It’s been a long season. 82-games to be exact. And while the number of games don’t change from season to season, the emotions a fan goes through changes from game to game. The Oklahoma City Thunder certainly took fans on a rollercoaster ride of emotions this season. Let’s recap:
Offseason
SCOTT BROOKS IS FIRED! THIS IS GREAT! NEW BLOOD! Wait, Billy Donovan? Didn’t he flake out on Orlando? WHO CARES! HE’S NOT SCOTT BROOKS!
ENES KANTER WANTS HOW MUCH MONEY?!?! Forget that guy, he can’t play defense. Let him go to Portland. Smart move to match the money. We couldn’t spend it elsewhere, may as well spend it on Kanter. He’s the low-post scorer that the team has been missing. This team is stacked. BRING ON THE SEASON!
Game One (112-106 W vs. San Antonio Spurs)
THE BILLY DONOVAN ERA! Kevin Durant didn’t even play that great by Kevin Durant standards and we still won. Dion Waiters: clutch. Russell Westbrook picked up right where he left off last season. The bench scored 39 points. That’s all we need. KD/Russ will get their 60+ on a nightly basis, the bench gets 25, then you just need 15-20 from the other three starters. Easy. This team is going to be so good. They may not lose back-to-back games this year. THUNDER UP!
Game Four (110-105 L at Houston)
Going undefeated was unrealistic, but did we really have to lose to friggin’ Houston? They were the biggest frauds in the league last year and hadn’t won all season. Why them, of all teams? It’s early, but man the offense down the stretch looks the same. But seriously, why Houston?
Game Six (104-98 L at Chicago)
HOW HAVE WE LOST THREE STRAIGHT?!?! We weren’t supposed to lose back-to-back games all season and now we’ve lost three straight? How is it that Derrick Rose always plays like MVP Rose against the Thunder? It’d be cool if Russell Westbrook actually played some type of defense against him. Whatever, it’s early.
Game Eight (125-101 W at Washington)
Durant is hurt again. Season over.
Game Fourteen (117-114 W vs. Dallas)
WE BEAT A GOOD TEAM WITHOUT DURANT! This was starting to look exactly like last season. Barely beat a banged up Pelicans team and lost to the friggin’ Knicks. But the Mavericks are good this year and this is definitely a game we would’ve lost last year because Westbrook is the most unclutch alpha in league history. BUT WE WON! AND KD IS COMING BACK!
Game Nineteen (97-95 L at Miami)
How come KD and Russ settle for jump shots in the final minutes while every other team gets to the basket? Jeff Teague did it the game before and Dwyane Wade lost his dribble, probably traveled, and still got to the paint. KD can take two steps and get to the paint and Russ can just bulldoze people. Quit settling for jumpers. AND WHY CAN’T WE BEAT ANYONE IN THE EAST?!?!?! THE EAST SUCKS!
Game Twenty-Five (106-90 W vs. Portland)
SIX STRAIGHT! Including blowing out a good Memphis team and beating the Hawks. It was a tough start, but I think the team has really gotten things together. Bring on Cleveland and LeBron. I’m feeling really good about the team right now.
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- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
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Game Twenty-Six (104-100 L at Cleveland)
KD, Russ, and Serge all had 20+ and we still lost to a Cavs team without Kyrie Irving. How does this happen? As usual, poor execution down the stretch. Nothing has changed with this team. Everything looks better for 45 minutes and then in those final three minutes they are the same team they’ve always been. I don’t even care if this was a back-to-back and guys were tired, this should’ve been a win. The bench had 16 points. How is that possible? How does Richard Jefferson nearly outscore the entire bench? So much for the Waiters revenge game. I’m done.
Game Twenty-Eight (100-99 W at Los Angeles Clippers)
YES! SCREW THE CLIPPERS! You know, that Cleveland game sucked, but they’ll beat the Lakers in the next game and that’ll be nine out of ten. Then it’s Christmas at home against the Bulls, which should be a win because we can’t lose to the Bulls again and a pretty easy schedule after that until Memphis. Things are definitely looking up.
Game Thirty (105-96 L vs. Chicago)
Christmas is ruined. Once again, Derrick Rose somehow scored over 14 points and Andre Roberson can’t guard anyone despite being this elite defender. How do we keep losing to this Bulls team? And Ibaka. 3-12. Is it just me or has he been pretty bad this year? If he’s going to keep sucking and Waiters is going to suck, this team has no one else to score outside of the big two. Something needs to change.
Game Thirty-One (122-122 W vs. Denver)
THE CAMERON PAYNE ERA!
Game Thirty-Eight (115-110 L at Portland)
Are you kidding me? I texted my friend “Maybe KD will finally get over 30” after the third quarter because he had 28 and we’ve been joking about KD not hitting 30 a lot recently. And you know what. HE STILL DIDN’T HAVE OVER 30! HOW DOES THE BEST SCORER IN THE LEAGUE NOT SCORE FOR THE ENTIRE QUARTER! And then Lillard hits like 10 threes in the final minute because of course he does. Why do these things always happen to OKC? Like everything bad always happens to them. Rose is the MVP again, guys you’ve never heard of are hitting big shots, Lillard goes crazy. It’s insane.
