Thunder in the News is an OKC Thunder fan’s dream – a daily post dedicated to the best Oklahoma City content around the web.
Happy Monday Thunder Nation! We’ve got an interesting slate of games this week: the Bucks, Celtics and Trail Blazers all stand in OKC’s way. We’re not here to preview the week though. The Thunder taught us a lot about themselves over the weekend – that’s what we’re discussing today.
Russ ends his league-wide triple-double domination
Congratulations to Russell Westbrook for doing something nobody in NBA history has:
"He is the only player in NBA history to record a triple-double against every team he has faced."
Russ achieved the feat on Saturday when he put up 12 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists against the Bulls. It was his third triple-double of the season. It just so happens the Thunder have won all three of those games this season. Like last season, Oklahoma City is going to win when Westbrook has full control of the game. I went more in-depth with that idea a few days ago.
Thunder are undefeated against Eastern Conference
This is a trend we need to watch all season. The Thunder are 3-0 against the presumed-bottom teams in the league (New York, Indiana, Chicago) while they’ve lost to two Playoff-contenders (Minnesota, Utah). It’s great that OKC is winning the games they’re supposed to; they need to start beating their true competition so they don’t lose out on a top three seed.
"The Jazz and the Timberwolves were able to play in-your-face defense and force missed shots. Those misses led to high energy play on the offensive side."
How Andre Roberson turned into a lineup nightmare
Andre Roberson is slowly seeing his minutes decrease. It’s a storyline that’s important to follow – if Roberson becomes less and less important to the Thunder he could find himself on the trading block. It’s not something we expected going into the season. It’s why Cale Michael discussed it for his weekly Sunday feature.
"Andre has already seen his minutes decrease from 30.1 minutes a game last season to just 17.4 this year, though this is likely more a byproduct of adding Paul George and Carmelo Anthony during the offseason."
Thanks again for reading! Check back tomorrow for another edition of Thunder in the News!