May 15, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Reggie Jackson (15) grabs a rebound in front of Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph (50) during the second half of game five of the second round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. The Grizzlies defeated the Thunder 88-84. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder thought at one point like they would have a perennial Sixth Man of the Year Award winner on their roster for the next decade.

Remember when we actually envisioned James Harden might stay with the Thunder, continue to embrace his role coming off the bench and win multiple championships with this team?

That obviously didn’t happen and when Harden left last year, replacing him in the Sixth Man role was Kevin Martin, who overall did a pretty good job. Martin wasn’t Harden by any stretch but averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 42.6 percent from behind the three-point line was still a solid season.

Martin was in the last year of his contract this season making over $12 million. The Thunder have a decision to make on whether or not to re-sign him this season. How much do you want to pay a Sixth Man putting up the kind of numbers Martin did?

Making matters more interesting is the emergence of Reggie Jackson this season and in the playoffs. Those who watched the Thunder closely all year, saw Jackson progress all season and look like a completely different player than he was as a rookie, in terms of confidence and everything else.

In the playoffs after Russell Westbrook got injured, Jackson stepped into the starting role and averaged 15.3 points, 3.7 assists and 5.3 rebounds in 36.2 minutes per game while also shooting 47.2 percent from the field.

As crazy as it may sound, Jackson actually resembled Harden at moments this season. They both are very adept at getting to the rim (with the eurostep) and finishing. The Thunder ran some of the same exact sets that they did for Harden with Jackson this season. Jackson was a monster in transition just like Harden too.

Jackson’s play looks to really be on the rise and the idea that he could fill the Sixth Man role may make the Thunder think less about re-signing Martin.

Martin would really need to take a severe pay cut to remain with the Thunder. OKC can probably only realistically offer him $5-6 million per year and they may not even want to pay him that much.

There’s also the Jeremy Lamb factor. He hardly played this season but was very good in the D-League. If he improves similarly to how Jackson did after his rookie season, then the Thunder may have another solid player for their rotation to make Martin even more useless.

The Thunder will have a lottery pick in the upcoming draft too. There may be some wing players available like Victor Oladipo or C.J. McCollum that the Thunder could pick to help replace Martin too.

What we’re going to see with the Thunder next season will likely be a team with two of its players in the playoff rotation this year gone. Derek Fisher and Martin will probably not be on the team. So who will replace them? Lamb seems the most likely then maybe Perry Jones, III as well.

The Thunder have a lot of options coming up this summer and we will get a better idea of what Thunder team will be taking the floor next season soon.

Apr 21, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin (23) handles the ball against Houston Rockets guard Francisco Garcia (32) in the second half during game one of the first round of the 2013 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

J.R. Smith of the New York Knicks was named the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year this week.

It was a close race where Smith narrowly edged out Jamal Crawford of the Los Angeles Clippers in what was basically a two-man race.

Finishing fourth in the voting was Kevin Martin of the Oklahoma City Thunder, who averaged 14.0 points in 27.7 minutes per game off the bench this season.

Martin of course came to the Thunder right before the start of the regular season as the main piece in the James Harden trade. Martin did a decent job replacing some of what the Thunder lost in Harden but he didn’t do enough.

If Martin had played to his potential, this award should have been his.

What held Martin back?

It felt like it took him awhile to find out where he fit in. At the start of the season, Martin’s production was coming far too much from isolation.

But as the season went on, Martin’s output started to drop and it resulted in less minutes for him. Instead of closing out games, Scott Brooks often went with Thabo Sefolosha or Reggie Jackson because they are better defenders.

The simple fact that it’s even an option to not close out a game with Martin speaks to how far he fell short in what he should have become this season for the Thunder.

Martin has given us glimpses here and there of what he can do. He moves very well without the ball and developed a nice two-man game with Nick Collison in the second unit.

Martin will score on the occasional backdoor cut and he is a good spot-up shooter. When attacking the basket, Martin relies on only his quickness to try and get by his defender. He’ll try a spin move here and there that turns into a fadeaway but that’s about it. Usually, you see Martin looking for the referees to bail him out on a call while he takes a 12-foot runner. They usually don’t.

That’s Martin’s game and instead of trying to find more ways to assert himself this season, he became complacent in his role with the Thunder. OKC was winning so the pressure wasn’t exactly on Martin to try and reinvent himself.

What Martin has become with this Thunder team was not enough. He should have found a way to win the Sixth Man of the Year award, something he was totally capable of doing.

After this first round series against Houston, a poor defensive team, look for Martin’s production to really drop off.

Whether it’s the Clippers or Grizzlies in round two, they’re not going to let Martin get easy looks. It won’t get any easier for Martin in the Western Conference Finals or NBA Finals if the Thunder make it there.

Martin says he is willing to take less money to stay in OKC after this season but it’s the Thunder that will be making the decision on whether they want to keep Martin or not. They’re not going to waste their time after they watch these playoffs.

Mar. 7, 2013; New York, NY, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder shooting guard Kevin Martin (23) drives past New York Knicks power forward Kenyon Martin (3) during the second half at Madison Square Garden. Thunder won 95-94. Mandatory Credit: Debby Wong-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin is in the final year of his contract and will become a free agent this summer.

Martin is making over $12 million per year this season and if he is going to re-sign with the Thunder – and he does want to – he will have to take a major pay-cut.

The Thunder are right below the salary cap this season and they obviously are going to do everything possible to avoid any luxury tax penalties.

What is going to change the most for the Thunder next season will be Serge Ibaka making $12.25 million per year instead of $2.25 million. Most other players on the roster will get a small increase in salary as well.

Martin could probably find $8-9 million per year in free agency this summer, just not from the Thunder.

Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com, recently wrote an article ranking the value of each upcoming free agent. He has Martin valued at $5.5 million, which is right around the amount where you’d expect the Thunder to consider paying him.

You don’t have to be a mathematics major to realize that even if Martin took that much of a pay-cut, the Thunder would still be over the salary cap.

Amnestying Kendrick Perkins has always been an option that many think the Thunder will one day consider. To keep Martin, that might mean Perkins has to go too.

Martin’s playoff performance is going to go a long way in determining whether or not the Thunder will try and re-sign him. Martin’s play has been on the decline this season and if he is a no-show in the playoffs, the Thunder may just let him walk.

The Thunder also have a few first round draft picks coming up as well as rookie Jeremy Lamb who may be seen by the Thunder organization as a better deal than Martin.

Dec. 25, 2012; Miami, FL, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) reacts during the first half against the Miami Heat at American Airlines Arena. Mandatory Credit: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

If the Thunder want to win a championship in the near future, they will have to go through the Miami Heat. There is no getting around it. The simple fact is that there are literally no teams in the east that have the capability of beating Miami in a seven game series. As for the western conference, the Spurs are always going to be there, but in my opinion the Thunder are just too athletic and talented for them at this point.

When Miami squares off with the Thunder, it seems that the Heat are unbeatable. It is actually very frustrating watching the Thunder play Miami because they just look “scared”. The main hurdle for OKC is not even basketball speaking. They just have to get it in there minds that they can beat the Heat. I think it is a little bit like this for every team in the league when they face Miami (with the exceptions of Boston or maybe Chicago). The Heat have a bit of an “aura” around them, with Lebron and Dwayne Wade running the show at times they do seem unbeatable. But when you look at it from a basketball standpoint, they are very beatable. Everybody looks at how great Lebron is playing this year and think that the Heat can do no wrong. Well as great as Lebron and Wade are, the Heat do not have as much firepower as people seem to believe. In fact, after the “Big 3” the Heat’s next best scorer is Ray Allen. Now I love Allen, but at this age he is not a fourth scorer. He is a spot up shooter that is there to make big shots in the big moments. Right there is a weakness for the Heat that most people don’t pay attention to. The other more obvious weakness is their lack of size. The Thunder however, are not designed to take advantage of that so the Heat sort of “get away” with that one against OKC.

For the Thunder it is simple. Serge Ibaka and Kevin Martin must out-perform Chris Bosh and Ray Allen. I am not just talking point-wise, but throughout the basketball game (or series) Ibaka and Martin have to defend better, rebound better, and distribute better. I really believe that they are capable of easily out performing Bosh and Allen. Ibaka has developed a very good jump shot throughout his career and while it is not as consistent as Bosh’s jumper is, he can ‘make it rain’ at certain times. Defensively it is not even a contest between Ibaka and Bosh. Ibaka is one of the best rim protectors in the league, and his post defense has vastly improved. Kevin Martin gets the edge over Ray Allen in pretty much every category in my opinion. Martin can get to the hole, and shoot the three point shot better than Allen at this point. I am not here to try and say that Kevin Martin is better than the great Ray Allen overall. But at this point in their respective careers Martin is a better shooter than Allen. The only problem is Ibaka and Martin can not seem play well against Heat. Ibaka and Martin have both played just okay versus the Heat this year. Westbrook and Durant will both play very well against Miami and for the most part Westbrook and Wade cancel each other out, and KD and Lebron cancel each other out. It is going to come down to the role players, and if Ibaka and Martin play as well as I know they can, then the Thunder will win the NBA championship this June.

Mar 10, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin (23) handles the ball against Boston Celtics guard Jason Terry (4) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Around this time last year I was writing about how James Harden was the key to the Oklahoma City Thunder winning the NBA title.

Harden had just gotten elbowed in the head by Metta World Peace and we weren’t quite sure how he’d do in the playoffs. Well, he was fantastic taking over in the fourth quarter of Game 4 vs. the Dallas Mavericks then doing a lot of the same vs. the Lakers and Spurs.

There were a lot of reasons why the Miami Heat beat the Thunder in the NBA Finals and one of the biggest was Harden’s poor play. Had he just been bad instead of terrible, the Thunder win that series. If he would have dominated, like everyone thought he would have and why the Thunder were favored to win that series, then it might have been a sweep.

