So… the Thunder played a basketball game tonight.
At least I think that was them. Still not sure, actually.
This game was just one big SMH. From tipoff there was no energy, no urgency, no intensity and on top of it all, the Thunder played absolutely abysmal basketball. Sometimes you can get away with lacking energy because you’re making some open shots and taking care of the ball. The Thunder did neither of those two things. All the miserable things that happened in the fourth quarter against the Jazz carried over and then some.
The only real positive to take from this, and this is a stretch, was that Jeremy Lamb looked pretty good in garbage time. I can’t stress how horrifically horrible the Thunder played. It was the kind of 48-minute performance that makes you consider things like vacuuming your living room, cleaning the garage or putting up Christmas lights two months early just so that you don’t have to see it anymore.
So let me summarize all of that again: The Thunder were super terrible tonight. There aren’t any excuses, there aren’t any justifications.
Still, the number of panicked tweets and emails and comments that flowed in, I mean, really? I honestly don’t think I have the energy to try and talk those people down. Because if you’re genuinely that worried because the second game of the season went array, then there’s probably no reason to even waste the time on that. Is it just because it’s so early so there’s no a 22-8 record or something to point at and say they’re good?
Is this a sign of deeper issues that will cost the Thunder in March or April? Possibly. But how could you even pretend to know? We have two games to use right now — a win in Utah, and a blowout loss in Minnesota. If you want to get your panic on, at least wait until the Suns blow OKC out on its home court or something.
The same issues that plagued the Thunder last May continuing are worrisome, especially in that Kevin Durant not only didn’t get help, but also played terrible himself. He wasn’t able to get going and therefore, the Thunder had no one to carry them. Reggie Jackson couldn’t dribble without turning the ball over, Serge Ibaka missed everything (literally, he had two airballs) and at one point in the third quarter after a second straight bucket, I actually said aloud, “Give it back to Perk!” It was that kind of night.
This is the Thunder’s worst loss since Feb. 20, 2011, ending a pretty incredible string where they hadn’t lost by more than 17 points during that time. A big reason why isn’t just that they had Russell Westbrook, which by default makes them much, much better, but also that they missed Westbrook’s competitive spirit and never-ending energy. These are exactly the kind of games that Westbrook has bailed the Thunder out in. When everyone else is lethargic and going through the motions, Westbrook is cranking things up and trying to spark the team by himself. Down 20 at the half? Westbrook was an 8-0 run waiting to happen to start the third to kickstart his teammates. Hard to do that when he’s fashionably sitting on the bench looking fantastic.
Look, I don’t want to go all Grant Long on you here and pump sunshine and happiness through when the reality is that you just watched one of the worst Thunder performances in the last four years. But to obsess over a loss on Nov. 1, in the second game of the season, and draw conclusions from it, well, that’s just too much.
- People were actually saying things like, “This is the kind of thing that’s gonna make Durant leave in 2016.” Sigh.
- The Thunder couldn’t even do the simple things tonight. Even the guys that basically make their entire living on doing the simple things, couldn’t do the simple things. Nick Collison was throwing dumb passes. Perry Jones missed a cutting Jeremy Lamb by 10 feet to throw it out of bounds. If there was a basketball version of Tom Emanski’s “How To Not Play Basketball” video, it would be this Thunder game.
- KD finished with only one assist. That’s two assists through two games. What’s the deal here? He had 12 in a game in preseason and was running the game. Now nothing is happening. It’s like the Thunder completely forgot everything.
- Thabo Sefolosha tried to play the part of Westbrook to start the second half, steal passes in the backcourt and attacking feverishly at the rim. The problem with that was, he was still Thabo Sefolosha.
- This is absolutely not an excuse, but any flow to the game was completely wiped out to start the game. There were whistles every other play and most resulted in Wolves free throws. They were in the bonus within the first five minutes and used that to build a solid gap between them and the Thunder. And playing from behind is not a strong suit for the Thunder.
- Another thing: The Thunder missed so many good looks from outside. Reggie Jackson took five 3s, and all five were completely uncovered. They shot 7-31 from 3. Part of that problem was missing good looks, but most of it had to do with the functional issue that they don’t have good shooters on the roster.
- The Wolves did two things very well, and really this is the formula to beating OKC: 1) They didn’t turn it over (only three in the first half) and 2) they bracketed Durant and dared others to beat them. The only way the Thunder are built to counter that is with transition opportunities and while they were forcing plenty of misses (the Wolves shot under 40 percent in the first half), there weren’t any chances to break because the Wolves took care of it so well.
- I’d forgotten how annoying of a player Kevin Martin is. His attempt to lean into contact every play is kind of ridiculous. Amazing how we intentionally overlooked that last year.
- Fisher had a shot in the third quarter where he could not have been more open and yet still somehow managed to put a toe on the line to turn a 3 into a 2. How?
- Via @ThunderStats: “Durant has scored at least 15 points in 143 straight games, by far the longest streak in the NBA. KD likely done for the night, only has 13.”
- Check out this defense. Just check it out. I don’t think that’s how you’re supposed to play it.
- Reggie Jackson made 3-4 from 2-point range, and 0-5 from 3-point. He completely quick attacking. Why?
- Something we appeared to learn: Perk got into foul trouble in the first couple minutes and Steven Adams checked in for him. Hasheem Thabeet never saw the court tonight, so it seems that Adams is the backup center.
- Maybe my favorite thing about this game was listening to Brian Davis and Grant Long try and spin positive things out a game in which the Thunder were getting waxed by 30. Actually, that was the worst thing. Even worse than watching Derek Fisher try and take over offensively.
- Adams was a positive, for the most part. Rebounded well, held his own against Pekovic, finished inside some and played decent pick-and-roll defense.
- The Thunder didn’t get called for a single delay of game tonight. Clearly that’s what they spent all day yesterday working on and forgot to practice basketball.
- Derek Fisher really aggressive offensively with the second unit, looking for his own shot. It reminded me of me when I get on a poor team in pickup and so I try to take responsibility and do way too much. Like it didn’t with Fisher, it doesn’t often work out to my team’s advantage.
- Lamb scored a career-high 16 on 7-15 shooting and looked really good in the two-man game. Granted, in garbage time against scrubs, but it’s at least a little something to build on.
- Nick Collison hit a 3 to end the first quarter. So despite this being the worst game I’ve watched in a long time, I will still save it on my DVR for forever.
- Hey, the Heat are 1-2. You think they’re freaking?
- Brian Davis Line of the Night: “Seeing guys getting a little tooty around the league.”
Next up: Home against the Suns on Sunday