Oklahoma City Thunder 2017-18

[Laramie]

Big difference between the Ferguson & Roberson situations: The numbers always provided evidence that Roberson was valuable. Pretty much all metrics suggest that Ferguson tanks any lineup he’s in. I’m not giving up on Ferguson at all, but we need to move on from him for the rest of this season. OKC has a G-League team where plenty of developmental minutes are available.

My concern with Ferguson, he came from a league that IMO was slightly above G-League status. G-League is not going to present any challenges for Terrance. Just might give him false confidence.

[Laramie]

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Oklahoma City 111 - Dallas Mavericks 110

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975665

[Anonymous.]

OKC with the ugliest win over supertank DAL.

The standing basically didn't change as everyone won except Spurs and probably Clippers, which should give some cushion for staying out of 9th.

But man we really need to get everyone flowing.


Is Heustis getting abducted @ halftime? Jeez, for a while there in the second half we looked like we were the team trying to tank.

[Laramie]

Thunder could pick up Corey Brewer:

Swingman Corey Brewer is likely to sign with the Oklahoma City Thunder upon clearing waivers Friday, league sources told ESPN.

Source: Adrian Wojnarowski - ESPN: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/2...d-corey-brewer

[Laramie]

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Report: Thunder and Corey Brewer agree to deal. http://www.normantranscript.com/okla...f8e5718b6.html

Great, he's fast. How fast is he(?):


Only NBA player to take 5 steps toward the basket and not get called for traveling.

Royce Young ESPN Staff Writer:

Corey Brewer is somewhat of a system fit for the Thunder, fitting their profile of length, size and defensive positional versatility. There's not another Andre Roberson out there, especially on the buyout market, but Brewer is someone that can realistically help.

[kevin lee]

We gave up 67 points in the first half to the Suns smh. Win or lose, I think we're at the point where this isn't funny anymore.

[Laramie]

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Oklahoma City Thunder 124 - Phoenix Suns 116

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400975679

[Jake]

All of the losses to awful teams early in the year is coming back to hurt the Thunder. Currently the 7th seed with Houston coming to town...they've won 15 straight.

Winning a playoff series has to be the goal. If they're 7th or 8th though, I don't think it's possible. What a disaster of a season.

[chuck5815]

All of the losses to awful teams early in the year is coming back to hurt the Thunder. Currently the 7th seed with Houston coming to town...they've won 15 straight.

Winning a playoff series has to be the goal. If they're 7th or 8th though, I don't think it's possible. What a disaster of a season.

Seemed like we had really turned the corner there for a minute, but things have been an unmitigated disaster since Andre’s injury.

[dankrutka]

Doesn't look great right now, but if OKC can finish strong they can still get the 3 seed. No reason to concede that just yet. They're only one game out. But, yeah, on the flip side, OKC is only 2 games away from being out of the playoffs. Now that would be a nightmare, especially considering the money being spent.

I'm not sure what the upside for this team is in the playoffs. I could see them taking a step up, but the real question for this team is, what's the path to good defense? I'm just not sure with Melo and Russ out there. Every game is important now. At least it'll be an exciting finish.

[Thomas Vu]

If anybody is interested, I have a ticket to tomorrow's game vs the Rockets. Just about any amount will work at this point if you're inclined to pay. Trying to cut losses in order to sit with friends from out of town.

[Thomas Vu]

If it helps, sec 111, row L, seat 6.

[Sirsteve]

This has got to be one of the most frustrating seasons ever if only because of the potential and all the supposed firepower we have. Heres my take on this team and this season
1. Russell has regressed from last year
2. We have no identity
3. Our defense is sub par
4. Our bench is even worse
5. Our coach while a very smart x's and o's guy cant seem to find the right mix or just maybe there isnt a right mix
6. We are way to inconsistent
7. last years team was better than this years and thats a hard pill to swallow
8. The frustration is starting to show on this "team" and that can spell doom
9. I never realized how important Roberson was to this teams defense and one has to wonder how different our record would be if he was still healthy
10. If this team somehow manages to muck this up and miss the playoffs....i see big changes ahead with the front office or coaching or both not to mention certain players jumping ship.

[Anonymous.]

Well when HOU hits that many threes, no one is beating them.


OKC got lucky that Denver somehow lost to Dallas last night. Thunder need to win out this little homestand, especially against the Spurs. This will help pad the playoff chances as our schedule down the stretch is pretty brutal.

[king183]

This has got to be one of the most frustrating seasons ever if only because of the potential and all the supposed firepower we have. Heres my take on this team and this season
1. Russell has regressed from last year
2. We have no identity
3. Our defense is sub par
4. Our bench is even worse
5. Our coach while a very smart x's and o's guy cant seem to find the right mix or just maybe there isnt a right mix
6. We are way to inconsistent
7. last years team was better than this years and thats a hard pill to swallow
8. The frustration is starting to show on this "team" and that can spell doom
9. I never realized how important Roberson was to this teams defense and one has to wonder how different our record would be if he was still healthy
10. If this team somehow manages to muck this up and miss the playoffs....i see big changes ahead with the front office or coaching or both not to mention certain players jumping ship.