Now Harden’s gone but a third wheel is still the key to whether or not the Thunder win the title. That third wheel is now Kevin Martin.

Martin started out this season looking very good. He was fitting in remarkably well with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and giving the Thunder nearly the same scoring off the bench that Harden gave them a season ago.

Martin has gotten progressively worse as the season has gone on. For whatever reason, he just isn’t shooting as well or doing much else and it has resulted in him losing minutes and he is often absent from the floor at the end of games.

We’re seeing the Thunder lose games despite Durant and Westbrook playing well. That was never the case last year and the reason was because Harden was always there ensuring that the Thunder second unit would be much better than their opponent’s.

Martin’s inconsistency has made it impossible for the Thunder second unit to be dominant this season. If he’s not making threes, then he becomes completely pointless. He’s always a defensive liability and rarely makes plays for his teammates.

While the Thunder are in the midst of one of the most dominant seasons in NBA history in terms of point differential, they’ve been amazingly inconsistent and that starts with Martin.

We don’t even know which five players is going to end the game for the Thunder this season. Martin rarely does these days so we’re seeing more of Thabo Sefolosha and even Reggie Jackson. It’s not going to take much for Derek Fisher to convince Scott Brooks to have him on the floor for crunch time so don’t be surprised if we see that in the playoffs too.

Martin needs to step up and assert himself for the Thunder to have any kind of chance to make it to the NBA Finals this season. Unless Durant and Westbrook take their games to levels we haven’t seen before, it’s hard to imagine the Thunder beating the Clippers or Spurs while Martin is no-showing.

What are the chances that Martin steps it up in the playoffs?

I can’t imagine anyone thinking there’s a good chance of this. He’s only played in six playoff games in his career and this season it always seems that the bigger the stage, the worse he performs.

The greatest fear of every Thunder fan is coming true and about to reveal its ugly face to us when the playoffs begin. This Harden trade was a huge mistake and the Thunder didn’t get anything back to help them win this year.

There are a lot of good teams in the Western Conference. It’s not just the Spurs or Clippers that could potentially beat the Thunder. When you look at the Nuggets and Grizzlies, they’re scary too.

Hope has always been extremely high with this Thunder team. After nearly winning it all last year, hope was supposed to reach an all-time high this season. Instead, it’s lower than ever.

One man can change this. Martin can surprise us all and suddenly start playing to his potential in the playoffs. It’s just so hard to imagine that happening.

Mar 24, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin (23) attempts a shot against Portland Trailblazers center Meyers Leonard (11) and Trailblazers forward LaMarcus Aldridge (12) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Once again Kevin Martin has come out and talked about how much he loves playing for the Oklahoma City Thunder and that he will be willing to take less money this summer to re-sign with OKC.

“My perception would be happiness and a good fit basketball-wise,” Martin said. “I’m in a situation that after nine years I don’t have to chase money. So I think that part goes into a lot of guys’ minds when it happens. But for me, I found a new happiness here when I got traded here. It feels like a good fit. But we’ll see when it comes around.

“I think that’s where it just comes down to, what would you be happy with? And I love being a major piece on a championship-caliber team. I’m enjoying the ride.

Via The Oklahoman

It is very obvious that Martin will have to sacrifice a lot of money to stay in Oklahoma City. He is making over $12 million per year this season and will have to accept a contract making less than half of that to realistically stay with the Thunder.

It might not even come down to what Martin is willing to sacrifice though. Martin still needs to prove himself in the playoffs and considering his play of late, does anyone even think he will?

Martin is really only good against bad teams. Against the Charlottes and Orlandos of the league, he will be moving all over the place on offense, getting to the line and knocking down threes.

When the Thunder play San Antonio or Memphis, Martin all but disappears. He becomes such a nonfactor that Scott Brooks has basically only been playing him half of the game the past few weeks and going with Thabo Sefolosha or even Reggie Jackson to close out games instead.

If Martin, who has only played in six playoff games in his career, performs poorly these playoffs, couldn’t you see the Thunder just deciding to cut him loose and basically give up on him?

That really feels like the most likely scenario right now. If Martin is instead clutch in the playoffs, playing crunch time and averaging 15-plus points per game, that would be very surprising.

If you had to bet on how the season is going to end for the Thunder this year, you would bet that they would lose in either the Western Conference Finals or NBA Finals with everyone talking about how trading James Harden cost them a chance to win it all.

If this happens or something close to this plays out, Martin is gone. The Thunder have rookie Jeremy Lamb waiting to step into Martin’s role and if Martin doesn’t come through in the playoffs, the Thunder will look at the situation as picking Lamb over Martin as the more sensible choice.

Martin will get to choose whether he wants to stay in OKC or not. But it won’t be based on how much money he is willing to sacrifice. He will have to earn his right to stay in OKC by stepping up his game in the playoffs.

Feb 20, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Nick Collison (4) signals to a teammate during the fourth quarter against the Houston Rockets at Toyota Center. The Rockets defeated the Thunder 122-119. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

When watching the Thunder two things stick out in my mind. The first is how much isolation basketball they play, and the second is how successful they are at doing it. In general you don’t want to see a basketball team just hand a player the ball and say “take this guy”. Normally it just does not work very well. However, most teams also do not have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook at their disposal. These guys are so good with the basketball in their hands that it makes it alright to play one-on-one basketball. At times it seems that the Thunder can get through a whole game just by setting Durant on the high post or Westbrook at the top of the key. Durant is a mismatch for pretty much anybody in the league, even the one guy that seems to have a shot at guarding him, Lebron James, still allowed over 30 points to KD in the finals last season. The same type of thing applies to Westbrook. While he does not present the amount of problems as Durant does, Russell is a mismatch for pretty much any point guard that tries to guard him in the NBA. The combination of his athleticism and his ability to pull up in the mid range game is extremely deadly.

With this being said, when these two guys check out of the game the Thunder bench comes on the floor and, at times, really struggles. There is nobody on the second unit that can win the one-on-one match-ups as consistently as KD or Westbrook can. Kevin Martin is a superb player, but he is not on Durant’s or Westbrook’s level in terms of making his own shots. The one guy that may have a possibility of breaking down his defender one-on-one is Reggie Jackson. I really likeJacksonas a player, and I think if Westbrook weren’t on the squadJacksonwould definitely be starting for OKC. However, Jackson is a young guy and really is just beginning to realize his talent.

In my opinion the Thunder bench has to do one thing and one thing only to improve their production when they are on the floor. Pass the basketball. It is as simple as that. Because they lack the individual talent that KD and Westbrook have, they will need to rely on each other to score the basketball. They have the capability of doing it as well. As I said before, Reggie Jackson is a great young player that can get to the basket, and he has shown that he has the presence of mind to kick it out to Martin for a jumper. Of course you have to mention Nick Collison when talking about non selfish basketball. Collison is the epitome of playing for teammates as he demonstrates that every game with his willingness to pass and take charges. Overall, we have seen the Thunder bench do great things this year, but not nearly as consistent as they did it last year. Obviously that has to do with the departure of James Harden, but if the Thunder hope to get back to the finals and maybe defeatMiami, then they will need their bench to produce.

I am not saying that the Thunder bench has to all of a sudden turn into the best bench in the league. All I am saying is that they need to hold their own while KD, Westbrook, Ibaka, and the rest of the starters get their rest. When they go up against a team like the Spurs, who have a ton of depth on their team, KD and Westbrook can’t carry them for the whole game. The Spurs can just keep rolling out new fresh guys that know how to score the basketball while the Thunder keep relying on Durant and Westbrook. If the Thunder’s second unit can move the basketball and create open baskets for teammates, then I think they can take out the Spurs in 5 games or less.

Feb 22, 2013; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin (23) handles the ball against Minnesota Timberwolves guard Alexy Shved (1) during the second half at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

When Kevin Martin first came to the Oklahoma City Thunder this season via the James Harden trade, it wasn’t seen as a long-term acquisition.

Martin is an expiring contract making $12.9 million this season. He wasn’t dealt at the trade deadline mostly because he has fit in so well with the Thunder this season.

Are the Thunder planning on keeping Martin past this season?

The Thunder wants to re-sign Martin this summer and have made assurances that they will do so, according to sources. However, another team could make a lucrative offer to Martin and Oklahoma City would have no choice but to let him walk for financial reasons, just as they had to part ways with James Harden because they couldn’t afford to retain him. Martin will be one of the top scorers available this summer and a strong postseason with the Thunder could increase his stock heading into free agency.

Via HoopsWorld

Martin would have to sacrifice quite a bit of money to stay in OKC but he has said he is willing to do so and that he wants to stay there long-term.

The Thunder are currently $1.3 million under the luxury tax threshold with their current payroll this season. The biggest change in their payroll starting next season will be Serge Ibaka going from making $2.2 million per year to $12.2 million per year.

A lot of players like Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Kendrick Perkins will be making about $1 million more next season as well.

The Thunder will essentially have to find a way to save $10 million to keep Martin. It feels pretty unlikely that Martin will be willing to sign a contract with the Thunder that has him making less than $3 million per year so the Thunder will have to find another way to save the money.

It seems plausible that Martin would consider signing for around $5-6 million per season but he would definitely be sacrificing money that he could get elsewhere by doing so.

It really seems like the only way the Thunder would have any chance of re-signing Martin would be by trading or amnestying Perkins, who is set to make $8.5 million next season and $9.1 million in 2014-15.

This is an idea that has been tossed around hundreds of times for the Thunder. If they are planning on keeping a core of Durant-Westbrook-Ibaka and paying them that much, keeping Perkins for that kind of money simply doesn’t make sense.

Especially when you have Nick Collison on the payroll for less than $5 million combined over the next two seasons. The Thunder may think Perkins is more valuable than Collison but he’s definitely not $6 million per year more valuable.

