Thunder Storm Brewing

Objectivity has left the building.

I, The Big Guy, have loved the Oklahoma City Thunder since Day 1. Actually, I have loved them one year before Day 1. The day the Seattle SuperSonics drafted Kevin Durant was the day they became my second favorite NBA team.

Growing up a child of Jordan, I had no choice but to love the Chicago Bulls. Not like that is a problem, Derrick Rose has been a joy to watch. However, the Thunder are my first team of my own.

I will never forget the first time I saw Durant play. He was a lanky 18-year-old at University of Texas with the wingspan of a center and the handles of a guard. His stroke was pure a silk; his understanding of the game effortless. I had never seen a player make scoring look so easy. And he was the same age as me! In ten minutes he became my favorite talent. When I learned how humble and hungry he was, he became my favorite player. For the first time, I found a player in college who so enamored me that I knew I would follow his entire career.

The Seattle SuperSonics held the 2nd and 5th overall picks in the 2007 NBA Draft. After the Portland Trailblazers grabbed Once in a Generation big man Greg Oden with the first pick, the Sonics grabbed Durant. Three picks later, Seattle grabbed Georgetown forward Jeff Green.

Amid rumors of moving, Seattle sucked in 2007. They went 20-62. Durant averaged 20.3 PPG, started all 80 games he played and won Rookie of the Year. However, I knew Durant was only showing the tip of the iceberg that is his talent. The smooth shooter only shot 43% from the field and his 29% shooting from beyond the arc did not reflect his deft shooting touch.

The woeful record earned Seattle the 4th overall pick in the draft. They used it on a UCLA point guard who averaged 13 points and 4 assists in his sophomore year.

Stemming from a trade with Phoenix, Seattle also held the 24th pick in the draft. They drafted an 18-year-old from the  Republic of Congo playing for CB L’Hospitalet in Spain. It was agreed that the player would remain in Europe for at least one more year. Reports said he lost his mother at an early age, lost his father to imprisonment during the Second Congo War  and spoke five languages. His name was Serge Ibaka.

Six days later the Seattle SuperSonics became the Oklahoma City Thunder. They also became the smallest market in the NBA.

The inagural 2008-2009 season featured the combination of Westbrook, Durant and Green. The trio flashed signs of brilliance (Jeff Green sinking the first Thunder buzzer-beater against the Golden State Warriors) and exhibited long signs of growing pains (14 game losing streak). The team finished 23-59. Sitting through every home beating was a sold out crowd that put to rest any doubts about Oklahoma City being able to support a professional basketball franchise.

That offseason the Thunder used their 3rd overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft on James Harden, a 19-year-old sophomore shooting guard from Arizona State.

The 2009-2010 season represented a massive turnaround. With the youngest roster in the NBA and the 28th highest payroll, the Thunder made the playoffs with a 50-32 record. Harden played 76 games and averaged 23 minutes and 10 points. Ibaka joined the team and averaged 18 minutes in his 73 games. From late December 2009-January 2010, Durant scored +30 points in seven straight games. He scored at least 30 points in 36 games that year and led the league in scoring for his first time. Westbrook’s assists jumped from 5.3 to 8.0 per game.

The Thunder drew the Los Angeles Lakers in the playoffs. Two games in L.A. had Oklahoma City down 2-0. But Games 3 and 4 went to the Thunder at home. After dropping Game 5, the Thunder narrowly lost Game 6 at home 95-94. The Lakers went on to win the NBA Championship.

The 2010-2011 NBA season brought maturation, a blindside trade (for the good) and a deeper playoff run. Kevin Durant repeated as scoring champion, scoring only 27.7 PPG compared to 30.1 a year ago. Russell Westbrook improved as a shooter and averaged a career-high 8.3 APG. Serge Ibaka averaged 2.4 BPG and started 44 of his 82 games. Jeff Green started every game he played for the second straight season.

The biggest change came February 24, 2011. The Thunder sent Green, center Nenad Kristic and a first-round draft pick to the Boston Celtics for defensive anchor Kendrick Perkins and guard Nate Robinson. The backstop of the Celtics’ 2008 championship team, Perkins added a new toughness to the Thunder. It is also worth noting that Green appeared to be plateauing, if not regressing, in his fourth season in the league.

