Lots at stake today. OU has an opportunity to stake its claim to a spot in the Big 12 Championship game and to keep its BCS title game hopes alive. For OSU, the first 10 win season in history and a chance to do every OSU fans favorite thing; ruin OU's season. Families are divided today. I know. Mine is.
This is going to be a great game to watch. Two high octane but more or less traditional (dba balanced) offenses loaded with playmakers and two of the college game's best offensive minds playing chess.
It's also senior day for the Cowboys, it's at the T. Boone Palace and it's the marquee game in the country in prime time. Everything that worked in the favor of OU last week is now in OSU's favor this week.
That said, OSU is not winning this ballgame.
It boils down to two factors. One, who has the better defense and two, who stands the better chance if their respective running game is shut down.
OSU's defense has improved this year but how it could it not? It was abysmal last year. It simply hasn't improved enough to put the fear in this Sooners offense. The Sooners have way too many weapons and is too good at spreading the ball around. Six players have scored 7 or more touchdowns for the Sooners, 12 in all. The Sooners receivers are deadly after the catch. They also have two Running Backs in DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown who not only constitute the best tandem in college football but also have rushed for nearly 1,000 yard each.
The Cowboys meanwhile are potent on offense but really only have four stars. Zac Robinson, Kendall Hunter, Brandon Pettigrew and Dez Bryant. The Sooner secondary shut down Michael Crabtree last week and the rest of the crew is going all in to stop Hunter and Robinson. Pettigrew stands to wreak the most havoc. But letting him get his will not be enough to keep pace with the Sooners. He has yet to score a TD this year.
The Sooners don't need to be able to run as badly as the Cowboys to win. The Sooners could go to a Texas Tech style offense and still put up 50. But if the Cowboys become one dimensional what then? The Sooners will pin their ears back and Robinson will be running for his life.
For the Sooners I see Juaquin Iglesias having a big game. This is his type of atmosphere. For the defense I see Travis Lewis racking up a kazillion tackles.
For the Cowboys it's all about Kendall Hunter and their D-Line being able to do what few others have and that's get to Sam Bradford.
I'm nervous about what the Cowboys have in terms of intangibles but 10,000 empty seats will put a damper on that. I like the Sooners 52-35.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Ding Dong the Witch is Dead
I swear that last night as I was walking up to the ThunderDome I saw PJ's loafers and khaki's sticking out from underneath the building and then, as I got closer, the loafers disappeared and the khaki's shriveled up. Two and a half hours later 19,000 plus munchkins were still in the stands and on their feet cheering a one point loss (99-98 and Steve Nash proved he is still one of the best in the game).
This was a new chapter in Oklahoma City Thunder basketball.
Look, PJ isn't the wicked witch. I've only met one person associated with this team and it was PJ. He was, dare I say, delightful and it's foolish to say that everything is his fault. But the contrast between the Hornets game last Friday and the game against the Suns last night was staggering and the only difference was no PJ at the end of the bench.
Some "beyond the box score" examples:
On Friday night when Jeff Green was introduced to the crowd he walked out like he was meeting a Jehova's Witness at his front door. Against the Suns it looked like all the players were on trampolines.
People were smiling everywhere. During one timeout, with the crowd on its' feet, the coaches huddled up on the court like they always do and Mark Bryant had to bite his lip to keep from smiling and the coaches all just looked at each other and shook their heads like, "Can you believe how much fun this is?"
The players were clearly having fun also. The bench was on its' feet at the end of the first half and most of the second. Players raced to pick each other up off the court. They were more demonstrative than any game that I can remember. They were being creative and it showed with 28 assists (they average 17 on the season).
The energy was palpable throughout the arena and the entire game. There was that synergy between team and fans that had defined the Hornets era. The fans for their part learned that these guys can be likeable and good and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. The players got to see the infectious energy and enthusiasm this crowd can provide. Until now it was only the stuff of legend.
One moment though will stay with me. At the end of the game, after having lost by one point, Kevin Durant stood under the basket by himself and he was just looking around, soaking everything in. He looked like he was trying to capture the pain of the loss and the feeling of how creative and fun basketball can be. I don't know if that's what he was doing but if so it was a neat thing to see.
At the end of the day the standings will say 1-14 but in my mind the Thunder are a competitive 0-2 and the future is looking brighter. Close losses to the Hornets and Suns are nothing to be ashamed of and with the way the team is playing the wins will come soon enough.
Happy Thanksgiving.
This was a new chapter in Oklahoma City Thunder basketball.
Look, PJ isn't the wicked witch. I've only met one person associated with this team and it was PJ. He was, dare I say, delightful and it's foolish to say that everything is his fault. But the contrast between the Hornets game last Friday and the game against the Suns last night was staggering and the only difference was no PJ at the end of the bench.
Some "beyond the box score" examples:
On Friday night when Jeff Green was introduced to the crowd he walked out like he was meeting a Jehova's Witness at his front door. Against the Suns it looked like all the players were on trampolines.
People were smiling everywhere. During one timeout, with the crowd on its' feet, the coaches huddled up on the court like they always do and Mark Bryant had to bite his lip to keep from smiling and the coaches all just looked at each other and shook their heads like, "Can you believe how much fun this is?"
