Game Recap: Oklahoma City Thunder 110, Phoenix Suns 105 (OT)

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 12, 2009 10:20 PM CDT in Game Recap Comment 31 comments

This Thunder team came out of the locker room ready to play tonight. Perhaps energized by playing in front of their home fans for the first time, or maybe it was the two pre-season losses last week. Whatever the case, the Thunder came out extremely aggressive defensively and jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the very first minute of the game. Thabo Sefolosha, playing in his first pre-season game, lead the defensive charge early and was really the catalyst for the defensive effort tonight which was pretty much off the charts all night long. They weren't shy about crowding the passing lanes or playing pressure defense in one on one situations. It didn't really matter whether it was the starting rotation on the floor or guys fighting for roster spots, the intensity and defensive aggression was strong tonight, and if they take anything from tonight's win, its that defensive aggression leads to points, and eventually a win.

We saw Thabo make the difference defensively so many times last season after being acquired from the Chicago Bulls mid-season. Then with the drafting of James Harden, one would expect that his time as the starting shooting guard for this team became just a matter of how long it takes to develop Harden into a and everyday starting player. I think Thabo came out tonight and delivered a message to the Thunder coaching staff, James Harden, and the fans in the Ford Center. The message was, "My name is Thabo Sefolosha, and I'm the starting shooting guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder." He played 26 minutes tonight and scored 12 points on 5-6 shooting (including 2-2 from downtown), and had 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 2 blocks to go along with that. Yeah, I don't really think James Hardens 9 points on 3-11 shooting (0-3 from downtown, 3-7 at the line) with 3 boards, 2 assists and 1 steal in more minutes than Thabo is going to get him into the starting lineup anytime soon, as long as Thabo stays healthy. Of course we aren't bagging on James Harden here, he is still just a rookie, but more of trying to convey how great of a game Thabo had tonight. We've got more thoughts on tonight's game inside, so make the Jump.

Even bigger news than the game tonight might have been the 15,000+ fans that showed up at the newly renovated Ford Center for a PRE-SEASON game. I mean, I'll be honest, with 82 Thunder games to watch and comment on, I don't really watch a lot of non-Thunder regular season games, much less non-Thunder pre-season games. Point being, I have a REALLY hard time imagining too many teams in the NBA drawing 15,000+ fans for a pre-season game. It just goes to show how much the fans here have embraced this team, and how much support they are willing to give them, even during the pre-season. Anyway, enough about how great all of you guys are, we already know Loud City has some of the best fans in the Country, so lets get back to more impressions on the game tonight.

Kevin Durant....Yes, KEVIN FREAKIN' DURANT! You might have seen all the hoopla on the net about the Kevin Durant "Conundrum" or whatever the hell it was. In all honesty, I didn't even waste my time reading it because its nothing we haven't heard before from some nay-saying journalist. Guess how much of that story you saw here? None, we haven't even mentioned it until now, because just like when he was injured for a few games last season and this type of talk started to surface, we blew it off knowing that it was complete idiocracy to think and believe this team would be better of without Kevin Durant. Just to prove his point, even though its pre-season, Kevin Durant went off tonight, and take a look at his stat-line. First of all we'll get his shotty +/- stat out of the way since it was only a measly +24 tonight, the highest of anyone on the team. KD scored 30 points in 31 minutes and was 10-16 shooting (5-5 from downtown, and no you didn't misread that, and 5-5 from the line) and pulled down 11 boards. All pretty impressive stats to say the least. Of course we couldn't list all the positives without the glaring negative stat for KD tonight, which was turnovers, and he had plenty of them, 7 in fact. I think thats forgivable though when you take over the game in the third quarter and build the team 20 point lead nearly single handedly.

We haven't even mentioned Russell Westbrook yet, and we're going to go ahead and just throw him onto the All-Star team as a starting point guard right now because dude is sick. Okay, so he may not be the best point guard in the conference this season, but if his progression can continue the way it has, he's well on his way. RW0 was 1 assist away from a TRIPLE DOUBLE tonight. Russ had 10 points, 10 boards, and 9 assists to just 3 turnovers. He continues to prove that not only can he play the point guard position, but he can do it well, while at the same time, continuing to do some of those other things that really set him apart from other point guards, namely his ability to battle in the trees for boards, and tonight's 10 rebound effort just further backs that up.

As for the rest of the team, well, they blew a 20 point lead so what can you say really? Aside from having a very young core of starters, this bench isn't very deep at all. At least its not in terms of them all being on the floor at once and being able to stay competitive. Now as far as working some of these guys into the rotation, sure there is depth, but just like the previous two games, it was the reserves on the court late in the game that blew the lead. Serge Ibaka was the one reserve today that stood out a bit as he looked great defensively, swatting balls like a Madman. Other than that, there was not a whole lot to get excited about. D.J. White was not able to continue he stellar performance from last Wednesday, and Shaun Livingston wasn't nearly as productive as you'd like him to be, especially considering he should be back near as close to 100% as he'll probably ever be able to get. He's not even wearing a knee brace anymore, and I for one don't know if that's scary or a good sign that the knee is solid.

