March 8th: Welcome to Views from OKC, Thunderous Intentions’ daily roundup of the best OKC Thunder content across the web.
New to Views? I wish I could comfort you in OUR time of need. But things aren’t looking too good for the OKC Thunder.
Russell Westbrook did everything he could Tuesday night
“On a career night, Russell Westbrook emptied his soul before the Chesapeake Energy Arena faithful. However, in an unforgettable encounter, his Oklahoma City Thunder fell 126-121 to a determined Portland Trail Blazers grouping. Westbrook slashed, bounced, and sauntered his way to a career-best 58 points on 21-of-39 shooting. Unfortunately, his late attempt to tie the contest bounded off a remorseless back iron.”
I don’t know what to say at this point. Maybe everybody not named Russell Westbrook is just ready to finish this season. The first quarter was beautiful; the Thunder scored 40 points and held an 11 point lead. But Portland slowly chipped away despite Russ’ incredible night. When he was off the court the Trail Blazers dominated (but more on that later). Ugh.
Must Read: Five reasons why Thunder fans should NOT panic
A deep dive into the Thunder’s road woes
“In one fell swoop, Presti was cited for winning the deadline which served to cement beliefs he moonlights as a magician. Especially considering the rabbits Presti pulled from his hat and the small price paid. But, unless he has an amnesiac potion to administer to his youthful squad when they hit the road, his efforts may not reap the desired rewards this season.”
Shoutout to my Co-Expert Tamberlyn Richardson for this piece. It’s honestly incredible seeing just how much better OKC plays in front of their home crowd. A lot of that has to do with the youth on the team, but this season is a much bigger discrepancy than normal. Check it out because she somehow found a way to be optimistic about the future. We desperately need that right now.
Views from Twitter
People that unfollowed me tonight, I'm not going to sugarcoat things and tell you OKC is a title contender. I understand you want to believe
— Shai Gilgreatness-Alexander (@Jhickness9) March 8, 2017
If you thought the Thunder were going to be a title contender this year you are completely irrational. They lost the second-best player in the world for nothing – the Conference Finals was the best this team could do. Here’s the thing…they still could do it. They have 18 games to figure everything out. Let’s hope something drastic happens in those 18 games.
OKC finishes plus-9 with Russell Westbrook on the court. The Thunder lost by five. You do the math.
— Kevin Pelton (@kpelton) March 8, 2017
RUSSELL WESTBROOK IS THE MOST VALUABLE PLAYER TO HIS TEAM IN THE ENTIRE LEAGUE. HE PUT UP 58 POINTS ON OVER 50% SHOOTING AND DISHED OUT 9 ASSISTS AS WELL. OKLAHOMA CITY OUTSCORED PORTLAND WHILE HE WAS ON THE COURT. But the bench….Non-Thunder NBA fans, stop acting like the OKC’s mediocre record is Russ’ fault. Because it’s not.