The Thunder will also more than likely have a lottery pick around picks 8-11 in the upcoming draft via the Toronto Raptors. There are many big men in the upcoming draft class that the Thunder might find as suitable replacements for Perkins. The Thunder have some assets too that they could use to move up in the draft to select Alex Len, Cody Zeller or Nerlens Noel.

Then there’s the idea that the Thunder are more committed to “small ball” than anything eels moving forward. Perkins just doesn’t fit into that plan. OKC would be better off letting Perkins go and keeping the likes of a Ronnie Brewer along with Martin instead and going from there.

A lot can happen between now and this summer and the Thunder may become less interested in keeping Martin, especially at the expense of Perkins, by that time. Martin could totally flop in the postseason or the Thunder could win it all and feel like Perkins was a big reason why, although the latter seems very unlikely.

January 20, 2013; Denver, CO, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard guard Kevin Martin (23) during the second half against the Denver Nuggets at the Pepsi Center. The Nuggets won 121-118 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Chris Humphreys-USA TODAY Sports

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Dwight Howard this past summer, it looked like the balance of power in the NBA would shift. The Lakers were supposed to be competing for an NBA title immediately.

That didn’t exactly go as planned as the Lakers still sit under .500 on the year.

If that offseason move wasn’t the most impactful of the offseason in terms of affecting who would win the championship, then what was?

ESPN’s Bradford Doolittle analyzes the top four most impactful moves and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s trading of James Harden to the Houston Rockets comes in at No. 3.

So far, the trade has worked out great for the Thunder, though no one associated with the Rockets is exactly complaining about Harden’s performance. Oklahoma City is playing faster, outscoring opponents by a wider margin, has moved from second to first on offense and is sharing the ball much better than last season. Martin has been a key part of that success by helping to maintain the effect the Thunder’s bench had last season, even while the team’s young stars get even better on the first unit.

We’ll never know how good the Thunder would have been this year had they kept Harden. All we know is that they are just as good if not better this season than they were last year when they made it to the NBA Finals.

Martin has filled Harden’s role from last year as well as anyone could have. He doesn’t bring the playmaking to the floor that Harden did but Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook have picked it up in that area.

Now that we can pretty much discount the Lakers, you have to look at this trade breaking up the OKC Big 3 as a pretty impactful one. There wasn’t any other move where a team as good as the Thunder lost such a talented player.

It caused the Thunder – who had completely figured out their identity and were so comfortable playing together – to relearn a few things and change who they were a bit.

Doolittle puts two other moves ahead of this one. The first is the Miami Heat acquiring Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis. And the second is the Los Angeles Clippers getting Jamal Crawford.

This is pretty much a big compliment to Martin saying that he has done such a good Harden impression this year not allowing the Thunder to take a step back.

We’re nearly at the All-Star Break and we won’t really know which move was the biggest until the playoffs. The biggest unknown may lay with the Thunder and Martin, who has played just six playoff games in his career with the last one being seven years ago.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Martin was the biggest piece the Oklahoma City Thunder received from the Houston Rockets when they traded James Harden. For the most part, the trade has worked out in OKC’s favor as Martin has averaged 15.0 points per game coming off the bench.

At the time of the trade, Martin was thought to be just a rental for the Thunder. He is making around $12 million this season and in the last year of his contract. Martin would have to take a pretty steep pay-cut to remain in OKC past this season.

Martin may want to do that.

“This summer, hopefully everything works out here,” Martin told Yahoo! Sports on Wednesday. “I haven’t said that too often. But I will put it out there; hopefully I have found a home in the NBA. I love playing with this group of guys. The organization is great to me. The community has been great to me. It’s the happiest I have been during my NBA career.”

“I’m enjoying life now,” Martin said. “In Houston and Sacramento, I probably didn’t get out too much. It’s fun just interacting with [Oklahomans]. It’s such a community feel. That’s what I love about the whole situation. The city itself, I feel like an Ohio boy here so I feel at home. Oklahoma City just reminds me of Ohio.”

Via Yahoo! Sports

Martin is a valuable asset right now for the Thunder and not just on the court. Expiring contracts are always big time trade chips and the Thunder may elect to use Martin as part of a trade before the deadline this season.

If the Thunder want to go after a big time player like Josh Smith, DeMarcus Cousins or Al Jefferson, they would certainly include Martin in the trade.

But at this time, the Thunder aren’t looking to make a trade, especially for someone that would be making that much money, otherwise they would have just paid Harden that money.

The Thunder could decide simply not to re-sign Martin at all and go with the cheaper option of Jeremy Lamb moving forward. The Thunder will also have chance to draft in the top 10 of the upcoming draft and may find a replacement for Martin there too.

Martin would probably have to re-sign with the Thunder for about $6 million per year for OKC to want to take him. OKC is trying very hard not to enter the luxury tax in the near future and with Serge Ibaka’s new contract kicking in next season, they will be right at the salary cap line even with Martin off the books.

If Martin does end up being just a rental for the Thunder, it will feel like the Harden trade wasn’t that great of a deal for OKC. Unless of course that rental involves winning an NBA championship this season.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Kevin Martin was warned for flopping earlier this season and now has been caught again resulting in a $5,000 fine from the league.

Martin, who makes a living getting to the free throw line on plays like this, took it too far trying to draw and sell the contact vs. the Denver Nuggets last Sunday night.

This is a common play for Martin who often does draw contact and get to the line from it. Andre Miller does a good job of completely avoiding any contact with Martin as he goes up for the jump shot making Martin’s act become a flop.

Martin was definitely one of the leading candidates coming into this season to feel the effects of the NBA’s new stance on flopping. So it’s no surprise that he is receiving his first fine about halfway through the season.

Reggie Evans, Gerald Wallace and J.J. Barea are the only other players to be fined for flopping this season. Twelve players have been warned so far.

The next fine for Martin if he is caught again will be $10,000.

Martin is one of the leading candidates for the Sixth Man of the Year Award this season averaging 15.0 points off the bench for OKC this season.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

The biggest piece the Oklahoma City Thunder received when trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets was Kevin Martin.

Martin came to the Thunder as a former 20-plus point per game scorer to replace Harden in the sixth man role.

So far, Martin has done a pretty solid job averaging 15.4 points per game off the bench and shooting 45.0 percent from three and league-leading 92.7 percent from the free throw line.

But there have been signs of weakness from Martin too. He is a very one-dimensional player who does nothing but score for the Thunder. He rarely rebounds or assists and is a very poor defender.

Martin is also in the final year of his contract making $12.4 million this season meaning that he has good trade value. If the Thunder are to make a deal at the trade deadline this year for a big piece, Martin would almost certainly be involved.

As of right now, the Thunder have said they are not interested in making a trade this season. By the deadline which is Feb. 21, that could all change.

The Thunder are looked at as a possible suitor for trade candidates such as Anderson Varejao, Josh Smith and even DeMarcus Cousins. All of these potential deals are fairly unlikely at the moment but may be less so as the deadline approaches.

The biggest thing the Thunder need to analyze is if they are going to be able to keep Martin past this season. Martin has come out and said that he loves Oklahoma City and would be willing to take less money to stay there but we’ve heard that before and all know how that can turn out.

Martin would have to take about a 50 percent pay cut to stay in OKC and with a young talent like Jeremy Lamb waiting in the wings as the next backup 2-3 for the Thunder, OKC may rather let Martin go.

The Thunder wouldn’t want to let Martin leave for nothing as he is still just 29 years old and has some good years left in him. The only way it seems then to get any value for Martin would be to trade him next month.

Martin has fit in pretty well with the Thunder this season. He has been one of the elite spot-up shooters in the NBA and he doesn’t need to take the ball from Kevin Durant or Russell Westbrook to be effective. The Thunder have the most efficient offense in the NBA this season and Martin has a lot to do with that.

But to reach a true championship level, it’s the defense of the Thunder that needs to improve. Before winning a title, OKC really needs to become a consistent, top five defense in this league. Otherwise, getting past Miami in the Finals or even San Antonio again will be extremely tough.

Martin hasn’t helped the Thunder defense this year and even though he has improved defensively individually, is still a liability most of the time. That’s why dealing him and landing a Varejao or Josh Smith would be a great move for the Thunder.

The Thunder might take a hit offensively if they end up trading Martin, but if they receive a better defender in return, it would probably be worth it in the end.

For now, don’t expect the Thunder to engage in any trade talks publicly. But as that deadline approaches and teams start reaching out to OKC, Martin’s name will come up more often than not. If the Thunder have any kind of hiccup between now and then, don’t be surprised if GM Sam Presti shakes up the team again.

Howard Smith-USA TODAY Sports

It’s pretty obvious at this point. Kevin Martin has not been a good replacement for James Harden, but a brilliant one. Arguments are being made that the Thunder are better with Martin in Oklahoma City than with James Harden. Either way, bringing in Martin to virtually replace Harden was a genius idea by GM Sam Presti, as Martin has basically established himself as a legit Sixth Man of the Year candidate.

It’s pretty amazing to see how well Martin has blended in with the Thunder core in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook virtually on the go due to the fact that the trade happened after training camp. The way Martin stretches the floor for this team is so valuable, making this Oklahoma City team so much harder to beat.

Martin is averaging 15.7 points per game heading into the matchup with the Miami Heat on Christmas Day. The stat that stands out to me is that he is shooting .458 percent from three and his field goal percentage is .469.

And, yesterday, Martin told HoopsWorld that he wants to stay with the Thunder for longer than just this year.

It’s not like Martin was going to say no, however, and that’s always a good sign.

“Oh yeah,” Martin said when asked if wants to stay in Oklahoma City long-term. “I get that question a lot since it’s a contract year. There are going to be teams interested over the summer, but I’m so happy right now and being with these guys has given me an extra pep in my step. It’s just fun being here. It’s a great organization and great guys. I’m happy right now.”

