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.

The Rookie Wall

Good Monday to all. Here's some news and notes from this past weekend of Thunder basketball.

• My wife has hit the Rookie Wall. Three games in the past week has tested her commitment to the team. Never mind she witnessed the first two-game win streak of the season or that each of the wins came against teams with winning records. Or that she saw the best individual performance from an opponent in the Ford Center in Dwyane Wade. She is pregnant so maybe I should give her some slack.
• The Pistons are in trouble. Opponents are quick to say they should have won any time they lose to the Thunder. But a loss to the Thunder in and of itself is not a red flag because the team is playing so well recently. These Pistons are in trouble because they are no more than a collection of parts. On paper they should be a nightmare. Allen Iverson, Rip Hamilton, Rodney Stuckey, Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince. Every one of them is a tough matchup. Every one of them should be able to take the wheel when the offense sputters. But they play horribly together. Maybe Rip is still sulking about Chauncey Billups being gone. Maybe it's the chatter about starting three smallish guards or playing time between them or whatever. Really they have no Alpha Dog to lead them. The Heat, by comparison, do not have the same talent but they have Wade and he makes the whole thing hum. The Pistons just have individuals and none of them are the type of players that make those around them better.
• Anyone complaining about ho-hum halftime shows was quieted Friday night. "The World's Greatest Female Illusionist" nearly died performing a water escape routine. She quickly put herself (and I suppose the Thunder for hiring her) on the short list for wet blanket story of 2009. 18,000+ people simultaneously realizing they could be witness to someone's death is a helpless and haunting moment. Thankfully she survived but the crowd was rattled. Sunday night it was back to High School Pom-Pon routines at the half.
• I saw Sam Presti in Section 309 both Friday and Sunday night. I'm not sure what he was doing up there. Maybe he was wanting to soak it all in from the fans' point of view but I thought it was interesting to see him up there both nights. The first night I didn't say anything but the second I blurted "Nice work" or "Keep it up" or somesuch and he was very cordial and appreciative. Seems like a cool guy to hang out with. I'm very good at sizing people up after two-second exchanges.
• Speaking of random sightings, it was my Grandpa's birthday on Saturday. I called him up and he told me on Thursday he and Grandma were having dinner at Hometown Buffet when a cab pulled up and out trotted three Detroit Pistons. Rodney Stuckey, Aaron Aflalo and a player undetermined came in to the restaurant. Of all the places to eat they set out for Hometown Buffet. That's crazy to me.
• Dwyane Wade is the best opponent I've seen in the Ford Center this year in person. LeBron has talent and skill oozing from every pore. He has the greatest understanding of what he brings from an entertainment standpoint and he is "that moment". Dwight Howard was a force that could not be stopped. He is a man among boys. But neither hoists his team on his shoulders and carries them like Wade. He is the first guy I've seen who makes everyone around him better. He's the catalyst of the entire offense. He's the best defender they have, the best scorer they have, the best passer they have. It's no wonder the Heat's record was so abysmal last year without him. I can't imagine what their offense would look like if he wasn't there. He also did not have the benefit of getting bailed out by the referees last night and he still scored 32. What's weird is it seemed like more. But it was his passing and his defense that made it seem like he was omnipresent in everything the Heat did. He was amazing.

The Thunder's Biggest Fans Caught in the Act

I perused the Thunder Madness website today. It's a Thunder fan site created by The Oklahoman. One of the features allows people to upload their photos. The newest photos are shown on the front page. Hugh Scott of The Oklahoman snapped and posted some photos of the Thunder Girls (and bless him for it). In so doing he captured a shot of the some of the Thunder's biggest fans, my parents.

As you can see, the contest has my dad working up a lather and someone nearby has thrust a beer in front of him in their unseen excitement. Mom on the other hand is taking advantage of the game break to sift through some email, check the 401K or perhaps checking in with her bookie. More likely she's texting one of my sisters to see if the puppy has made any doodies in the house.

You can also see that their seats are about five rows from the court, whereas mine are five rows from the roof. It's cool though. I don't really need to be that close. What would be fun about that?

I Just Can't Keep Up

No sooner do I jump back into the fray when I learn that the Thunder have made a trade. So Johan Petro is now a Nugget and Chucky Atkins is now a Thunder (Thunderer? Thunderee?). My first thought is, "Cool, I'm glad we still have Joe Smith for the time being". My second is, "Well, I guess either Chucky or Earl Watson will be gone sooner than later". And my third is, "We got a first round pick for Petro?"

Essentially it's the two players plus Denver's 1st round pick in the upcoming draft for the Thunder's second round pick. Still, the Thunder are poised to be big-time players as the trade deadline approaches and this offseason.

Joe Smith and Earl Watson have been the names most often mentioned in trade rumors and now the Thunder, with the addition of Krusty and Chucky are prepared to move on down the path this season while making those more valuable trading chips expendable.

It will be interesting to see whether it's Chucky or Earl that gets moved. My money is on Earl. He was kind of on the outs when the season started and Chucky appears to be simply content with the chance to play. With Slim coming along nicely that should mean just breather minutes for Chucky, something he should be able to stomach better than Earl.

Interesting indeed. But there's a lot more action on the horizon and the Thunder look to be in the center of it.

Long Time No See

Ah, let me kick off the shoes and scratch the toes here a little bit. Sure has been a while. Thanks to all the loyal followers out there who conspired to coax me out of the Holiday Coma I've been in. Really, emails are flattering but smooching a bobblehead in my likeness out in the front yard is a little creepy.

In any event, Happy 2009 and what a start it's been. Let's see, where were we:

• The Thunder put 2008 to bed with a win on New Year's Eve at the Thunderdome against the dysfunctional Warriors. Of course I didn't see it because $200 dinners with friends are much more important. I kid, I kid it was wonderful (It had better be, eh?).
• Carmelo Anthony took all the fun out of what would have been the Thunder's first two game win-streak of the year when he did his best super-kung-fu-backflip-off-the-wall-dagger-to-the-heart-routine. It took less time for him to do it than it did for me to write it. I didn't get to see that either because of yet another dinner party. Do you think I blog from Mom's basement or something?
• Nenad (Krusty) Krstic has officially cleared customs and is on the squad, though he has yet to suit up. There is rumor and hope that his first game could be this very night against the suddenly frisky Timberwolves. By the way, Krusty has to be one of the best nicknames on the team. I know one other Krusty and it's served him well for ages. The two actually look similar. I'll have to do a side by side if possible.
• Assistant coach Ron Adams joined the coaching staff. By all accounts he's a defensive specialist and if the game against the Knicks (see below) is any indication, things are working out.
• After defeating the Celtics (now looking as though the Playoff Intensity carried over from last season has finally worn the old fogies down), the Knicks got beat by our own youngin's in a game that really shouldn't have been as close as it was. KD, Young Dro and Slim each had over 20 points.

Yes sir, 2009 is starting out looking alright for the Thunder. Russell Westbrook is starting to get some notice for Rookie of the Year consideration (he was named the NBA's top Rookie for December). The boys are playing with some fire and are proving they can compete with anyone.

Don't look now but this worst-team-in-history nonsense could be behind us by the All-Star Break.