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| AP Photo/Alonzo Adams |
Thunder's previous game: The Thunder blew out the New Orleans Hornets 119-74 last Wednesday night in a dominate performance by the Thunder in all aspects of the game. Oklahoma City took excellent care of the ball in the contest, only turning it over eleven times and giving up just seven points off those turn overs.
The turning point was the third quarter, a quarter in which Oklahoma City out scored the Hornets 34-15 and held the Hornets to just 19% shooting (0% 3-pt). Russell Westbrook scored nine points in the quarter on 3-5 shooting, finishing the game with twenty nine points. Twenty of Russell's points came in the first half. He only shot 5-12 from the field in the first half but managed to go a perfect 10-10 from the free throw line.
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| Justin Edmonds |
Kevin Durant came away with his third triple-double of his career, all of them coming this season. He posted eighteen points on 5-8 shooting to go along with his eleven rebounds and ten assists. Kevin Durant's all-around improvement is a testament to his work ethic and gives us a glimpse of what his true skill cap is. He's only twenty four and has lead the league in scoring three years in a row, not including this year. If he finishes this year as the top scorer, he will be the only player to take four back-to-back scoring titles besides Wilt Chamberlain and Michael Jordan in the history of the NBA.
Off subject - There's constant talk comparing the Lebron James to Kevin Durant, and it's not really fair to compare them this early in Durant's career. LBJ has been in the league for four more years than Durant, each year improving his game in a different aspect. I think Durant will start to enter his prime around twenty seven to twenty eight, the same age as Lebron. It's really crazy to think Durant is still four years away from his prime, and that he's accomplished so much in the league already. It gives you an idea of how good he really is.
Last game against the Nuggets: Oklahoma City really struggled with their turn overs when they played the Nuggets back in January. The Thunder turned the ball over a season-high twenty four times in the contest and gave up eighteen points off of those turn overs.
Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant combined for twelve of those twenty four turn overs, and paid the price because of it. KD went off for thirty seven points and nearly had a triple-double with seven rebounds and eight assists. Westbrook had a big night offensively as well, scoring thirty six points but wasn't able to connect from long range at all, going 1-7 from the three point line.
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| Doug Pensinger |
When Russell settles for seven threes, your team is going to struggle. People say Westbrook shoots the ball too much and should defer more shots to Durant. In reality, without Westbrook's scoring, the Thunder's offensive wouldn't be nearly the same. I'd prefer Westbrook to drive the lane and take crazy, out of control shots, rather than sit at the three point line and take crazy, out of control shots. It's not necessarily the amount of shots he takes, but the quality of shots he takes, but as of late he has improved his efficiency and decision making dramatically, and hopefully he continues his recent level of performance tonight's game.
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| Steve Sinsey/The Oklahoman |
The Thunder's bench was MIA last time out against the Nuggets. Their bench scored just eighteen points, and all of them came from Kevin Martin. K-Mart had a really good game on the road, going 6-10 from the field, but the rest of the Thunder's bench only took two shots COMBINED. The Thunder's bench has to be more aggressive with their shots, and with the recent acquisitions of Ronnie Brewer and Derek Fisher, Scott Brook's rotations are a lot deeper this time around.
Oklahoma City was absolutely torched inside last time out against Denver. They allowed the Nuggets to score sixty-six points in the paint, and scored just thirty six themselves. Oklahoma City's big men have to do a better job of protecting the paint and coming off the weak side for help defense. The Thunder have to do a better job on fast-break defense as well. They gave up eighteen points in the break, most of those coming off turn overs though.
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| IGN.com |
The Thunder were down twelve going into the fourth. All hope appeared to be lost before the Thunder exploded on a 16-6 run to tie the game after Westbrook's only made three of the game and to send it to overtime. The Game was tied 115-115 in overtime with just 2:28 remaining in the game, but the Nuggets put together a 6-3 run over the next two minutes to put the game away and win 121-118. The Thunder's offensive had a terrible break down in communication the last couple of minutes, as they turned the ball over three times - all of them offensive fouls.
Thunder Essentials:
Protect the paint - Giving up sixty six points in the paint is just ridiculous, and that's exactly what the Thunder did in their last time out against Denver. That's not the worst part though. Oklahoma city gave up twenty offensive rebounds to the Nuggets and allowed eighteen second chance points. The Thunder have to make a concerted effort to attack the glass on both sides of the floor, and to not give up easy offensive rebounds.
BBB(Big Bad Bench) - Oklahoma City's bench was on fire in their last game against the Hornets, mainly because they played the entire fourth quarter, but nonetheless they managed to score forty six points. That needs to happen again tonight if they want any chance of beating the Nuggets. K-Mart needs to have a big game again, but people like Reggie Jackson and Derek Fisher need to be more aggressive with their shots.
Finish strong - To be successful against a well coached and talented team like the Denver Nuggets, you have to finish the game out strong. Whether you're winning or you're losing, you have to maintain that intensity until the final buzzer. Denver failed the finish strong last time and Oklahoma City almost won because of it, but tonight the Thunder need to put themselves in that position late in the fourth and close the Nuggets out on the road.
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