For the most part it was a great night for the Thunder, even though it was just pre-season, it was still a win, and still a win in front of a large 15k crowd. The played aggressively and proved that they know how to get after and play defense. There is still a lot of work to be done before the season rolls around (someone please fix Uncle Jeff's shot), but tonight was a definite step in the right direction.

0 recs | Comment 31 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Thabo needs to start till the rook turns him into the six man with his play

Got to bust out the congo line for Ibaka.

Emerald City Funk Machine

by blackvanilla on Oct 12, 2009 10:23 PM CDT reply actions

Thabo is the Man

I don’t really see Harden starting until next season as long as Thabo continues to play like he did tonight, and as long as he stays healthy.

Of course is he just progresses faster than expected that might be another reason, but he’s not exactly setting the world on fire just yet so…

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 12, 2009 10:26 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree, next year aside from injuries. I should of said first scorer off the bench. Collison will probably be the first off the bench.

Emerald City Funk Machine

by blackvanilla on Oct 12, 2009 10:36 PM CDT up reply actions

Positives step

Glad they didn’t blow this. But, maybe it will be a good lesson for a young team on how to close out an opponent.

Also, Thabo should start, it’s okay to ease a rookie in.

Hope the crowds stay big throughout the season.

by rickpidero on Oct 12, 2009 10:31 PM CDT reply actions

I'm sure the crowds...

Will be pushing 19k all season long.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 12, 2009 10:32 PM CDT up reply actions

Any bay area Thunder fans out there? We gotta hit a Thunder-Warriors game this year!

Emerald City Funk Machine

by blackvanilla on Oct 12, 2009 10:37 PM CDT reply actions

I know Zorgon is a Warrior fan, but he lives in OKC :p

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 12, 2009 10:46 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Yep. I might head out to a Warriors game in the spring though.

Tony.psd = Da Man
http://www.blueblitz.net
Check Out My New Blog! (Don't Worry, The Warriors are Still #1)

by Zorgon on Oct 12, 2009 11:00 PM CDT up reply actions

If you don't mind a party animal give me a call

415-517-3276. The Warriors are my other team. I’ll grab some good seats.

Emerald City Funk Machine

by blackvanilla on Oct 13, 2009 12:57 PM CDT up reply actions

Ibaka

If he plays like this all season long, he belongs in the starting five.

by triple5 on Oct 12, 2009 10:41 PM CDT reply actions

I wouldn't go as far as to say

That’s he’s playing to the caliber of being a starter. He’s still very young and developing. He may be worhty of being a starter if he continues to progress as well as he has, but as for now, once the regular season rolls around he will struggle for minutes, especially if Collison is healthy and productive.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 12, 2009 10:49 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

Its Good

We did’nt have to put durant back in, to win the game.

by triple5 on Oct 12, 2009 11:08 PM CDT reply actions

If you watched the game though...

It was pretty clear that the Suns coach just wanted to get the hell outta there. I doubt there was much effort on his part trying to motivate his team in OT.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 5:28 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Durant for MVP... (serious)

He is amazing and seems to get better every game. LBJ, D-Wade, and Kobe better watch out!

It is a real treat for the Thunder fans who get to see him play day in and day out!

Ibaka is going to be so great off the bench and if Thomas provides solid defense the Center position looks fixed and the void was filled!

Harden needs to move around more. It seems he doesn’t know what to do when they do not run a play specifically for him. He needs to crash either crash the boards, set a screen, or work to get back on defense.

Westbrook looked great on defense creating many steals and other teams will have to start game planning his in bound steal pressure!

Go Thunder… See you on Opening Night!
OBTW,
You going to the BOK game vs the Heat Mr Pappagiorgio ?

"What a joke." ~ Booby Crosby

by MMunoz33 on Oct 13, 2009 8:57 AM CDT reply actions

Don’t expect Thomas to fill any void we have at Center, once Collison gets back, he probably won’t even get on the floor much. Especially when you consider how well Obama is playing. The first two options off the bench down low may be to bring on Collison at the 5 and Ibaka at the 4.

Also, I was gonna go, but not sure as of yet if I will or not. A little cash strapped at the moment :p

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 9:32 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

OMG stupid iPhone changed Ibaka to Obama :p LMAO!!!

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 9:33 AM CDT via mobile reply actions

OMG

We signed Obama?!