Agree with most of this. The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that we have no team identity. It seems we have gone out every game and just winged it, hoping talent alone would win it for us. It doesn't seem like they have any interest in playing together as a single unit--and I don't understand it.

Individual players put in inconsistent effort each game. Some nights Carmelo is trying hard, some nights it's like he doesn't care. Same applies to Russ, Adams, and George. The only person who seemed to be excited to play basketball last night was Corey Brewer.

[Sirsteve]

Agree with most of this. The biggest issue, in my opinion, is that we have no team identity. It seems we have gone out every game and just winged it, hoping talent alone would win it for us. It doesn't seem like they have any interest in playing together as a single unit--and I don't understand it.

Individual players put in inconsistent effort each game. Some nights Carmelo is trying hard, some nights it's like he doesn't care. Same applies to Russ, Adams, and George. The only person who seemed to be excited to play basketball last night was Corey Brewer.

Yes your right about the big three or big 4 if you count Carmelo...it seems like they are never on the same page on the same night. The thing that is so frustrating to me is you can see the potential and in some of the earlier games against the elite teams you could swear your looking at a legit playoff team poised to make a run then you realize its fools gold and the reality of this team hits you and you want to throw the remote at the TV....LOL. I wish i could put a truth serum in the coach and find out his real feelings.

[king183]

NBA_Math_2018-Mar-07.jpg

Melo is a liability, according to TPA.

[SoonerDave]

Went to the game last night, and let me tell you something - the most notable thing for me was the place was *dead*. The players. The crowd. Zero energy.

I think this team knows it isn't going anywhere, the crowd knows it, and even when the score closed to within 5 or 6 once or twice, no one actually believed they were coming back to win that game.

Houston's offense is a thing of beauty. The ball rotation, the teamwork, the obvious system of plays they use, and at least a semblance of defense. The Thunder has all but four of those elements.

Bottom line? The Thunder are a few superstars plus a bunch of guys playing something not much above street ball. Seeing three guys in blue stand in the paint feeling the whoosh of James Harden go past them for the 25th time probably gave them windburn. It might not be so irritating if it weren't just the abject lack of interest they seem to exhibit at the same time. If these guys have checked out, Presti better get on the phones - assuming ownership still lets him *have* a phone. The team I saw last night didn't deserve to be in the playoffs.

Hate to be the downer, but this team doesn't have "it," they're not finding a "magic switch" to turn "it" on, and I'm not even sure the coach knows what "it" is.

Very depressing to watch.

[Jake]

It was painfully obvious last night which team was elite and which team wasn't.

I don't think Paul George is going to stay. Hope I'm wrong, but I think he's gone. If that's the case, that leaves this franchise in 8-5 seed purgatory for the foreseeable future.

Call me crazy, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that OKC is going to have a Griffin/Detroit type of situation here in 2-3 years.

[Sirsteve]

And one more thing that just eats at me: When we acquired our team we were the darlings of the NBA and everything looked so rosy and the future looked so bright and it looked honestly like we had a chance to win 2 or 3 championships with that lineup. And then the wheels slowly came off and you saw the departure of harden, the firing of Scott brooks, the Ninja move made by Durant and now those teams with our former players are the elite teams for the foreseeable future and we are now on the outside looking in and all the moves this team makes looks futile......just so frustrating! We were going to be the golden state before they were but somehow we didnt make the right moves and they did everything right and this is where we are at now.

[dankrutka]

This season has been frustrating, but... I don't think this team has given up. Houston is really hard to guard and some of their layups are partly the result of OKC trying hard to take away something else (threes). They're an elite team. But I do think guys are trying. PG is just not making shots since the all-star break and that's been a huge problem.

I'm not giving up on this team. There are good signs. I actually think Melo played his role well last night. He tried hard as the Rockets continually forced him into switches. He took the right shots. I just think Russ and PG, and they're capable, can play better. I also am still concerned with Donovan's lineups. I absolutely don't understand Ferguson getting minutes over Abrines. Patterson needs more of a role too. But I do think Donovan is trying to get OKC to take smart shots. But when things start to fall apart, Russ tends to veer from the plan.

[Jake]

To add to my earlier comment, I don't think OKC will miss the playoffs. While there's a logjam from 8-4, the other teams OKC is competing against also have tough schedules.

Also, while PG is probably going to leave, I think Presti has done a good job at GM overall. I think he has a good track record drafting and making deals that help the team out most of the time.

So, while I think leaner times may be ahead, I don't think the franchise is ruined or anything. I'm still going to support the team no matter what.

[king183]

I hope you're right, Dan, but I just don't see the commitment or energy in this team to play consistent team-ball. Perhaps the ASB worked as a reset and it's like we're back to the beginning of the season when we struggled and we're now about to hit our stride just as the playoffs begin.

[Anonymous.]

Donovan said in an interview today that against the Rockets the gameplan was not to switch on defense. Haha wtf. That is literally all the team did the entire game. So do they not care about what coach says or are they too lazy to fight over screens?

[Laramie]

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Oklahoma City Thunder 115 - Phoenix Suns 87

Box score: http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/id/400975721