Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder stories across the web.
New to Views? Glad to have you here, and I hope you’ll make this a daily destination. Well, let’s get started!
Thunder play in the biggest game of the season so far
“Don’t look now, but the Oklahoma City Thunder are only three games out of being the fourth seed in the west. After a tumultuous offseason that saw our defensive anchor head to Orlando, the best player in the league head to Miami, that one guy go to that one place, and uncertainty surrounding Russell Westbrook; the Thunder could conceivably get home court in the first round.”
I’m so excited for this game. This is our first chance to the new look Thunder against a playoff opponent. Utah rolls into Oklahoma City on a three game win streak, all by double-digits. They’ve held each team under 95 points while OKC has scored at least 110 points in their own three game win streak. Who’s going to prevail? I honestly have no idea.
Must Read: Five free agents the Thunder should consider using the 15th roster spot on
Alex Abrines is making a bigger impact than expected
“Abrines gives Westbrook space. Defenders stick to him more than they do Oladipo. Westbrook reciprocates by creating efficient, spot-up 3s. And a defensive downgrade from Oladipo to Abrines may not be as exploitable during the regular season once the seemingly inevitable change comes at power forward, sending rookie starter Domantas Sabonis to the bench and inserting veteran Taj Gibson.”
Alex Abrines‘ success has been the brightest spot of the season for me, mainly because it proves I wasn’t as crazy as everyone thought when I was saying this earlier in the season. The sole reason why it makes sense is because the Thunder don’t use Abrines any differently than they do Victor Oladipo. If Oladipo was actually featured in the offense it would be a different story, but he isn’t. Why not have the better shooter on the floor and use Oladipo’s talents with the second unit?
Views from Twitter
Last night was Russell Westbrook's 7th 40-point triple-double, more than MJ and LeBron combined! https://t.co/T3RKnJOVCP @okcthunder pic.twitter.com/uSqVC1lcQI
— Basketball Reference (@bball_ref) February 27, 2017
Should I start a “Daily Insane Russell Westbrook Stat Tweet”? It’d be a daily tradition inside a daily tradition…woah.
https://twitter.com/ComplexSports/status/836239656211660805
There was no doubt in my mind that Steven Adams talks to the rim when he misses. I’ll bet most of the time he does it in his head as to not appear too crazy. But then again it appears that the Big Kiwi is growing out his beard so obviously that thought hasn’t crossed his mind.
Side note: Every season Adams adds a new look. His first season he was clean shaven, then he added the mustache, then the hair started growing, then the tattoo started spreading, now the beard is growing in. What’s next? Piercings a la Dennis Rodman? A face tattoo? A bald head? Whatever you do, please don’t shave your head Mr. Adams.