris Wilcox, Joe Smith. Whilst none are superstars per se they certainly are each solid veterans who could provide valuable minutes.

All in all this game for the first time showed a glimmer of hope that this team can be pretty good and possibly surprise some people. They were certainly fun to watch. They played hard on defense and looked good on the break.

Tickets are Out

When I went home last night the UPS man had left a note on my door that he had tried to drop off tickets. I went and picked them up today. I must say they certainly look big league.

Thunder Open Practice + Free = Good Times

So the Thunder held their mandatory open practice for the fans last night at The Ford. I used it as an opportunity to get a kid from the Oklahoma City Foster Care program that I mentor up close and personal to the players. It was, after all, billed to be for the kids.

And so it was. Isiah had a great time.

To my surprise, Coach PJ (dba Uncle Rusty) along with Damien Wilkens, Johan Petro and Chris Alexander were standing in the foyer waiting to greet fans. We walked right up to Coach and chatted with him for a moment before I snapped a photo of Isiah with Damien Wilkens. Pretty awesome. It's not like they were behind a table either. They were just hanging out and chatting it up with everyone.

The Thunder also had various things set up in the concourse for the kids. Magicians, animal baloon makers (is that a technical term), face painters, caricature artists and some Pop-A-Shot type games.

Once practice commenced Nick Collison greeted the crowd and then it was pretty standard from there.

PJ (we are on a first name basis now after all) wrapped things up. All in all good times and a great opportunity for people who might not get to go to a game or sit that close to the court an opportunity to see the players up close.

From a basketball standpoint it I have to say that Kevin Durant has one of the sweetest looking shots I've seen and definitely the best on the team. The players joined up with some kids for a shooting contest and KD looked like he was born taking jump shots. It was very easy to picture him in an empty gym back in the day shooting for hours and hours.

Jeff Green probably impressed me the most. He was all over the place following misses with dunks and generally getting up and down the floor really well.

Johan Petro continued to look good as well and Mouhammed Sene got some time with the starters also.

Russell Westbrook and his school age playing partner wound up beating KD in the finals of the shooting contest by the way.