Hornets Give Away Chandler, Thunder Gladly Accept

Well the rumour I posted earlier came to pass, only better. The Thunder didn't even have to give up a draft pick for Tyson Chandler. Instead, they give Joe Smith (expiring contract), Chris Wilcox (expiring contract) and DeVon Hardin's rights (He's in Europe).

That's it. Hardin was a second rounder and isn't with the team. Joe Smith and Weezy weren't going to be in OKC next year anyway.

The only risk for OKC is that Chandler is currently injured and may never regain his form. He's a seven footer and feet don't handle the bulk that well.

However, if he can stay healthy the Thunder have just drastically improved. TC brings a defensive presence to the paint that the Thunder desperately need. It also allows Nick Collison to move back to Power Forward behind Jeff Green. Now you have Nenad Krstic backing up TC. Durant, Green, Westbrook, Chandler et al plus draft picks and the Thunder are scary.

Legit centers are hard to come by. The Thunder just stole one.

I feel bad for New Orleans. Joe Smith and Weezy are fine players and really great people but it's going to be hard for the Hornets to do anything in the playoffs. In fact, their chances of making them just went down.

All the best to Joe and Weezy.

Just a quick post today before the boys take on the Charlotte Bobcats. I'd like to mention a couple of interesting tidbits that have resulted since Scotty Brooks took over as coach.

First, the changes he's made to the lineup. Most notably, Russell Westbrook taking over the starters role at Point Guard and Nick Collison heading to the bench in favor of Chris "Weezy" Wilcox. Westbrook and Wilcox have only started one game, the Thunder's most recent against Memphis, and the Thunder won. Though it's only one game it's been coming to this for a while as Brooks seems to favor speed and athleticism so the Thunder can spread the court and create mismatches.

Check this out though, courtesy of 82games.com. It's the top 5-man combinations for the Thunder this season. It's put in order by total minutes played together but look at the +/- stat for the units (+/- is the net point differential between the 5 man unit and the 5 man unit they played against).

The worst 3 units for the Thunder (Min. 20 minutes together):
Watson-Durant-Green-Collison-Petro (-50)
Watson-Durant-Green-Wilkins-Collison (-43)
Watson-Durant-Green-Collison-Swift (-41)

The best 3 units for the Thunder (Min. 20 minutes together):
Westbrook-Mason-Smith-Green-Wilcox (+3)
Westbrook-Durant-Mason-Smith-Wilcox (+3)
Westbrook-Durant-Green-Wilcox-Collison (-9)

This could mean many things. First, Uncle Rusty was stubborn because these worst 3 lineups are also the top 3 lineups as far as minutes played together. Second, it could mean it hasn't been updated in a while to reflect Damien Wilkens insertion into a starters role since Scotty took over. Third, it means that Westbrook on the floor, and Weezy to a lesser extent, have a positive impact on the game.

The other interesting factoid resulting from Scotty taking over also reflects the above. Courtesy of Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman:

"In 15 games under Carlesimo, the Thunder averaged 88.9 points. Under Brooks, OKC is averaging 98.2, which increases to 101.4 if you throw out the Cleveland clunker."

Of course, we're still in the honeymoon phase with Scotty but one has to be encouraged of what has been happening over this relatively short progress. At the very least it represents the kind of progress that everyone had hoped for from the beginning. Hopefully it portends that the season is not lost and the Thunder can quit being a freebie on everyone's schedule.

Tonight it represents an opportunity to start a winning streak.

So what of the Basketball?

Indeed, lost amidst all the hoopla which included Commissioner Stern, Mayor Mick and, lest we forget, a pregame concert from C+C Music Factory (Yes they are still alive and, surprisingly, available) and the National Anthem and halftime performance from OKC's very own Graham Colton there was a basketball game.

It wasn't pretty but there was one. Rather than give a recap the likes of which you can read at such notable places as here, here and here I'll just break it down Halloween list style with what I liked and what I disliked. We'll start with what I liked because I'm trying to stay positive as much as possible.

Treats (besides the Thunder Girls):

• Nick Collison's hustle. He grabbed some offensive boards, chased down loose balls and pretty well scrapped and clawed any time he was on the floor. More than anyone else he did the little things to help the team that don't show up on the stat sheet.



• The energy of Chris Wilcox, Desmond Mason, Russell Westbrook and Collison. Interestingly, all but Collison came off the bench. Wilcox led the team in points and boards with 15 and 7 respectively. Mason had some really nice plays and knocked down some shots. Westbrook continues to improve and will get more minutes sooner than later (please, hopefully).



• The 4th quarter comeback which was sparked by a humongous Mason dunk (not the "Wave" as some blockhead caller on KREF intimated).

Tricks (deep breath):

• The shooting or lack thereof. The first quarter was particularly atrocious. It's possible that it was just nerves. Wilcox seems to think this might have been partially to blame. One three-pointer the whole game. What?



• The rebounding or lack thereof. On one possession the Bucks had three offensive boards before getting an easy layup. It hurts, it stings and is unacceptable on virtually all levels of basketball.



• Kevin Durant's 0-point 3-personal foul first half. I can definitely see some of the nerves coming into play here and I seriously doubt we ever see this again. But you have to admit, it stunk like a stale fart.



• Getting lit up by Andrew Bogut. "Lit up" and "Andrew Bogut" go together like turds and punchbowls.



• The lack of a floor general. More than anything I believe this will be the most difficult to remedy. Who is going to set other guys up for this team? I hope Earl Watson. Because as much as I like Westbrook he's a shoot first point guard at this point. KD also desperately needs someone to set him up as well.

It would be foolish to think that one game will define this season. But the Thunder have plenty to work on obviously. After watching the Rockets depants the Mavericks in Dallas last night it will be interesting to see if there are any improvements come Saturday night in Houston.

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.

Rough Weekend

After a weekend which saw the Oklahoma Sooners fall to Texas and the Thunder lose to Sacramento and Golden State it was nice to see the a Thunder victory Monday night.

Kevin Durant scored 20 in the 4th and played incredible defense and did what he had not done up to this point in the preseason; carry his team.

Hopefully it's the start of great things. Durant looked phenomenal, Chris Wilcox had a ton of energy and Nick Collison played really well also.

The thing that keeps gnawing at me with this team though is will they be able to keep up when the opposing team's firepower goes on a run? The Thunder scratched and clawed last night against a Houston team that put a bunch of riff-raff on the floor in crunch time. In crunch time their go-to-guy was D.J. Strawberry. Tracy McGrady didn't play and Yao didn't play in the 4th.

Who cares. A win is a win and even though it's only preseason it's huge to get the first one under their belt.

Now it's on to the OKC debut, the home debut and I can't wait. I'll try to get some pictures and post them. I'm very excited and interested to see the crowd. It would be awesome if the OKC fans can truly make the Ford Center (dba Thunderdome) a home court advantage.

Oklahoma City at Sacramento

What I am looking forward to seeing tonight (and I don't mean The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Lyric Theatre)

-More minutes for Russell Westbrook and Johan Petro.

-Less minutes for Collison and Wilcox.

-Something positive from Jeff Green.

-Fewer turnovers.

-Better reception from the KSBI feed.