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Views from OKC: Thunder end halfway mark with 24 wins

By Tony Heim

Jan 7, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after a play against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 7, 2017; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) reacts after a play against the Denver Nuggets during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /
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Jan 15, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) drives to the basket in front of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports
Jan 15, 2016; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder center Steven Adams (12) drives to the basket in front of Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns (32) during the fourth quarter at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports /

Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder stories across the web.

New to Views from OKC? Glad to have you here, and I hope you’ll make this a daily destination. Well, let’s get started!

Thunder shoot poorly in second half against Timberwolves

“Victor Oladipo was 8 for 18 from the floor, Domantas Sabonis 3 for 11. Steven Adams made 2 of 5 shots. Among Thunder starters, only Andre Roberson, who went 3 for 6, made as many as half his shots. The starting five finished a combined 2 for 17 from 3-point range.”

Look, I’m not blaming this loss on the Thunder’s shooting. They deserved to lose that game. There is no reason for Russell Westbrook to take ten threes when his shot is broke. I detailed previously what happens when Russ chucks from deep; it almost never ends well for Oklahoma City. It hurts even worse when we factor in Zach Lavine not playing. Coulda been on pace for 50 wins..

Semaj Christon headed to the D-League

“With Cameron Payne now at full strength, Christon has fallen completely out of the point guard rotation and hasn’t seen the court in each of the Thunders’ last three games. He’ll head to the D-League for the opportunity to see extended minutes, but Christon could be recalled in time for Friday’s game against the Timberwolves.”

I love it. Not the fact that Semaj Christon wasn’t seeing minutes (although that was nice), but the fact that he is going to get big-time minutes starting now. Christon has potential to become a solid role player because of his defense, but he absolutely has to work on his shot. Playing with the Blue is much more beneficial to his development than toiling away on the bench.

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The Thunder could make waves in the playoffs…

“Over the last five seasons, the average playoff team adds about 1.5 points per 100 shots via shooting accuracy. Only 15 percent of playoff teams over the last five seasons lost two or more points per 100 shots from shooting accuracy — remember, the Thunder are losing three points per 100 shots.”

LOL just kidding!! This one really hurt to read. Clicking on the “Can good shot selection carry the Thunder through the playoffs” title had me amped to see what advanced metric was going to tell me that OKC had a shot. And then my dreams were crushed, like the time my mom told me I would never be a professional basketball player.

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