The players were clearly having fun also. The bench was on its' feet at the end of the first half and most of the second. Players raced to pick each other up off the court. They were more demonstrative than any game that I can remember. They were being creative and it showed with 28 assists (they average 17 on the season).
The energy was palpable throughout the arena and the entire game. There was that synergy between team and fans that had defined the Hornets era. The fans for their part learned that these guys can be likeable and good and a hell of a lot of fun to watch. The players got to see the infectious energy and enthusiasm this crowd can provide. Until now it was only the stuff of legend.
One moment though will stay with me. At the end of the game, after having lost by one point, Kevin Durant stood under the basket by himself and he was just looking around, soaking everything in. He looked like he was trying to capture the pain of the loss and the feeling of how creative and fun basketball can be. I don't know if that's what he was doing but if so it was a neat thing to see.
At the end of the day the standings will say 1-14 but in my mind the Thunder are a competitive 0-2 and the future is looking brighter. Close losses to the Hornets and Suns are nothing to be ashamed of and with the way the team is playing the wins will come soon enough.
Happy Thanksgiving.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Change We Can Believe In? We'll Find Out in a Hurry
Scotty Brooks is wasting no time making changes to the Thunder lineup. Johan Petro is riding the pine. Damien Wilkens is in at Shooting Guard. Kevin Durant is moving to Small Forward, Jeff Green slides to Power Forward and Nick Collison completes the circle by sliding to Center.
By all accounts, KD has been playing out of position his entire (if not short) career and so has Jeff Green. I cannot do the X's and O's anymore justice than what Chris Silva from Thunder.NBA.com has already done so you can read it about it here.
I do know that the game tonight against the Phoenix Suns represents a fresh
start what with a new coach, a new lineup and a second chance to make a first impression on
the fans. That said, few teams could provide a better litmus test for the
effectiveness of these changes than the Suns.
Tonight we'll see KD mixing it up with Amare and Shaq, Westbrook against Steve Nash, Shaq against all comers. Not to mention Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, Grant Hill and the goofier looking Lopez twin, Robin (the real life inspiration for Sideshow Bob and pictured, at left).
Moving KD to the PF is something that's been talked about since last year.
The reason it's never happened is because he's built like Bambi and these are grown men he'd be thrown in against on a nightly basis. But if you're the Thunder you're staring 1-14 in the face. Is there a better time to start getting on with it than right now? While we're at it, if Scotty is going to be open to lineup tweaks, I doubt it's long before Westbrook is inserted into the starting lineup. He had 11 assists off the bench the other night and if he keeps that up how can you not make the move.
The reason it's never happened is because he's built like Bambi and these are grown men he'd be thrown in against on a nightly basis. But if you're the Thunder you're staring 1-14 in the face. Is there a better time to start getting on with it than right now? While we're at it, if Scotty is going to be open to lineup tweaks, I doubt it's long before Westbrook is inserted into the starting lineup. He had 11 assists off the bench the other night and if he keeps that up how can you not make the move.
PS- Scroll down for my breakdown of the OU-Tech game. Looks like I forgot to drink my Sooner Kool-Aid when I made my score prediction eh? The Bedlam preview is forthcoming. Hint: You should be worried Cowboys fans.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Encouraging Interview
Check out this video from The Oklahoman today. It's the first practice with interim head coach Scott Brooks, dba Scotty.
Am I being overly optimistic or does there sound like there's some pep and rejuvination in KD's voice? This is what I talked about yesterday when players are willing to go to war for coaches. KD says that Scotty helps him on and off the court and that they tell each other they love each other. Apart from blatent homoeroticism doesn't that sound like KD, if not anyone else, is going to play hard for the guy? Wouldn't it be ideal if KD plays hard then everyone else might follow since, at least today, KD is the de facto Alpha Dog on this team?
It just seems like the effort was there against the Hornets on Saturday night, even in a losing cause. Now you hear KD talking with some energy in his voice and you can see the beginnings of what hopefully is improvement.
I watched a recording of the Hornets game on Sunday and the difference between Friday night and Saturday was staggering. The Thunder passing was markedly improved. The shooting was better. There were no long scoring droughts.
Could it be a one-game anomoly? Sure it could. But it could also be that PJ and this team were just a terrible fit and the 25 point loss at home to the Hornets was the Thunder hitting bottom and now the rebound is on.
Am I being overly optimistic or does there sound like there's some pep and rejuvination in KD's voice? This is what I talked about yesterday when players are willing to go to war for coaches. KD says that Scotty helps him on and off the court and that they tell each other they love each other. Apart from blatent homoeroticism doesn't that sound like KD, if not anyone else, is going to play hard for the guy? Wouldn't it be ideal if KD plays hard then everyone else might follow since, at least today, KD is the de facto Alpha Dog on this team?
It just seems like the effort was there against the Hornets on Saturday night, even in a losing cause. Now you hear KD talking with some energy in his voice and you can see the beginnings of what hopefully is improvement.
I watched a recording of the Hornets game on Sunday and the difference between Friday night and Saturday was staggering. The Thunder passing was markedly improved. The shooting was better. There were no long scoring droughts.
Could it be a one-game anomoly? Sure it could. But it could also be that PJ and this team were just a terrible fit and the 25 point loss at home to the Hornets was the Thunder hitting bottom and now the rebound is on.
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