The Thunder have not looked so good in their last two games as Utah and the Clippers put a real thumping on them. But, we are only on game 5 tonight on the road against the TrailBlazers; so there should not be any real concerns.
But let's take a look at a couple of things. The Thunder are not playing well at home...actually, the Jazz killed their season statistics up to this point. We are shooting under 40% at home, 2nd only to Minnesota for worst in the league. Our home 3pt shooting is putrid at 19% (worst in the league), assists per game only 15.0, and our free throw percentage is 84.5%. Overall, points per game is in the middle of the pack at 100.50 with opponents averaging 106.5. Defensively, my observations are that they are playing fine. But offensively, the Thunder seem rushed and off their game. Movement is slow, fast break points are hard to come by, and it just feels like they are not getting to the line.
All that being said, tonight would make for a great road victory. Hopefully, we will bring it after last night's stinker to the Clippers. I would like to see this young team calm and slow down, getting back to the chemistry oriented offensive that they had last year.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Deron Williams...Where are you?
I said yesterday that this is more Deron Williams' team than ever before. Yesterday's loss to the Suns solidified that even more.
Deron had another less than stellar performance, but it wasn't so much his performance that worried me as it was his comments after the game. He seemed to have a lot of apathy in what he said and started sounding all too similar to Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, and Lebron James as they have recently looked to greener pastures.
I know it's only the second game of the season, but if Deron has decided he doesn't want to be in Utah anymore you can kiss this season goodbye. It's up to you D-Will. Utah has been very good to you and the fans have been more than loyal. I thought what mattered most to you was winning games. Stop the excuses and go win.
Deron had another less than stellar performance, but it wasn't so much his performance that worried me as it was his comments after the game. He seemed to have a lot of apathy in what he said and started sounding all too similar to Carlos Boozer, Carmelo Anthony, and Lebron James as they have recently looked to greener pastures.
I know it's only the second game of the season, but if Deron has decided he doesn't want to be in Utah anymore you can kiss this season goodbye. It's up to you D-Will. Utah has been very good to you and the fans have been more than loyal. I thought what mattered most to you was winning games. Stop the excuses and go win.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
The final buzzer sounded in Denver last night and questions started flowing through my mind. How did this just happen? Why did the Jazz fall apart? What did that 8-0 preseason mean? What is the future of this Jazz team?........
After the anger and disappointment settled a little I started thinking of things a little more rationally. This was a big game for Denver and they were ready. After being beat by the Jazz in the first round earlier this year, I'm sure Denver has been looking forward to this Jazz game with a little bit of revenge. I'm sure George Karl's return was a big factor in the Nugget's win, but I think the Jazz beating really just came down to the fact that they didn't play well. HOWEVER, I believe the Jazz learned a lot of valuable things from this game that will help them through the rest of the season. First, keep the turnovers to a minimum. The Jazz have a terrible record when they have over 20 turnovers in a game. I'm not saying that if they had 3 less turnovers they would have won the game but this is certainly one area they can focus on. Second, and probably most important, this is Deron Williams team! Whether he likes it or not, this is his team more than ever and he needs to command every game. When the game starts getting away, Deron needs to be the go to guy that everyone looks to to bring things back together.
We could go on about how the Jazz could improve but last night after thinking about what went wrong and how I could justify the loss, I remembered that it's the first game of the season and that Jerry Sloan will take care of the team...and the fans. I then went to bed and slept soundly. Look out Suns!!!
After the anger and disappointment settled a little I started thinking of things a little more rationally. This was a big game for Denver and they were ready. After being beat by the Jazz in the first round earlier this year, I'm sure Denver has been looking forward to this Jazz game with a little bit of revenge. I'm sure George Karl's return was a big factor in the Nugget's win, but I think the Jazz beating really just came down to the fact that they didn't play well. HOWEVER, I believe the Jazz learned a lot of valuable things from this game that will help them through the rest of the season. First, keep the turnovers to a minimum. The Jazz have a terrible record when they have over 20 turnovers in a game. I'm not saying that if they had 3 less turnovers they would have won the game but this is certainly one area they can focus on. Second, and probably most important, this is Deron Williams team! Whether he likes it or not, this is his team more than ever and he needs to command every game. When the game starts getting away, Deron needs to be the go to guy that everyone looks to to bring things back together.