Doesn’t he have other things he should be doing? Like playing QB for the Redskins?

by ElectricPencils on Oct 13, 2009 10:33 AM CDT up reply actions

LMAO…we all know Borack likes to rock the basketball, was just a matter of time before someone snatched him up! lMAO!

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 11:19 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

LMAO…we all know Borack likes to rock the basketball, was just a matter of time before someone snatched him up! lMAO!

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 11:19 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

livingston is still better then watson and white is better then petro so still better off then last year season start

by f5alcon on Oct 13, 2009 11:29 AM CDT reply actions

Oh there is no question this is a better team than a year ago, not to mention the coaching situation is settled, the move is done, and players overall should be more settled and relaxed now, which means that 3-29 start from last season should be a distant memory soon. I’m expecting / hoping for a 10-15 game improvement this season. That may be steep, but with all the circumstances last year, and an improved roster this year, I don’t really think it’s out of the question. We should get a good idea by mid-November for sure.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 11:42 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Petro had his moments. He sure looked smooth at times. It was good for the team to break up the French Connection though. I wonder if Gelebale caught on with the Lakers? Anybody follow that?

Emerald City Funk Machine

by blackvanilla on Oct 13, 2009 1:00 PM CDT up reply actions

The best Petro looked was in the preseason. When he was knocking down long range shots on a consistent basis. Now we have Krstic to do that better, but we still need a big body to bang around down there in the post.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 1:03 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

What is everyones take on Green shooting all those 3pointers?

I’d am starting to feel Westbrook as the number two scoring option like Monta Ellis is for the Warriors?

"What a joke." ~ Booby Crosby

by MMunoz33 on Oct 13, 2009 2:25 PM CDT reply actions

Honestly it doesn't much matter

So long as he is enough of a threat inside to make the treys less of an obvious go-to move.

by manifestus on Oct 13, 2009 9:26 PM CDT up reply actions

true...

"What a joke." ~ Booby Crosby

by MMunoz33 on Oct 13, 2009 10:30 PM CDT up reply actions

I'm happy

Just as long as they keep makeing them consistently. I think we were among the worst
last season, I hope the three point shot is better this year!

by triple5 on Oct 13, 2009 3:21 PM CDT reply actions

Sorry...

Daily reminder about the Yahoo Fantasy B-Ball League. We have 8 teams so far. Would like 10-12.

http://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/loudcityleague

League ID: 227647

Password is Durant

by ElectricPencils on Oct 13, 2009 3:49 PM CDT reply actions

I'll get signed up when I have a little bit of time.

I’ll also make a fancy front page post to highlight the league as well, perhaps sometime later this week.

Or wait, how does it work? Is it draft style, or is there a draft, if its draft style, forget the front page post since we’ll probably get too many people :p If its done where teams can use the same players and the league can be as big as it wants to be, we’ll do a front page post.

Sorry for being naive here, no idea how it works, and heading out the door to run four miles, but will check back in a bit.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 3:56 PM CDT up reply actions

There is a draft

Yeah, no sharing players. Basically, you get 10-12 teams, the draft is on the 20th, I believe at 8pmEST/7pmCST.

Also, it has to be an even number of teams, so if a teams signs up late and makes it an odd number, you’re going to get bumped, unless you can help fill the next spot.

by ElectricPencils on Oct 13, 2009 4:31 PM CDT reply actions

Okay, gotha ;-)

No front page post is needed then since we only need a few more guys.

-This comment brought to you by Mr Pappagiorgio aka Mister P
Welcome to Loud City | WTLC on Twitter | Mister P on Twitter | WTLC on Facebook | SBNation

by Mr Pappagiorgio on Oct 13, 2009 5:03 PM CDT via mobile up reply actions

Comments For This Post Are Closed

Search

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

Northwest Standings

	W	L	PCT	GB	STRK
Denver Denver Stiffs	53	29	.646	0	Lost 1
Utah SLC Dunk	53	29	.646	0	Lost 4
Oklahoma City Welcome to Loud City	50	32	.609	3	Lost 2
Portland Blazersedge	50	32	.609	3	Lost 2
Minnesota Canis Hoopus	15	67	.182	38	Lost 7

(updated 9.2.2010 at 4:09 PM CDT)

Thunder Schedule

Last 5 Games

Los Angeles Lakers Silver Screen and Roll	Fri 04/30	L 94 - 95
@ Los Angeles Lakers Silver Screen and Roll	Tue 04/27	L 87 - 111
Los Angeles Lakers Silver Screen and Roll	Sat 04/24	W 110 - 89
Los Angeles Lakers Silver Screen and Roll	Thu 04/22	W 101 - 96
@ Los Angeles Lakers Silver Screen and Roll	Tue 04/20	L 92 - 95

Welcome to Loud City: An SB Nation Community

Network Bar

Welcome to Loud City -