Thunderous Intentions
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Views from OKC: Thunder have to make a statement win

By Tony Heim

Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 26, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; OKC Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) in action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. The Oklahoma City Thunder won 103-97. Credit: Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports /

Views from OKC is a daily diary about the current state of the OKC Thunder. Today we look at tonight’s matchup against the 76ers.

A win isn’t enough for the Thunder tonight. A 10-point win isn’t enough. I wouldn’t be happy with a 15-point dub, but I’d take it. No, I will only be satisfied if Russell Westbrook makes TJ McConnell want to retire from the NBA by the 8:12 mark of the first quarter.

The Thunder have to come out with fireworks tonight. They should be pissed off at themselves the way they rolled over in the Peake when Steph and Klay started hitting shots in the second quarter. Other than the wonderful human beings that are Semaj Christon and Taj Gibson, I saw nothing but wide eyes from Westbrook’s supporting cast.

That has to change if the Thunder even want a chance at winning a playoff round. Postseason basketball is a whole different animal; teams have to be ready for a flat-out war. And I’m not sure if this team of 23-25 year old’s is ready for that.

Yesterday I talked about my concerns with Steven Adams. I have a little bit of faith in Andre Roberson and Enes Kanter, but even they were inconsistent in last year’s playoffs. The rest of the roster is essentially a playoff-mystery.

And that’s why a 20-point win is so important tonight.

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Oklahoma City needs to come out for blood. They should want to dismantle Philly the way the Warriors demolished them Monday night. The NBA may seem like fun and games, but the truly great players and teams are cutthroat. This team of second and third-year players has yet to learn that you must treat the other 29 teams as your enemy.

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Philadelphia is the perfect team to employ a newfound viciousness. They are young, yet to formulate true grudges around the league. They are also terrible, providing a perfect setting for Oklahoma City to take a night off and still get a win.

The OKC Thunder have a lot of raw talent but they have yet to learn the mental aspect of the game. Russell Westbrook is a perfect role model for how you should treat every game, but the manner in which he teaches it may not be working. Or maybe Russ is doing some weird Jedi mind trick where his ways are impressed over a long period of time (see Dion Waiters). I don’t know.

The one thing I do know is we will never see true improvement from this team until they start playing every game with a chip on their shoulder.

That needs to start tonight.

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