Welcome to the Basketball Hangover. I write about what’s happening in the NBA daily, even when COVID has ravaged the league.
The Thunder are 6-6. There is no way you could’ve predicted that.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Alonzo Adams/USA Today.)
I don’t think most of us saw this coming and really, I don’t think it’s been noticed much yet because the pandemic has continued to ravage the NBA (and the country, really). But the Oklahoma City Thunder are sitting at .500 a dozen games into the season.
They just beat the Bulls in an impressive comeback. The Thunder were down by 16 with four and a half minutes to go and then 10 under two minutes. But OKC wouldn’t stay down as their young players continued to bear down. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s three-point play would ultimately send the game to overtime.
Then Mike Muscala made big threes down the stretch. The Bulls did have one last chance to win but Zach LaVine, who scored 35, missed a desperation three at the end.
The thing about the Thunder is that nothing stands out about them other than their roster is filled with youth. Their offense is near the bottom of the league and their defense is middling. But they do just enough each game to win. This is their third win with the final score margin at two points or fewer.
I actually think it’s unbelievable that the 33 points scored by SGA is his career-best. But the great thing about him is that he’s so consistent and the team can count on him producing every single game. His game reminds me of Brandon Roy‘s at times because he’s so deceptive yet so smooth on the court. He just gets the job done.
Meanwhile, remember when Lu Dort burst on the scene in the playoffs? He’s their second-leading scorer at 12.8 points but more surprising than that is he is hitting the three-point shot. He has the reputation of Andre Roberson where he is an incredible perimeter defender but can’t hit the open shot. Maybe they should’ve learned from Game 7 against the Rockets when he scored 30 points and made 6 threes. Dort is hitting 43 percent of his shots from three this season. And I think he can maintain that because he is not a bad free throw shooter (79 percent for his career!). But he’d be such a player for the Thunder if he can continue his shooting and, of course, continue to be a demon on defense.
There aren’t very many familiar names on the Thunder. You would recognize Al Horford but he’s decidedly on the downside of his career. George Hill is also on that same path. But there is some promise with their forwards like Darius Bazley, Isaiah Roby, and Hamidou Diallo. Again, these names aren’t box office. But they’re doing enough to keep OKC afloat. Plus, we gotta give credit to the new head coach, Mark Daigneault. He was an assistant for that team last season and he is certainly getting his guys to play.
Now I doubt they can keep the pace they’re going. But the Thunder, who were thought to be a bad team (especially by me!), aren’t being pushovers right now. It speaks to the culture that OKC has permeated throughout their existence. And maybe they’ll end up going to the lottery. But I don’t expect them to be that kind of team for long if that happens.
Bullet Passes
The Celtics played their first game in a week and look what they did to the Orlando Magic. Jayson Tatum is still out due to quarantine but Jaylen Brown led Boston with 21 points. Semi Ojeleye was fantastic with 18 points off the pine. And new favorite Payton Pritchard scored 16 points, also off the bench. Boston has won 5 straight.
Kind of sucked that Luka Doncic didn’t touch the ball when the Mavs got the offensive board with 20 seconds left and were armed with a timeout. Kristaps Porzingis (yeah, I know) put up a three later in that possession and that shot would’ve shattered a glass window.
The Lakers, man. Once they turn on the Nintendo Switch, it is over. LeBron James playing the way he is at 36 just continues to amaze.
Andre Drummond went for 33 points and 23 boards. His incredible stats are just so underappreciated because he’s never played for a good team.
James Harden killed me with this smile after he was asked about his conditioning.
James Harden on how he’d describe his conditioning right now:
“Great!” 😁 pic.twitter.com/EGe6mCnLIe
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) January 15, 2021
Also, Harden was asked whether he meant to disrespect his old Rockets team.
James Harden: “I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone…I’ve been through all the ups and downs in that organization. I wasn’t disrespectful to anyone. I just made a comment that the team, as a whole, wasn’t good enough to compete for a title.”
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) January 15, 2021
Yeah, he’s been wanting out of that Rockets team since the offseason and he pretty much acted out the entire time. Also, saying your team isn’t “good enough” IS disrespectful to his old teammates. Maybe he didn’t mean ill will. But maybe he was also not cognizant that just MAYBE he really is hurting his old teammates’ feelings.
But oh, well. The break-up was messy. And we move on. But both teams will feel the fallout soon.
NBA Scoreboard
Jan. 15, 2021
Watch This Play
Julius Randle did a number on Andre Drummond.
Julius Randle went right at Drummond 😳 pic.twitter.com/6A2Cs2cLoT
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 16, 2021
Randle is having a hell of a season in terms of stats AND dunking on people. Woof.
Everyone, please take care of yourselves during this pandemic. And that goes for everyone involved with the NBA as well.
You can find Rey-Rey on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
You can also check out Rey-Rey’s podcast, Rey-Rey Is Fundamental, for more basketball content and, really, whatever else.