Wednesday Bolts - 1.7.09

- Have you voted for Russell Westbrook today? Do it... Do it.

- One day until the National Championship game. I'm nervous. And mad about the media storm around Dominique Franks' "comments."

- Seth from Posting and Toasting on OKC: "Credit Oklahoma City with being a really surprisingly solid city and arena. They're really loveable underdogs. There's a pre-game prayer (I'd like to see that), they have silly sound effects for each player (I guess the Knicks do to, but somehow this is sillier), and get legitimately rowdy when their team performs. Hats off to the OKC. Still, it would've given me sick pleasure to rob them of a much-deserved win."

- See, we knew everyone would start to come around. One commenter at Knickerblogger: "It was totally [messed] up how the Thunder ended up in OKC, but yeah, the fans in OKC obviously love them their basketball."

- What do YOU mean, "those guys?": '"It's taking steps back, especially losing to those guys," Al Harrington said. "No disrespect to them, but we're in a different place than those guys." "What different place? The Thunder boast three young studs the Knicks wish they had. Second-year stars Kevin Durant and Jeff Green battered the Knicks with 27 points apiece, and rookie point guard Russell Westbrook, whom the Knicks targeted in the draft, finished with 22 points and nine assists."'

- Still following the Thunder on ESPN's "worst team ever" thing? Yeah, me neither: With last night's win, the Thunder are on pace for a 12-70 record. After 35 games, the 1972-73 Sixers were 3-35. Which isn't even the worst ever after 35. The 1997-98 Nuggets, the 1993-94 Mavs and 1970-71 Cavs were all 2-33. Hey, I'm kind of digging 5-30 now.

- Ball Don't Lie Behind the Box Score: "The Thunder stormed (I just wrote that, I didn't even think about it ... I think the BtB wheels have come off) to an early lead with some sound ball movement and plenty of aggression. Good aggression, getting into lanes, making the extra pass, and finishing well. Kevin Durant had 27 points on 16 shots, with 12 rebounds, and Jeff Green scored 27 of his own. A sneaky 27, if I'm honest. Didn't know it was happening until I was told. Also, Russell Westbrook ... 22 points, nine assists, six boards, four turnovers, not bad. Again, lots of aggression. The Thunder looked great, New York came back for a spell during the fourth quarter, but Oklahoma City is playing some really good basketball of late, and it's been truly fun to watch."

- Bored? Waste some time checking out what I think are the top 10 Nike commercials ever: "Pretty much anything with Michael Jordan makes a great commercial. It could be 30 seconds of MJ just dribbling in his underwear with some awesome pulsing beat with a light piano over the top and then you slap, "Become Legendary" and the Jumpman on the end of it and you've got a flippin' sweet commercial."

Role reversal: Oklahoma City outlasts New York 107-99

What a strange feeling to have as a Thunder fan. Winning a game and yet feeling some disappointment and frustration. And it's kind of weird to be on the other side of a comeback attempt.

But hey, it's a win. And guess what: TWO OUT OF THREE. Had it not been for Carmelo tearing out OKC's heart, this would have been three in a row. Can you believe that? But one encouraging thing to take out of it is that instead of OKC getting the "Here we go again" feeling, they closed. A month ago, the Thunder would have lost this one by eight points. But instead, they closed. They made clutch plays, got big rebounds and most importantly, won. And that feels good. Despite what may have happened in about an eight minute stretch, the Thunder played awesome for about 40 minutes, then hung on for dear life for eight. And won.

But the path to getting there wasn't pretty. After leading by as much as 25 late in the third, Al Harrington went on an 11-0 run by himself to cut it to 14. The Thunder called timeout, went on a 4-0 spurt and pushed it back to 18. But then New York went back at it and got it down to as little as three. At one point, the Knicks scored on 13 consecutive possessions. As the game tightened, so did the Thunder. Jeff Green (who was awesome tonight) was 7-7 from the free throw line. But late in the fourth, he missed three of four from the line. OKC turned it over time after time and in general was just loose with the basketball. Had it not been for the Knicks just going completely cold from three, this may have been a jump-off-a-building type game.

You've got to love OKC shooting almost 53 percent, hitting 24-31 from the line and outrebounding the Knicks by 11. You've got to love Kevin Durant scoring 27, Jeff Green doing the same and Russell Westbrook adding 22. You've got to love how the Thunder came out scorching, outscoring New York 35-23 in the first quarter. You've got to love the team playing well tonight, despite what happened to them the last time out. That HAS to feel good for them.