But Thunder fans have already been around this situation with players saying they want to sign long-term and will take less money to win. (Cough, Cough) James Harden (Cough, Cough).

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

The Oklahoma City Thunder will travel to South Beach to take on the Miami Heat Tuesday, Christmas Day for a rematch of the NBA Finals.

The biggest change to the Thunder’s lineup this season is Kevin Martin replacing James Harden as the team’s sixth man.

Overall, the Thunder haven’t missed a beat with Martin instead of Harden. They have the best record in the league at 21-5 and just had a franchise-record 12-game winning streak ended last Thursday night.

Martin has exceeded expectations averaging 15.7 points per game while shooting 46.9 percent from the field, 45.8 percent from downtown and 93.5 percent from the free throw line. He hasn’t been the playmaker Harden was but the Thunder aren’t asking him to be either.

One trend with Martin that is not encouraging however has been his poor performances against the top defenses in the league. In a loss vs. Memphis earlier this year, he scored just seven points on 1-of-4 shooting. Then at Boston, he was held to just three points in a loss.

Martin didn’t play in the Thunder’s last game at Minnesota last Thursday that they lost. OKC got only seven total points from their bench in that game as Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka clearly needed another scoring option from the bench to win the game.

Martin is a very valuable piece for the Thunder, someone they will need playing at a high level for this team to be considered a true title contender. We still don’t know if he has it in him to do so against top tier competition.

Christmas Day vs. the Miami Heat will be the perfect test. The Heat have had one of the best defenses in the league since the arrival of the Big 3 although this year they have taken a step back. The Heat are just 12th overall in defensive efficiency, instead relying on their 3rd ranked offense to win games.

The regular season defense of the Heat may not be quite elite anymore to slow down Martin. But in an NBA Finals rematch, we may see the kind of Heat defense that was present in the Finals last year holding Harden to 13 points per game and 38 percent shooting.

The specific matchup between Martin and the Heat defense will come down mostly to spot-up shooting. Martin has been one of the best spot-up shooters in the NBA this season shooting 51.6 percent from three on spot-up attempts. Meanwhile, Miami is ranked only 22nd in the league defending spot-up shots.

Martin has also been a very elite isolation scorer ranking 7th in the NBA in points per possession on isolation plays. The Heat are just 19th in the league defending isolation plays and the most likely matchup of Ray Allen covering Martin will bode even better for the Thunder as well.

But it’s not just about numbers when playing elite teams. The matchup between the Thunder and Heat will be one of the few regular season games that really means something. You can imagine it would be easy for someone like Martin to get lost in the shuffle, play passive and watch Durant and Westbrook try to do everything.

The Thunder don’t want that though. Martin may not have been there last year for the loss in the Finals but he is very much part of this team this year.

If Martin is held to 10 or fewer points and takes only a couple shots, we will be watching the Heat celebrate a win this Christmas. But if the ball movement is there for the Thunder and Martin is aggressive shooting threes and pump faking and taking his man to the rim, OKC will be in good shape.

Many believe the NBA season doesn’t really start until Christmas Day. Whether that’s true or not, one thing we know for sure is that we will be in for a good one at 5:30 p.m. EST when the Thunder and Heat take the court.

Mark D. Smith-USA TODAY Sports

Kevin Martin loves playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Martin arrived in OKC as the main piece of the James Harden trade before the season and is averaging 15.6 points per game so far this season coming off the bench.

Martin is in the final year of his contract making $12.43 million this year. When he first arrived, his long-term future with the Thunder was something many thought wouldn’t exist. The Thunder are obviously not going to pay him $12 million after this year so he would have to take a pretty substantial pay cut to remain with the team.

“We’re not talking about that right now, we’re just living in the moment,” Martin told RealGM before the Thunder played the Nets in Brooklyn on Tuesday. “That’s all this is about. They brought me here to be a great fit for these guys and everything’s been positive thus far, so we want to keep that ball rolling.”

Despite the lack of negotiations, Martin made it clear that returning to the Thunder is a strong possibility.

“I love it,” said Martin. “I’m a Midwest guy and it’s going to be an interesting summer for myself, because I never got a chance to really be a free agent and I’m going to be high in the shooting guard class, so hopefully everything works out here. We have a great thing right now and I’m just living in the moment.”

via Michael Scotto/RealGM

It has been clear that Martin is fitting in well with the Thunder so far and he appears to really love the situation. It’s the first time basically ever he has played for an NBA title contender and he seems to want to cherish the opportunity and not waste it.

It’s hard to imagine the Thunder going much higher than $7 million per year to keep Martin in OKC after the year. Martin will have a lot of other options by that time and the success the team has this season will heavily influence what he decides to do.

If the Thunder win the title this season, they could get away with letting Martin walk. Or you can look at it like they should do everything in their power to keep him to try and make another run at a title next season.

If the Thunder don’t win the title and Martin isn’t great in the playoffs, it will be an easier decision to let him go.

The other thing to consider is what else the Thunder got in the Harden trade. They also received lottery pick Jeremy Lamb who plays the same position as Martin and is thought of as the long-term replacement for Harden, to a degree.

But Lamb has recently been sent down to the D-League and has basically gotten no run so far this season. If he never cracks the Thunder rotation this season than springing a little more cash to keep Martin might be something the Thunder find very important.

The season is still young and Martin is still learning the best way to fit in with the current Thunder roster. He has done so with relative ease so far this year and is really making himself an important part of the team that no one will want to see leave after this season.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder have won eight of their first 11 games this season. It’s a pretty good record but you can make the case that the Thunder have lost to the three best teams they have played so far this season.

Two of the Thunder losses this year have been to the San Antonio Spurs and Memphis Grizzlies, two of the top two teams in the Western Conference right now. The Thunder will play a third team in that same class tonight as the Los Angeles Clippers come to town.

Kevin Martin has been a pleasant surprise for the Thunder so far this year. He’s averaging 17.6 points per game off the bench and shooting 53.6 percent from downtown. But against the Spurs and Grizzlies, he was pretty absent for the Thunder.

That needs to change tonight against the Clippers and that’s why there is maybe more pressure on Martin than anyone else for this game. If the Thunder lose again on national television to one of the top teams in the West while Martin no-shows, it will look very bad.

Last Wednesday it was Martin scoring just seven points on 1-of-4 shooting as the Thunder lost 107-97 to the Grizzlies on ESPN. Memphis played a brand of defense not usually seen around the league. They were tough and in your face and Martin looked passive, unable to initiate any offense for himself.

Basically, Martin looked like he was not as good as James Harden would have been. The Thunder could have used Harden vs. Memphis and that was an obvious takeaway from that game.

For most of this season, Martin has been a fine substitute for Harden, even producing better than Harden did a year ago. That hasn’t been the case on the national stage though.

Martin will face one of the tougher defenses in the league in the Clippers tonight. They have been one of the best teams defending spot-up shooting plays in the league so far this year, which has been Martin’s greatest strength offensively.

Martin will be challenged to do more than just shoot open threes because those opportunities will be less than normal. Martin’s one of the best in the league and putting the ball on the floor for a dribble or two after a pumpfake and drawing a foul. He needs to make that play tonight, get to the line early and get his confidence going in the first half.

To help lessen the pressure on Martin and the second unit in general, the Thunder have recently altered their rotation. Kevin Durant now comes out of the game earlier, around the 3-minute mark of the first quarter. That way he can return for the start of the second quarter with the rest of the second unit.

This could be key tonight for the Thunder and Martin especially. With Durant on the floor, open spot-up shots will be more available. Durant’s recently been in the mood of finding players for those shots as well. He’s coming off his first ever triple-double in the Thunder’s last game in which seven of his ten assists led to 3-point shots for his teammates.

As two of the top teams from the West collide tonight, keep a close eye on the bench squads and Martin. The Thunder really haven’t beaten a solid team yet this season and Martin has yet to impress on the national stage. It may be early in the season but both of those things are important for the Thunder.

The pressure is on tonight. Will Martin rise to the challenge?

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder are a different team this year than the last. When they traded James Harden to Houston for Kevin Martin, they changed their identity somewhat as well.

Martin has so far been used in just about the same way Harden was last year. He enters the game at the same time, plays just about the same minutes and even is used in some of the same sets.

Martin has been very successful so far this season playing that role. He’s averaging 17.6 points per game and shooting 53.6 percent from 3-point land through 11 games.

Should the Thunder consider starting Martin?

“At this moment, no, I don’t see it changing,” head coach Scott Brooks told The Oklahoman. “You never know. It’s a long season. A lot of things can happen. But we have a pretty good track record with our starters. They understand their role and they do a good job. Kevin, we’re building him to be that guy off the bench that can give us what we need that particular game.”

It seems pretty unlikely that Brooks would shake up the starting lineup barring some sort of injury. He likes the traditional lineup that focuses more on defense and swapping Martin for Thabo Sefolosha would take away from that.

The Thunder have been better with Martin on the floor instead of Sefolosha with the rest of the starters. The offensive rating for the Thunder jumps to 113.8 from 97.4 with Martin in instead of Sefolosha but the defensive rating falls to 107.5 from 95.0.

The Thunder have a history of getting out to slow starts with their starters but this season that hasn’t really been the case. The Thunder have their highest offensive rating in the first quarters this season at 111.1 and the best net rating of any quarter at +19.8. It’s a small sample size for now but is ample reason to not want to change anything up.

The biggest reason why you would want to start Martin would be to give him a higher ceiling of possible minutes and possibly take a little pressure off him in terms of leading the second unit. Right now, he is averaging 29.6 minutes per game this year. If he were to start, he could easily average around 35 per game and have nights where he exceeds 40 if necessary.

The Thunder have already made a change to take some pressure off Martin with the second unit by resting Kevin Durant at the end of the first quarter so that he can play more minutes with the second unit.

