Some reflections and musings on a Sunday morning:
As thrilled as I am to have a professional team to call my very own I must admit it's been a little difficult keeping up with them this past month. Spring is in bloom, spring training started and there was March Madness. It felt like there was two weeks between home games at the end of March. I'm looking forward to the home stretch.
I hope DJ White plays tonight.
The Point Guard situation is getting interesting. Earl Watson hasn't played for about as long as I haven't blogged (~month). Shaun Livingston was picked up, another low-risk, high-reward move. Kyle Weaver was sent down to Tulsa where he picked up 11 assists in one game's worth of action. My guess is the Thunder carry three PG's next season; Russel, Livingston and Weaver. Possibly Chucky but he should be some kind of player-coach.
Last game against Portland, a woman two rows below me wasn't paying attention and got hit right in the boobs by the t-shirt cannon. She was alright and, sadly, this along with the mascot action provided most of the highlights for the night.
My growth as an NBA fan continues. I learned the other night what it looks like when a team is getting ready for the playoffs. They fine-tune their game like Portland did. They play at a high level. The Thunder, conversely, looked they were feeling out roster spots for next season.
Showing posts with label Kyle Weaver. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kyle Weaver. Show all posts
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Who's the Defensive Stopper. Bueller? Bueller?
Dez Mason is gone for the season. On offense, he's been the Thunder's prototypical "no, No, NO!....Yesss!" player. Meaning, his offensive game looks like it has a zero-percent success rate but he's actually pretty solid.
His defense is another story altogether. The Thunder are now 0-9 in games that Mason doesn't play. Uh-oh. He's provided much needed energy to the starting lineup and his veteran moxy yields results that you don't see in the box score.
So how do you replace that? The obvious solution would seem to be Jeff Green. They are about the same size and Green can guard at least three positions. But Green hasn't slid over to Mason's starting position of shooting guard. Instead, Kyle Weaver has been inserted into the lineup.
I like Kyle Weaver's game. His passing and ball-handling indicates he has a high basketball IQ. I also mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he could be a real defensive pest. So I like that he is getting this opportunity.
I don't see him as the long term starter at the position though. Hopefully he can learn as much as he can the remainder of the season and prove that he is a piece in the long term puzzle. Then, next season, he can provide the spark off the bench that I think his game is really more suited for.
If this is what Sam Presti is thinking (and, let's be honest, there's a good chance it isn't) then maybe it offers a glimpse into how this upcoming draft and offseason could go.
For instance, if the Thunder get Blake Griffin then why not move Jeff Green over to the 2? It's a position he can guard and his shooting has improved dramatically this year. If that's the case then why not stick Jeff Green at the 2 now instead of Weaver and insert Nenad Krstic at the 5 and slide Nick Collison to the 4? The answer is probably that, short term, Collison can't defend a 4 as well as Green. It's probably not wise to bank on ping-pong balls falling in your favor.
But in any event, I think it's safe to assume that if Mason were healthy or now with Kyle Weaver replacing him, neither man is the long term answer to start at the position. So maybe we're gazing into the cystal ball and the Thunder are looking to draft or trade for a shooting guard.
In the short term we can only hope that the Green/Weaver combo steps up. This next month looked rough anyways but now it could be downright brutal.
His defense is another story altogether. The Thunder are now 0-9 in games that Mason doesn't play. Uh-oh. He's provided much needed energy to the starting lineup and his veteran moxy yields results that you don't see in the box score.
So how do you replace that? The obvious solution would seem to be Jeff Green. They are about the same size and Green can guard at least three positions. But Green hasn't slid over to Mason's starting position of shooting guard. Instead, Kyle Weaver has been inserted into the lineup.
I like Kyle Weaver's game. His passing and ball-handling indicates he has a high basketball IQ. I also mentioned a couple of weeks ago that he could be a real defensive pest. So I like that he is getting this opportunity.
I don't see him as the long term starter at the position though. Hopefully he can learn as much as he can the remainder of the season and prove that he is a piece in the long term puzzle. Then, next season, he can provide the spark off the bench that I think his game is really more suited for.
If this is what Sam Presti is thinking (and, let's be honest, there's a good chance it isn't) then maybe it offers a glimpse into how this upcoming draft and offseason could go.