Tonight was about getting up big and hanging on. Something the Thunder has watched other teams do a lot to them this season. But you had to like OKC's chances as the Knicks are now 0-16 when behind going into the fourth. But check out OKC's last two first halves: 63 against the Knicks, 64 against the Nuggets. Look at these halftime numbers: Mason 11, Durant 17, Westbrook 17, Green 10. Earlier in the year, those were end-of-the-game numbers. Against the Nuggs, OKC shot 58 percent. Tonight, 53. This isn't a bad offensive team anymore. They're efficient, they're hitting jumpshots and they're scoring in the paint. I wrote about the problem earlier in the year and it was simply that the team couldn't hit jumpers. Now they are. Add in Westbrook's dynamic driving and this is a pretty good offensive team. But the horrible lapses defensively are definitely disturbing.

Kevin Durant continues to totally blow me away. On all of his 11 makes, I don't think he hit the rim once. Seriously. I really don't think he did. His game is becoming more and more complete as he's turning into a nice rebounder (eight a game since move to the three, with 12 more tonight) and he's got the dribble-drive working more and more. He's good. Plain and simple. Good. He didn't have as big a second half, but that's because when the ball went to him, he was doubled. And tripled. He may say he doesn't deserve to be an All-Star, but he's really looking like one. If he were on a winning club, heck, he might be on the outside of the MVP discussion. One other thing: He also played 45 minutes. He may be worn out tomorrow.

Russell Westbrook is getting a tad lazy with all those reach-around steal attempts. I know when I play a pick-up game, when I'm tired and no longer feel like playing defense, I won't try so hard to stay in front of my man and will just try the olay defense. It's a fine defensive move, but I don't think many players should be getting around Russell, so I fear it may be a bit of a lazy move. But other than that, Westbrook has been playing so freaking good. Another great game - 22 points, nine assists, six rebounds. And anyone else notice the Good, Bad and the Ugly theme played when WESTbrook scored, a la David West circa the 2005-2007 Hornets. If you close your eyes and Mason and Westbrook score back-to-back baskets, you may think you're at a Hometown Hornets game.

Not to leave out Green who was really the go-to-guy late. He created for himself, made shots, got to the line and rebounded well. Again, 27 points on 8-16 shooting, seven boards and 3-6 from three. So awesome to watch Green, Westbrook and Durant all click together.

One thing: Why is it whenever the ball goes into Mason in the post, I just want to turn my TV off for about four seconds? Oh, I know why. Because he's about to A) Turn it over B) Take a little baby hook that just hits backboard or C) Throw it away after getting caught in the air with no where to go. After New York cut it back to four with four to go, why go to Mason in the post - twice? WHY!?!?!? But with that said, I love Dez. He plays so hard and works his tail of defensively that I have no qualms with him. Except for that one thing.

Nenad Krstic didn't play tonight. Scott Brooks cited it being because he's something they like and there's no need to rush him along. He's right, but we all are dying to see him. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe not. It's not like he's a piece added to make a playoff run. It's probably a smart move. And evidently, no need for him tonight. Hi-Oh!

An observation about the Knicks: I know this isn't any huge revelation here, but if the three isn't falling, this team isn't that good. I've never seen a team give up on the offensive glass quite like the Knicks did in the first three quarters. The shot goes up and everybody puts their head down and heads for the defensive end, make or miss. They turned it up a little in the fourth, but before that, there was just no effort there. They almost look like a pick-up team. Everybody standing around, waiting for their turn to hoist a three, not playing much defense and not crashing the offensive glass. Of course, in every pick-up game you've got that one annoying guy that hustles for some unknown reason and works hard on the glass (David Lee).

Four good things for the young Thunder to take from tonight's game. 1) A win. That's what matters most. 2) Things to have done differently in order to not give up a huge lead. 3) Showing character to not let it get away and in the end closing it out. And 4) A win. Did I already say that?

After just a one game losing streak, the Thunder looks for two in a row again, this time in Minnesota tomorrow night. Definitely winnable, as long as everybody's legs don't fall off.

Knicks vs. Thunder: Pre-game view

vs.

New York Knicks (13-19) vs. Oklahoma City Thunder (4-30)
Tuesday, January 6
Ford Center
Oklahoma City, OK
7:00 PM CST

TV: FS Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

The other view: Knickerblogger

Throw out the first meeting between these two. Just take it, wad it up and toss it. Because much has changed since these two squads hooked up. November's 116-106 win for the Knicks saw Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford both tossing up 29 point games as New York stormed out to a big lead and OKC fought from behind. But both Crawford and Randolph have been traded. Now OKC has to prepare for Al Harrington and Tim Thomas. Coach P.J. Carlesimo is gone. The Thunder welcomes in one new player as Nenad Krstic joins to fold. So basically, it's as if the two teams never met.