At this point in the season, there isn’t a big enough reason to seriously consider starting Martin over Sefolosha. There are plenty of scenarios though that could unfold this year where it would be a good idea. Just not now.

Kevin Martin is one of the craftiest players in the NBA at drawing contact and getting to the free throw line. Martin may be a little too crafty.

Martin has been officially warned by the NBA for flopping on a foul call in Oklahoma City’s game vs. Detroit last Monday night. Martin was fouled by Tayshaun Prince on a 3-point attempt and flailed his body, kicking out his leg after the contact to accentuate the call.

This is a pretty common move by NBA players made famous by Reggie Miller but it’s something the NBA intends to crack down on with their new flopping policy.

Martin is averaging 5.5 free throw attempts in 29.5 minutes per game this season.

Martin has just been warned so far and will not be fined yet but if he is caught flopping again, it will be a $5,000 fine.

Martin seems like a good candidate to be caught again flopping. He probably won’t be changing his game any to accommodate the NBA and this new policy as drawing fouls is one of his most valuable assets.

Martin is just the third player so far this season to be warned by the league for flopping with J.J. Barea and Donald Sloan being the other two.

November 16, 2012; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Hornets power forward Ryan Anderson (33) shoots over Oklahoma City Thunder power forward Serge Ibaka (9) during the first quarter of a game at the New Orleans Arena. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Durant and Kevin Martin each dropped 27 points, striking thunder and lighting down upon the New Orleans Hornets en route to winning 110-95.

The Thunder got hot early, scoring the first seven points and conceding nothing to the lowly Hornets, who have now lost two games in a row. The blowout began in the very first quarter, when OKC went up by 20 due to a string of consecutive three-pointers that Martin kept draining. Martin and Durant really got off tonight, sinking shots from behind the arc with reckless abandon. Durant hit 4 of 5 shots from behind the arc to compliment Martin’s 6 of 11. Not only that, but Martin hit five of his threes in the first half and had 22 points going into the half.

The Hornets got absolutely outplayed by the Thunder, but at no point did they give up the fight. They just did not have enough muscle to contain Durant and Martin, let alone the rest of OKC’s dynamic team.

It was a group effort win though for the Thunder, which shot 54-percent and went about establishing a huge lead that they carried into the second half. At times up by 34 points, this Thunder team looked a lot more electric and on point than the one that took on Memphis just the other night. All the starters sat the entire fourth quarter, making the final score look a lot closer than it actually was.

Serge Ibaka added 15 points and Thabo Sefolosha scored 11, but it was perhaps Russell Westbrook who showed the most tonight what it is to be a team player. He only made 3 of his 11 shots for 10 points but he had 12 of the Thunder’s 31 assists. Coach Scott Brooks lauded Westbrook’s selflessness at the end of the game.

With a dominating win, the Thunder advance to 7-3 on the season. OKC will take on the Golden State Warriors next, on Nov. 18.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Martin will be compared to James Harden all season long after the two were traded for each other just a few days before the start of the season.

Harden has begun the season looking like an All-Star for the Houston Rockets while Martin has done very well himself with the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Martin scored at least 15 points in each of the Thunder’s first seven games this season before beginning to struggle somewhat in the past two games. Martin was held to just seven points in OKC’s last game at home vs. the Memphis Grizzlies, a game where OKC really could have used the Harden from last year instead of Martin this year.

There are obviously some differences between Martin and Harden but Martin has been able to do a lot of the things Harden did last year. He’s scoring 16.0 points per game and doing it in an efficient manner. The assists are down at just 1.8 per game for Martin but he’s not handling the ball as much as Harden did.

Are the Thunder using Martin the right way though? Sometimes it feels like they are just sticking him in places where they used Harden a season ago.

Martin’s efficient scoring has been impressive so far this year. He’s scoring 1.2 points per possession which is better than Harden’s 1.1 PPP a season ago. But Martin isn’t exactly getting his points through the flow of the offense. A lot of times it seems he can manufacture points with bail-out foul calls or unexpected threes with a defender in his face. Martin is a crafty player and has always gotten his points this way but it seems like he could be used in a better way for OKC.

Martin is isolating 18.6 percent of the time on offense this season which is a very high number. Harden only did so 12.7 percent of the time last season. Harden was used as the pick-and-roll ball handler 33 percent of the time while Martin is doing that just 11.9 percent of the time this year.

Martin is shooting a lot more spot-up jumpers than Harden did a year ago, 27.6 percent compared to 14.2 percent for Harden. He’s also coming off screens more at 10.2 percent to 4.9 percent for Harden.

Using Martin coming off screens is the best way to use him and the Thunder aren’t doing enough of it early on this season, which has resulted in more isolation plays for Martin. Martin is scoring 1.25 points per possession coming off screens which is an extremely good number if he can keep it up.

Martin doesn’t need to be the pick-and-roll ball handler that Harden was last year because Eric Maynor can take over that role. But using Martin coming off screens more often will be a pretty big change for the Thunder offense that hardly ever runs players off screens in general.

Last season, the Thunder were all about the pick-and-roll and isolation plays. Even Kevin Durant who is one of the best catch-and-shoot players in the league is hardly used coming off screens where he would be able to take advantage of that skill to the fullest.

But the Thunder have a new team this year. The change was sudden but it’s the reality and adjustments need to be made, especially when it comes to Martin.

Martin’s scoring numbers in isolation situations and as a spot-up shooter are very good right now and probably will come down some as the season goes on. For the Thunder to counteract that they need to start using him more in spots where he can sustain the high production he has already given them.

The second unit for the Thunder struggled mightily against the tough defense of Memphis two nights ago. That is what it will be like in the playoffs. Expecting your bench to produce at a high clip without running much more than a few isolations and a dribble handoff for Martin isn’t going to cut it.

Martin needs to be running off multiple screens under the basket where Maynor can find him. T will open up a ton for the second unit for the Thunder and they will become one of the best in the league.

The season is still early for the Thunder and Martin has only played nine games with the team. There is time to begin using him more efficiently.

Mark D. Smith-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder played their first home game of the season last night vs. the Portland Trail Blazers and won 106-92 to improve to 1-1 on the year.

The Blazers hung around for most of the game but the Thunder incrementally creaked away outscoring Portland in each quarter.

It was a big improvement for OKC over their season opener at San Antonio a night before in which they shot 37.7 percent from the field. They made 51.3 percent of their shots vs. Portland and turned the ball over just 12 times.

On to the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 43 minutes, 23 points, 17 rebounds, 7 assists – A

Durant has been very impressive with his work on the glass in the first two games of the season, averaging 15.5 rebounds per game so far. He is making a very obvious effort to go for a more all-around game, looking to pass more as well. The seven assists are nice but it also came at the cost of six turnovers. Durant only shot 14 times but got to the line 12 times. The all-around game is nice but you still want to see Durant shooting a little bit more.

Russell Westbrook – 35 minutes, 32 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds – A

Westbrook had a very nice bounce-back game last night after a horrible performance in San Antonio where he shot 6-for-21 from the field. He was efficient last night which basically meant his pull-up jumper was falling. Westbrook played with more decisiveness being matched up with a rookie point guard in Damian Lillard as opposed to Tony Parker and the Spurs’ defense. Westbrook also only turned the ball over once and could have had a few more assists if not for fumbled passes and wide-open misses.

Serge Ibaka – 27 minutes, 7 points, 5 rebounds, 2 blocks – C

We’re still waiting on Ibaka to show something more on offense. He is trying to get his shot more but went just 3-for-11 against Portland. He seems to be pressing and playing less relaxed as he tries to take on more offensive responsibility. He hasn’t looked much improved defensively either. Other than the occasional highlight block, he is more than often out of position or flying at pump fakes.

Kevin Martin – 29 minutes, 19 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds – A

Martin clearly has no problem scoring the basketball. He is averaging 17.0 points per game this season and his best basketball looks to be ahead of him still. It helped that he made all three of his 3-point shots vs. Portland but he played a very smart game with the shots he took. He never really forced anything and is so crafty utilizing the pump fake to create driving room. He even has passed the ball fairly well so far. No complaints about Martin so far.

Kendrick Perkins – 21 minutes, 0 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – B-

Perkins obviously was a non-factor on offense last night. He played good defense on LaMarcus Aldridge though checking him for most of the game. Aldridge shot just 8-for-22 from the field and had 22 points. Perkins left the game late with an injury but it didn’t appear to be too serious.

Thabo Sefolosha – 18 minutes, 2 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block – B-

Sefolosha played a little less than he did vs. the Spurs. Scott Brooks gave rookie Perry Jones III some run instead and also played Eric Maynor extended minutes with a small lineup. Sefolosha didn’t even attempt a three on offense and there was a point when you just wanted Martin to check in for him to give the Thunder more offensive scoring power.

Nick Collison – 28 minutes, 12 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists – A-

Collison played a very good game last night and the 12 points were gravy for him. Collison said before the season he would be looking to score more on offense and that should be a good thing for OKC. If anything, it will mean an excuse to increase his minutes instead of Perkins.

Eric Maynor – 16 minutes, 2 points – C+

Amazingly, Maynor has yet to record an assist so far this season. He hasn’t played bad though and you still feel like one of OKC’s bets playmakers is on the floor when he’s out there. He was plus-12 in his 16 minutes vs. Portland which is a good sign.

Hasheem Thabeet – 18 minutes, 4 points, 4 rebounds, 2 blocks – B

Thabeet’s presence was felt last night as he made both of his shots and was tough to deal with on defense. He may end up fitting in just fine in OKC as their backup center but you still would rather see more small lineups than big ones. Thabeet did foul out in his 18 minutes.

Perry Jones, III – 5 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist – B

It was Jones’ NBA debut and he played a little hesitant. The assist he got came on a drive and kick which was impressive to watch at his size, taking his man off the dribble from past the 3-point line. His one bucket was nice too but sometimes he seems to be looking for an excuse to pass.