The Thunder needed five games to eliminate the Denver Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs. Their next opponent, The Mephis Grizzlies, pushed them to seven. Behind Durant’s 39 points and Westbrook’s 14 assists, the Thunder won at home before 18,203 fans.

The next series brought Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks. In a series of close games, the Thunder fell in five. The veteran Mavericks consistently out-executed the young Thunder. The Mavericks went on to win the NBA Championship.

In 2011-2012, Thunder fans knew what to expect. Durant was the best scorer in the league, again, and won his third straight scoring title. Westbrook continued to blow by defenders and posted career-highs in FG% and PPG. Ibaka averaged a league-high 3.6 BPG. Harden improved his shooting by 5 percentage points, wore the best beard in the league and earned Sixth Man of the Year. Perkins averaged 5.0 PPG and 6.6 RPG and lead the team in defensive organization.

The Thunder acquired a mentor for Westbrook on March 21, 2012 with the free agent signing of Derek Fisher. The 37-year-old, combined with Perkins created the ideal balance between youth and experience on the talent-laden team.

And here we are now. After sweeping their way through the first two rounds of the 2012 Playoffs, and responding to a 2-0 deficit to a team on a 20-game-winning streak, the Thunder are one win away from the NBA Championship Series.

From Durant’s pure shooting stroke, to General Manager Sam Presti’s saavy drafting, to Ibaka’s life story, to Harden’s weird beard what is not to like on this team?

The Thunder will beat the Spurs tonight and I will be waving my Oklahoma City Thunder throw blanket throughout the game. The NBA’s most loyal fans will get what they deserve tonight. Look for Durant to play it cool early on only to pour it in late as The Big Guy’s team cruises one step closer to glory. I can’t wait.

The Big Guy

The Self-Actualization of Kevin Durant

Beautiful. Just beautiful.

I admit, I picked the Thunder to lose tonight. I could not be happier to be wrong.

Those two shots in the 4th quarter of Game 1? That 1-3 shooting in the 4th quarter of Game 2? Long lost memories.

Durant shot 6-8 in tonight’s 4th quarter and scored 16 straight points while Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook didn’t take a shot in the closing quarter. For the first time in the series, Durant’s teammates seemed to realize that they play with the 3-time defending NBA scoring champion.

With a four-point lead entering the 4th quarter, Oklahoma City appeared on its collective heels. The entrance of Spurs power forward DeJuan Blair shifted the game’s balance and San Antonio held the momentum.

But time and again the Thunder turned to their 23-year-old leader. Durant attacked the basket and did not attempt a three in the fourth. Thunder coach Scott Brooks encouraged Durant to take shots late in the third quarter. Durant listened.

The 6’9″ scorer too quick for forwards and too long for guards took the game over in a way he frequently did in the regular season and in earlier playoff series but was yet to do against San Antonio.

Oklahoma City’s front court shot a combined 31-40. Center Kendrick Perkins got it going early and finished with 15 points, power forward Serge Ibaka tied a playoff record for efficiency with 11-11 shooting for 26 points and Durant— technically the worst shooter of the bunch— finished with 36 points.

Only 23 and already highly accomplished, Durant played his most impressive game tonight in a fashion few scorers have ever shown.

Only 2-4 from the field at half, Durant assumed role player status and allowed his teammates to build a 12 point lead at half. His 4-7 shooting in the third quarter fit the flow of the game and Durant never demanded the ball.

But in the fourth, when his team needed him the most, Durant stepped up and answered the call. The NBA’s most passive 3-time scoring champion in history dropped 36 points tonight without ever breaking rhythm and simply playing the smooth role his team asks of him.

The Big Guy

Spurs-Thunder Game 4 Preview

The Thunder answered. Down 2-0 and coming off a game where Spurs point guard Tony Parker torched the Thunder defense to the tune of 34 points and 8 assists, Oklahoma City adjusted.