Really, the main thing to watch for tonight is what Nenad Krispy does or is given the opportunity to do. Scott Brooks has said he wants to "work" Krstic in, meaning play him a little and build his minutes. But what if he walks out on the floor and scored three buckets and grabs four boards in a minute? I have a feeling Brooks will say, "Screw it. He's playing 30 tonight." My guess for Krispy: 14 minutes, eight points, three rebounds, two assists and 19,000 highly encouraged people.

The Thunder actually match up fairly well against the Knicks. Much like OKC, the Knicks play pretty small. I like Russell Westbrook on Chris Duhon because Russell is quicker and Duhon is prone to made poor decisions when pressured. Westbrook had 19 points, 10 rebounds and six assists against the Knicks in the first meeting and for the most part outplayed Duhon. Quentin Richardson isn't the same scorer he used to be. Wilson Chandler can be electric but at this point, I'm taking Kevin Durant over about 90 percent of the league's small forwards. Jeff Green could really give Harrington trouble on the offensive end, but Green's going to need help guarding the bigger Harrington. And Robert Swift versus David Lee is a total mismatch athletically so OKC will have to do something there. I don't know who will get the start, but Chris Wilcox might be able to neutralize Lee somewhat.

I actually lean to OKC to win this one for a few reasons:

A. Because the Knicks are coming off a big win over the Celtics two nights ago. To me, that's a red flag for a below average team to come out flat.

B. The Knicks are 5-11 on the road.

C. As mentioned, the matchups might favor OKC. The Knicks dominated Boston in the frontcourt. OKC doesn't get much from there anyway and relies mainly on its backcourt. Plus, adding a wildcard like Krstic could be a huge boost for the Thunder. I like Westbrook against Duhon, Durant against Chandler and Green offensively against Harrington. Lee could be tough for Swift, but Wilcox might be able to guard him. And we just concede shooting guard every night. Basically, you could put a fan out there and let him run around and you'd get about the same production.

But the real key is how will the Thunder respond after last Friday's 122-120 heartbreaker against the Nuggets. Some teams use it as extra motivation and come out looking to rectify and justify. Some come out sulking and mail it in for 48. Hard to say what will happen here. Last time the Thunder lost on a buzzer beater against the Pistons, they played poorly in Washington. But after Mike Miller's horn beater to give Minny a 105-103 win, the Thunder beat Memphis on the road. So who knows.

But much like the Golden State game, these are no longer the stay-close-and-hope-you-have-a-chance games. These are winnable games. OKC is better than four wins. But you've got to show it against the 13-19 teams too, not just against the best. The Thunder has somehow started gaining respect despite having the worst record. Another solid performance and win No. 5 could go a long way in helping build that respect.

Thunder can't complete the comeback in New York

BOX SCORE

Another deep hole, another valiant comeback try. 

And another one coming up short as Oklahoma City fell to the Knicks (6-3) tonight 116-106. The Thunder (1-8) closed the gap to seven after at one point being down 30. Seeing as this is becoming a recurring theme, I tend to think teams are just pulling back and losing focus when building these 20-30 point leads over OKC. But also a theme is the lack of quit. One of these times, a team is going to mess around and the Thunder are going to get them. Some teams will quit and start thinking about breakfast the next morning when down 30, but not the Thunder.

Looking back, there are so many missed opportunities that just make you want to scream in a pillow. After cutting the lead to just seven, Jeff Green had a wide open look at a three to cut it to four. He hit front iron. Down eight, OKC had a fast break that finished with three missed attempts. Down 10 with about two minutes left, OKC forced a turnover that looked to lead to a fast break but Green promptly gave it right back. So many chances to really tighten the thing up. 

Russell Westbrook played his best game as a pro (19 points, 10 boards, six assists). That's a really, really good line. If/when he gets a consistent jumper going, he's going to be lethal. Like impossible for other guards to defend. He is so quick and controls the dribble so well. He gets to the rim at will and can finish as good as anyone. 

I think my favorite lineup is the one that finished the game. It was Westbrook, Durant, Mason, Green and Swift. I think Green creates a lot of good matchup issues at the four and Mason is a good defender and an excellent leader on the floor. He plays hard. Swift has the ability to control the paint - he had 13 rebounds which ties a career high - and I love having a true post man on the blocks. Westbrook's freakish athleticism and Durant's ability to score from anywhere give that lineup diversity, defense and scoring ability. 