Jeremy Lamb – 1 minute, 3 points – A+

Lamb was amazing in his one minute. He got the ball once, sized up his man from 30-feet at the top of the key and coolly let fly a bomb that ripped nothing but net. His absolute non-reaction to making the shot was pretty awesome too.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will play in front of their home crowd for the first time this year tonight at 8 p.m. EST vs. the Portland Trail Blazers.

The Thunder lost at the buzzer last night to the San Antonio Spurs who’s Tony Parker made the game-winning shot as time expired.

Oklahoma City did not have their best stuff in that game shooting 37.7 percent from the field with Russell Westbrook leading the way going 6-for-21 from the field.

Westbrook was matched up with Parker last night and we can expect a better performance from him going against a rookie point guard in Damian Lillard tonight. Lillard was great in Portland’s season opener scoring 22 points to go with 11 assists in a win vs. the Lakers but Westbrook will be a very tough task for him.

Westbrook torched the Blazers last year in four games shooting 51.7 percent from the field and scoring 27.5 points per game to go with 7.3 assists.

Kevin Durant was not aggressive enough vs. San Antonio last night. He ended up taking only 18 shots and scoring 23 points while he seemed to focus more on being a playmaker in the offense. Durant should be motivated to bounce back strong tonight but Portland has defended him well in the past and can throw a decent defender at him in Nicolas Batum.

Durant’s numbers were a little down vs. Portland last year scoring 25.8 points per game and shooting 46.7 percent from the field.

Kevin Martin made his Thunder debut last night and was also passive on offense. He scored 15 points and had five assists but passed up a lot of scoring opportunities that he will need to take on this team. He looked a little nervous when he first came in and now getting to play his second game with OKC at home may lead to him settling down more and playing more loose.

When you play the Trail Blazers, the first goal is to contain LaMarcus Aldridge. Aldridge is coming off a great season in which he averaged 21.7 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Serge Ibaka should be matched up with Aldridge for most of the game and it will be important for Ibaka not to bite on the crafty fakes Aldridge will throw at him and instead play sound defense.

Aldridge averaged 26.0 points per game vs. the Thunder last year and averaged 7.5 free throw attempts per game as well.

Portland shot the three ball well in their first game vs. the Lakers, making 9-of-20 attempts. Batum and Wesley Matthews led the way accounting for seven of those makes. Portland has a great home court advantage which helped them in that game but those guys are still capable of filling it up even when on the road.

The Thunder did a nice job on the defensive glass vs. the Spurs and will need to repeat that kind of performance tonight and moving forward to win a lot of games. San Antonio had just six offensive boards last night.

We did not see the Thunder rookies last night which is unsurprising since head coach Scott Brooks always favors players with more experience. In last night’s case it was Thabo Sefolosha getting more minutes while Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb rode the pine.

The home environment may be better for the debut of Jones and possibly even Lamb, especially if the Thunder get out to a lead, either could see some action.

The Thunder have the best home court in the NBA right now. After a heartbreaking loss vs. San Antonio last night, the crowd may very well have enough in them to will the Thunder to a win if they again aren’t playing their best.

Soobum-Im-US PRESSWIRE

Tony Parker hit a shot at the buzzer to hand the Oklahoma City Thunder an 86-84 loss in their season opener last night.

The Thunder did not play a very good game at all shooting just 37.7 percent from the field and turning the ball over 11 times in the second half (18 in total).

The Spurs won despite being without Manu Ginobili and going 5-for-19 from 3-point land as a team.

San Antonio was the more experience group totaling 27 assists in the game while the Thunder looked as if it will take some time to figure out how all of their new pieces fit.

On to the Game Grades:

Kevin Durant – 41 minutes, 23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists – B+

Durant’s box score looks better than his actual performance last night. He came into the game very loose and relaxed looking, trying to play the distributor role from the start of the game. Durant isn’t best when doing this and it resulted in a few turnovers from him (4 total). It also meant he was shooting less and he only ended up taking 18 shots and five free throws which simply is not enough especially with the offense struggling so much. It’s nice to see Durant trying to do more other than score but last night it became clear at some point he needed to shoot, and he just didn’t do it quite enough.

Russell Westbrook – 37 minutes, 18 points, 5 assists, 8 rebounds, 6 turnovers – D+

Westbrook had an awful night. Not only did he go 6-for-21 from the field but he completely lost sight of Parker on the final play leading to him getting wide open for the game-winning bucket. Westbrook struggled against the Spurs all of last season so this wasn’t a huge surprise. He took a lot of questionable shots like he did last year and a few of his misses were really close to going in which would have been a huge difference for him had they. Westbrook gets better every year and through one game, we haven’t seen the improvement yet.

Serge Ibaka – 31 minutes, 4 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks – C-

Ibaka came out looking for his shot with the obvious game plan that he would help replace some of the offense the Thunder lost in James Harden’s departure. It didn’t go so well as Ibaka’s jump shot wasn’t falling and he was also having a hard time catching while rolling to the rim. Ibaka was also often out of position defensively trying to stay with the ultra crafty Boris Diaw and being taken to school a few times by Tim Duncan. It looks as if Scott Brooks plans on giving Ibaka more minutes but he’s going to need to earn that time with better performances than this.

Kevin Martin – 33 minutes, 15 points, 5 assists, 2 rebounds – B

Martin got all of the minutes that Harden would have last night. He gave OKC points and went 3-of-6 from deep. He was hesitant looking for his shot in the first half though and overpassed a few times. His role with the Thunder is to get buckets. It was nice to see him score 15 though in his debut, he’ll become much more of a threat the more comfortable he gets with everyone.

Kendrick Perkins – 28 minutes, 2 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists – C

Nothing special from Perkins last night. He did a solid job when defending in the post but did foul a few more times than you would like. The Spurs basically didn’t cover him on offense though and it led to the ball finding him so many times and there was nothing he could do with it.

Thabo Sefolosha – 27 minutes, 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist – B-

Sefolosha got a few more minutes than we are used to seeing with him. He was more aggressive looking for his shot and it didn’t translate into much. He made 2-of-3 threes, all of which were pretty wide open attempts. But he missed all four of his 2-point attempts. His defense is always solid and you wonder if Brooks made a mistake not putting him on Parker in the final possession instead of Westbrook.

Nick Collison – 20 minutes, 6 points, 1 rebound, 1 block – B-

Collison was another Thunder player looking for his shot more in the game. He went 2-of-6 from the field with all of those attempts coming in the first half. In the second half, there were two straight plays in which he fumbled the pass in the pick-and-roll and both times it led to a turnover. There were some early signs that Collison will be able to develop good chemistry with Martin though.

Eric Maynor – 11 minutes, 7 points, 0 assists, 3 rebounds – B-

It was great to see Maynor on the floor again and he looked 100 percent. He finished with 0 assists but moved the ball well in the offense nonetheless. The highlight of his night was a 66-foot heave at the end of the third quarter that he made to tie the score headed into the final quarter. He also made a nice floater in the lane and a pull-up midrange jumper which were nice to see.

Hasheem Thabeet – 12 minutes, 1 point, 2 rebounds, 1 block – B

For Thabeet, he played well. You don’t expect much from him and he wasn’t terrible. He is something to account for on defense although he is pretty bad all in all. He got a lot of minutes which rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb didn’t play. That won’t be the case all season.

Russell Westbrook was totally lost on the final play of this game, leading to a wide open look for Tony Parker on the left wing that ripped the net as time expired to give the San Antonio Spurs an 86-84 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was that kind of night for the Thunder and Westbrook in their season opener.

Parker finished with 14 points and 11 assists and also made a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left that tied the game at 84.

The Thunder tried to get the ball to Kevin Durant on the next possession running him off screens set by Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka but Kawhi Leonard was lurking as the pass arrived and knocked the ball away giving the Spurs the chance to win it on the final possession.

Westbrook will get the most heat for this game and deservedly so. He shot 6-for-21 in the game, had five assists and six turnovers and completely lost Parker on the final possession.

Durant went 9-for-18 in the game, had 23 points, 14 rebounds and five assists. Durant was noticeably trying to play more of a distributor role in the game and it led to some early turnovers for him.

The Thunder ran their pindown play with Durant and Westbrook that worked so well in last year’s Western Conference Finals on the last few possessions tonight. Durant didn’t get any touches though in this game.

The Thunder displayed some of the same problems they’ve had the past few years. Durant has to work so hard to get the ball and physical defense from someone like Stephen Jackson can make that very difficult for him.

Westbrook can do a better job of getting Durant touches but it’s the offensive sets too that are the problem. There just has to be easier ways to get the ball in Durant’s hands. It may even be the best option to use him bringing the ball up the court and as the pick-and-roll ball handler.

Kevin Martin made his Thunder debut tonight and was very solid. He scored 15 points on 4-of-10 shooting in 33 minutes. He made 3-of-6 threes, all four of his free throws and also had five assists. He was hesitant to look for his shot though and that’s something he can’t be moving forward this season.

Ibaka was looking for his shot a lot in this one and it was a struggle all night. He played 31 minutes, was 2-of-7 from the field and had just four points.

The Thunder shot 37.7 percent from the field in the game. They were only in it thanks to getting to the line 23 times, 12 offensive rebounds and getting hot from deep in the second half that included a 3-point shot at the end of the third quarter by Eric Maynor that was hoisted from well beyond halfcourt.

The Thunder didn’t have the luxury of playing this game with last year’s team. That all changed when they traded James Harden last weekend and it will take some time for this year’s team to gel.

They didn’t lose tonight because they didn’t have Harden. Westbrook can take less bad shots and turn the ball over less regardless of Harden’s presence.