We could go on about how the Jazz could improve but last night after thinking about what went wrong and how I could justify the loss, I remembered that it's the first game of the season and that Jerry Sloan will take care of the team...and the fans. I then went to bed and slept soundly. Look out Suns!!!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
More Numbers Are In!!!
The AccuScore numbers were released today; just in time for the season kickoff (love seeing the Heat go down by the way!!!!). The Heat were predicted to have the most wins (62.7) followed by the Magic (57.2) surprise, surprise. The Lakers were 3rd (56.4), followed by the Celtics (54.9), Bulls (51.9), Mavericks (50.9) and our Thunder (49.1). Interesting that AccuScore has the Jazz (44) out of the Playoffs...but barely.
What I see from the data is that the Eastern Conference looks pretty pathetic. A lot of free wins for the elite teams. On the other hand, the Western Conference is pretty crowded. The bottom half of the conference looks pretty muddled with a lot of teams fighting for playoff spots (WAY too early to talk about playoffs). The distribution of AccuScore's predictions are pretty tight as the top 9 teams out West are separated by a small standard deviation once you take out the Lakers.
Big game tomorrow night! Better get to sleep early so I am well rested and on top of my game.
Go THUNDER
What I see from the data is that the Eastern Conference looks pretty pathetic. A lot of free wins for the elite teams. On the other hand, the Western Conference is pretty crowded. The bottom half of the conference looks pretty muddled with a lot of teams fighting for playoff spots (WAY too early to talk about playoffs). The distribution of AccuScore's predictions are pretty tight as the top 9 teams out West are separated by a small standard deviation once you take out the Lakers.
Big game tomorrow night! Better get to sleep early so I am well rested and on top of my game.
Go THUNDER
Monday, October 25, 2010
Into the Future
Great move by the Thunder today to exercise options on Westbrook, Harden, Ibaka and some others to hold onto them through the 2012 season. I love that they are building a core nucleus of young talent around Durant; having the group grow up in the league together as a cohesive unit who know each other and develop their skills around each other.
I have heard some grumbling around the close quarters of the Thunder about the expectations heaped upon the team this year. Lots of questions as to how they will deal with those expectations and what will happen when they face adversity. A good start could be key for them as I worry a bit what will happen if they lose some quickies to open the season.
In that vain, I am pleased with the acquisition of Morris Peterson this offseason. He has been in the league for a long time and could be a great veteran for this club in case things get tough. It is also good to see Maynor having a solid preseason and gain some experience; he has a decent presence on the court and seems to know what he is doing while out there. I am also eager to see Cole Aldrich (I have a softspot for those bruising, gumpy white guys). He has a huge body and I hope that Coach Brooks gives him the assignment of destroying whoever is guarding Durant with screens. I am sure that KD is stoked to finally have somebody that can help to get him open; and I have heard that the game is starting to come to Ibaka, which is great news!
The Bulls will be a great opener as I am excited to see Westbrook and Rose go at it a bit. Jeff Green and Noah is going to be a great battle as well as I assume Gibson will be on Krstic/Ibaka. I am glad that Boozer is hurt to open the season as that gives us an advantage over Deng, Gibson and Noah up front. KD is going to have a chance to start the season with a bang!!!!
I have heard some grumbling around the close quarters of the Thunder about the expectations heaped upon the team this year. Lots of questions as to how they will deal with those expectations and what will happen when they face adversity. A good start could be key for them as I worry a bit what will happen if they lose some quickies to open the season.
In that vain, I am pleased with the acquisition of Morris Peterson this offseason. He has been in the league for a long time and could be a great veteran for this club in case things get tough. It is also good to see Maynor having a solid preseason and gain some experience; he has a decent presence on the court and seems to know what he is doing while out there. I am also eager to see Cole Aldrich (I have a softspot for those bruising, gumpy white guys). He has a huge body and I hope that Coach Brooks gives him the assignment of destroying whoever is guarding Durant with screens. I am sure that KD is stoked to finally have somebody that can help to get him open; and I have heard that the game is starting to come to Ibaka, which is great news!