Game Fifty-One (117-114 W vs. Orlando)
Alright, minus that little slip up against the Nets and a couple of close calls that shouldn’t have been close, the team has been playing really well lately. The competition hasn’t been great, but they’re winning, and that’s what matters. Kanter has been giving them some solid bench production, Payne has been an upgrade over Augustin, and KD and Russ are still KD and Russ. It’d be nice if Ibaka and Waiters played a little better, but one of them is pretty much a lost cause. Golden State up next. I’m not too optimistic, but maybe they’ll surprise me. THUNDER UP!
Game Fifty-Two (116-108 L at Golden State)
You know what, I’m not too mad at this loss. They got down big early, came back, and the Warriors just played better down the stretch. It happens. They are the defending champs, the best team in the league and undefeated at home. I hate moral victories, but I’ll take this one. I’m still feeling pretty good about the team right now.
All-Star Break
40-14 at the break is really good. If Golden State and San Antonio weren’t on another level, everyone would be talking about us. It’s fine to fly under the radar. The team has come a long way since the beginning of the season and there are definite improvements over last year. A lot of big games after the break to get us ready for the playoffs.
Trade Deadline
So we didn’t trade Waiters? Randy Foye is a nice option and it’s not like we gave up anything. Can’t complain too much.
Game Fifty-Six (115-92 L vs. Cleveland)
It wasn’t bad enough that some dude named Myles Turner hits his first career three and then Monte Ellis of course hits a three and we lose to Indiana, but then we didn’t even show up against Cleveland. This was supposed to be a big test coming out of the All-Star break and our guys didn’t bother to play. They lost Kyrie in the first quarter and still whooped us. And can we all finally admit that Waiters is bad at basketball? Seriously. He doesn’t do anything well. He’s just bad. Foye looks like a bust, the bench sucks, LeBron owns KD, just terrible.
More from Thunder News
- Stealing one player from every Southwest Division team for the OKC Thunder
- Should the OKC Thunder chase after a disgruntled hometown hero?
- 3 OKC Thunder players who can step up in Aleksej Pokusevski’s absence
- Aleksej Pokusevski sidelined approximately 6 weeks with ankle injury
- Damian Lillard does not fit with the OKC Thunder
Game Fifty-Nine (121-118 L vs. Golden State)
Game Sixty-One (103-98 L at Los Angeles Clippers)
I’m done. How do you blow a 22-point lead and only score 13 points in the entire fourth quarter? That’s barely a point per minute. You get at least two points per shot. The match doesn’t check out. You have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and you only score 13 friggin’ points? And what’s up with KD jacking up all these threes? He’s been shooting terribly lately. It doesn’t even matter. This team sucks.
Game Sixty-Two (121-106 L at Golden State)
Who cares. The Warriors are winning it all. Just end this stupid season.
Game Sixty-Six (93-85 L at San Antonio)
It was nice to beat the Clippers and it would’ve been nice to actually have some momentum heading into this game, but of course we lose to the friggin’ Timberwolves. And the same issues showed up in this game. The team can’t close games. Another terrible fourth quarter. Maybe we can get the NBA to make games only three quarters. Or score games in reverse. I don’t care if that doesn’t make any sense. I’m tired of losing these close games in the fourth.
Game Seventy-Four (119-100 W at Toronto)
EIGHT STRAIGHT! Blowing out really good Boston and Toronto teams and actually holding on to a fourth quarter lead against Houston. I think the team has finally figured things out. Waiters needing to leave and Singler being hurt were kind of a blessing. Foye is finally playing well, Russ has been great, KD is KD and Ibaka is actually contributing. Everything looks great right now. THUNDER UP!
Game Seventy-Five (88-82 L at Detroit)
I know KD and Serge didn’t play, but man this just reminded me of last year’s team. Russ isn’t clutch and the other team always makes the plays down the stretch. Screw Reggie Jackson. And why was Serge talking about “it’s hard to stay focused when you just stand in the corner for 12 minutes” after blowing out Toronto? Dude, KD and Russ go out of their way to get you shots. The team was rolling. Just shut up. Everything was looking so good and now this. Screw Reggie Jackson.
Game Seventy-Seven (118-110 L at Houston)
Sure, Houston had more to play for, but it would’ve been nice if the team just put them away. Instead it was the same problems as usual. Too many turnovers and poor execution down the stretch. It’s been almost eighty-two games and those problems have been the same all season. Let’s just get this second round exit out of the way.
Game Eighty-One (112-79 W vs. Los Angeles Lakers)
Farewell, Kobe.
Game Eighty-Two (102-98 L at San Antonio)
The B-Team played really well. That’s extremely encouraging. Remember a few weeks ago when the Clippers B-Team played OKC tight and everyone thought OKC were in trouble in the playoffs or when the Grizzlies almost beat the Warriors and people were like, “the Grizzlies might upset OKC in the first round” or when the Spurs B-Team played OKC close for a half and people thought OKC sucked? WELL THE OKC B-TEAM TOOK THE SPURS TO OVERTIME! OKC will obviously sweep the Spurs and play the Rockets, who will upset the Warriors and Clippers, in the West Finals before meeting Reggie and the Pistons in the Finals. It’s an all-OKC playoffs. THUNDER UP!