One other positive: I really like the black shoes with the road blues. I've always been a black shoe guy, and I just thought they really made the road duds look a little better. 

To wrap up, as long as the Thunder digs themselves into big holes, they're going to keep dropping games. Sure we can all be encouraged that they don't quit - which is great, it really is - but the wins won't start coming until that stops. Like I said, they may catch a few teams napping long enough to finish the comeback but getting consistent is such a key. I know that's obvious, but as I've been saying a lot, as long as we're better at the end than we are right now, I'm happy. And the starting point is four quarter consistency. 

The Thunder move a little south on their East Coast trip to take on the 4-5 Philadelphia 76ers tomorrow night in Philly. Tip is at 6:00 PM CST. 

Thunder vs. New York Knicks: Pre-game primer

vs.

Oklahoma City Thunder (1-7) vs. New York Basketball Knicks (5-3)

Friday, November 14

Madison Square Garden

New York, New York

6:30 PM CST

TV: Fox Sports Oklahoma (Cox 37, HD 722)
Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1 FM, 640 AM)

First, love this question from Bill Simmons' mail bag today: "Perhaps the biggest story in the NBA that nobody is talking about is the sheer size of PJ Carlesimo's glasses. It looks like he took the windshield out of a '68 Catalina, chopped it in half and attached some industrial strength frames. This is perhaps the most unfortunate eyewear selection since George Costanza chose his new look from the Gloria Vanderbilt collection." Spot on. I can't believe I've let eight games go by never commented on those goggles. I've thought about it numerous times as I watched Peej stroll the sidelines with his arms crossed and those massive windows on his face. But I never thought to say anything about it. Nor could I have articulated it as perfectly as that. All P.J.needs now is that little chain around his neck so he can wear 'em while he's playing Canasta.

Oh yeah, tonight's game. The Running D'Antoni's are off to a nice start and people in New York are ecstatic about the change. The team is playing fast and loose and Knicks fans are actually clapping and cheering rather than booing and chanting fire someone.

With the Knicks tossing up a season best 132 in regulation against the Grizz this week, and OKC allowing 71 in a half against Orlando, is it possible New York could touch triple-digits in the first half? Oh yeah, yeah, the defense is improved. But it better be really improved if you want to slow down the Bockers. New York hit 19 threes against Memphis and just ran the Grizzlies right out of the building.

Honestly, this is a decent matchup for the Thunder. Kevin Durant is a game-time decision and if he doesn't play, it will likely be another attempt to just keep it within 20. But if he's playing, I think OKC can play with them. Through eight games, the Thunder has played best when playing loose and fast. They've played worst when trying to run terribly simple half-court sets. Most experts would say not to fall into D'Antoni's game and try and run with them. I say do it. Especially if the KD isn't playing. Try to score with them. Throw Russell Westbrook in there and see how fast he can run from one end to the other. It may not work and OKC may still lose, but that's better than running some painful, 20 second halfcourt set that ends up with a Desmond Mason fadeaway clanking off the rim hitting a running Jamal Crawford in stride and the Knicks scoring .006 seconds later, right?

Right now, OKC is 28th in the league averaging 88.5 points per game. The Knicks average 103.4 a game. Unless the Thunder intend to play out of their minds defensively tonight, they are going to have to score with the Knicks. And like I said, from what I've seen through eight games, a lot of times they score the best when pushing the tempo. That doesn't mean looking at the shot clock and seeing it's at 18 and thinking, "Oh crap. I gotta shoot!" It means, not walking the ball up the court and trying to run some lame motion set that goes nowhere. Press the pace but still take wise shots. That's how OKC dug itself out of holes against Utah and Orlando. That's how it built a 15 point lead in Indiana. Play loose. Play fast. But play smart. Because like I said, I just don't know if there's hope to beat the Knicks tonight by scoring 85 and holding them to 84. Unless they come out cold, which is a possibility.

What to watch for:

I'm actually pretty excited for this game because I'm anxious to see how Jeff Green responds after one of the best games of his career. He threw up 25 and 10 and was very aggressive but still played within himself. Obviously, if there's no Durant, he'll have to do more of that, but honestly, if there is Durant, he needs to do more of that. He's that second scorer the Thunder's dying for right now. I realize 25 and 10 isn't reasonable on a night-in, night-out basis, but 18 and 8 is.

It's the same thing every preview, so I'm just going to put it briefly: OKC needs to play four complete quarters. No slow start. No drag in the second quarter. No lackluster close of the fourth. A complete game. If you're going to play your tails off, don't do it trying to make up a 25 point deficit. Do it trying to build a 25 point lead.