For instance, if the Thunder get Blake Griffin then why not move Jeff Green over to the 2? It's a position he can guard and his shooting has improved dramatically this year. If that's the case then why not stick Jeff Green at the 2 now instead of Weaver and insert Nenad Krstic at the 5 and slide Nick Collison to the 4? The answer is probably that, short term, Collison can't defend a 4 as well as Green. It's probably not wise to bank on ping-pong balls falling in your favor.
But in any event, I think it's safe to assume that if Mason were healthy or now with Kyle Weaver replacing him, neither man is the long term answer to start at the position. So maybe we're gazing into the cystal ball and the Thunder are looking to draft or trade for a shooting guard.
In the short term we can only hope that the Green/Weaver combo steps up. This next month looked rough anyways but now it could be downright brutal.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Late Night Shenanigans
What a crazy game last night betwixt our beloved Thunder and the Warriors. For once fortuna smiled on OKC and Jeff Green's game winner at the buzzer made it worth staying up to see the 122-121 victory.
It seems to me these two teams bring out the best in each other.
For example a 72-68 halftime score. You'd think that no Defense was being played by either team. But it was really solid basketball by both teams. Both shot over 50% from the floor and both were 15/15 from the free throw line. For the game the team's shot a combined 68-73 from the foul line. The Thunder shot 62% from 3-point range and the Warriors shot over 50% from the floor for the game.
What I really liked about this game, other than winning and other than Jeff Green's beating the buzzer to do it, was something I noticed from Kyle Weaver, Jeff Collison and Desmond Mason.
Collison and Mason, each on separate occasions, took their teammate(s) aside and did a little coaching. Collison showed Weaver something about posting up on D. Mason pulled the entire on-floor lineup aside coming out of a timeout with less than a minute left in the game.
On occasion I've seen Chucky Atkins do this to Russell Westbrook and I've seen Damien Wilkins do it as well.
To me, it's a clear sign that the team has great chemistry and are taking ownership and responsibility for improving and winning. Not only is it encouraging to see but it's fun to watch as well.
Kyle Weaver jumped out to me because he is becoming "that guy you love to have on your team but hate to play against". He's a pest. He gets up in your face, he harasses every pass and lives in your back pocket. He clearly got under the skin of Corey Maggette.
Every good team needs a pest. They can take their opponent out of their games, distract them, get them to commit silly fouls and flat out bug the snot out of people. Two people that immediately come to mind that play this role on other team's would be Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs and Chris Paul of the Hornets. I'm in no way saying Weaver is an equal to the complete games these two posess. But, as Weaver's confidence builds, you can see him playing an important role off the bench.
It seems to me these two teams bring out the best in each other.
For example a 72-68 halftime score. You'd think that no Defense was being played by either team. But it was really solid basketball by both teams. Both shot over 50% from the floor and both were 15/15 from the free throw line. For the game the team's shot a combined 68-73 from the foul line. The Thunder shot 62% from 3-point range and the Warriors shot over 50% from the floor for the game.
What I really liked about this game, other than winning and other than Jeff Green's beating the buzzer to do it, was something I noticed from Kyle Weaver, Jeff Collison and Desmond Mason.
Collison and Mason, each on separate occasions, took their teammate(s) aside and did a little coaching. Collison showed Weaver something about posting up on D. Mason pulled the entire on-floor lineup aside coming out of a timeout with less than a minute left in the game.
On occasion I've seen Chucky Atkins do this to Russell Westbrook and I've seen Damien Wilkins do it as well.
To me, it's a clear sign that the team has great chemistry and are taking ownership and responsibility for improving and winning. Not only is it encouraging to see but it's fun to watch as well.
Kyle Weaver jumped out to me because he is becoming "that guy you love to have on your team but hate to play against". He's a pest. He gets up in your face, he harasses every pass and lives in your back pocket. He clearly got under the skin of Corey Maggette.
Every good team needs a pest. They can take their opponent out of their games, distract them, get them to commit silly fouls and flat out bug the snot out of people. Two people that immediately come to mind that play this role on other team's would be Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs and Chris Paul of the Hornets. I'm in no way saying Weaver is an equal to the complete games these two posess. But, as Weaver's confidence builds, you can see him playing an important role off the bench.
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