We saw a lot of Thabo Sefolosha and Hasheem Thabeet tonight and no minutes for rookies Perry Jones III and Jeremy Lamb. This wasn’t surprising because Scott Brooks always favors veterans but this isn’t the Thunder team we will see all season.

Opening up the year on the road in San Antonio is not an easy thing to do. Combine that with the Thunder having so many new faces and it’s not surprising they lost. They played a pretty bad game actually and shouldn’t have even had this good of a chance to win it.

OKC won’t have to wait long to redeem themselves as they will play their home opener tomorrow night vs. the Portland Trail Blazers at 8 p.m. EST.

Kevin Jairaj-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder will begin the 2012-13 season with a road game vs. the San Antonio Spurs tonight. The game will tip-off at 9:30 p.m. EST and will be nationally televised on TNT.

This will be the first game for the Thunder after trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets last Saturday night. Harden was one of OKC’s best players against the Spurs last season when the teams met in the Western Conference Finals. He averaged 18.5 points per game and shot 49.3 percent from the field and 60.9 percent from downtown in that series.

The Thunder will try to move on from losing Harden with help from the new additions Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb. Lamb my not play much if at all to start the season but Martin will essentially be taking over Harden’s role in terms of playing time.

Martin is very excited to be a part of this Thunder team having been stuck on losing teams for most of his career. He can bring to the floor a lot of what Harden did but he isn’t as dynamic at this point in his career.

As far as the playmaking that Harden did last year, Eric Maynor is returning to the floor tonight after just playing nine games last year before a season-ending knee injury. He isn’t Harden either but he was one of the best backup point guards in the league before he got hurt and will give OKC something they didn’t exactly have last season.

More pressure will now be on Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook with Harden gone. While there is no doubt Durant will rise to the occasion, as far as tonight goes playing San Antonio, Westbrook will be another story.

Westbrook struggled against the Spurs last season quite a bit. He averaged just 18.2 points per game in the West Finals (down from 23.6 PPG in the regular season) and shot 37.8 percent from the field. Westbrook also had trouble containing Tony Parker who dominated the point guard matchup in that series.

Westbrook looked very good in the preseason, more comfortable and distributing better so maybe that carries over into tonight. San Antonio is still simply not the ideal matchup for Westbrook who always seems to struggle with them.

Durant on the other hand should be fine and will need to be more than that for the Thunder tonight. He averaged 29.5 points per game and shot 53.2 percent from the field in the West Finals vs. San Antonio. The Spurs don’t really have anyone who can guard Durant straight up on their roster and once Durant figured that out last year in the playoffs, OKC was well on their way to the NBA Finals.

Another player to keep an eye on especially with the departure of Harden will be Serge Ibaka. Ibaka got his contract extension this summer and should try and assume a larger role in the Thunder offense. He averaged just 9.1 points in 27.2 minutes per game last season but in the preseason looked much more aggressive and confident with his shot. Ibaka had one of the best performances of the playoffs in Game 4 of the West Finals vs. San Antonio last year. He went a perfect 11-for-11 from the field and scored 26 points to lift the Thunder to a crucial victory.

Tonight will also be the NBA debut of rookie Perry Jones III who was very impressive in the preseason. He is likely to get more minutes this year with Cole Aldrich and Daequan Cook being shipped to Houston. Against the Spurs, he may be used quite a bit too as the Thunder should play some smaller lineups to match up.

San Antonio is playing a back-to-back tonight having beaten the New Orleans Hornets 99-95 on the road last night. They trailed for a large part of that game before coming back late. The Spurs changed their roster less than any other team in the league this offseason, only adding one player in Nando De Colo, who didn’t even play last night.

Gregg Popovich may choose not to play his big guns major minutes tonight because of the back-to-back and Manu Ginobili is unlikely to play at all, having missed last night’s game as well. The Spurs are as professional an organization as it gets and going to play them in their home opener is no easy task.

The Thunder will face a big challenge tonight in their first regular season game of 2012-13. How will they look without Harden? What can they get from Martin, Jones and Maynor? Are the Spurs now better equipped to take down OKC in a series without Harden in the equation?

We will start to answer these questions tonight at 9:30 p.m. EST on TNT.

Cary Edmondson-US PRESSWIRE

The Oklahoma City Thunder traded last year’s Sixth Man of the Year Award winner this past weekend. But they may have received this year’s winner in return.

Kevin Martin will not be able to replace James Harden perfectly but he is still one of the few players with a legitimate shot to win the same award Harden did last season.

When Harden won the award last year, it was a run away. There was really no competition at all and not just because no one else had a good year coming off the bench, but that Harden was simply that good.

Harden averaged 16.8 points per game with a 66.0 true shooting percentage. He also averaged 3.7 assists and 4.1 rebounds per game.

Martin will have a hard time matching Harden’s all-around numbers but he could come close in terms of scoring. Martin averaged 17.1 points per game last season and averaged slightly more points per 36 minutes than Harden did. It was a down year for Martin though as he had a sort of fallout with head coach Kevin McHale. He shot just 41.3 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from three.

If one thing is for sure this year, it’s that Martin will be rejuvenated, playing with a true title contender for this first time in his career. At 29 years old, Martin appreciates this opportunity and plans to make the most of it, knowing it might just be for one season. He’s mature enough to make this work and young enough that there’s still a lot of great basketball left in his tank.

Winning the Sixth Man of the Year Award is not out of the question at all for Martin. In fact, he should already be considered one of the frontrunners. Past winners of the Sixth Man of the Year Award almost always are heavily focused on scoring. That is generally the idea of your Sixth Man, to bring scoring punch of the bench. Martin is perfect for this and this role may actually suit him better than when he was the first and second scoring options in the past.

Martin will now have the benefit of playing a majority of his minutes against opposing benches, something that wasn’t always the case for him earlier in his career. The Thunder already have experienced, very capable role players that should help bring Martin along rather quickly in their offense. Eric Maynor is a very nice point guard to put alongside Martin and don’t be surprised if Nick Collison develops chemistry reminiscent of what he had with Harden with Martin too.

Martin’s competition for the Sixth Man of the Year Award is essentially the same cast that tried to challenge Harden for the award last year. Lou Williams is will be big competition as he joins a new team in the Atlanta Hawks. J.R. Smith may make a strong push for the award this year as well as veterans Jason Terry and Manu Ginobili.

Other than maybe Williams and Ginobili, Martin will be given the most opportunity to produce within his offense. Martin in his prime a few years back was also a better scorer than any of these guys. And again, Martin isn’t exactly passed his prime yet.

So what will Martin need to do to win the award? If he’s getting close to 30 minutes per game, averaged 16-18 points per game is not out of the question for him. Martin is one of those scorers in the league that will always find a way to get buckets and get his shot. He’s been one of the most efficient scorers in the past and if he can return to that form at least a little, the award will be his.

Thunder fans witnessed last night the player they are losing this season as Harden put on a fantastic show in his Rockets debut vs. the Pistons. Martin won’t be that guy but he could be something close to what Harden was last year. And that might be good enough for back-to-back Sixth Man of the Year Award winners in OKC.

Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

The Oklahoma City Thunder surprised a lot of people last week trading James Harden to the Houston Rockets in exchange for Kevin Martin and Jeremy Lamb.

Losing Harden will certainly hurt the Thunder in a lot of places but the additions of Martin and Lamb as well as Eric Maynor and Perry Jones III could lessen the blow.

Harden gave the Thunder 16.8 points in 31.4 minutes per game last year. He was also one of the most efficient scorers in the league and lethal pick-and-roll players. That’s not easy to replace and the Thunder won’t replace it perfectly, but they could come close.

Martin is very similar to Harden in a lot of ways. He is an efficient scorer who can get to the free throw line a lot. Harden had a 66.0 true shooting percentage last year while Martin’s was 55.4. Martin has had many seasons of 60-plus true shooting percentages though.

Harden averaged 6.8 free throw attempts per 36 minutes last season while Martin averaged 5.1. That was very low for Martin who averaged 9.3 the season before but due to head coach Kevin McHale taking the ball out of his hands in the pick-and-roll last season.

Harden was 10th in the league last season scoring 1.1 points per possession. Martin was pretty good ranking 82nd in the league scoring 0.97 PPP. Harden was 7th in the league on isolation plays scoring 1.03 PPP. Martin was 18th scoring 0.94 PPP. In the pick-and-roll, they were both tied for 9th in the league scoring 0.99 PPP, although 33 percent of Harden’s offense came in the pick-and-roll while just 12.3 percent for Martin.

Remember that last season was a down year for Martin. He was featured less in the offense while still on a bad team. What player is going to still perform in that setting? The season before when he averaged 23.5 points per game he was 26th in the league scoring 1.07 PPP, 8th in the league on isolation plays scoring 1.04 PPP and he shot 41.7 percent on spot-up 3-point shots.

Martin is overjoyed to be in OKC now. He has been to the playoffs just once in his career so far and now at the age of 29, says he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win and help this team.

Martin isn’t coming to OKC to do exactly what Harden did either. He won’t be asked to be the playmaker that Harden was last year since Maynor will be back from injury and can handle that responsibility. Martin may be a slight downgrade as a defender and rebounder but Harden wasn’t great at either and the other Thunder players should be capable of helping with that too.

There’s also the point that Martin/Maynor may not be a huge downgrade from what Harden did last year but what about what Harden would have done this year? Harden just turned 23 and his future looks very bright so we would have expected to improve even more this season. But at what cost?

If Harden started to shoot a little more so he could have a better shot at making All-Star teams and ensure a max contract down the road, would that have meant less production from Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook? That could have been the dynamic had Sam Presti decided to keep Harden for one more season without signing him to an extension.

Martin is an upgrade in that respect. Harden talked a lot about sacrificing but in the end, he made a decision that was best for him. Martin is going to sacrifice whatever it takes for this team. In that respect, the Thunder may be gaining something they wouldn’t have had in Harden.

