Thunder in the News: Bulls provide a chance to get back to .500
By Tony Heim
Thunderous Intentions provides OKC Thunder fans with a daily post dedicated to finding/breaking down the best Oklahoma City content around the web.
Happy Gameday Thunder Nation! After a two day respite we’ve got another matchup with one of the worst teams in the NBA. Carmelo Anthony and Steven Adams’ status is still up in the air, but that shouldn’t stop the Thunder from winning this game. All they need is Russell Westbrook and Paul George to keep up their recent play…
Thunder need their stars to keep playing like stars
Our first piece highlights the single biggest problem for Oklahoma City this season. While the Thunder’s role players have been playing well, their stars are struggling to find a rhythm on offense. The last two games have been different though, especially for Paul George. Gideon Lim notes exactly what’s different on offense. Hint: it’s not much.
"As long as this lineup can survive nicely on offense, Billy Donovan could just have an answer for the Warriors."
Breaking down Oklahoma City’s crunch-time problems
The Thunder’s first crunch-time victory came Friday night when they handled a late LA Clippers run. PG made his shots and OKC’s defense held fast, a phenomenon that hadn’t occurred all season. Matt Moore from CBS Sports detailed the Thunder’s infamous down-the-stretch struggles and how it’s something that should fix itself over time. I won’t spoil exactly why he believes that though.
"On paper, the problems seem obvious. The Thunder’s offense is stagnant and repulsive, predictable and designed to generate the shots that opposing defenses want to allow."
T-Ferg gets re-assigned
Despite what most of Thunder Nation will tell you, this is great news. After playing double-digit minutes the first two games Terrance Ferguson’s minutes quickly became sporadic. The 19-year old is talented, but he isn’t ready to be a consistent part of an NBA rotation, let alone for a contender. He’s better off playing for the Blue where he can work on his jump shot, specifically from NBA-range.
And guess what? In his G-League debut he dropped 24 points and 5 assists last night. The move is already paying dividends.
Thunder just announced they have assigned rookie wing Terrance Ferguson to the Blue.
— Fred Katz (@FredKatz) November 14, 2017
That’s it for today’s edition of Thunder in the News. Check back with Thunderous Intentions after the game for analysis of tonight’s hopeful dub.