The Bulls will be a great opener as I am excited to see Westbrook and Rose go at it a bit. Jeff Green and Noah is going to be a great battle as well as I assume Gibson will be on Krstic/Ibaka. I am glad that Boozer is hurt to open the season as that gives us an advantage over Deng, Gibson and Noah up front. KD is going to have a chance to start the season with a bang!!!!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
The Jazz open the preseason with a perfect 8-0 record and the first time in franchise history they have accomplished such a task. So what can we expect for the regular season? With the loss of players like Boozer, Kyle Korver, and the surprise rookie star Wesley Matthews, you might think this would be a rebuilding year for the Jazz with new players learning the system and a fair number of young players learning their roles. Here is my synopsis of the Jazz' situation and their chances for a run at the western conference championship.
The Jazz management did a great job putting together a deep roster even with the loss of some key players. In each preseason game it seems like someone new stepped up and there wasn't just one or two guys that carried the team. One night it was Kirilenko, another it would be Al Jefferson, and even rookie Gordon Haward lead the team one night with 26. With Deron Williams missing two of the games the Jazz still put together convincing wins and I expect them to only improve as the chemistry improves among the players.
With Deron Williams at the helm, Big Al Jefferson down low, Raja and Miles outside, arguably the loudest fans in the NBA, and don't forget that we have a hall of fame coach calling the plays, the Jazz will be number 1 in the Northwest division and number 2 in the west going into the post season. If you want to know what the "experts" say about the Jazz, take a look. The Jazz open up Wednesday in Denver at 7:00pm MST.
The Jazz management did a great job putting together a deep roster even with the loss of some key players. In each preseason game it seems like someone new stepped up and there wasn't just one or two guys that carried the team. One night it was Kirilenko, another it would be Al Jefferson, and even rookie Gordon Haward lead the team one night with 26. With Deron Williams missing two of the games the Jazz still put together convincing wins and I expect them to only improve as the chemistry improves among the players.
With Deron Williams at the helm, Big Al Jefferson down low, Raja and Miles outside, arguably the loudest fans in the NBA, and don't forget that we have a hall of fame coach calling the plays, the Jazz will be number 1 in the Northwest division and number 2 in the west going into the post season. If you want to know what the "experts" say about the Jazz, take a look. The Jazz open up Wednesday in Denver at 7:00pm MST.
Friday, October 22, 2010
Let the (real) games begin
It is just about time for the start of the season. The Thunder open against the Bulls in Chicago on Wednesday; what a great way to start the season! High hopes for the Bulls this year, but even higher hopes for our Thunder.
ESPN just posted their predictions and analysis for the season. What did they have to say about the Thunder???
There is near consensus among the analysts that OKC will win the Northwest Division (only John Hollinger dissents). From there, we have broad agreement that the Thunder will finish somewhere between #2 and #4 in the Western Conference. This is all fine and dandy, but what does Vegas think about the Thunder???
In regards to the MVP, Vegas has Durant and Kobe in a tie at +250. LeBron is at +350 followed by Dwight Howard at +550.
As a team, the Thunder are positioned at #3 behind the Lakers and Mavericks to win the Western Conference at +600. To win the Championship, we are looking at +1400 and #4 overall (Miami is the favorite overall at +170 followed by the Lakers at +250 and the Celtics at +850).
A great outlook for the Thunder with the season quickly approaching. This is going to be a great year!
ESPN just posted their predictions and analysis for the season. What did they have to say about the Thunder???
There is near consensus among the analysts that OKC will win the Northwest Division (only John Hollinger dissents). From there, we have broad agreement that the Thunder will finish somewhere between #2 and #4 in the Western Conference. This is all fine and dandy, but what does Vegas think about the Thunder???
In regards to the MVP, Vegas has Durant and Kobe in a tie at +250. LeBron is at +350 followed by Dwight Howard at +550.
As a team, the Thunder are positioned at #3 behind the Lakers and Mavericks to win the Western Conference at +600. To win the Championship, we are looking at +1400 and #4 overall (Miami is the favorite overall at +170 followed by the Lakers at +250 and the Celtics at +850).
A great outlook for the Thunder with the season quickly approaching. This is going to be a great year!
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