Jerome Miron-US PRESSWIRE

Kevin Martin is the biggest piece the Oklahoma City Thunder got in return for James Harden in their blockbuster trade this weekend.

Martin comes in from Houston as a player who has been one of the best scorers in the league in the NBA. He has averaged over 23 points per game three times and is a very efficient scorer as well.

Martin is an expiring contract owed $12.4 million this season and most think the Thunder will just end up renting him for the year or trading him at the deadline.

It makes sense because surely the Thunder do not want to pay Martin near what he is making right now after this season. That is close to the amount they offered Harden to stay.

If Martin is going to stay with the Thunder beyond this season, he will have to take a pretty significant pay cut. But Martin may actually be willing to do so.

Here is what Martin had to say upon learning of the trade: “Oh my gosh!!!!!!! Feels like a damn dream!”

Martin has never been part of a winning franchise yet in his career and now at the age of 29, his dreams have been answered in being shipped to the defending Western Conference champs.

It feels like Martin really plans to make the most out of this opportunity. And you know once he gets into practices and workouts with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, that Thunder culture will be upon him and every player seems to reach their potential in that environment.

There is a scenario for Martin and the Thunder in which he could remain with the team after this season. He would have to fit in and become an important part of the team which is totally reasonable. In fact, he will probably be coming off the bench as long as Thabo Sefolosha stays healthy and should be one of the favorites to win the Sixth Man of the Year Award.

The Thunder have a lot of young talent on their roster right now like Reggie Jackson, Jeremy Lamb and Perry Jones III. Thunder management sees all three of them as players who will become important parts of the rotation in the future. So Martin would really need to stand out and really be willing to accept less money to stay with the team.

Otherwise, a trade at the deadline or sign-and-trade after the season seems like the best bet for him. Thunder GM Sam Presti is all about getting the most out of every asset which is very obvious with how he handled Harden.

Presti sees Martin as an asset too and combined with the three draft picks OKC got from Houston, the Thunder should be able to get something in return for Martin instead of using him as just a rental.

The Thunder will open their regular season this Thursday on the road vs. the San Antonio Spurs where we will get the first chance to see Martin in action.

Mike DiNovo-US PRESSWIRE

The first major trade before the 2012 NBA Draft has occurred involving the Houston Rockets and the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Rockets traded Chase Budinger to Minnesota in exchange for the 18th pick in the first round as first reporter by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

The Rockets now have the 14th, 16th and 18th picks in the first round and it is clear that they are trying to pull off a package that could land them Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

The Timberwolves are past stockpiling first round draft choices as just about every player on their roster feels like they were selected in the lottery within the past five seasons. Budinger is a nice piece for them to build around Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio.

Shortly after this trade was completed, Houston offered the Sacramento Kings Kyle Lowry, the 14th pick and the 16th pick for Tyreke Evans and the 5th pick in the draft.

The plan here is for Houston to have a package consisting of Evans, Kevin Martin, the 5th pick and the 18th pick to send to Orlando for Howard.

Houston is doing everything possible to get Howard even though it has been reported that Howard is not interested in resigning with Houston after the 2012-13 season.

The Rockets and their savvy GM Daryl Morey are confident in themselves and what they have in Houston that they will be able to convince Howard to stay after a season with the team.

Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

Thunder (1-game winning streak)
106.6 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.4 Defensive Efficiency (12th)
96.0 Pace (5th)
56.9 True Shooting % (1st)
51.3 Rebound Rate (6th)

Rockets (1-game losing streak)
102.6 Offensive Efficiency (10th)
101.7 Defensive Efficiency (17th)
94.5 Pace (11th)
53.2 True Shooting % (7th)
50.4 Rebound Rate (13th)

The Thunder are coming off one of the easier wins of the season beating the Bobcats 122-95 two nights ago. James Harden scored a career-high 33 points in the win.

Harden, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook combined to outscore the entire Bobcats team 55-40 in the first half of Saturday night’s win. That has been the trend of late from the Thunder, their Big Three carrying the scoring load.

The Thunder have played the Rockets three times already this year beating them the first two then losing 96-95 the last time. In that loss Durant had three chances to put the Thunder ahead in the final minute and failed to do so.

The Rockets are an overachieving team by old statistical measures and played the Thunder very tough. Rookie Chandler Parsons did a very nice job on Durant last game.

Kevin Martin had a big game scoring 32 as he torched Daequan Cook early and had the hot hand for most of the night.

The Thunder turned the ball over 21 times in Houston that night and got almost no production from anyone outside of the Big Three.

At home tonight expect better role player production and we’ll see if Harden continues his stellar play. Harden scored 17 points and had five turnovers in the last meeting.

With two days of rest the Thunder should be fresh while the Rockets have been in somewhat of a slump of late dropping six of their last seven. They’re battling injuries and will be without starting point guard Kyle Lowry for tonight’s game.

This is not a game the Thunder should lose. Expect to see them come out on point and play well. The emphasis early should be containing Martin and getting out on the fast break for some easy buckets.

The Thunder are favored by 11.0 as they close out their five-game home stand tonight.

Thomas Campbell-US Presswire

Kevin Durant had three chances to win it for the Oklahoma City Thunder Wednesday night versus the Houston Rockets. The ball just didn’t agree with that kind of outcome.

Durant missed a running 10-footer over Chandler Parsons and Samuel Dalembert with three seconds left and Russell Westbrook the tip, both of which would have potentially won the game for the Thunder. It was the third miss for Durant in the final 23 seconds.

The Oklahoma City Thunder found themselves trailing 96-95 after Kevin Martin made two free throws with 23 seconds left in the game.

Following a timeout, Scott Brooks drew up a play to get Durant a look from three on the next possession that he missed. The rebound went out of bounds off Kyle Lowry however and Oklahoma City retained possession.

Then on the ensuing baseline out of bounds play, Brooks called the same play that gave the Thunder a victory in Golden State a few games ago but Durant missed that shot as well after getting a pretty good look.

Durant would get the offensive rebound still giving the Thunder another chance to take the lead setting up the final scene.

Durant finished with 33 points on 12-for-26 shooting but was noticeably out of rhythm for much of the night with the credit going to the rookie Parsons.

Westbrook also gave the Thunder a heck of a performance with 26 points on 11-of-25 shooting. The tandem combined for only 11 free throw attempts, possibly the missing ingredient that would have put them over the top in this one.

It was Martin who had the hot hand for Houston with 32 points despite coming off averaging only 7.3 points per game in his last six. Daequan Cook was matched up with him early and Martin got off to a nice start with 12 first quarter points. Let’s remember how much the Thunder are missing Thabo Sefolosha.

The Thunder turned the ball over 21 times and Houston matched Oklahoma City’s free throw attempts.

The Thunder can thank their bench led by James Harden for bringing them back after a first quarter that had the Thunder trailing 29-13.

Harden led a spirited charge by the second unit especially on the defensive end to help get the Thunder back into the game. Harden finished with 17 points and made three from beyond the arc.

Oklahoma City will not like the feeling of this loss with having so many opportunities to win it. The Thunder (22-7) can look to rebound in their next game Friday back at home against the Golden State Warriors (11-14).

Richard Rowe-US PRESSWIRE

Thunder (2-game winning streak)
105.9 Offensive Efficiency (2nd)
99.3 Defensive Efficiency (14th)
95.9 Pace (5th)

Rockets (2-game losing streak)
101.9 Offensive Efficiency (9th)
99.9 Defensive Efficiency (16th)
95.0 Pace (11th)

The Thunder have won their last two games, both against Utah, and now sit atop the NBA with the best record at 22-6. Tonight they will play the Houston Rockets who are a similar opponent to the Jazz. The Thunder beat the Rockets twice already this year on back-to-back games played in the first week of January. Kevin Durant had big games in each of those as well as James Harden. The Rockets have a similar issue when it comes to guarding Durant that Utah had in that they will be putting young players on him with Chandler Parsons and Chase Budinger. The Rockets were without Kyle Lowry in both of those games however and he will be suiting up tonight.

Thunder keys to the game

1. Kevin Martin

Kevin Martin has been in one of the biggest slumps of his career the past few games and the Thunder need to keep it that way. He did not score a single point for the first time in six years last night and is only averaging 7.3 points per game over his last six games. Martin can get hot easily and can beat opponents from the outside, an area of weakness for the Thunder defense. Thabo Sefolosha is still day-to-day and unlikely to play so the defensive assignment will go to Daequan Cook whose forte isn’t on the defensive end.

2. The Thunder bigs

Oklahoma City’s big men have been great lately. Serge Ibaka has been a monster blocking shots and now leads the league in that department. Ibaka didn’t do much the first two times Houston played and has been much better lately. Luis Scola had a 28-point game when Houston played at home against Oklahoma City but Ibaka should be able to slow him down tonight. Scola is similar to Paul Millsap in his craftiness on offense so the Thunder bigs should be used to his style tonight. Kendrick Perkins has been productive of late too including a career-high six assists last night. His screen-setting to free Durant and get him going early will be crucial. Nazr Mohammed had a season-high 17 points the last time the Thunder played the Rockets. Oklahoma City wouldn’t say no to a repeat of that tonight.

3. Rebounding

The Thunder are on a back-to-back tonight and the Rockets are one of the better rebounding teams in the NBA. Houston is third in the NBA in total rebound rate and fifth in offensive rebound rate. Oklahoma City will need to be focused tonight to make sure they don’t get killed on the glass. Durant is the leading rebounder for the Thunder but will have to respect Parsons and Budinger on the perimeter tonight so won’t be able to hang around the paint to get defensive boards. Perkins and Ibaka need to be focused on boxing out every possession and especially so since Houston shoots a lot of threes. A good rebounding night will lead to fast breaking for one of the best teams in the NBA in transition and an easy win for the Thunder.

Prediction: Oklahoma City wins 109-106.