It is simple... the fact that is has been bought by Match has created meetings that have had the cost killers look at stats, excel spreadsheets, and this has led
the okc team to modify the initial ideas to a business only oriented philosophy..
Ibaka was the 3rd banana on
that OKC team for a reason, he is a 3rd banana (there is nothing wrong with being the 3 best player on a team, actually 4th as Adams was better)... He we expected him to become a 1st option here and we thought magically he would step up and lead the team.
But last year's
OKC team was special.
Not exact matches
I have images of a lot of you guys walking the streets of San Antonio kicking cans, we had wins against
OKC and Rockets and the comments very upbeat now where a shit
team!
The
team's general manager, Rich Cho, was an understudy of Thunder GM, Sam Presti, during the rebuilding of
OKC.
For the first time in years I see Myers being active at the trade deadline to get better bench CHEMISTRY — whether it be through trades, releases and d - league call ups, it's clear this
team is no lock against
OKC or HOU anymore
But is that help enough to get
OKC through a first - round series against a gritty Utah Jazz
team?
They had the great 3 game run vs ATL / Bos /
OKC but after the All - Star break
teams had a bit of film, there were a few injuries and the Cavs lost 4/6 and 6/10 and Love comes back and its 10/13 wins.
With 1:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Jazz - Thunder Game 2 matchup on Wednesday,
OKC held a 10 - point lead; the largest of either
team for the night.
Given the number of stars on the Thunder roster, one could have safely assumed at least one of
OKC's scorers would have emerged in the fourth quarter to steer the
team to a 2 - 0 series lead.
Just like the Mavs swept the reigning champion Lakers out of last year's playoffs, the Thunder did the same to them, which
OKC fans have to consider a good omen for a
team with championship - or - bust type expectations.
But today and tomorrow and all week, while everyone argues about
OKC's future and how Harden will look in Houston, it's hard not to quietly ignore it all and imagine how great it would have been to have a
team of characters awesome enough to be called the Pizza Roll Dynasty, and dominant enough to live up to the second part of the name.
In other words, they lose out on a multiple -
team head to head tiebreaker (due to Portland sweeping
OKC) for seeding purposes but then prevail in a head - to - head with Portland for homecourt determination?
Or the entire regular season, when Harden emerging as a dominant threat changed the entire complexion of the
OKC offense and took a young, erratic
team and turned them into something murderous.
(
OKC couldn't have offered a five - year deal because each
team is allowed just one under the new collective bargaining agreement, and Russell Westbrook got it.)
Is there a mystery
team that will lure him away from
OKC?
OKC will be a fascinating
team to watch this season.
And proves exactly my point about how Kemba's bad shooting for two months hurt the
team... because
OKC did a lot worse in those first 28 games when Westbrook shot badly.
Until
teams get eliminated, we're getting two games per night, with
OKC - L.A. paired up with Zards - Pacers and Miami - Brooklyn paired with Spurs - Blazers.
Therefore, Portland's win put
OKC in a tie with Utah and New Orleans, and
OKC had the best record in games involving the three
teams.
Without him,
OKC would have won 20 - 30 games and been a lottery
team for draft, after loss of Durant.
Update: Apparently the guy setting fire to the Durant jersey is «
team Heat» and not an
OKC fan.
Melo clearly prefers Houston > Cleveland >
OKC > Portland NYK probably prefer the Portland offer over any of the other
teams So as soon as Melo drops the NTC for Portland the Knicks pull the trigger on that deal so Melo is waiting to see if his preferred
teams can offer up enough to entice the knicks before dropping the NTC.
The
teams play again April 3 at
OKC.
When looking at the great young
teams (
OKC / GSW / CHI), seems their defense was generally bad but improved with experience.
OKC is a top - five defensive
team, particularly in the half - court where Ball's offense is most impactful.
Granted,
OKC probably played a D - / F game, but eventually the Rockets will realize they are the better
team.
Tomorrow they're laying only five points against a
team still looking for its 20th win, so squares should take a liking to
OKC.
OKC has dominated the betting matchup in this one, as their 82 % of bets makes them the only
team to hit the 80 - mark on tonight's slate.
Not only are they a fun way to show school or
team spirit, but I love wearing my
OKC Thunder jersey out and about because it's such a departure from everything else I have in my closet.
Our
team at the Steven J. Bentley Homeward Bound Facility, on the grounds of
OKC Animal Welfare, immediately transferred Evie into our Neonate Program since she was only 5 weeks old.