Thabo Sefolosha played a series-high 37 minutes and tied his season-high with 19 points. A shooting guard in name only, the lockdown defender’s 7-16 shooting stands as the only time this season he has taken double-digit shots. Sefolosha also finished with 6 steals and contained Parker.

Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook also took a series-low 15 shots and picked up a series-high 9 assists. Westbrook’s distribution invited role players such as Serge Ibaka and Sefolosha into the offensive fold. After games of  5 and 8 points, Ibaka dropped 14 in Game 3 on 5-9 shooting.

Reserve guard Derek Fisher also played a series-low 21 minutes in Game 3. The 37-year-old guard’s Game 2 struggles may have been a blessing in disguise as they opened the window for Sefolosha’s increased playing time.

With a 31-7 overall record at home this year, the young Oklahoma City team broke Game 3 open in the second quarter they won 32-17.

While Popovich did not ride his starters in the second half of Game 3 in hope of an evening run, do not expect the same lax attitude in Game 4. The Spurs will play off of a loss for the first time since April 12. Despite the Spurs season-best 50-16 record, they did drop consecutive games four times this year.

Keys to the game

• Can Thabo Sefolosha continue to frustrate Tony Parker? Look for Parker to try to work on the bigger defenders that switch on to him after a screen. After avoiding switching in games 1 and 2, the Thunder switched frequently in Game 3. The adjustment worked to their advantage.
• Thabo Sefolosha can’t score that much again, can he?  He averaged 4.8 PPG this year! Popovich has to be thinking “if you fool me once…” Barring the unbelievable, look for Fisher to return to his clutch postseason ways and expect Westbrook to continue to feed Ibaka.
• The series most surprising stat? Tim Duncan’s 13-41 combined shooting. All of the Thunder’s adjustments could be made moot with one vintage Duncan performance. The big man only played 26 minutes Thursday. Expect a fresh and efficient Timmy.

Prediction

The Thunder jump out early but San Antonio weathers the storm and grind it out 101-99.

The Big Guy

Thuder-Spurs Game 2 Lessons

The Oklahoma City Thunder slashed, scratched, careened, crawled and even Hack-a-Splittered with all their might; but no matter what they did, they could not stop the San Antonio Spurs. The NBA’s least talked about dynamo improved their playoff record to 10-0 Tuesday night with a 120-111 victory.

The Thunder won the second half 67-65 and, at times, grasped fleeting holds of the momentum they never found in the first half. The game flow changed in the third quarter when Thunder coach Scott Brooks sent center Kendrick Perkins on a one-man hacking mission. Hoping to get in the head of Spurs center Tiago Splitter, Perkins grabbed Splitter three consecutive Spurs possessions. Splitter finished 6-12 from the line and the Thunder managed to cut the Spurs lead by a few points.

Yet every time the Thunder managed to go on a run, Spurs point guard Tony Parker answered. Whether it came from his 16-21 shooting from the field or one of his 8 assists, Parker backed his pre-series talk of the Spurs point guard being more aggressive than their Thunder counterparts.

Remember all those regular season conversations about who is the fastest point guard in the league? Russell Westbrook can attest: forget all that talk about him and Derrick Rose. Tony Parker is a blur.

On a night where Westbrook scored 27 points on 24 FGA, teammate Kevin Durant scored 31 on 17 FGA. In Game 1, Durant took two shots in the fourth quarter. Tonight, he took three.

The stats may back that the Thunder play better when Westbrook outshoots Durant, look for the Thunder to feed the 3-time NBA scoring champion early and often in Game 3 in Oklahoma City.

The Thunder also transitioned into a smaller lineup in the second half. This change slightly helped slow down the pick-and-roll/ drive-and-kick game San Antonio used to torched them with in the first half.

The Thunder’s 37-year-old point guard Derek Fisher played 26 minutes and shot 2-11. His 10 points may not be enough to command the playing time he took from defensive-minded shooting guard Thabo Sefolosha. With the Spurs shooting 42% from the three-point line and Parker consistently blowing past Westbrook, the Thunder may need to address their perimeter defense.

Game 3 is in Oklahoma City on Thursday at 8 PM CST.

The Big Guy