The Thunder are finding ways to win in spite of a grueling 5 game road trip. What players have most stepped up to fill the void left by Thabo Sefolosha's injury? Plus, why do the Thunder leave so many opposing teams grumbling? Brent and Blayne share their take.

Play the Show [19:54]

After the Clippers loss, some analysts already began predicting a Thunder v. Clippers Western Conference Finals matchup. But Blayne and Brent think different, and offer they're own take on Blake Griffin's dunk in spite of the fact that Kevin Durant says he doesn't care about it. Also, is our team better with James Harden in the starting lineup?

Play the Show [20:45 minutes]

In a special editorial, Brent asks the question of why the Thunder are looking so dominant right now. Have the Thunder improved that much, or are we being fooled by an easy stretch of schedule? How have they gotten so much better with the same basic roster as last year?

Play the Show [15:33 minutes]

Since you're here, you probably know that Welcome to Loud City exists. And if you don't live under a rock, you probably know that Daily Thunder exists as well. But what about the smaller Thunder blogs, that might fly a little bit more under the radar? This is the second post in a two part series that takes a look at two smaller Thunder blogs that both offer something unique to the Thunder blog-o-sphere.

Today, we've brought in Alex R, who runs the nowthatsthunderbasketball blog over at nowthatsthunderbasketball.wordpress.com. You might know him as RicanThunder from the OKC Thunder Fans Forums, AlexR44 on Twitter, or as the Thunder correspondent for HoopsTalkNation. Much like Ed Kleese, his blogging incorporates general thoughts about the Thunder with personal stories. But, rather than Ed, he focuses moreso on broader Thunder issues rather than individual games, and he meshes in his stories with his analysis of the Thunder.

Here's an example taken from his most recent post, On the Road Again:

I'm a child of the late 80's / early 90's. It was during that time that I was in elementary school learning, as most of the world was, about computers. And, of course, the best way to learn is to interactively play games that also teach you about the subject matter. My favorite games to play on those old floppy-disc induced Apple computers was Oregon Trail.

....

You and your fellow settlers can die from a range of maladies from drowning to snake bites to dysentery. Needless to say, it is a game about the difficulties of being on the road.

....

Many teams in this young strike shortened season are probably looking at their road records and wondering whether the entire team is suffering from a bout of cholera. Of the 30 teams in the NBA, only 6 have a winning record on the road. While most teams struggle on the road in any given season, shortened or not, the upper echelon teams usually buck that trend and win wherever they play. Such has not been the case this season.

Much like Alex, I have fond memories of Oregon Trail, so it's a joy to see it incorporated into a story so smoothly. I messaged Alex a couple of days ago asking for an interview, which he kindly obliged. Here are his responses to my questions:

1. How did you get into blogging?

Initially it was just a bit of curiosity. I kept hearing about blogging and kept seeing people pop on the okcthunderfans.com forum promoting their blogs. Then I realized that we had a blog page on this site, so I asked Betts (the owner of the site) about posting on there. She gave me the keys to the car (blog), and I started blogging for the site. I would mostly do pre-game and post game stuff and then I would sprinkle in a couple personal pieces. Then I started doing research on getting my own blog site. That's when I created nowthatsthunderbasketball.wordpress.com, and I've been posting on their since.

2. There seem to be two approaches to running a blog: One involves writing like a journalist, and one involves writing with the voice of a fan. Which approach do your prefer? Or do you lie somewhere in the middle?

I think my style lies somewhere in the middle. I've never been a journalist. I've never received any formal training (outside of college English) for journalism. But, I think, over the years, I've developed my own voice and my own style of writing. Since I don't have objectivity holding me down, I think I mainly write as a fan, but I try to write in a journalistic style. I try to remain as objective as possible, but sometimes my Thunder-colored glasses won't allow me to see the obvious.

Below: The Rest of the Interview!

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Brent and Blayne break down the 5-year contract extension signed by Russell Westbrook on January 19th. Was it a good deal for the Thunder and for Russell? What does it mean for James Harden and Serge Ibaka? Finally, we ask the question whether it is better for the Thunder to think of themselves as the best team or keep the mindset of an underdog.

Play the Show [22:52 minutes]

Since you're here, you probably know that Welcome to Loud City exists. And if you don't live under a rock, you probably know that Daily Thunder exists as well. But what about the smaller Thunder blogs, that might fly a little bit more under the radar? This is the first post in a two part series that takes a look at two smaller Thunder blogs that both offer something unique to the Thunder blog-o-sphere.

First up is the Oklahoma City Thunder Blog at oklahomacitythunderblog.blogspot.com, run by Ed Kleese. His blog mainly consists of extended thoughts from each game the Thunder plays, sometimes intermixed with adages from his personal life and thoughts on the NBA in general. A couple of my favourite stories of his are below....

From Thunder Thoughts (Knicks 1/14):

10:45 a.m.: Leading up to today I told them I planned on taking them to Cracker Barrel prior to the OU game in Norman. As we left to get down there I told them I had some passes for free BBQ at the game; both immediately shot down this idea. It became very clear, very quickly that each had his heart set on Cracker Barrel. My Dad even told me he got online and decided what he was going to order late last week. I mean, seriously?

From Thunder Thoughts (Houston 1/6):

I knew I had two bullets in my chamber tonight and I didn't want to fire either of them too soon... Pizza and ice cream. ....

I think the score was 2-0 when I decided it was pizza time.

Of course, his blog contains excellent analysis as well, but some of the stories are too good not to share. I recently messaged Ed and asked him for an interview, which he kindly obliged. His responses to my questions are below.

1. How did you get into blogging?
I suppose it's because I'm too long winded for emails or message boards Since the early days of sports forums, I've enjoyed sharing thoughts and experiences with fellow fans, but found that some of my posts were a bit "formal" for the setting. I decided to start a general sports blog to post some of my more coherent or specific thoughts. Last year I had an email chain going with some friends that was Thunder-centric and it just made sense to have a place to put it all.

Below: More of the Interview!

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